Inventive Teacher, Student Win Awards

Banyan Elementary School teacher Jeanne Valentine and sixth-grade student Chrissy Donahue recently took their inventions to the Entrepreneurial Invention Convention in Kansas City and won awards.

Valentine and Donahue went to the convention after winning a local competition where they had to develop a concept for a product, make it and market it.

They then sent a report on their products to the Kaufmann Foundation, which organizes the annual event that drew 5,000 student entries this year.

Valentine, who won first prize in the national competition’s teacher division, created a board game called Mission Accomplished.

Her 13-year-old son, Ryan, suggested the game based on California missions, where players must move across the state and answer trivia questions.

Valentine said her invention was selected because it combined entertainment with education.

“I also think what they saw in mine is something that can actually be sold,” Valentine said.

Valentine plans to use her $750 prize to try to get a patent for her game and market it.

Chrissy, 12, created a cloth bag that holds scraps of leftover soap.

She hopes to sell her invention, which earned her second-place honors and $750, this summer.