Niu Valley Middle School Music Teacher, Zachary Morita, is a finalist for the Farmer's Insurance "Dream Big Teacher Challenge" Grant. Mr. Morita's big teacher dream is to fund an Inaugural Niu Valley Music Olympic Invitational, which will be open to public/private/homeschool students, grades 6-12, in Hawai'i.

As stated in his proposal, this Invitational hopes to "bring together musicians through collaborative competition...The unique aspect of this event is bringing together musicians from various instrumental mediums--string, wind, and percussion--to learn from and value difference." By combining music and competition, students who participate will have a special opportunity to develop and apply their music skills. Plus, they also get a chance to meet and play with professional musicians from Hawaii Symphony Orchestra and the Chamber Music Hawaii!

To help Mr. Morita turn his dream into a reality, watch his video and vote for his proposal at www.bit.ly/votemorita. The top 5 teachers with the most votes will receive $100,000. As of now, Mr. Morita is one of the 15 finalists nationwide!

Look below for more information. Let's support Mr. Morita, Lancers!