Dairy Queen’s Orange Julius brand is supporting teachers this back-to-school season by awarding nearly $30,000 for teachers to buy classroom supplies. According to the 2013 National School Supply and Equipment Association Retail Market Awareness Study, public school teachers spent about $1.6 billion of their own money for educational products for the 2012-2013 school year. In honor of Dairy Queen’s $1.49 Orange Julius smoothies promotion, teachers can submit 149-word essays about why their classrooms deserve new supplies this year. Ten winners will receive a $1,490 gift card and 100 winners will receive a $149 gift card to help them buy classroom supplies. Entries can be submitted on orangejuliustreatforteachers.com through Sept. 22 and will be judged on content, essay development/organization, relevance to theme, and creativity/originality, according to the company.