The Jackson Soil and Water Conservation District held its annual poster contest for students in 3rd through 6th grade and Speech Contest for 8th graders in Jackson County.
3rd grade poster winners were Summit students 1st- Carleigh Grade Wilson (who also won 1st Place at Area competition), 2nd- Ben Ferrin, 3rd- Vicy Ahrens, all from Chrissy Hughes’ class and pictured at the top of the article respectively.
6th grade poster winners were 1st- Molly Frances Romaniszyn (1st at Area), 2nd- Trenton Potts, 3rd- Olive Graham, all from Ray Crawford’s Fairview School class.
8th grade speech winners were 1st- Keelie Patten (1st Place at Area), 2nd- Liam Tormey, 3rd- Araceli Oroz, all from Paula Fox’s Cullowhee Valley School class
The purpose of the contests is to educate students about issues that affect our land and water sources.
This year’s theme was ‘We all live in a Watershed’.
Third graders from Summit Charter School and sixth graders from Fairview School participated in the poster contest.
Eighth graders from Cullowhee Valley School participated in the speech contest.
Winning students each received a trophy and prize money: $50 for First Place, $25 for Second, $15 for Third.
The teacher of the winning student also received $50 in recognition of their contribution to the students’ success.
The first-place posters and speech advanced to the Area 1 Contest in Waynesville, which was held on Feb. 23 where they competed against winners from the 15 other Soil and Water Conservation Districts of Area 1.
Carleigh Grace Wilson, Molly Frances Romaniszyn, and Keelie Patten all placed 1st at the Area competition, each will receive an additional $50 for their wins and their entries will move on to compete at the State level later in April.
For more information on Jackson Soil and Water Conservation District’s contests and education programs contact Jane Fitzgerald at 828.586.5465 or click HERE.