St. Augustine, Fla. (Aug. 27, 2018) – Judges helped Betty Griffin Center go through more than 650 entries from students in the St. Johns County School District to select winners in the 2020 Day Without Violence Art and Poetry Contest.
“We received more than 650 entries, representing about 550 drawings and 100 poems, which made the judging process extremely difficult in selecting the final 13 drawings and 12 poems that are featured in the calendar,” said Betty Griffin Center CEO Joyce Mahr. “Despite the number of submissions to choose from, our judges narrowed the field down to select some exceptional student entries.”
The 2020 calendar winners include the following:
ART WINNERS
First Place – Vivien Mortiz, 12th Grade, Creekside High School
Second Place – Tejashree Vijay, 9th Grade, Creekside High School
Creekside High School – Ayushi Elhence (9th Grade), Cecilia Fowler (9th Grade), Alyssa Radcliffe (9th Grade), Sky Mahdiar (11th Grade), Helen Do (9th Grade) and Isis Saylur (11th Grade)
Fruit Cove Middle School – Gwen Capener (7th Grade) and Lauren Griffin (7th Grade)
Switzerland Point Middle School – Lilly Agneta (7th Grade)
Freedom Crossing Academy – Parvathi AP (6th Grade)
PVPV Rawlings – Chloe Landeweer (5th Grade)
POETRY WINNERS
First Place – Chloe Hollingsworth, 4th Grade, Oceola Elementary School
Second Place – Al Hall, 10th Grade, Bartram Trail High School
Bartram Trail High School – Rebecca Kerr (11th Grade), Lauren Donalson (11th Grade), Aubrey Conover (10th Grade, Jaysica Nacionales (10th Grade), Erin Vogel (12th Grade) and Siera Waldroup (11th Grade)
Home Schooled – Alex Melville (8th Grade), Ethan Melville (6th Grade) and Bella Melville (3rd Grade)
Creekside High School – Michael Euning (9th Grade)
The contest judges were Ann Kiyonaga, a poet, painter and yoga teacher who holds a master’s degree in International Studies from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, Fonya Lord, a St. Augustine based writer and visual arts professional, and Jo Sinclair of the St. Johns Cultural Council, a professional artist with a passion for studio exploration, experimentation, creative encounters and a strong commitment for sharing through her artwork and teaching.
The judges selected the winning entries based on their effectiveness in conveying a positive impression of peacefulness and cooperation, artistic merit, originality, diversity of images (race, gender, age, ability, etc.), and geographical diversity within St. Johns County.
“The work of these students will be published and distributed to every classroom in St. Johns County this fall,” Mahr said. “In addition, the winning art will be exhibited at the County Administration Building throughout October, which is National Domestic Violence Awareness Month.”
The students will also be honored during an award ceremony to be held at the School Board meeting in October.
Any businesses or other donors interested in sponsoring the printing of the calendar should contact the Betty Griffin Center at info@bettygriffincenter.org.
In addition to reaching students through the calendar contest, Betty Griffin Center also provides community/school presentations and education as part of its mission to raise awareness about domestic and sexual violence. Last year, the center provided more than 12,822 people with information and conducted more than 136 presentations.