The art submission from Natalia Engl, an 11th grade student at Ponte Vedra High School, and the poetry submission from Nicholas Casillo, an eighth grader at Fruit Cove Middle School, were selected as the first-place winners in the 2024 Day Without Violence Art and Poetry Calendar Contest.
St. Johns County School District Fine Arts Specialist Joanne Crowder, author and publisher Kristen Paul, Crisp Ellert Art Museum Director Julie Dickover and artist Fran Windeler of Vilano Beach judged more than 600 submissions from St. Johns County students in selecting the artwork and poetry for next year’s calendar.
“We appreciate all of the St. Johns County students who entered the contest, our judges and the continued support of the project by the St. Johns County School District, which raises awareness of our prevention work throughout the county,” said Betty Griffin Center CEO Kelly Franklin. “We also appreciate the support of the locally owned print company, Hartley, which sponsored the production of the calendar for a third consecutive year.”
In the art contest, Yiwen Chen, a seventh grader at Valley Ridge Academy, won second place, and Bristol Howell, an eighth-grade student at Fruit Cove Middle School, won second place in the poetry contest.
Those receiving honorable mention include:
Art
Savannah Crowe, grade 11, Creekside High School; Noelle Sinno, grade 10, Creekside High School; Georgie Obie, grade 10, Creekside High School; Ethan Phillips, grade four, Valley Ridge Academy; Adalynn Flores, grade three, Otis Mason Elementary School; Layann Issa, grade eight, Landrum Middle School; Aanya Patel, grade eight, Freedom Crossing Academy; Saryn Vasallo, grade 11, Beachside High School; Jewel Atzori, grade one, Island Prep Elementary School; Ina Li, grade nine, Creekside High School; and Ava Mackie, grade nine, Beachside High School.
Poetry
Jonah Gardeen, grade six, Fruit Cove Middle School; Louisa Ward, grade five, Patriot Oaks Academy; Marcus Mislivec, grade six, Fruit Cove Middle School; Kelsey Miller, grade six, Fruit Cove Middle School; Alene Tanbi, grade eight, Fruit Cove Middle School; Mia Yochelson, grade eight, Fruit Cove Middle School; Shanmukha Patsamatla, grade six, Fruit Cove Middle School; Riley Hartman, grade six, Fruit Cove Middle School; Tejaswini Saravanan, grade six, Fruit Cove Middle School; and Marleigh Romine, grade six, Fruit Cove Middle School.
Contest winners will receive special recognition during a St. Johns County School Board meeting and have their artwork displayed at the Crisp Ellert Art Museum throughout October during Domestic Violence Awareness Month, with 3,000 calendars distributed to classrooms throughout St. Johns County this fall.
The contest was open to all St. Johns County students in kindergarten through 12th grade, whether they attended public school, private school or were homeschooled. The number of entries varies each year, depending on the number of students that participate. First-place winners will receive $50, second-place winners receive $25 and all students receiving honorable mentions receive $10 each.
