News Item

May 27, 2011

News item – Patriotism high priority for poster and essay contest awards

Two Crofton elementary students and a Division 1 student at Maple Bay elementary school have achieved great success in two separate contests. Crofton’s Aliina Hakala and Makenna Stobbe won awards in an annual international children’s art contest while an essay by Maple Bay’s Hayley Koers achieved provincial recognition.

“I would like to congratulate Aliina and Makenna for how well they did in the Fraternal Order of Eagles Poster Contest,” wrote Crofton principal Darrell Wright in the school’s weekly newsletter.

In the contest that called on entrants to demonstrate pride and patriotism, Aliina placed first in the sixth grade class and Makenna placed second in the fifth grade class. Both girls’ posters displayed creativity and understanding of what it means to be a Canadian.

“I had to think of all the things that make Canada great,” explained Aliina.

“The first thing I thought of was the Olympics because it was really important to our patriotism,” she added.

She included mountains with the Canadian flag in them and the CPR. The water colour and acrylic painting took her more than a week to finish.

"The first thing I thought about was what it meant to be Canadian," said Makenna. She had learned about multiculturalism in school, thought about what that meant and designed a picture of different cultures.

"Then I thought about the landscape, Remembrance Day and peace. The train carrying the hearts is supposed to mean peace," she added. Makenna said her water colour poster took about a week.

"I know we have some amazing talent in our school and this is another example," said principal Wright.

“Both of these children truly have a gift and they make me proud with everything they do. It is wonderful that their talent has been recognized,” he said. He acknowledges the Chemainus Fraternal Order of Eagles for giving the students the opportunity to share their gift.

Grand prize winner Megan Tichy of North Dakota won for her rendering of the Statue of Liberty. Among the winning entries were posters by students from as far afield as Maryland, Texas, Washington and Nebraska.

Meanwhile, Maple Bay’s Hayley Koers placed second in BC in the junior essay competition sponsored by the Royal Canadian Legion. In a special ceremony, she received a certificate and cheque from Mrs. Claudia Parker and Mrs. Cathy Webster of the Duncan Branch of the Royal Canadian Legion.

For information about the Eagles poster contest and to see the award-winning posters, go to http://foe.com/e-news/in-the-news.aspx and follow the links.