The Shawnee Mission School District formally recognized honorees from across the district in this school year’s Shawnee Mission Area Council (SMAC) PTA Citizenship Writing Contest. The program encourages students in fifth grade through twelfth grade to write a poem or essay.
This year’s essay theme, “My Motivation” drew nearly 800 entries from across the district. At the Feb. 11 board meeting, honorees were presented with medals and ribbons and were congratulated for their accomplishments in writing. The recognition ceremony was followed by a reception held in the Center for Academic Achievement (CAA).
Awards of Excellence and Awards of Merit for outstanding interpretations of the theme in the Shawnee Mission School District were presented as follows:
Award of Excellence
Thomas Burns, Brookwood Elementary, fifth-grade, poem
Malia Knight, Santa Fe Trail Elementary, fifth-grade, essay
Reuben Fick, Trailwood Elementary, sixth-grade, poem
Amelia Diefendorf, Highlands Elementary, sixth-grade, essay
Nick Van Deventer, Westridge Middle School, seventh-grade, poem
Samantha Sullivan, Trailridge Middle School, eighth-grade, poem
Alison Vu, Westridge Middle School, eighth-grade, essay
Martha Arvanitakis, Shawnee Mission Northwest High School, ninth-grade, poem
Evangilina Hrenchir, Shawnee Mission Northwest High School, ninth-grade, essay
Maria Heath, Shawnee Mission South High School, 10-grade, poem
Kelly Vanden Bos, Shawnee Mission Northwest High School, 10th-grade, essay
Michael Fitzgerald, Shawnee Mission Northwest High School, 11th-grade, poem
Alice Newell, Shawnee Mission Northwest High School, 11th-grade, essay
Bryce DeBok, Shawnee Mission Northwest High School, 12th-grade, poem
Julianna Kantner, Shawnee Mission Northwest High School, 12th-grade, essay
Award of Merit
Haven Bauman, Santa Fe Trail Elementary, fifth-grade, poem
Juliana Jamison, Highlands Elementary, fifth-grade, essay
Ethan Reed, Santa Fe Trail Elementary, sixth-grade, poem
Eva Gazaway, Mill Creek Elementary, sixth-grade, essay
Eli Messerli, Trailridge Middle School, eighth-grade, essay
Campbell Wood, Shawnee Mission East High School, ninth-grade, poem
Olivia Tolleson, Shawnee Mission Northwest High School, 10th-grade, poem
Elizabeth Esrey, Shawnee Mission East High School, 10th-grade, essay
Davis Wright, Shawnee Mission East High School, 12th-grade, poem