Palm Beach Fellowship of Christians and Jews honors local students for creative achievements
More than 70 students representing private and public schools throughout the county were honored for their creativity Thursday by the Palm Beach Fellowship of Christians and Jews.
During its annual meeting at the Wells Fargo branch on South County Road, the nonprofit organization recognized elementary, middle and high school students for their excellence in art, music, writing and speaking as part of its annual Essay and Creative Arts Competition.
Awards were distributed in seven different categories: art (painting and drawing); art (poster); essay; music performance; poetry; spoken word; and video.
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Students were recognized as first, second and third-place finishers and honorable mention awardees. Winners received cash prizes ranging from $25 to $100, said Sherri Gilbert, Palm Beach Fellowship of Christians and Jews executive director.
Teachers also were honored at Thursday's event, with each receiving a cash prize to show appreciation for their efforts in the classroom, Gilbert added.
This year's theme was "Impact: The Power of our Words and Actions."
"It's an interesting theme," Gilbert said. "I feel like I've been surrounded by that in the world at large, with cyberbullying and things like that."
The Palm Beach Fellowship of Christians and Jews has been handing out student awards for nearly three decades, Gilbert said, and this year's competition drew more than 300 submissions.
A handful of students collected their awards in person Thursday, Gilbert said, and they had the opportunity to mingle with Fellowship members and supporters and learn about the organization.
"It's nice, because people in the community, all the parents and families and the kids, get to see what we do, especially for young people," Gilbert said. "And then our board members and members of the community get to meet these teachers and honor the educators. It's a real nice mix."
First-place finishers were:
Art (painting and drawing) — Isabella Abalo, grade 7, Bak Middle School of the Arts; art (poster) — Colette Conde, grade 6, Bak Middle School of the Arts; essay (grade 6), Mae Havlicek, The Benjamin School; essay (grade 7), Annabel Brown (The Benjamin School); essay (grade 8), Liv Heurich, The Benjamin School, and Tara Huynh, Western Pines Middle School; essay (high school), Cabo Kujawa, The Benjamin School); music performance, Celeste Campos, Gabriela Chavez and Bryan Hernandez, grade 7, St. Luke Catholic School; poetry (haiku), Finn Martin, The Benjamin School); poetry (high school), Michael Louis, grade 12, The Benjamin School; poetry (middle school), Brody Dunhill, grade 6, Rosarian Academy, Tessa Brown, grade 8, Rosarian Academy, Beatrice George, grade 8, Rosarian Academy, Caroline Yohe, grade 8, Rosarian Academy; spoken word, Nick Ferik, grade 7, Rosarian Academy, Santino Merchan, grade 7, Rosarian Academy, Andrew Sevald, grade 7, Rosarian Academy, Cerina Deitz, grade 6, Rosarian Academy, Brynn Saleeby-Russell, grade 6, Rosarian Academy, Khloe Ugarte, grade 6, Rosarian Academy; video, Cameron Lencheski, grade 8, Rosarian Academy.
The Palm Beach Fellowship of Christians and Jews is a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting fellowship, understanding, and respect among all religions and cultures, and bringing the community together through education, dialogue, and interaction. For information, visit www.palmbeachfellowship.net/.
Jodie Wagner is a journalist at the Palm Beach Daily News, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach her at jwagner@pbdailynews.com. Help support our journalism. Subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Daily News: Palm Beach nonprofit honors local students for creative achievements
