HOUSTON – By Rachel Wenzlaff - Staff
To motivate young Texans to help keep the state beautiful by not littering and by encouraging others to protect Texas roadways and the environment, Keep Texas Beautiful and the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) hosted the Don't mess with Texas Elementary School Art Contest. More than 8,228 students submitted their best designs that promoted the Don't mess with Texas or Keep Texas Beautiful litter prevention slogans into the contest. Only 13 winning entries were selected.
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"I am always amazed at the artistic talent demonstrated by some of our state's youngest residents," said Cathie Gail, executive director of Keep Texas Beautiful. "We had a tough time narrowing the entries down to just 13 winning designs. Their hard work on these beautiful entries helps us remind all Texans about the importance of putting litter where it belongs — in a trash can — and not along our roadsides."
Each of the 13 winners will receive an iDeaUSA 8 tablet donated by H-E-B and Central Market, the sponsors of the contest. The winners will also have their artwork featured in the 2016 Don't mess with Texas calendar.
Entries came in from every corner of the state. Winners include third-grader Juan Miguel Lozano, who is home-schooled in Plano and whose artwork will be featured on the cover of the calendar, kindergartners Caroline Zhang, of Lakeside Elementary in Coppell and Pearce Choi, of Las Colinas Elementary in Irving; first-graders Camille Symmank, of Elkhart Elementary in Elkhart and Santiago Lozano, who is home-schooled in Plano; second-graders Yunsol Baek, of La Villita Elementary in Irving and Aditi Vikram, of Dallas Art Studio School in Dallas; third-graders Anne Christiono, of Cornerstone Elementary in Sugar Land and Bryan Garcia, of Sneed Elementary in Houston; fourth-graders Jessica Chai, of Roosevelt Alexander Elementary School in Katy and Audrey He, of Mathews Elementary in Plano; and fifth-graders Vivian Wang, of Cornerstone Elementary in Sugar Land and Annabelle Du, of James E. Williams Elementary School in Katy.
"It's incredible how much we can learn from the thought and creativity of these students," De J. Lozada, Travel Information Division director at TxDOT said. "We're proud that this contest calendar highlights the talent of these bright young Texans while encouraging us all to do our part to ensure that our beautiful state also continues to shine."
All student winners will be showcased on the Don't mess with Texas and Keep Texas Beautiful websites, and at the 2015 Keep Texas Beautiful annual conference in June. Additionally, teachers representing these students will receive a $100 H-E-B and Central Market gift card.?