The votes have been tallied and Metra today announced the news that school-age children across the region have been waiting for: the names of the winners of its 2019-2020 Safety Poster and Essay Contest.
Each year, Metra invites students in grades K-12 throughout its six-county service area to submit poster designs and essays highlighting the importance of railroad safety. This year, Metra received more than 500 entries. Students created artwork and wrote essays around the theme “Obey the Signs: Look, Listen, Live.”
The contest, which is in its 14th year, enables students to use their creativity to take ownership of the safety message by creating posters and essays that are used by Metra in its safety campaigns. The winners were selected through a three-round judging process with the finalists judged by a panel of 14 that included government officials, representatives from safety and education advocacy groups, business and community leaders, law enforcement, media and railroad professionals.
“It’s wonderful to see students participate in this contest and learn the importance of staying safe near the railroad,” said Metra CEO/Executive Director Jim Derwinski. “The winners of this contest have done a great job of demonstrating it through artwork and essays.”
First-, second- and third-place winners were chosen from each grade level in elementary school, middle school and high school. First-place poster and essay contest winners receive an iPad, while second- and third-place poster contest winners receive $250 and $100 gift cards, respectively.
A People’s Choice Award winner will also be selected via online voting . Members of the general public can select their favorite poster from this year’s first-place winners here. Voting for People’s Choice will be available online through midnight June 5. The artist who garners the most votes will receive an additional $250 prize. The winner of the People’s Choice Award will be announced at the June 17 meeting of the Metra Board of Directors.
Metra also recognizes the school with the most entries submitted in the poster contest. This year’s winner is St. Francis Xavier in LaGrange with 53 entries. In honor of this achievement, the school will receive a computer for use in the classroom.
The following were chosen as winners of the 2019-2020 Safety Poster and Essay Contest:
Top Participating School
St. Francis Xavier School, LaGrange
First Place Essay
K-4 Division – Kavya Peter, 4th Grade, Maplebrook Elementary, Naperville
5-8 Division – Madeline Trannel, 7th Grade, Richard Bernotas Middle School, Crystal Lake
9-12 Division – Luis Alfredo Ortega, 12th Grade, Prosser Career Academy, Chicago
First Place Poster
Kindergarten – Polina Kapkanova, Life Christian Co-School, St. Charles
1st Grade – Jacob Zhang, Skinner North Classical School, Chicago
2nd Grade — Leah Wong, Madison Elementary, Hinsdale
3rd Grade — David Kim, Betsy Ross Elementary, Prospect Heights
4th Grade — Allison Jung, Shabonee School, Northbrook
5th Grade — Maria Kadochnikova, J.B Nelson Elementary, Batavia
6th Grade — Habin Park, Wood Oaks Junior High, Northbrook
7th Grade — David Kang, Maple School, Northbrook
8th Grade – Alivia Gao, Marie Murphy Junior High, Wilmette
9th Grade — Yebin Park, Glenbrook North High School, Northbrook
10th Grade — Aaliyah Merrick, Marian Catholic High School, Chicago Heights
11th Grade — Kaylee Butler, Victor J. Andrew High School, Tinley Park
12th Grade — Angel Bahena, Kelvyn Park High School, Chicago
Second Place Poster
Kindergarten— Brandon Wang, Village Children’s Academy of Hinsdale School, Hinsdale
1st Grade — Mila Coen, May Watts Elementary, Naperville
2nd Grade — Jaya Wong, Madison Elementary, Hinsdale
3rd Grade — Anna Kadochnikova, J.B Nelson Elementary, Batavia
4th Grade — Noah Bae, Hoffman Elementary, Glenview
5th Grade — Benjamin Kuzmik, Kingsley Elementary, Naperville
6th Grade — Annaliese Bristow, Greenhouse Co-School, Wheaton
7th Grade — Chloe Kim, Able Arts Studio, Wheeling
8th Grade — Ksenia Baatz, The Avery Coonley School, Downers Grove
9th Grade — Julia Levenshteyn, Adlai E. Stevenson High School, Lincolnshire
10th Grade — Addisyn Donfris, Cary-Grove High School, Cary
11th Grade — Aya Hazama, Victor J. Andrew High School, Tinley Park
12th Grade — Jasmine Lin, Adlai E. Stevenson High School, Lincolnshire
Third Place Poster
Kindergarten — Luis A. Aranda, Parkwood Elementary, Hanover Park
1st Grade — Roman Baranovski, May Watts Elementary, Naperville
2nd Grade — Aria Mallu, White Eagle Elementary, Naperville
3rd Grade — Brigid Park, Ranchview Elementary, Naperville
4th Grade — Gia Choudhary, White Eagle Elementary, Naperville
5th Grade — Suzie Kim, Greenbriar School, Northbrook
6th Grade — Evan Boyle, Thompson Middle School, St. Charles
7th Grade — Chloe Baekim, Woodlawn Middle School, Long Grove
8th Grade — Nikita Jurcenko, Geneva Middle School, Geneva
9th Grade — Michael Choi, John Hersey High School, Arlington Heights
10th Grade — Hannah Lamb, Cary-Grove High School, Cary
11th Grade — Charles Choi, John Hersey High School, Arlington Heights
12th Grade — Logan Radgowski, Victor J. Andrew High School, Tinely Park
Honorable Mention Essay
K-4 Division — Abeer Bedi, 2nd Grade, White Eagle Elementary, Naperville
K-4 Division — Alishba Siddiqui, 3rd Grade, Blackhawk Elementary, Glendale Heights
K-4 Division — Rory Higgins, 3rd Grade, Fulton Elementary, Chicago
5-8 Division — Mia Vietmeier, 5th Grade, Eastview Elementary, Algonquin
5-8 Division — Joshua Rush, 6th Grade, Lake Zurich Middle School-South Campus, Lake Zurich
5-8 Division — Alexa Robbins, 6th Grade, St. Francis Xavier, LaGrange
9-12 Division— India Porter, 12th Grade, Peace and Education Coalition High School, Chicago
9-12 Division— Alitzel Salinas, 12th Grade, Muchin College Prep, Chicago
Honorable Mention Poster
Kindergarten
Jude Boyle, Lincoln Elementary, St. Charles
Christian Killackey, Westfield Elementary, Glen Ellyn
Yanning Dai, Monroe Elementary, Hinsdale
1st Grade
Albert Jung, Able Arts Studio, Wheeling
Marcus Lee, Frances Xavier Warde, Chicago
2nd Grade
Eden Jang, John Jay Elementary, Mount Prospect
3rd Grade
Ellie Small, Madison Elementary, Hinsdale
Arlyne J. Aranda, Parkwood Elementary, Hanover Park
4th Grade
Sanjana Srikanth, White Eagle Elementary, Naperville
Aaron Ahn, White Eagle Elementary, Naperville
Ian Jang, John Jay Elementary, Mount Prospect
5th Grade
Mia Vietmeier, Eastview Elementary, Algonquin
Amber Hwang, Westcott School, Northbrook
Kayla Yoon, Shabonee School, Northbrook
6th Grade
Pari Thakkar, Woodlawn Middle School, Long Grove
Delia Farrell, Old Quarry Middle School, Lemont
7th Grade
Alice He, Aptakisic Junior High School, Buffalo Grove
Nandini Mazumder, Woodlawn Middle School, Long Grove
8th Grade
Hanbyeol Kang, Able Arts Studio, Wheeling
9th Grade
Evelyn Orsic, New Trier High School, Northfield
10th Grade
Dino Tselikis, Cary-Grove High School, Cary
11th Grade
Kaylee Kim, Able Arts Studio, Wheeling
12th Grade
Alexandra Arita, Kelvyn Park High School, Chicago
Hanna Lee, Able Arts Studio, Wheeling
Joseph Jreisat, Victor J. Andrew High School, Tinley Park