Westonka School District Trucks Home Honors from Minnesota State Fair

by Lorrie Ham

The was well-represented in the art competition at the Minnesota State Fair this summer, where over 200 ribbons were awarded to students from every school and grade level in the district. More than 2,500 pieces of art were submitted to the State Fair from schools across the state. According to staffers who work with the competition, Westonka students continue to “sweep up awards.”

All of the artwork that was submitted to the competition is now on display at the Westonka Library through the end of September. The show opened with the Art Gala on Sept. 10, which gave young artists and their families an opportunity to view the special art pieces.

Artworks that are of exceptional quality and/or innovativeness are chosen by the district art teachers for the state exhibit.

“We are so fortunate to have such fabulous artists in our district,” said Grandview art teacher Pam Veilleux on behalf of the district’s art departments. “As art educators we firmly believe that success is built on a sound foundation grounded in elements and principles of design. We believe creativity can be fostered and strengthened by using the strategies of problem solving and critical thinking.”

From Shirley Hills Primary, last year’s kindergarten students earned the following ribbons: Lucas Musgjerd, Charlie Lund and Maquinna Peglow, first-place; Layla Tucker and Chloe Rice, secondcplace; Jadie Heinsch, Luke Markstrom and Rylie Bode, thirdcplace; Maquinna Peglow and Marissa Nelson, fourth place.

Ribbon winners from last year’s first-graders included: Ashlee Johnson, first place; Riley Swanson, Jack Danielson, Katie Anderson and Emily Schneider, second-place; Sam Dioszeghy, Lindsay Alvig, Hailey Salwei, Laura Sunnarborg, Emily Flattum and Campbell Schwob, third-place; Avery Roerig, fourth-place.

Last year’s second-grade ribbon winners were: Ben Tice and Julieth Zuniga, second-place; Isabel Swanson, Joel Howarth and Simone Buescher, third place; Haakon Erdahl, Kaitlyn Kreutter, Alec Hruby, Eric Larson, Jade Umanzor and Morgan Bullock, fourth place. A Group Project by Haakon Erdahl, Isabel Swanson, Claire Luehmann, Morgan Rose Witte, Mckayla Henderson, Jordan Anderson, Eric Larson and Hannah Hall also earned second place.

Third-graders from last year won the following ribbons: Katherine Johnson, Aly Schneider, Maya Pfleghaar and Avery Robbins, first place; Kacey Clipper, Sofie Betlach, Bennett Kelly, Eve Mikkelson, Roman Fenzl and Abby Werness, second place; Ellie Gilmore, Ella Clobes, Blake Franzen, Eve Mikkelson and Dominic Musel, third place; Allyson Smith, Bella Anderson and Callie Nelson, fourth place. Receiving the COMPAS Award for the Grade 3 Group Project were Ellie Gilmore, Mike Kurtz, Cole Bledsoe and Bella Anderson.

Last year’s fourth-graders earned the following awards: Mikaela Morris, Inga Smith, Blake Harmer, Vendula Edington and Alexandra Welty, first place; Callyn Tice, Chloe Kantla, Madisen Ketcher, Ryan Peters, Callyn Tice, second place; Anders Erdahl, Dylan Zitzloff, Kyllie Dyre, Gage Olson and Callyn Tice, third place; Carsyn Hargreaves, Jack Bullock and Mikaela Morris, fourth place. Fourth-graders who earned second place for a group project were Madisen Ketcher, Alexandra Welty, Inga Smith, Noah Alvig, Conner Prok and Chloe Kantola.

“I am so proud of their achievements. Having the opportunity to display their artwork in the community at such a large venue gives students a great sense of accomplishment and pride,” said Hilltop art teacher Klair Hans. “Each artwork is truly unique to that student, so it's especially important to celebrate their individual talents.  We're so lucky to live in a community that values creativity.”

Last year’s kindergartners at Hilltop Primary School received the following ribbons: Tempera Finger Paint, Kylie Simon, first place, and Natalie Miner, second place; Painting Plus-Painting Combined with Other Medium, Emily Birkins, fourth-place; Collages and 2-D Paper Projects, Alec Jable and Jack Thomas, second-place; Group Projects, Sage Finck, Bella Nikolov, Annika Weir and Ryan Hempel, third-place.

Ribbon winners from last year’s first-graders included: Drawing–Mixed Media, Kate Velander, third place; Tempera Finger Paint, Jasper Crawford, fourth place; Painting Plus–Painting combined with Other Medium, Abby Hollenstein, first place, and Gretta Pioske, third-place; Collages and 2-D Paper Projects, Sadie Hames, third-place; Group Projects, Ayonna Smith, Gavin Leuthold, Haley Kummrow and Daniel Kaczanowski, second place.

Abby Hollenstein also won Grand Prize.
 
Second-graders from last year earned the following ribbons: Drawing-Mixed Media, Tony Gorlov, third-place; Tempera Finger Paint, Ellie Becker, second place; Collages and 2-D Paper Projects, Frank Slater, fourth-place.

Last year’s third-grade ribbon winners included: Drawing–Mixed Media, Tom Seeman, third place and Jett Andrews, fourth-place; Drawing–Colored Pencil, Logan Leonard, third-place; Printmaking, Nora Taets, second place; Painting Plus–Painting combined with Other Medium, Nolan Hanson, third place.
 
Winning ribbons from last year’s fourth-grade class were: Drawing–Mixed Media, Aaron Banick, second-place and Grace Hanson, third-place; Printmaking, Jane Fuhrman, fourth place; Painting–Watercolor, Cassandra Farley and Lily Graves, fourth place; Collages and 2-D Paper Projects, Piper Snyder, first place; Group Projects, Grace Hanson, Jackie Uhas, Amaija Fields, Melissa Drill and Sophia Cherba, third-place.

From Grandview Middle School, last year’s fifth-grade ribbon winners included Esteban Fernandez-Armst and Taylor Hummelsund, first-place; Sam Dufault, Leandra O’Connell, Taylor Smith and Grace Etherington, second place; Conrad Kolb, Kyle Escultura and Alyssa Lajoy, third place; and Jose Gonzalez and Trevor Nelson, fourth place.

Sixth-grade winners from last year were Parker Reinert, Grand Prize Winner; Katy Moore and Parker Reinert, first-place; Katelyn Merritt, second place; Samantha Eidsness, third place; and Zeph Johnson, Alexandra Abrahamson, Matt Humbert, Ben McCurry and Jessie Cai, fourth place.

Also winning third place was the sixth-grade team of Katelyn Merritt, Samantha Eidness, Jack Kraay, Kristina Wacker and Ryan Hanratty for their Turtle Gum Ball Machine Sculpture. Fourth place went to Piper Bruce, Cameron Fields, Megan Arman, Laura Howe and Dakota Brooks for their Macy’s Sign Redo Sculpture.

Last year’s seventh-grade winners were Caleb Johnson and Erica Whaley, first place; Rahni Wierzierl, second place; and Sienna Hackbarth, third place.

Art students from also earned State Fair honors (grades are from last year). First place went to Courtney Barry, grade 10, Self-digital art; Sally Habib, grade 11, Kaleidoscope-digital art, and Courtney Kilby, grade 8, Chloe-tempera paint.

Earning second place were Jakob Cook, grade 12, Cube-digital art; Quinn Leonard, grade 11, Cereal-clay; Jessica Novak, grade 11, Aunt Ruth-sharpie; Bill Opheim, grade 11, Clocks-digital art; Leah Pinault, grade 10, Uncle-sharpie; and Katy Wetherille, grade 10, Frodo-pen & ink.

Third place went to Ryan Anderson, grade 11, Water Fountain-digital art; Carly Koch, grade 10, What’s For Dinner-pen & ink; Carly Koch, grade 10, Carly & Micah-ball point pen; Katie Henning, grade 10, When We Are Gone-digital art; Victoria Mohr, grade 10, Vase-clay; Jalyn Macy, grade 12, Black Light-chalk pastel; Grace Polusny, grade 11, Inky Mountain-pen & ink; and James Woods, grade 12, Blue & Orange Self-Portrait #37-oil pastel.

Earning fourth-place honors were Alex Bebeau, grade10, Roots-pen & ink; Tessa Hrkal, grade 12, Starfruit-oil pastel; Jackie Morkrid, grade 12, Jackie-chalk pastel; Katelyn Morrison, grade 10, Landscape-collage; Julia Rivers, grade 8, Bridge-collage; Luke Ramacier, grade 10, Untitled Brother Portrait-sharpie; and Grette Treat, grade 11, Self-Portrait-sharpie. Fifth-place honors went to Cole Seehoff, grade 10, Riot-digital art.

The art teachers are proud of the “outstanding” support of the district’s administrators and the community. “Our students are ready to enter the 21st century with the skills necessary to be successful in the art field today,” said Veilleux. “The State Fair is an opportunity to highlight their efforts and achievements.”