Through Our Eyes finalists recognized
OVERALL WINNER — The Hills Elementary fourth-grade team was the judges’ overall winner as well as the first-place recipient for the grades 3-4 category. On hand for the presentation were, from left, JCBDD Employment and Community Navigator Cookie West and Hills students Tiegan Chaffee, Anastasia Henderson, Katelin Moscato and Leveynah Selman. -- Contributed
TOPS IN CATEGORIES — Indian Creek Middle School sixth- and eighth-grade artists took honors in the grades 5-6 and 7-8 categories. On hand were, from left, front, Jessah Skeen, Kimble Cooper and Morgan McCumbers; back, Cookie West, Cora Barcalow, Vennessa Yarnevic, A’bionah Jones, Raenika Smith, Alexis Dylewski and art teacher Renee Brothers. -- Contributed
COMMUNITY CHOICE — Toronto Elementary School fourth-grade students received the Community Choice Award through public voting online. With Cookie West are, from left, Brayden Anderson, Madalyn Moore, Jaslin Galloway, Zander Carlson, Noah Shultz and Ezra Ostroff. -- Contributed
OVERALL WINNER — The Hills Elementary fourth-grade team was the judges’ overall winner as well as the first-place recipient for the grades 3-4 category. On hand for the presentation were, from left, JCBDD Employment and Community Navigator Cookie West and Hills students Tiegan Chaffee, Anastasia Henderson, Katelin Moscato and Leveynah Selman. -- Contributed
TOPS IN CATEGORIES — Indian Creek Middle School sixth- and eighth-grade artists took honors in the grades 5-6 and 7-8 categories. On hand were, from left, front, Jessah Skeen, Kimble Cooper and Morgan McCumbers; back, Cookie West, Cora Barcalow, Vennessa Yarnevic, A’bionah Jones, Raenika Smith, Alexis Dylewski and art teacher Renee Brothers. -- Contributed
COMMUNITY CHOICE — Toronto Elementary School fourth-grade students received the Community Choice Award through public voting online. With Cookie West are, from left, Brayden Anderson, Madalyn Moore, Jaslin Galloway, Zander Carlson, Noah Shultz and Ezra Ostroff. -- Contributed
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STEUBENVILLE -- Local schoolchildren teamed up with adults with developmental disabilities for the second-annual Through Our Eyes Art Contest in March, and top finishers were recognized for their creative efforts.
The contest, which was sponsored by the Jefferson County Board of Developmental Disabilities, included students in grades 3-8 from Indian Creek, Steubenville and Toronto designing drawings, while participants in the PALS Chrysalis Health community program colored the renderings. Among the schools involved were Hills, East Garfield, Pugliese West and Toronto Elementary, McKinley STEM Academy, Wells Academy and Harding and Indian Creek Middle Schools.
Each school team is comprised of four students, and each team created a painting following the theme "Connected" incorporating scenes of people with and without disabilities. The students and PALS members met to discuss a design before creating the artwork, which was then displayed at the Public Library of Steubenville and Jefferson County Main Library during Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month in March. A team of judges scored the entries according to contest criteria while the public could also cast a vote online for a community choice award.
At the conclusion, the Hills Elementary fourth-grade team was the judges' overall winner as well as the first-place recipient for grades 3-4 while Indian Creek Middle School sixth-and eighth-grade artists gained first place in the grades 5-6 and 7-8 categories. McKinley STEM Academy third-graders were second in the grades 3-4 category and Harding Middle School seventh-graders earned second place in the grades 7-8 event. Finally, Toronto Elementary fourth-graders received the Community Choice accolade.
Cookie West, JCBDD employment and community navigator, recognized all of the participants for their efforts and said the contest encapsulated the theme's meaning.
"It was absolutely amazing," West said. "When speaking with school personnel, the project did exactly what we wanted it to do, which was to build better connections. It created organic and natural opportunities for students to connect with people with different abilities.
Often there is an awkwardness to interactions because of the unknown; however, I've seen time and time again the best remedy for those situations is generating opportunities to share common interest. A majority of the time, students don't look at their peers as being any different -- but not so much for adults with disabilities -- and we wanted to help build positive interactions. Therefore, students will have those interactions to tap into as they move throughout life."
She added that some students have loved ones with developmental disabilities who helped make the process easier for others and she was grateful for that.
PALS Program Director Amanda Muscari added PALS members loved to be a part of it.
"When the drawings came, they were excited to see what the students had drawn and put their signature on them with their painting," Muscari added. "It's a great way for us to spread advocacy and it helps the students to see (the differently abled) are just like us."