South Tahoe Middle School students awarded prizes for how they'd "Be The Change"

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Winners have been selected in the Soroptimist International of Tahoe Sierra (SITS) art and writing contests at South Tahoe Middle School.

The service club helped sponsor "Challenge Day" on November 30 and a Challenge Day assembly on December 1. The two-day event is a program that helps students connect across lines of difference, giving a sense of belonging, and giving students the tools to create the culture they want in the school.

The theme of the Challenge Day program is to "Be the Change."

To help the STMS students be empowered to create change at their school, the SITS club sponsored contests for all students in grades 6-8. The service club gave students prompts for both writing and creating posters and in turn, gave $2,000 in cash prizes.

The writing prompt: Imagine you're making your community a better place. As a middle school student what changes would you speak up for, and why?

The art poster prompt: Imagine you're making your community a better place. How would you depict the changes artistically on a poster?

The first-place winners for each contest in each grade won $200, second-place $100, and an honorable mention, $100. There were numerous entries and the panel of judges said judging was difficult due to the caliber of submissions. Here are the selected winners:

Writing
6th - Rylee Fiel ($200), Cassie Marion ($100)
7th - Emilie Tieslau ($200), Evelyn Anderson ($100)
8th - Samantha Nantes ($200), Soraya Parsi ($100)
Honorable Mention - Olivia Cupaiuolo ($100)

Poster
6th - Cassie Marion ($200), Makenna Martinez ($100)
7th - Hannah Martone ($200), Vita Flaherty ($100)
8th - Anwen Davies ($200), Macey Smith ($100)
Honorable Mention - Nixie Sarmiento ($100)

The checks were presented to the winners this week, right before the holiday break. The SITS club will celebrate the winners in person at its Feb. 29 meeting.

Pictured above, clockwise starting in upper left: Evelyn Anderson, Olivia Cupaiuolo, Cassie Marion, Samantha Nantes, Soraya Parsi, and Emilie Tieslau.