Sharon Cutz's fifth- and sixth-grade students at Livingstone Adventist Academy in Salem participate each year in the Marion County Public Works Environmental Services Recycle Art calendar competition.
This year's theme was “Save the Food.” Out of the 14 students who won, two are from Cutz's class. Madison Dryden, a sixth-grader, and Gery DePena, fifth-grader, each won a $50 gift card along with a great art kit presented by the Marion County Board of Commissioners at a televised ceremony broadcast on Channel 22 news.
DePena says, “I just did it for fun [and] didn’t expect to win. But it was awesome to actually win something.”
Dryden describes her win as "pretty cool." This proved to be a great project for the kids to learn how to recycle and be rewarded for their efforts.
(From left) Gery DePena, fifth-grader, and Madison Dryden, sixth-grader, display their winning art.
