Seven Pea Ridge Elementary School art students were among the winners in the Arkansas Department of Conservation state-wide art competition.
The student artists claimed seven of the possible 24 awards in their category, giving them more awards than any other school in the state. The 2015 contest had the biggest field on record, attracting multiple hundreds of entrants from every county in the state.
Kindergartener Danyel Paulitz was the leader for Pea Ridge as she claimed first place and the $100 prize that goes with it. Miss Paulitz will have the owl she painted appear in next year's state-wide conservation calendar along with all the Pea Ridge honorees. The students' art work will tour the state this summer, appearing in exhibitions in the state's major cities.
Kindergarten students also claimed third and fourth spots with Kiheily Morcus' painting of a bear claiming third and $25 with Caedmon Allen's alligator taking fourth place and the $15 award. The other winner at the Primary School was Lleyton Coberly who took third place and $25 with a deer painting.
The second highest finisher for Pea Ridge was third-grader Seth Foster who took second place and a $50 award for his drawing of a frog.
Rounding out the winners were two fifth-graders who finished third and fourth in their grade. Caydra Pruitt took third ($25) for her painting of a beaver, while Mary Hargiss was a fourth-place finisher ($15) with a deer painting.
This year marked the seventh straight year that Pea Ridge has had multiple winners in this venue. More than 40 Pea Ridge students have won awards since entering their first competition in 2009, according to art teacher John McGee.
The students will be honored at a reception in Little Rock on May 1.
Community on 04/15/2015