Special to The TIMES
School officially ended last week, capping another good year for the elementary art programs in the Primary and Intermediate schools.
Pea Ridge was honored in the 2014-15 school year with the Artsonia National Leadership Award for having the best online student art gallery in the United States. There are 8,000 American schools, public and private, with a presence on the world wide gallery which also has student art on display from more than 150 different countries.
A school record 178 Pea Ridge students attained Artsonia Hall of Fame stature this year, led by the fifth grade students having 60 honorees. Hall of Fame status is earned by students posting visual art, developing an online fan base, and attracting comments or compliments on their artwork. Nearly 550,000 people have visited the Pea Ridge online gallery since it was established in the 2009-2010 school year.
With the school currently leading the nation in artwork posted and student commentary, while also ranking second nationally in the number of fans registered and in the number of comments the site has attracted, it would seem that Pea Ridge is a favorite to repeat as a winner of the National Leadership Award. Point tallies will be live until June 30 when this year's winners will be announced.
This year students were recognized in each grade for having the highest Artsonia score for the year.
Winners were: Isabella Johnson (kindergarten), Danyel Paulitz (first grade), Savannah Young (second grade), Seth Wilkerson (third grade), Isaac Cruz (fourth grade) and David Vehon (fifth grade).
An Award for Excellence was given for students who made the most improvement. These were students who may have started the term with perhaps average skills but who improved so much that they were among the best artists by the end of the year.
Winners were: Sam Scholtes (kindergarten), Grayson Davis (first grade), Evan Brewer (second grade), Jacob Gibby (third grade), Dwaine Gourley (fourth grade), and Kaleb Frost (fifth grade).
"We had a great year," teacher John McGee said. "We have 10 artists who are being published in the official 2016 Arkansas Conservation Calendar, and I have been getting positive feedback via emails from schools and teachers from around the country."
"This whole Artsonia enterprise is so important to in that it gets the families of our students involved in the educational process," McGee said. "The parents are much more aware of what their children are doing in their school work and the program has been a boon to the kids' self esteem and confidence. That relatives and family friends can take pleasure in seeing their loved ones' artwork as it gets completed is a big bonus."
The Hall of Fame recipients this year include:
Kindergarten: Lainne Power, Khale Wade, Paisley Tillman, Allison Tripodi, Isabella Johnson, Isaiah Cruz, Kenlee McLeod, Shane Weible, Devin Oxman, Gray Perrin and Lyndsay Nixon.
First grade: Danyel Paulitz, Emberlyn Vinson, Keaton Clark, Kiheily Morcus, Logan Jobe, Megan Ross, Rylee Randall, Bridget Clark, Chase Jones, Collin Little, Gracyn Hurst, Hailee Schmidt, Isabella Hume, John Frazier, Nathan King, Briana Benson, Bella Heckman, Ethan Sanders, Carter Emberson, Elijah Baker, Garren Roland, Kaden Brantley, Rohan Force, Savannah Everett, Brycen White, Jillian Williams and Kairi McInturff.
Second grade: Heath Weible, Alejandra Martinez, Zoe Olson, Rylie McGarrah, Abigail Rogers, Sally Shamburger, Sebastian Carr, Dylan Jones, Ben Tripodi, Brooke White, Aiden Gandert, Savannah Young, Trenten Spillman, Hailey Snarr, Hasiley Westlin, Emma Hartman, Avery Moore, Evan Wilkerson, Tyler Benjamin, Nickolas Weible, Madison Knight, Aaleyah Mumau, Bradley Ewald and Meela Quam.
Third grade: Briana Spicer, Miley Humphrey, Haven Perrin, Jace Dye, Caleb Massey, Alexander Manhart, Samuel Wilkerson, Dominique Oaks, Parker Tillman, Laney Heckman, Maggie Parker, Lexa Jobe, Ava Clark, Jade Main, Jake Ryals, Atticus Kiesel, Seth Wilkerson, Rilee Hackler, Tyce Evenson, Noah Barton, Jayce Huffman, Daniel Taylor, Brody Meeks, Caelen Adams, Zah Patton, and Peyton Carney.
Fourth grade: Annabeth Larsen, Janesa Pruitt, Taylor Marheinke, Drake Satterwhite, Christian Zielinski, Mason Wolfenden, Austin Quillen-Wolf, Daniel Thurman, Hunter Ellzey, Aaliyah McEvans, Jackson Blood, Kaden Millar, Molly Ross, Brianna Ewald, Hayden Bray, Kylie Grigg, Connor Force, Luke Baker, Katie Walker, Noah Pruitt, Cody Morales,Isaac Cruz, Natalie Burnett, Daniel Martinez, Teagan Swift, Maebre Peal, Seth Foster and Madelynn Sebree.
Fifth grade: Aaron Staib, Dominic Trotter, Owen Reynolds, Tyler Reid, Emily Benson, Jordan Hayes, Trevor Moore, Andrew Shackleford, Liam Johnson, Amarion Rodriquez, Isaac Scates, Sam Shamburger, Braelie Bray, Kaelyn Stephany, Paeton Spillman, Aliah Norris, Evan Anderson, Natalie Graham, Trinity Alley, Cadence Massey, Madison Morris, Bric Cates, Jacob Stein, Sarah Messer, Chloe Hambrick, Kylie Emberson, Rylee Quick, Brenden Spillman, Finley Webb, Nicholas Shepherd, Warren Bowman, Daphane Polarawski, Raegan Bleything, Chloe Jennings, Kaleb Frost, Tristan Thompson, Dalyn Crawford, Nevaeh King, Taylor Edwards, Donovan Kelly, Hannah Williams, Shelby Oaks, Zachary Ingram, David Vehon, Addison Power, Garrett Bell, Kamryn Moseley, Aleigha McDonough, Nikolas Galbraith, Braeden Adams, Brooke McCool, Erika Oxford, Jessica Gibson, Lane Morales, Stella Kiesel, Tyler Bemrose, Colby Radtke, Cooper David, Demi Rosser and Megan Wiggins.
Community on 06/01/2016