Whiz Kids: Student Safety and Wellness Bookmark Contest Winners

Who: Select local Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) Students 

Schools: Centre Ridge Elementary School, Clifton Elementary School, Floris Elementary School, Greenbriar West Elementary School and Liberty Middle School 

Accomplishment: This past spring, 16 students were named winners of the 22nd Annual FCPS Student Safety and Wellness Office (SSAW) Bookmark Contest. Nearly half of this year’s winners attend school in the Centreville-Chantilly area. 

Key to Awesomeness: Each academic year the SSAW sponsors a countywide creative competition in which students design bookmarks by artistically interpreting a given theme.  

The contest, now in its 22nd year, was initiated as one of Fairfax County’s drug prevention activities. “It provides students with the chance to express their views on drug awareness in a way that they can share with others,” said SSAW Coordinator Clarence Jones. 

Student designs were originally printed on calendars, but that eventually became difficult to manage. “Back in 1995, we decided to turn their [students’] work into bookmarks and the rest is history,” Jones said. 

The 2011 bookmark contest theme was “I am the key to being safe and drug free” and students in each grade level throughout Fairfax County were invited to submit original artwork.  

The SSAW selected four winners in each of the competition’s four categories--Grades K-3, Grades 4-6, Middle School, and High School--who were honored at a reception at in April.  

The Arlington-Fairfax Elks Lodge #2188 awarded U.S. Savings Bonds to each winner. First, second, third and fourth place winners received bonds in the amount of $200, $150, $100, and $75, respectively. First place winners also received plaques courtesy of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). 

Jones said this year’s submissions were “the best this office had ever seen.” 

The 2011 local winners include: 

Middle School Category 

•  Ye Ri Park, 3rd Place, Grade 8, Liberty Middle School

Grades 4-6 Category 

• Rachael Lee, 1st Place, Grade 6, Greenbriar West Elementary School
• Gabrielle Li, 3rd Place, Grade 5,
• Joan Kim, 4th Place, Grade 4,

Grades K-3 Category 

• Jasmin J. Yoon, 1st Place, Grade 3, Greenbriar West Elementary School
• Lucy Thornton, 2nd Place, Grade 3, Clifton Elementary School
• Janice Li, 3rd Place, Grade 3, Floris Elementary School

Over 200,000 copies of the winning bookmarks have been printed. Each of the top 16 winners receives 25 bookmarks displaying his or her design, while each FCPS school and Fairfax County Public Library receives several hundred copies for distribution. Bookmarks are also provided to the Elks Lodge and the Drug Enforcement Administration. 

Click here to view the full list of county winners.  

[Author’s Note: The schools mentioned in this article were deemed ‘local’ based on their inclusion in the Centreville High School, Chantilly High School and Westfield High School pyramids. Clifton Elementary School, part of the Robinson Secondary School pyramid, was included based on its proximity to Centreville.]