An exhibition of recycled art created by students throughout the Town of North Hempstead was unveiled at the “Yes We Can” Community Center. North Hempstead Town Supervisor Judi Bosworth, the town board and the Office of Sustainability joined together at the Eighth Annual 2016 Recycled Art Contest to display the students’ unique artwork, created from recyclable materials, such as metal, paper, rubber, plastic and cloth.
Each year, the contest encourages students to spread the powerful message to Recycle, Reuse and Rethink, and create pieces of art using materials that otherwise would have been dumped into landfills. Students were judged in the elementary, middle school, high school and group categories by Erin Reilley, the director of the town’s Office of Sustainability.
In the elementary school category, students from Great Neck were big winners. In JFK Elementary School, third-grader Jamie Bokhour won Creativity for “Piano,” Best Execution was given to fifth-grader Juliana Hakakian’s “Fashionista Dress” and Honorable Mentions were given to fourth-graders Emily Shaul and Samantha Bokhour for “Robot” and to fifth-graders Valerie Tabaroki and Justine Khadavie for “Foosball.” Grades K-5 from E.M. Baker School won for Environmental Message with their collaborative project, “Recycled City.” Lakeville Elementary School grades 1-5 won for Best Use of Recycled Materials with “Lakeville’s Royally Recycled Throne” and Parkville’s grade K won for Creativity with “Recycling Through the Seasons.” Saddle Rock Elementary students Elliot Amirian, Melad Asli, Andrew Suh, Sue Zhang, Eleanor Gau and Brayden Dilmanian won Best Execution for “Endangered.” In the middle school group category, Honorable Mention went to Great Neck North Middle School sixth-grade students Paz Wysoki, Michelle Wasserman and Danielle Gluchlich for their “Puffy Power Dress.”
Ammara L. Bhatti’s “Save the Earth” won for Environmental Message in the elementary school category. Willets Road School earned several awards in the middle school category. Seventh-grader Alyson Zeller won Environmental Message for “Recycled Paradise,” fifth-grader Connor Quinn won Best Use of Recycled Materials for “Repurposed Abstract Art” and for Environmental Message in the middle school group category, seventh- and eight-graders from the Willets Road School Art Club won for “Recycled Mandala.” For Best Execution, the Weber Middle School Art Club won for “Chandelier of Unity.”
In the high school category, ninth-graders Victoria Mora and Ilana Nimkoff of The Wheatley School tied for Best Execution for “Twisting Torso” and “Remember.”
At the awards ceremony, Bosworth discussed how this contest promotes the town’s environmental mission.
“This contest is one of the many wonderful environmental initiatives with which the town is involved all year long, including so many that involve our local schools,” said Bosworth. “I am proud to say that for the first time this year, we have all 11 school districts in the town participating in the program, as we were proud to welcome Mineola and Roslyn earlier this fall. I am always amazed at the resourcefulness of the students and the powerful environmental messages they convey.”
All entries will be displayed through the end of January in the “Yes We Can” Community Center art gallery.
