Winners Announced for No Name-Calling Week Creative Expression Contest

Jan 10, 2005

Media Contact: Riley Snorton
212.727.0135, x138
press@nonamecallingweek.org

Students participate in record numbers with over 1600 entries

New York, NY – The No Name-Calling Week Coalition headed by GLSEN, in conjunction with over 40 national education partners, announced the winners of the 2004-2005 No Name-Calling Week Creative Expression Contest today. Over 1600 students participated in the Creative Expression Contest from more than 200 schools in 36 states across the country.

Sue Anna Yeh from First Colony Middle School in Sugar Land, TX is this year’s Grand Prize Winner for her untitled poem. Sue Anna Yeh and her classmates will receive a visit from James Howe, author of The Misfits and inspiration for the No Name-Calling Week project, who will speak at their school. Second and third place awards were given to Jessica Carrillo of Los Angeles, CA for her illustrated story, Name Calling Hurts, and Pablo León-Luna of Ann Arbor, MI for his original song, Spender. Both will receive a Simon & Schuster book set as well as cash prizes. All prizes will be distributed during No Name-Calling Week, January 24-28.

>VIEW FULL WINNERS' LIST
>VIEW GALLERY OF WINNERS' SUBMISSIONS

“On behalf of the No Name-Calling Week Coalition, I would like to extend our heartfelt congratulations to the winners of the 2004-2005 Creative Expression Contest. With over 1600 entries and more than 200 schools participating in the contest, it is clear that last year’s inaugural No Name-Calling Week had a tremendous impact on students and educators in America’s schools,” said Kevin Jennings, Founder and Executive Director of GLSEN.

No Name-Calling Week seeks to draw national attention to the problem of name-calling in schools and to provide students and educators with the tools and inspiration to launch an on-going dialogue about ways to eliminate name-calling in their communities. Last year’s No Name-Calling Week was a tremendous success, with over 3,000 educators, administrators, parents or students registered, and over 600 schools across the country reporting their participation. Many teachers conducted bullying surveys in their schools (found under “resources” on www.nonamecalling.org), and results indicated that students reported a significant decrease in the amount of bullying and harassment in school after taking part in the activities of No Name-Calling Week.

“I am very proud to see so many elementary and middle school students thoughtfully taking on the issues of bullying and name-calling,” said Kevin Jennings. “Part of our intent around this project is to encourage dialogue on these issues early and often. The volume and quality of the entries tells me that students and educators see name-calling and bullying as a problem that must be addressed.”

In an effort to support No Name-Calling Week, GLSEN provides a resource guide with lesson plans, a video for classroom use and other promotional materials for educators to assist in facilitating the week’s activities for purchase on the No Name-Calling Week website.

Although schools are encouraged to take part during the third week in January, educators can incorporate the No Name-Calling Week curriculum, principles and resources at any time throughout the school year.

Three runners up and 20 honorable mentions for the No Name-Calling Week Creative Expression Contest were also named. The runners up included Sophie Wang of Roslyn Heights, NY, Rachel Lemashov of Levittown, PA and Keith and Jackie Woods and Julia Santee of Becker, MN. They will all receive autographed copies of James Howe’s The Misfits and cash prizes; 20 honorable mentions will also receive autographed copies of The Misfits. The original works of all the winners will be prominently featured on the No Name-Calling Week website.

About No Name-Calling Week
Coordinated by GLSEN in collaboration with over 40 national education organizational partners, No Name-Calling Week is an annual week of educational activities aimed at ending name-calling of all kinds and providing schools with the tools and inspiration to launch an on-going dialogue about ways to eliminate bullying in their communities. For more information about No Name-Calling Week sponsors, a list of events planned, or the No Name-Calling Week resource kit for educators, please continue to visit www.nonamecallingweek.org.

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NO NAME-CALLING WEEK CREATIVE EXPRESSION CONTEST WINNERS (To view contest rules, regulations, and qualifications, click here.)

3rd Place Prize Winner: Pablo León-Luna from Ann Arbor Open School, in Ann Arbor, Michigan, for his original song, “Spender.” Pablo will receive a set of books from Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing (approximate retail value: $150) and a $50 award.

2nd Place Prize Winner: Jessica Carrillo from Belvedere Middle School, in Los Angeles, California, for her illustrated story, “Name-Calling Hurts.” Jessica will receive a set of books from Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing (approximate retail value: $150) and a $100 award.

Grand Prize Winner: Sue Anna Yeh from First Colony Middle School, in Sugar Land, Texas, for her untitled poem. Sue Anna will receive a school visit during No Name-Calling Week (January 24-28, 2005) from James Howe, popular author of The Misfits, Bunnicula, and The Watcher, (approximate value: $2,500) and a $150 award.

All three winners will also receive a No Name-Calling Week Resource Kit for their school (including curriculum guide, video, signed copy of The Misfits, posters and stickers; approximate retail value: $130).

We received many excellent pieces this year that are deserving of recognition. Because of this, we have added three Runners-Up prizes. The winners will receive $25 awards, as well as signed copies of The Misfits. The three Runners-Up are:

Sophie Wang from Willets Road School in Roslyn Heights, NY—poem

Keith Woods, Jackie Woods, and Julia Santee from Becker Middle School in Becker, MN—song

Rachel Lemashov from Bucks County Country Day in Levittown, PA—essay

Additionally, twenty other entries were particularly memorable among the 1,600+ entries we received and are receiving Honorable Mention awards. The Honorable Mention awardees will also receive signed copies of The Misfits. The twenty Honorable Mention winners are:

Kaitlyn Andren from Becker Middle School in Becker, MN—song

James Brown and Andrew Hewitt from Cohoes Middle School in Cohoes, NY—board game

Daisy Cheong from Norco Intermediate in Norco, CA—art

Jonah Coe-Sharff from Greenville Middle School in Greenville, NY—art

Lauren Cohen from Willets Road School in Roslyn Heights, NY—poem

Stephen Colantonio from Willow Grove Middle School in Thiells, NY—essay

Tori Erikson from Hollifield Station School in Ellicott City, MD—story

Corey L. Faucet from St. Anthony School in Renton, WA—poem and art

Jamie Fisher from Pine Ridge Middle School in Naples, FL—poem

Janie Fort from Sampson G. Smith School in Somerset, NJ—art

Julianna Frenette from Bethlehem Elementary School in Bethlehem, CT—poem

Zackary Gelpey from Landmark School in Prides Crossing, MA—art

Earl Graves from Seven Bridges Middle School in Chappaqua, NY—essay

Lovdeep Kaar from Avenel Middle School in Avenel, NJ—story

Keri Suzanne Kaus from Norco Intermediate in Norco, CA—art

Kevin Lu from St. Cecilia School in Broussard, LA—art

Ekta Patel from Avenel Middle School in Avenel, NJ—story

Kody Steele and Jake Johnson from Caledonia Middle School in Caledonia, MN—song

DJ Tialavea from West Jordan Middle School in West Jordan, UT—poems and essay

Kathy Tse from Hauppauge Middle School in Hauppauge, NY—story

Congratulations to all of the winners, and THANK YOU to everybody else who participated. We were extremely moved by all the entries, and we hope you participate in the contest again next year!