PORT ANGELES — The City Council recently honored the 25 winners of the annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Race Equality Essay Contest, which drew 909 essays from Port Angeles School District students.
Copies of the winning essays will be displayed in the Central Services Board Room, 216 E. Fourth St.
Winners were honored in an award presentation ceremony by the City Council and Superintendent Jane Pryne on Tuesday, March 18.
Martin Luther King Jr.’s message of racial equality was the focal point for the contest.
Students were given various prompts, which ranged in difficulty according to grade level.
Kindergartners were asked to draw a picture of themselves with King and write what they would say to him.
First-graders were told to talk about how they could make their schools more fair, while second-graders were to focus on resolving conflicts with friends peacefully.
Third-graders were asked how they could set an inspirational example for other to make the playground a better place.
Fourth-grade students imagined what they would do to make the world a better place.
Fifth-graders chose character traits they admire and wrote about someone in their lives with those traits.
Sixth-grade students chose one quote from King and explained why it was important to them.
Seventh- and eighth-graders were asked if they believed King’s ideal of equality has been achieved in America.
Ninth- through 12th-graders were asked to write what they felt to be the greatest problem students face now and how to solve it or to describe character traits leaders need to deal with the country’s problems.
Judges were Sandra Biasell and Brenda Lovik of the Port Angeles School District, and Jessie Cuttie, Mark Haines and Keidi Niemann of the Coast Guard.
No winners were chosen in the seventh grade, nor in 10th through 12th grades.
This year’s winners, their schools and teachers:
Ninth grade
■ Honorable mention — Claire Fritschler, Port Angeles High School, teacher Michael Poindexter.
Eighth grade
■ First place — Robert Mast, Stevens Middle School, teacher Laurie Day.
■ Second place — Freja Jarvegren-Uecker, Stevens Middle School, teacher Day.
■ Third place — Lauren Rankin, Stevens Middle School, teacher Day.
Sixth grade
■ First place tie — Amelie Atwater and Meiqi Liang, Franklin Elementary School, teacher Maria Kays.
■ Second place — Anna Gentry, Franklin Elementary School, teacher Kays.
■ Third place — Korin Urtezuela, Hamilton Elementary School, teacher Jeff Lunt.
Fifth grade
■ First place — Madeline Montana, Dry Creek Elementary School, teacher Sarah Schaefermeyer.
■ Second place — Rianne Rodocker, Jefferson Elementary School, teacher Sandra Biasell.
■ Third place — Myra Walker, Hamilton Elementary School, teacher George Kheriaty
Fourth grade
■ First place — Mary Bulus-Steed, Jefferson Elementary School, teacher Sue-Ellen Kraft
■ Second place — Matthew Dankert, Hamilton Elementary School, teacher Trent Pomeroy
■ Third place — Jesse Driese, Franklin Elementary School, teacher Terri Longin
Third grade
■ First place — Brooklyn Davies, Franklin Elementary School, teacher Stacy Ritchie
■ Second place — Elijah Corp, Franklin Elementary School, teacher Debbie Erickson
■ Third place tie — Jay Madrid and Jacsen Shook, Franklin Elementary School, teachers Ritchie and Erickson, respectively.
Second grade
■ First place — Samantha Combs, Franklin Elementary School, teacher Nancy LeBlanc.
■ Second place — Lily Moseley, Roosevelt Elementary School, teacher Sharon Fritschler.
■ Third place tie — Easton Merritt, Franklin Elementary School, teacher LeBlanc; and Peyton Rygaard, Roosevelt Elementary School, teacher Fritschler.
First grade
■ First place — Zachary Neff, Jefferson Elementary School, teacher Marilyn Mattie.
■ Second place — Berkley Thompson, Franklin Elementary School, teacher Suzanna Keegan.
■ Third place — Payton Smithson, Roosevelt Elementary School, Kristen Lunt.
Kindergarten
■ First place — Kylie Brandt, Hamilton Elementary School, teacher Sarah Hochberger.
■ Second place — Liana Arabadji, Hamilton Elementary School, teacher Linda Waknitz.
■ Third place — Demetrius Young, Franklin Elementary School, teacher Jessica Baccus.