Winners of the 2023 Fountain Hills Protect Our Youth Coalition Poster Contest have been announced, with first place honors going to Eloise Robinson (fourth grade), Bellatrix Lawrance (fifth grade), Gianna Ivie (sixth grade), Antigonie Lawrance (seventh grade) and Mya Hinton (eighth grade).

Each year, the Coalition challenges students to create an original piece of art based on a given theme. Students in fourth and fifth grade created posters based on the theme, “Leading the Way: Be Respectful, Responsible, Safe and Kind,” while students in sixth, seventh and eighth grade created posters based on the theme, “Leading the Way: Above the Influence.”

The design of the posters was up to the individual students to interpret the theme however they saw fit, with a panel of judges selecting each grade’s winners based on theme relevance, originality/creativity, visual effect and content impact/presentation.

The grand prize for fourth and fifth grade students was a choice between a bicycle or a skateboard from the PBIS Store. Second place winners in those grades received 500 PBIS Points to spend in the school store on a prize of their choosing, with third place winners earning 250 PBIS Points.

Top winners in sixth through eighth grade received $200, with second place receiving $100 and third place receiving $50.

Additional winners in fourth grade included Charleigh Tusha in second place, with a tie in third place going to Kora Van Swaringen and Carson Adams.

In fifth grade, second place went to James Mucci, with a tie in third place going to Adrian Nunez and Stephano Villalva.

Second place in sixth grade went to Alexandra Ivie, with a tie in third place going to Paige Ivie and Sofia Espinoza.

Second place in seventh grade went to Jake Harned, with Mia Junk and Belle Levik tying for third.

Finally, in eighth grade, second place went to Daniel Hosteenez, Jr. while third place honors went to Reese Thurlow.

As an added honor, the artwork from the winning entries will soon be featured as pizza toppers at Papa Murphy’s, located at 13525 N. Fountain Hills Blvd.

This year’s poster contest was a collaboration between the Coalition, the Verne C. Johnson Family Foundation and Above the Influence. For more information on the Coalition, visit fhcoalition.org. For more information on Above the Influence, visit abovetheinfluence.com.