Promoting peace through mutual respect, understanding and cooperation - one community, one individual at a time.

Tuesday, April 30, 2019

2019 Young Artist Competition

Chloe Ertel, a students at Frederick Douglass High School, was selected as the 2019 winner of the 31st Annual Lexington Sister Cities Young Artist Competition. 
The Sister Cities Young Artist Competition is sponsored by Central Bank and the John G. Irvin Galleries, as well as the Lexington Sister Cities Commission. The contest was open to all Lexington students aged 13-18. 
The theme of the competition was “Global Citizens: Resilient Communities”. Chloe’s piece, “People of the World”, was done on velour paper with pastels. Of her inspiration for the piece, Chloe says, “I was inspired by the prompt, and how people need to put their differences aside and come together in peace.” The writing in the background of Chloe’s artwork is the prompt for the contest written in four different languages.

Second place was awarded to Chase Faulkner of Paul Laurence Dunbar High School for his piece “Resilient Spirit”. Third place went to Maryam Al Azzawi of Paul Laurence Dunbar High School for her work titled “Together”. Gwen Ganadillo from Frederick Douglass High School received honorable mention for her piece “World Peace”. Chloe won $250, Chase received $150, and Maryam won $100 from Central Bank. Additionally, honorable mention Gwen Ganadillo was awarded $50 from Lexington Sister Cities. Mayor Linda Gorton, Luther Deaton of Central Bank, and Councilmember and Sister Cities Chairman Bill Farmer awarded prizes to the winning students.  
The winning art teacher, Rebecca Banks of Frederick Douglass, received a $250 prize from Lexington Sister Cities to use for classroom supplies. 

First Place Winner


Chloe Ertel goes to Frederick Douglass High School. Her artwork, "People of the World" has the prompt written in four different languages in the background.

Second Place Winner

Chase Faulkner goes to Paul Laurence Dunbar High School. His piece, "Resilient Spirit" includes animals that represent each country with which Lexington has a Sister City.

Third Place Winner

Maryam Al Azzawi goes to Paul Laurence Dunbar. Her artwork, "Together" shows a beautiful turban with the flags of many countries. The background is made up of a college of black and white photos.

There were 32 pieces from 6 different schools. Thanks to all of the students and teachers who participated!

Chloe Ertel, "People of the World"
Frederick Douglass
Teacher: Rebecca Banks
1st Place

Chase Faulkner, "Resilient Spirit"
Dunbar
Teacher: Deborah Eller
2nd Place

Maryam Al Azzawi, "Together"
Dunbar
Teacher: Deborah Eller
3rd Place

Gwenn Ganadillo "World Peace"
Frederick Douglass
Teacher: Rebecca Banks
Honorable Mention

Najla Amarkhail, "Time for Peace"
Frederick Douglass
 Teacher: Rebecca Banks

Rose Linn, "Together We Can"
Frederick Douglass
Teacher: Rebecca Banks

Kathryn Frias, Untitled
Frederick Douglass
Teacher: Rebecca Banks

Lindsay Maystead, "We Are One"
Dunbar
Teacher: Deborah Eller


Briana Denning, "Helping Hands"
Frederick Douglass
Teacher: Jason Sturgill

Addyson Turner, "The World, Revitalized"
Frederick Douglass
Teacher: Jason Sturgill

Paige Hensley, "Pathway to Peace"
Frederick Douglass
Teacher: Jason Sturgill

Nash Dotson, "Global Graffiti"
Christ the King
Teacher: Tania Zivkovic

Dergham Al-Alami, "The Puzzle of Fates"
Frederick Douglass
Teacher: Rebecca Banks

Ashley Smith, "Garland of Flags"
Frederick Douglass 
Teacher: Jason Sturgill

Sophie Wingo, "Peace on the Horizon"
Woodford County
Teacher: Katharine Marks

Rebekah Dunlap, "Amarie"
Lafayette
Teacher: Sarah Detraz

Jules Stowe, "Dash of Idealism"
Lafayette
Teacher: Sarah Detraz

Shadia Kincaid, "Ringent Opportunity"
Lafayette
Teacher: Sarah Detraz

Linn Nguyen, "Restoration"
Frederick Douglass
Teacher: Jason Sturgill

Molly Thompson, "Resilient Communities"
Christ the King
Teacher: Tania Zivkovic

Grayson Downs, "Sister Cities"
Christ the King
Teacher: Tania Zivkovic

Lina Moammar, "The Origin of Unity"
Sayre School
Teacher: Anne Allen

Dylan Stern, Untitled
Dunbar
Teacher: Deborah Eller

Maria Moreno, "Helping Hand"
Dunbar
Teacher: Deborah Eller

Ryan Willard, "Puppet Show"
Dunbar
Teacher: Deborah Eller

Katrina Baniak, "The Traveler's Collection"
Dunbar
Teacher: Deborah Eller

Ben Cravens, "Working Together"
Christ the King
Teacher: Tania Zivkovic

Samantha Schnelle, "Peace Through the World"
Christ the King
Teacher: Tania Zivkovic

Cassidy Smith, "Holding the World"
Christ the King
Teacher: Tania Zivkovic

Jayan Smith, "Unity Tree"
Frederick Douglass
Teacher: Jason Sturgill

Mary Smith, "The Face for Change"
Beaumont Middle School
Teacher: Jonathan Hall
Lucy Nash, Untitiled
Christ the King
Teacher: Tania Zivkovic

Monday, April 15, 2019

Elizabeth's April Teaching Assistant Blog

The spring vacation is now upon us. It was well-deserved and highly anticipated. I am writing this in the Rome airport, having just departed Santorini, Greece and awaiting my transfer to Dubrovnik, Croatia. Being so close to international travel destinations and having ample time off to see the world is one of the highlights of this program. This vacation is special, because my boyfriend was able to fly over from Kentucky and share my vacation with me. Being away from home for so long can take a toll on you, so it is important to recharge and reconnect with your loved ones. Andrew also was lucky enough to have his parents fly in for a week. We all met in Paris, and got to show our guests France (and Europe in general) for the first time.  Together we toured the Louvre, and shared a dinner and a lunch together. We also got to show off our French to those who don’t speak a word of it.

            Life at school is progressing well. There are still kids I haven’t gotten a chance to bond with and I think that will always be the case, however, the children that I do have relationships with make the entire experience here a little brighter. I am proud of my students who show their progress in English, as it makes me feel like I am doing the right thing here in France. I have a handful of students who ask me after school every day to play the English games that I create for their classes. Even though this means I play endless games of memory match, bingo, and Pictionary 5 days of the week, I am still happy to see the enthusiasm for what I do.

            Our third and final trimester is approaching at school, and I have been preparing APE’s (after school activities) for the students. This trimester, I am doing a choir which will prepare a song or two for the end of the year show, and an English theatre club, which potentially could also perform at the end of the year show. We’ll see how well that pans out. I am excited to bring two of my favorite activities from grade school to France and put my own twist on them. I can’t wait to see how much more my students can learn and grow and progress. Until next time!

-Elizabeth        

One of many games of memory match with one of my CP students, Clémence.

Discovering new corners of Paris on a weekend trip.

Jessi, another TA and I in front of the Moulin Rouge during a weekend in Paris.

Experiencing a Santorini sunset, feeling lucky to be able to travel so much.

Making new memories in Paris with my boyfriend, Matt.