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

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.

Madison's Caen Update

My time in Caen so far has been very busy but I am glad to finally sit down and reflect on what this experience has already given me. I arrived unfamiliar with the city, the school, and the students and it was difficult at first having no idea what to expect but the university and international society have made it very easy to feel at home in Caen. Living with other international students creates the sense of community I was hoping to find and my classes are great. The professors here are very helpful and friendly, and I still can’t believe I am taking all of my classes in French! 

In addition to my academics I have been lucky enough to experience other things like traveling around the UK a bit as well as Deauville/Paris to visit past exchange friends and my correspondent Mathias. I’m so glad I have been able to stay as close to Mathias and his family as I have and I definitely plan on continuing to visit them throughout the semester- it’s so nice to have a family in France! 

February with Andrew

February was a pretty easy month for us here in Deauville, mostly because we were really just on vacation the entire month! During the time that we were in school, I started a Skype exchange with SCAPA in Lexington. My children had never seen any Americans before other than the three of us here, and were simply amazed (in a good way. They loved getting to meet everyone and hear Americans speaking French). In this Skype exchange we assign challenges between the Lexington school and my school here in France. The first challenge between the two schools was for SCAPA to learn the first verse of the French national anthem (La Marseillaise) and for my group to learn “My Old Kentucky Home”. I’m very proud of how hard my kids worked to learn this song, and how eager they were to learn a little more about Kentucky and its history. 

During the vacation I decided to do a little European tour to visit my friends. I first left Paris for Ireland where I spent a few days in Galway on the eastern coast, then headed back to Dublin to revisit the city and my best French friend that lives there. From there I left back to Poland (because Poland is a country worth visiting more than one time!). My friend Magda pulled out all the stops and took me to a village in the south on the Slovakian border called Zakopane. We spent the 6 days I was in Poland there relaxing in a cabin nestled in a small valley, eating local smoked cheeses, dancing to traditional Polish music, and even taking some time to drive to Slovakia (a new country for me!). 

From there I left to The Netherlands to see a friend who did an exchange with YFU (Youth for Understanding) at my high school in Kentucky. I hadn’t seen her since the last time I did a sister cities program (2015). To say that I am still grateful for this work opportunity would be an understatement. I’m so lucky to be able to see all these amazing places and have the opportunity to be reunited with my friends on this side of the world.

Until next time!

Andrew

Winter in Deauville

We have already reached and exceeded the halfway point of our time in Deauville. Currently, it is the February holiday, and I chose to stay here in Deauville and use the time off to explore more of the town and areas nearby. Jessi, our roommate from Nashville, and I have had time to soak in the unusually sunny Normandy winter weather, revisit some of our favorite cafes now that the weather will permit outside seating, and venture off to new restaurants and shops that we had overlooked before.

We keep pretty busy with teaching and after school activities during the week, so there’s not much time for anything else, so we prioritize cooking at home and sharing a meal together every single night. When we do have free time, we usually spend our time together, as this experience has made good friends out of all of us. In mid -January, Andrew and I traveled to Paris for a concert of an artist we both enjoy very much, and took full advantage of the winter sales, stocking up for the rest of the cold weather. We also spend a lot of our free time walking down the boardwalk of the Deauville beach, breathe in the sea air, window shopping in Deauville, and spending future paychecks in our heads.

When the weather picks up a little bit more, we anticipate longer days in the sand, with picnics and our music, and continuing the traditions of spending hours at the café, reading, people watching, eating and drinking, and chatting. We can’t wait for the market to return to the Deauville center, where you can find unique clothing items and local foods.

Until next time!

                                    -Elizabeth

A few pictures from a trip to Omaha Beach

November with Elizabeth

What an exciting month it’s been here in Deauville! As we enter the holiday season, we are surrounded by the beautiful lights and cheer of Christmas time. While we are thinking of our family back at home, we are all counting our blessings and feeling the holiday spirit in other ways.

In Mid-November, I celebrated my 23^rd birthday with a weekend in Paris. Upon my return to school, I received about 30 drawings from my students as a birthday gift. I kept each one of them, and they remind me how much joy the children bring to me with their loving hearts and genuine spirits. Later that week, we celebrated Thanksgiving with a Deauville native, Fanny Hubert-Salmon, who spends a lot of time working in Lexington. I also discovered that Fanny and I have a connection back at home as well, through my dad, and one of her best friends. It was a humbling reminder of how small the world really is.  At Fanny’s home, we shared a delicious meal, with all the American fixins’ we could find. Fanny brought back corn bread mix from the last time she visited Kentucky, we had some makeshift cranberry sauce made from dried cranberries, green beans, sweet potatoes, mac and cheese, homemade rolls and cinnamon butter, and a chocolate hazelnut pie. In lieu of a turkey, which can be hard to find in France, we had a foie gras stuffed chicken. It was delicious. It was so wonderful to connect with someone who knows and loves our hometown so much. We got to talk about Kentucky basketball, and other sports, something I didn’t realized I missed so much until we talked about it. We are all so grateful to Fanny for opening her home to us. It turned what could have been a sad, homesick day into a wonderful experience of love and friendship. I hope that we will be able to continue our friendship upon our return to Lexington.

This past weekend, we also got to share in the illumination celebration in the center plaza of Deauville. Four kilometers of lights in total were strung around the city, decorating the trees and the light posts and forming a beautiful tent of light over the main roundabout in the city. Our students sang a song for the town that they had been practicing for weeks, and then with the push of a big red button, the town was transformed into a beautiful winter wonderland. This next month is sure to bring even more holiday cheer as we celebrate the season with our new friends, and see the delight in our students’ eyes as the magic of Christmas draws nearer.Our day to day life here as a TA in Deauville has settled into a nice routine. There are early days, when we have to be at the school to greet the students before class starts, and there are later days, when we get to grab a few extra winks of sleep. I start my day usually at the nursey school, where the kids treat you as if you are a celebrity walking through their halls. Every time I walk into a room of my students I hear a chorus of, “Elizabet! Elizabet! Hellllllo! ‘Elllooo!” (The ‘th’ at the end of my name is impossible for most of them to pronounce, so we just go with Elizabet.) I start my days with songs usually. Songs that teach greetings, or how to say their name, or even just classic nursery rhymes. I think I sing “Itsy Bitsy Spider” about 20 times a week. And then, we learn English through games and stories. Since I teach in the nursey, it’s a lot of me talking, and them playing, but it is an important building block in their English education. On Fridays, they get stickers, usually with English phrases on them, as a reward for a week of hard work. The stickers are a huge hit. Every day, we eat lunch and spend recreation with the kids. I have formed some special bonds with a handful of the kids, and I have learned that seeing the world through their eyes is something that adults often overlook, and because of that, we miss out on a lot of joy and wonder that the world has to offer. After school, the students have after school activities. When we aren’t helping out in the bigger groups, we are each responsible for our own activity. I run the English club every Tuesday, and we play games, make crafts, and watch movies that expose them to some American culture and a little bit of English language. One of their favorite activities was creating Halloween masks, and playing Thanskgiving bingo. They loved it! At the end of our days, we are tired, but we feel fulfilled and satisfied in the role that we are playing in these kids’ language and cultural education.

Until next time! Happy Holidays from Deauville!

                                    -Elizabeth