Mountain Avenue Student Wins Poster Contest

The winner of the city of Glendale’s annual I Love My Neighborhood poster contest is a Mountain Avenue Elementary School first-grader who drew a donkey painting over graffiti.

John Lee won the annual poster contest, getting the highest score from amongst about 10,000 entries. “The kids really put their effort into it,” said contest organizer Noreen Benjaminsen. “They all understood what the message was about and depicted that in their artwork.”

The annual contest seeks entries from elementary school-age children in public and private schools throughout Glendale. A panel of judges from the Department of Neighborhood Services Citizen Advisory Board and city staff graded each picture on criteria such as adherence to the theme, use of color and space, and following the contest rules. The two highest-scores from each school - one from kindergarten through third grade and one from fourth through sixth grade - are named finalists.

Lee was named the winner at the poster contest awards ceremony Wednesday, April 6, where he received a trophy, a plaque and a backpacked filled with school supplies. In addition, the city will plant a tree at his school, Mountain Avenue, in his honor.

Lee’s poster will be reproduced and used in multi-media graffiti prevention campaign, shown throughout Glendale, including at City Hall, distributed to all participating classrooms, and displayed at city-sponsored events throughout the year, Benjaminsen said.

The finalists in the 2005 I Love My Neighborhood post contest were:

Rita Ghougasian and Varty Boyajian - Armenian Sisters Academy

Edwin Sarkisian and Gohar Nazaryan - Atanian Art Center

Aris Serkis and Anna Atanyan - Balboa Elementary School

Kayla Tarin and Ashley Coty - Cerritos Elementary School

Nairi Rostamian and Shant Vosgueritchian - Chamlian School

Tony Vasquez and Simon Elmoyan - Columbus Elementary School

Patty Kerman and Shelly Kim - Dunsmore Elementary School

Joanna Favela and Fernanda Gonzalez - Edison Elementary School

Alejandro Rothenhausler and Jack Patanyan - First Lutheran School

Karina Acevedo and Asia Schmidt - Franklin Elementary School

Sareen Hamamah and Andrew Cho - Fremont Elementary School

Jasmin Park - Glendale Adventist Academy

Riala DeLeon Verador - Glendale Preschool & Kindergarten

Madeleine Wills and Marian Sarkisian - Glenoaks Elementary School

Deanna De LaCruz and Jenine Pastores - Holy Family Elementary School

Nick Mousseau - Holy Redeemer School

Gevorg Aslanian - Horace Mann Elementary School

Cassandra Madrazo and Amanda Paggao - Incarnation School

Vivica Rush and Jose Luis Estrada - Jefferson Elementary School

Rebecca Legaspi and Artin Arutyunyan - John Marshall Elementary School

Robert Beknazaryan and Vahe Avagyan - John Muir Elementary School

Imola Török and Eli McDonald - La Crescenta Elementary School

Taiki Raymond Mashimo and Erica Choi - Lincoln Elementary School

James Bai and Paul Cho - Mark Keppel Elementary School

Mia Rosenfeld and Monica Ghosh - Mission: Renaissance Studios

Emma Worden-Sapper - Monte Vista Elementary School

Stephanie Ha - Montrose Christian Montessori School

John Lee and Ian Bates - Mountain Avenue Elementary School

Katie Richardson and Jessica Liaudat - Parks & Recreation Lifelong Learning

Nelly Torres and Arega Khonegi - R.D. White Elementary School

Emily Sauer - Robbin’s Nest Kindergarten

Daisy Uhm and Julian Vischer - Salem Lutheran School

Kathryn O’Sullivan - St. James the Less School

Jessica Haratounian and Brielle Walker - Valley View Elementary School

Anshika Niraj and Leegan Lim - Verdugo Woodlands Elementary School