The awards presentation for the 7th Annual Recycled Artwork contest took place on Dec. 7 at the Gold Coast Arts Center. Local students, their friends and family came out for the event presented by the North Hempstead Town Board and Office of Sustainability.
Weber Middle School sixth graders Aidan Thomas, Aedan Hadasi, Spencer Kaufman, Ethan Severance, Ethan Girtz and Jack Marshall won for the category “Best use of Recycled Materials” with their piece called “Scrapnology.”
“The project was created during a period we call Lunchtime Enrichment (LTE),” said Core Extension Enrichment teacher Marilyn DiToro, who headed the class at Weber. “The boys worked extremely hard to create their recycled artwork computer and were excited to have their efforts recognized by our town.”
Students at each grade level could choose to participate in an announced activity during their lunch or recess period. “The boys began their winning project at the end of September and worked on it almost every LTE period until it was brought to the Gold Coast Art Center on Nov. 20,” DiToro said.
As part of this program, students use recyclable materials made of metal, paper, rubber, plastic or cloth and create their own unique artwork. Over 1,000 students took part in this year’s competition from all 11 school districts in the Town of North Hempstead. Designed to spread the powerful message of “Recycle, Reuse and Rethink,” the annual contest requires students to create a work of art using materials that otherwise would have been dumped in landfills.
Supervisor Judi Bosworth attended the awards ceremony and discussed how this contest promotes the town’s environmental mission.
“This contest is one of the many wonderful environmental initiatives that the town is involved in all year long, including so many that involve our local schools,” Supervisor Bosworth said. “And I am proud to say that for the first time this year, we have all 11 school districts in the town participating in the program, as we were proud to welcome Mineola and Roslyn earlier this fall.”
The emphasis of the event was placed not on the awards, but on the motivation behind this undertaking. Supervisor Bosworth said, “It is about having fun, learning and internalizing the values of recycling. We have got to protect our environment, we have got to protect our earth, and so our students have that opportunity to learn firsthand the importance of recycling.”
All entries will be displayed from Dec. 7 through Jan. 1 in the gallery at the Gold Coast Arts Center, 113 Middle Neck Rd, Great Neck.
