1st Place – Taylor Piglisi  “Dancing to Survive, Forgiving to Live: The Story of Dr. Edith Eva Eger” – 12th Grade, Moline High School, Moline, Illinois   Puglisi Essay

2nd Place – Brooke Bloom  “Death, Fear, and Sadness” – 8th Grade, St. Joseph Catholic School, DeWitt, Iowa

Sponsoring Teacher:  Demi Franck   Bloom Essay-1

3rd Place – Garrison Chrones “Remembering the Holocaust” – 8th Grade, St. Joseph Catholic School, DeWitt, Iowa

Sponsoring Teacher:  Demi Franck  Chrones Essay

Honorable Mention
Isabelle Pierce “When Weiss’ Life Changed” – 8th Grade, St. Joseph Catholic School, DeWitt, Iowa;  Mary Rolfstad  “Schindlerjuden: The Life and Story of Leon Leyson” – 9th Grade, Assumption High School, Davenport, Iowa;  Claire Unke “Renia Spigel: The Holocaust” – 8th Grade, Clinton Middle School, Clinton, Iowa

1st Place –  Ella Strader “Look for the Helpers” – 7th Grade, Creative Arts Academy, Davenport, Iowa

Nominating teacher: Heidi Hernandez

2nd Place – Megan Cornwell “Air That Kills” – 12th Grade,  Rockridge High School, Taylor Ridge, Illinois

Nominating teacher: Kayla Ulfig

3rd Place – Sophia Clifton “Painful Remembrance” – 7th Grade, Geneseo Middle School, Geneseo, Illinois

Nominating teacher:  Logan Hamilton

  

Honorable Mention

Rhett Bliss “Tears from the Prosecuted” – 10th Grade, Mercer County High School, Aledo, Illinois;  Sulymar Morales-Espinosa “The Safety Wall” – 6th Grade, Creative Arts Academy, Davenport, Iowa;  Alexys Scheeper “Free Like a Butterfly” – 9th Grade, Central DeWitt High School, DeWitt, Iowa;  Mwenyemali Djuma “Lost Innocence in a World of Destruction” – 7th Grade, Washington Junior High, Rock Island, Illinois;   Miles Showalter  “Grief” – 9th Grade, Mercer County High School, Aledo, Illinois;   Gael Chenus  “Hope Among Darkness” – 7th Grade, Creative Arts Academy, Davenport, Iowa;   Hope Bauer  “Looking In….Reaching Out” – 11th Grade, Bettendorf, High School, Bettendorf, Iowa;   Benjamin Maas  “The Jewish Star” – 9th Grade, Home Schooled

For both contests – First prize is $500, and if there is a sponsoring/nominating teacher, then he/she will receive a gift card of $100 to support classroom needs. Second prize is $200 and third prize is $100, and if there is a sponsoring/nominating teacher, he/she will receive $50 gift cards for classroom needs. Honorable mention students will receive a $25 gift card.  In addition, all students who entered the contests….whether they won top prizes or not….. will receive a letter of thanks and a gift card for their entry. This year there were 34 essay entries and 24 visual art entries. In addition, there were two “Dance” video entries this year from the Creative Arts Academy.  A big thank you goes to their dance instructor, Bridget Jesson. All dancers will receive a gift card, as well as their instructor.

The  7th Grade Dance Enrichment performed  a dance to the song “Burn”.  The 6 dancers were Trey Gordan, Emma Gullickson, Ashley Laake, Benjamin Jacobsmeier, Kayle Bernauer and Bailey Wright. See the dance at:

https://youtu.be/YwHumJGXTeo<http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=glsjhgabb.0.0.x7ghb4bab.0&id=preview&r=3&p=https%3A%2F%2Fyoutu.be%2FYwHumJGXTeo>

The 8th Grade Dance Enrichment performed a dance to the songs “Welcome to Wonderland” and “Arsonist’s Lullaby.”  The 5 dancers were Mackenzie Besgrove, Laney Chandler, Tatum Roselle, Aidan Sammon and Claire Gillespie.  See the dance at:

https://youtu.be/rHRJTy5BfVk<http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=glsjhgabb.0.0.x7ghb4bab.0&id=preview&r=3&p=https%3A%2F%2Fyoutu.be%2FrHRJTy5BfVk>

The winning essay would normally have been read during the annual Yom Hashoah – Holocaust Remembrance Service, which was scheduled for Sunday, April 19.  However, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the program has been postponed indefinitely.

The visual art entries would normally have been displayed at the Moline Public Library and then at Rutabaga Art Studio in Geneseo, Illinois, as well at the annual Yom Hashoah – Holocaust Remembrance Service.  However, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, we are on a holding pattern to see if the entries will be displayed anywhere or not in the near future.

The Quad Cites Yom Hashoah Committee sponsors both contests, with Quad City Arts co-sponsoring the Visual Arts Contest. For more information, contact the Jewish Federation of the Quad Cities (309)793-1300 or aross@jfqc.org