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280 Living
| March 2012
|
B11
Oak Mountain Elementary student wins Grand Prize in Helen Keller Art Show
OMES second grader Rachel Hyche with her award-winning artwork, “CopperTree.”
Rachel Hyche, a second grader from Oak Mountain Elementary School, has been awarded the Grand Prize for first place in the Helen Keller Art Show. Rachel’s “CopperTree” is a multisensory piece using watercolors, copper wire of various lengths and colors and copper sheeting cutouts. “I enjoyed working on this art piece very much. The leaves were hard to make,” said Rachel. “My favorite thing about this art was painting. I like to paint.” As the winner of this prestigious award, Rachel is invited to Tuscumbia to stay and participate for the duration of the Festival. She will ride in the Festival Parade in a car designated just for her in the Grand Marshall portion of the parade. She will also be interviewed at the Helen Keller homestead, open the Helen Keller play and be presented onstage at the festival’s
opening ceremonies. Rachel was selected for the Patty Johnson Award by the Helen Keller Festival Board; her piece will be displayed in Tuscumbia in a permanent gallery. The award is dedicated to Helen Keller’s niece, Patty Johnson, who continued the legacy of recognizing the success of students who are blind or visually impaired. The Helen Keller Art Show is an annual show for Alabama students who are visually impaired, blind or deaf-blind. The show is open to students of all ages in the public, private, residential and home schools, providing them an opportunity to showcase special talents and abilities. The artwork is unique with emphasis on creativity, color and tactile media. During the year the artwork is exhibited in various venues including the state capital.
OMHS’s Walker named Distinguished Young Woman Scarlett Walker, a senior at Oak Mountain High School, has been named the 2012 Distinguished Young Woman of Alabama. She represented Shelby County at the statewide competition held this past January at Frazer United Methodist in Montgomery. This year 51 participants competed in, scholastics, interview, fitness, self-expression, and talent. The Distinguished Young Woman Program, formerly known as Alabama’s Junior Miss, is a national program that emphasizes scholarship, leadership, and talent. In addition to being named the 2012 DYW of Alabama, Walker won category awards in interview, self-expression, fitness, and in talent, for her self-choreographed ballet en pointe to Michael Jackson’s “The Way You Make Me Feel.” She was also one of three participants to be recognized for her “Be Your Best Self” essay. She was awarded $5000.00 in cash scholarship at the county level and $11,200.00 in cash scholarship at the state level. She was also awarded full tuition scholarships to Auburn University, Birmingham Southern College, and The University of Alabama. The statewide scholarship program awarded more than $38,000 in cash scholarships to participants. Throughout the next year, Walker will represent Alabama at various public events and serve as a role model to young people by spreading the program’s national outreach message of “Be Your Best Self.” The outreach program is designed to encourage self-esteem and excellence in all young people through its five principles:
Scarlett Walker
Be Healthy, Be Involved, Be Studious, Be Ambitious, and Be Responsible. Walker is the daughter of Angela and Michael Walker and is active in student government, ballet, show choir and the Wilson Chapel United Methodist Youth Group. She will compete in the 55th National Finals will take place on June 28, 29, and 30, 2012, in Mobilefor the opportunity to become the Distinguished Young Woman of America for 2012 and for a share of more than $130,000 in cash scholarships.
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