Chatham County Schools recognizes student winners in NCSBA art and video contests and district postcard contest

At its Dec. 9, 2024 meeting the Chatham County Board of Education recognized dozens of student artists and two high school video winners in contests organized by the North Carolina School Boards Association (NCSBA) and the district.

Dr. Amanda Moran, assistant superintendent for academic services and instructional support, told the board the recognitions align with the district strategic plan priorities on curriculum and innovation and on communication and information sharing. "Tonight, we have 3 different student celebrations, which is always 1 of our favorite things to do at board meetings," Moran said.

Brian De Cristoforo, instructional program facilitator for the arts, and lead arts teacher Brian De Cristoforo introduced the winners from the NCSBA poster contest, which drew submissions from every elementary and K-8 school in the district. The district recorded a record number of submissions, with 18 honorable mentions, two third-place ties in one category and a first-place winner in another. De Cristoforo said the program encourages students to be “dreamers” and called the students “incredibly talented.”

Notable winners named at the meeting included Marilyn Fox of Chatham Grove Elementary (first place in the K–2 category for the NCSBA poster contest). Tied for third place in the 3–5 category were Arizona Lane (Virginia Cross Elementary) and Noah AC (Chatham Grove Elementary). The board also recognized the district’s winter postcard contest finalists — Delaney Ponce and Mikael Claudio Flores — and the postcard contest first-place winner, Gabriela Whitman of Jordan-Matthews High School. The board showed students’ artwork to attendees during the meeting.

In the high school video contest category, students who work in the Seaforth High School SPARC Lab submitted a video that was recognized by the NCSBA. The students named for recognition after the video were Arie Jong and Arnette Benitez; the transcript records the video’s theme as showing how schools interact with local communities through events, volunteering and partnerships.

The board also recognized the district holiday greeting card finalists and winner; the meeting packet and on-screen displays included images of the winning artwork.

The recognitions were presented as celebrations with minimal procedural debate; the district encouraged the public to view the full list of winners in the meeting packet and on the district website.