Young writers, illustrators get creative in KLVX-TV contest

KLVX-TV, Channel 10, announced the winners of its 14th annual Reading Rainbow Young Writers and Illustrators Contest at an awards ceremony this spring at the Vegas PBS studios.

The contest was open to pupils in kindergarten through third grade. For the competition, 638 children from the Clark County School District and private, charter and home schools, wrote and illustrated an original short story that was judged by professionals. Each winner received a certificate, ribbon or trophy, and a backpack with other prizes.

The kindergarten winners are: Luke Amar of Bilbray Elementary School, first place; Brooke Germain of St. Francis de Sales, second place; Deven Reddy of Challenger School, third place; and Emma Aguero of Taylor Elementary School, honorable mention.

First-grade winners include: Angelo Grossi of Miller Elementary School, first place; Simran Shah, second place, and Manas Sharma, third place, both of The Meadows School; and Alexia Cabrera of Hoggard Elementary School, honorable mention.

Second-grade winners are: Shan Reddy of The Meadows School, first place; Katie Burkhalter of Wolff Elementary School, second place; Aaron Oiknine of Las Vegas Day School, third place; and Jaylene Tobin of St. Francis de Sales, honorable mention.

Third-grade winners include: Taylor Romero of Odyssey Charter, first place; Jahnavi Narula of The Meadows School, second place; Jaidah Sukaneeyouth of Batterman Elementary School, third place; and Briana Chavez of St. Francis de Sales, honorable mention.

In other youth news:

* Gabriela Dineva, a graduate of Clark High School, has been awarded a $10,000 scholarship from the AXA Achievement Scholarship program. Gabriela is one of 52 students who received the national scholarship. The scholarship program by AXA Advisors, a provider of financial services for consumers and businesses, is in association with U.S. News & World Report.

* Nine students wrote winning essays in the Nevada Governor's Advisory Council on Education Relating to the Holocaust essay contest, which received 135 entries. The theme of the essay contest was "If you could interview a Holocaust survivor, what would you want to know and what questions would you ask?"

Seventh-grade winners are Selena Torres and Aaron Virani, both of Martin Middle School.

Winning eighth-graders include: Regan May of Faiss Middle School; Tazia Statucki of Rogich Middle School; Amanda Cortez of Brown Junior High School; Camden Weisz of The Hebrew Academy; Sarah Neiderman of Knudson Middle School; and EriAnn Anderson and Lane Tait, both of Hughes Middle School.

If you know of a worthy candidate for this column, mail information to Youth Spotlight, Las Vegas Review-Journal, P.O. Box 70, Las Vegas, NV 89125-0070, or send faxes to 383-4676.