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Overcast Students honored in Keep-A-Merrick-A-Beautiful contest at Fayette School
Smiling parents snapped photos of their children as they walked across the floor of Harold D. Fayette Elementary School’s general-purpose room. The occasion: an award ceremony for the young winners of the Keep-A-Merrick-A-Beautiful contest.
The annual poster and essay contest has challenged Merrick and North Merrick students in grades kindergarten to eight to think critically about keeping the community and environment clean for the past 40 years. This year, the Merrick Herald Life is a co-sponsor of the contest.
The topic this year, “What can I do to keep Merrick beautiful,” elicited thoughtful responses. (For samples of students’ work, see liherald.com/merrick.)
Jessica Zhang, a Fayette sixth-grader, wrote a winning essay, opening with, “Actually, a better question would be, how can WE keep Merrick beautiful.” She emphasized the importance of not only caring for the environment, but also Merrick’s residents.
Amelia Raspanti, a first-grader at Camp Avenue Elementary School in North Merrick, pointed to her poster picturing the popular Disney ice queen Elsa saying, “Let it grow.” The poster, embellished with flowers, was Amelia’s call to keep the environment clean “because we don’t want anybody to get sick.”
Laura Rose, a Chatterton third-grade teacher, sat in the audience as her student, Mariel Pusateri, received an award for her work. “It inspired her to go above and beyond the classroom curriculum on recycling and what it meant to her,” Rose said of the contest.
A single winner was chosen in each grade from every elementary school in the Merrick and North Merrick school districts. In addition, five seventh-graders and three eighth-graders from Merrick Avenue Middle School were honored.
The Keep-A-Merrick-A-Beautiful committee works closely with the superintendents of both the Merrick and North Merrick school districts, Dominick Palma and David Feller, respectively. The North Merrick Library is also involved with the event, specially selecting books for each winner.
