Last week Zavala Elementary held an assembly in honor of fifth grade student, Sofía Valadez who won the national Hispanic Heritage Safety Poster Contest, put on by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC). The contest is held annually during Hispanic Heritage Month to teach elementary school children in Hispanic communities about safety.
During 2011, more than 200 posters from elementary students in Florida, Georgia, New York and Texas were submitted. Entrants were asked to design the posters around the proposed theme, "Reglas de Seguridad Cuando Voy y Vengo de la Escuela / Safety Rules When Going To and From School” and were judged based on originality of design, reflection of the contest theme and use of color and materials.
Sofía worked her art teacher, Laurel Goetz, and was awarded first place. For that she was received a mini laptop and a framed copy of her poster from a NCMEC representative. The poster will be printed on a safety tip bookmark that is distributed to other schools, community centers and libraries. AISD is currently displaying the winning poster at the Baker Building before it is hung permanently at Zavala Elementary.
The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization established in 1984. Designated by Congress to serve as the nation's clearinghouse, the organization has operated the toll-free 24-hour national missing children's hotline which has handled more than 3,472,740 calls. It has assisted law enforcement in the recovery of more than 169,840 children. The organization's CyberTipline has handled more than 1,256,960 reports of child sexual exploitation and its Child Victim Identification Program has reviewed and analyzed more than 58,852,630 pornography images and videos. The organization works in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Justice's office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. To learn more about NCMEC, call its toll-free, 24-hour hotline at 1-800-THE-LOST or visit its web site at www.missingkids.com.
Photo is courtesy of Dennis Fagan, professional photographer and school volunteer.