December 2, 2005

ESD NEWS BRIEFS

Carolyn Clark student earns gold medal for her art work

Cindy Liu, a third-grader at Carolyn Clark Elementary School in the Evergreen School District, recently received a very special birthday present for her eighth birthday.

Cindy Liu created her winning piece in Wang’s Art Studio, under the guidance of her art instructor, Sheng Wang.

The Evergreen resident earned a gold medal with her entry “Memory” submitted in the 36th World School Children’s Art Exhibition in Taiwan. Children from about 50 countries around the world entered approximately 30,000 works in the exhibition. Only 21 of the entries won gold medals, and only four of these winners live in the United States.

The exhibition is organized and sponsored by The National Taiwan Arts Education Institute and The Association of Children’s Art Education of The Republic of China.

The winning entries were displayed in Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall in Taipei City, Taiwan in September and in Kaohsiung City, Taiwan in October. In April 2006, the works will be exhibited in Taoyuan, Taiwan.

The judge’s comments noted, “Use of multiple materials to express the imagination; very creative design and strong contrast color make the picture very unique.”

“Memory” by Cindy Liu Evergreen resident Cindy Liu won a gold medal for her entry entitled “Memory” submitted to the 36th World School Children’s Art Exhibition in Taiwan.

Cindy completed her piece in Wang’s Art Studio in San Jose this past spring. Instructor Sheng Wang said he’s had Cindy in his art classes for almost four years. For this particular assignment, he asked the students to create a collage.

Since the competition she wanted to enter was an international competition, topics focusing on the culture of the country are good bets. Cindy decided to create a Native American using oil pastels and all types of torn paper ranging from corrugated cardboard to toilet paper. The Picasso-style side and front view combination that emerged astounded Wang.

“She has a lot of patience and a good sense for colors,” said Wang. “She comes up with an idea, and she’s open to my suggestions. I’m very proud of her.”

Cindy’s mom, Yanfen Zang, is an engineer of KLA-Tencor, and her dad, Xiangyang Liu, is an engineer at Intel. Both of them came to the United States from mainland China. They too are very proud of their only daughter, who also likes to play piano, read books and magazines, and learn Karate. She is currently in the green belt level.

Wang’s Art Studio is located at 1211 Kentwood, Suite G, San Jose, Calif., 95129—just off the De Anza Boulevard exit from Highway 85. For more information, call (408) 366-2419.

Montgomery Elementary student honored for 50 hours of service

William “Billy” Wakefield, an 8-year-old student at ESD’s Montgomery Elementary School, recently earned The President’s Volunteer Service Silver Award for 50 hours of volunteer service.

Billy Wakefield displays his certificate of achievement for earning the President’s Volunteer Service Award.

Billy, who has lived in San Jose all of his life, moved to the Evergreen area last year. He began volunteering with his mom, Denise Medina, for Plata Arroyo EastGate Neighborhood Association at the age of 5.

Since his mom is employed at Evergreen Valley College in the biology department, Billy has always been exposed to science. It’s no surprise that many of the volunteer hours he earned revolve around an Environmental Camping Trip that Plata Arroyo EastGate Neighborhood Association created. He has helped plan and conduct two environmental camping trips to Guerneville and one to Bass Lake.

“I have worked all over, where the river meets the ocean and up in the mountains,” said William.

Once he entered elementary school, math and science have been his favorite subjects. But his interest in the environment emerged gradually.

“At first I thought it was boring, but then I got to make a lot of new friends and go to a lot of different places to learn about the environment,” commented William. “When we clean up the beaches and lakes, we make a game out of it, like a treasure hunt. You know we all live on this planet and we have to take care of it, so that when I grow up, we still have a planet to live on.”

William had no idea that he would be receiving the President’s award. “I felt very proud and surprised,” he said, upon learning that he had earned this honor.

In addition to receiving a note of congratulations from the President of the United States, he also received an official President’s Volunteer Service Award pin, a personalized certificate of achievement and a letter from the President’s Council on Service and Civic Participation. Recipients are eligible to receive the award once every 12 months.