LEESVILLE, La. -- Vernon Parish Military Student Transition Consultant Sue Lopez is encouraging kindergarten through 12th grade students--both military and civilian--who are homeschooled or attend schools in Vernon Parish, Louisiana, to participate in the 2019 Vernon Parish Call for the Arts contest.

 

The contest is split into two categories--poetry and art. The submitted works should be based on the following topics: Cultures you've experienced; pride in parents; military lifestyle; your wishes, hopes and dreams; the life lessons you've learned; teachers/school support; and transitions/changes.

 

"I believe students should participate in any creative work that allows them to express themselves through the written word or arts," Lopez said. "Children sometimes just need that outlet to express how they're feeling, and so much comes out through the written word or an art piece."

 

Submissions, accompanied by a registration form, are due March 1 at the front office of the students' school. Vernon Parish students who are homeschooled can turn in their submissions and registration forms to the Fort Polk Army Community Services Center, Family Readiness Center, the Child and Youth Services Main Office, School Age Services Center or the Middle School and Teen Center at Fort Polk, Louisiana. Each school will have poetry and art winners, and district-level winners will also be selected.

 

An award ceremony will take place April 1 at 5:30 p.m. at ACS to recognize the contest winners from all the schools.

 

All finalist submissions will be turned in for consideration on a national-level to the Military Child Education Coalition's (MCEC) 2020 Call for the Arts competition. If selected, the students may have their work showcased at the MCEC Annual Conference in Washington, D.C., or published in the On the Move magazine, the annual calendar, the annual conference program and other MCEC publications.

 

Lopez stressed that there is a lot that students can take away from the contest experience.

 

"My hope for the students is that they build confidence in themselves and learn to go with their gut feeling and trust themselves and just become more confident in their creation and in their mind," Lopez said.

Click here for the 2019 Vernon Parish Call for the Arts registration packet and for more information on contest guidelines.