For Immediate Release:
December 9, 2019
 
Contact:
Camille Travis
OTS Marketing and Public Affairs camille.travis@ots.ca.gov
(916) 509-3063

Winners for the OTS Middle School Poster Contest Announced

Posters focused on bicycle, pedestrian safety

Elk Grove, Calif. – The California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) announced today the winners of a middle school poster contest encouraging safe roadway behaviors while biking or walking.

Rotem Nagar, an eighth grader at San Jose’s Easterbrook Discovery School won first place. Second place was awarded to Ida Jew Academy 8th grader Karolina Engono Mve, also in San Jose. Rounding out the 8th grade winners were Jackelyn Murillo from Lathrop Intermediate School (Santa Ana) for third place, and an honorable mention for Ela Weintraub of San Carlos’ Central Middle School.

 
The poster contest award winners for 6th and 7th grade included:
  • 7th Grade, First Place: Abigail Verrando (Don Juan Avila Middle School, Aliso Viejo)
  • 7th Grade, Second Place: Jamie Argarin (Notre Dame School, Vacaville)
  • 7th Grade, Third Place: Anali Benavides (Woodlake Valley Middle School, Woodlake)
  • 7th Grade, Honorable Mention: Claire Aguilar (Rancho Pico Junior High, Stevenson Ranch)
  • 6th Grade, First Place: Rex Levinson (Lyman Gilmore Middle School, Grass Valley)
  • 6th Grade, Second Place: Camden Lien (Fred Newhart Middle School, Mission Viejo)
  • 6th Grade, Third Place: Mehar Bhatia (Carolyn Clark Elementary School, San Jose)
  • 6th Grade, Honorable Mention: Sanjana Viswa (Peterson Middle School, Santa Clara)

First place winners will receive a laptop, second place winners a tablet, and third place and honorable mention winners will be awarded an art set. All prizes are awarded individually for 6th, 7th and 8th grades and provided courtesy of iHeart Media.

“There were many great entries from students all over the state, making the decision to choose winners difficult,” OTS Director Barbara Rooney said. “We are pleased so many students participated, showing what traffic safety issues mattered to them in a creative and engaging way.”

All California middle school students (6th-8th grade) were eligible to participate. A total of 154 entries were submitted. Judging was based on thoughtfulness of design, proper use of safety laws such as wearing helmets and walking in crosswalks, relevance to bicycle or pedestrian safety as well as creativity, originality and artistic quality.

All entries can be viewed on the Go Safely, California website.
The OTS administers funding for traffic safety programs statewide with the goal of reducing crashes that result in deaths, injuries, and economic losses. The OTS is a department under the California State Transportation Agency (CalSTA).
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