The Evesham Township Board of Education cited students at its May meeting whose artwork was included in the district’s “Eyes on Art” gala, as well as the winners of the Elk’s Americanism Essay Contest.
The 32nd annual gala was held over 11 days last month in the township municipal building courtroom. The event showcases the work of elementary- and middle-school students during the school year.
This year’s theme was “On the Move,” and its pieces included nature, portraits, still lifes, design and animals. Frames for the art were provided by the Evesham Education Foundation, an independent nonprofit focused on enhancing the educational experience of township students.
At a May meeting, Superintendent Dr. Justin Smith explained that the board wanted to use part of the session to cite students whose artwork was included in the gala, but who were unable to attend.
“This is for outstanding artwork in the 2024-’25 school year,” he noted. “These students weren’t able to make (the gala) and we wanted to make sure they were recognized.”
The gala’s contributing artists were Lilyana Hibbard and Shanaya Nabeel, Beeler School; Cristiano Conicelli and Juliana Paul, DeMasi Elementary; Purvi Agrawal and Sayani Patel, DeMasi Middle School; Owen Cowley, and Latoya Henen, Jaggard; Adam Kalinowski, Clara Mancuso and Vivienne Vukovich, Marlton Elementary; and Jornelle Boker and Thanish Shekhar, Marlton Middle.
As for the Elk’s Americanism Essay Contest – held each year at the National Elk’s Lodge in Chicago, a national veterans memorial – this year’s theme was, “What does it mean to love your country?” It was open to students enrolled in fifth, sixth, seventh or eighth grade this school year.
First-, second- and third-place essays were selected for each grade; the winners go to district, then state national competitions.
First place went to Rita Ushtelenca, a seventh-grader at Marlton Middle, and Dean Coia, a sixth-grader at DeMasi Middle. Coia also won third place in the Southwest district level. Second place went to Alexandra Werner, a seventh-grader at Marlton Middle, and Sankalp Jaiswal, a sixth-grader at DeMasi Middle. Third place went to Malaysia Buie, a sixth-grader at DeMasi Middle.
Honorable mentions went to: sixth-graders Sophia Dein, Mackenzie Fardella, William Hewlett, Frank Preto, Vyan Sangani, Riya Senthilkumar and Frank Wilk; and Maanya Jain and Quinn Johnston, sixth- and seventh-grade students at DeMasi Middle. Also recognized were Abigail Orengo, a sixth-grader at Marlton Middle, and Annie Regan, a fifth grader at Marlton Elementary.
