Contact: Tammy Lane • First Posted: Thursday, March 26, 2009

Five students from Edythe J. Hayes Middle School have advanced to state-level competition in the Junior American Citizens contest, sponsored by the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution.

• Stamp Design: 1^st place, Kellie Ramsdale and Hudson Kemp
• Short Story: 1^st place, Aaron Meek
• Poetry: 1^st place, Kaeleigh Ellis
• Photo Essay: 1^st place, Oliver Griffen

Other area winners (all from Edythe J. Hayes) included:

• Stamp Design: 2^nd, Zach Atwell; 3^rd, Maya Hastings.
• Group 2 Stamp Design: 2^nd, Justice Warner; 3^rd, You Sugimura.
• Poetry: 2^nd, Michael Ho.

The NSDAR encourages patriotism, history and love of country. This year’s contest theme was “America: Land of Opportunity.”

The Junior American Citizens contest, which is open to grades K-12, has several categories: banner, stamp design, short story, poetry, community service, photo essay and poster. The Bryan Station chapter of the NSDAR sponsored the entries from Edythe J. Hayes Middle School.

NSDAR also offers an American history essay contest for grades 5-8 and a Christopher Columbus contest for high school students.