Arlington City Council Recognizes 2023 Sheri Capehart Animal Essay Contest Winners
Excitement was in the air at Arlington’s City Center Plaza as winners of the 2023 Sheri Capehart Animal Essay Contest were announced at the evening council meeting on March 21, 2023. Mayor Pro Tempore Helen Moise congratulated students as they received their awards.
The evening began with a reception at the Downtown Library where the winning students enjoyed personalized cookies and punch with their family, friends and teachers, and met the contest’s founder, Sheri Capehart, members of City Council and other officials celebrating their success.
Mary Moore Elementary school led with the most winners this year, with seven of the`12 winning essays penned by their students. All of the Mary Moore winners are students of Amanda Vu, gifted and talented teacher at Mary Moore.
Since 2019, sixth grade students in Cindy Rohan’s classes at Wood Elementary have dominated the winnings, earning 14 of the 15 titles for sixth graders.
Jeremiah Hart, first place winner for third grade is home-schooled by his mom and dad, the respective teacher and principal of their Ambleside Academy.
Congratulations to the winners – and to all students and teachers that participate in the essay contest each year. Tremendous thought and creativity go into writing the essays, making it a challenge to narrow the selection down to 12 final winning essays.
The contest, implemented in 2001, was designed to promote responsible pet ownership and creative writing and is open to students who reside inside Arlington’s city limits that attend public, private, charter, or home school. Visit the essay contest website to learn more about the contest and its winners.
Click here to read the winning essays or click the links below.
Third Grade
Essay Topic: If you could make up a holiday for animals, what holiday would it be and how would you celebrate it?
Fourth Grade
Essay Topic: How do you think animals communicate with people?
Fifth Grade
Essay Topic: If you could make one rule for the world to follow about animals and everyone had to follow it...what would that rule be?
Sixth Grade
Essay Topic: In 2060 how will animal shelters be different than they are today?
Click here to visit the gallery of photos.
Special appreciation to all the sponsors for this year’s essay contest: Spring Creek Barbeque, EECU, University of Texas at Arlington TRIO Pre-College Programs, Sheri Capehart, and the City of Arlington Animal Services.
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