Madison Sartoretti, a fourth-grader from Valley Road School in Clark, won a first-place award; she is pictured with elementary literacy coach Janeen Allmendinger.
UNION COUNTY, NJ — The Union County Board of County Commissioners and the Union County Shade Tree Advisory Board thanked all of the students who participated in the annual Arbor Day Poetry Contest.
“Arbor Day is a national celebration of environmental stewardship, and trees are a valuable resource in our densely developed area,” said Commissioner Chairperson Alexander Mirabella. “On behalf of the commissioner board, I would like to thank all of the students who participated, for helping to raise awareness about the importance of trees in our community and beyond.”
Winners were chosen for first, second, and third place at each grade level.
Fourth-grade winners were: first place, “The Four Seasons,” by Madison Sartoretti of Valley Road School, Clark, supervised by teacher Janeen Allmendinger; second place, “Trees Matter,” by Olesia Patterson of Jerome Dunn Academy School No. 9, supervised by teacher Marianne English; and third place, “Arbor Day,” by Sahana Iyer of Thomas P. Hughes Elementary School, supervised by teacher Andrea Masri.
Fifth-grade winners were: first place, “A Tree Limerick,” by Taylor Tripet of Thelma Sandmeier Elementary School in Springfield, supervised by teacher LeEtta Palumbo; second place, “Trees,” by Julia Pappalardo of Terrill Middle School, Scotch Plains, supervised by teacher Erika Vaughn; and third place, “Yoga Tree,” by Twana Tsuro of Thelma Sandmeier Elementary School in Springfield, supervised by teachers Anthony Scarppelli and Linda Schmidt.
Sixth-grade winners were: first place, “I Cannot Imagine a World Without Trees,” by Morgan Sinclair from Orange Avenue School, Cranford, supervised by teacher Liz Chandler; second place, “Untitled,” by Sharika Dhar of Columbia Middle School, Berkeley Heights, supervised by teacher Belinda Healey; and third place, “A Helping Hand,” by Michelle Paida of the Queen City Charter School, Plainfield, supervised by teacher Schuyler Davis.
Seventh-grade winners were: first place, “Masterpiece,” by Olivia Castro of Lincoln Avenue School, Garwood, supervised by teacher Tamara Benc; second place, “The Importance of Trees,” by Kayla Hill of Maxson Middle School, Plainfield, supervised by teacher Jan Gwyn-Thompson; and third place, “Beautiful Trees,” by Karen Luna of Abraham Lincoln School No. 14 of Elizabeth, supervised by teacher Marilyn Tavormina.
Eighth-grade winners were: first place, “The Life You Give,” by Jadali Feliciano of Joseph Battin School No. 4, Elizabeth, supervised by teacher Shara Greenberg; second place, “Tree,” by Fransisco Villalta Escobar of Maxson Middle School, Plainfield, supervised by teacher Jessica Menon; and third place, “Delightful Days,” by Nyla Castro, Lincoln Avenue School, Garwood, supervised by teacher Tamara Benc.
The contest was open to students in fourth through eighth grades. There were 130 entries in all.