District 63's Gemini Junior High Students Honored by Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center

Four 8th graders at East Maine District 63's Gemini Junior High, which serves Des Plaines, Glenview, Morton Grove, Niles, and Park Ridge, have received top honors in the Leo & Antonia Gershanov Memorial Student Arts & Writing Contest. Offered through Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center, the biennial contest, open to Illinois students in grades 7-12, this year asked entrants to reflect on the theme "New Lives, New World: Survivors in the Aftermath of the Holocaust."

The Museum received approximately 250 entry poems, stories, works of art, and musical compositions. Twenty-four students were named as contest winners - among them Gemini students Evangelin Bethel, Margot Mattenson, Alvina Mercen, and Richa Shah.

Gemini swept the Junior Poetry Division, taking home all three prizes -- for Shah's "Home," Mattenson's "The Survivor's Haven," and Bethel's "The Blank Slate." Mercen won the Art Category's Junior Division with her drawing, "The Stages of Resilience." All four winners received trophies and cash prizes during a special ceremony on May 3 at the Museum. Presenter Lillian Polus Gerstner, the Museum's Director of Special Projects, noted that "there must be magic going on in the classrooms at Gemini."

"I'm so pleased that our students were able to express themselves in such a mature and poignant manner," said advisor Alexis Wooster, Gemini Language Arts Teacher. "It's nice to reward students for being aware of the world; I'm grateful to the Museum and its donors for providing these opportunities. If these kids are any indication, the future looks bright!" Student Richa Shaw added, "It was an amazing experience. I was humbled by the presentation - and inspired by all the entries submitted by other students. It reminded me of one of the Museum's most important messages: learning from the past to transform the future.

Gemini Junior High is one of East Maine School District 63's seven schools. The District serves a diverse population of more than 3,600 students. More than 65 languages are spoken within the District; approximately 80 percent of the students come from homes in which a language other than English is spoken. District 63 offers a full range of services for academic, social, emotional, and physical growth - including cutting edge special education and ESL/bilingual programs. Visit www.emsd63.org to learn more.