Character Counts! Winners Announced

The City of Gaithersburg announced the winners of the Character Counts! poster contest.

In celebration of the CHARACTER COUNTS! ethics program, 782 students participated in the City of Gaithersburg’s annual poster and essay contest.

Elementary and middle school students in the Gaithersburg area were invited to create written and graphic works celebrating the Six Pillars of Character: trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring, and citizenship. The winners and honorable mentions are scheduled to be recognized at the March 16 Mayor and City Council meeting at 7:30 p.m. at City Hall.

The essay contest winners will read their entries at the meeting.

This year’s poster contest, “CHARACTER COUNTS! It’s All in the Family,” was co-sponsored by The Gazette Newspapers.

The winners are:

Johnson (Amani) Mbonimpa- 5th Grade Brown Station Elementary School
Trisha Raghuram- 5th Grade Brown Station Elementary School
Kayla Gerke- 5th Grade Diamond Elementary School
Trinity Edwards- 5th Grade DuFief Elementary School
Julia Messing- 3rd Grade DuFief Elementary School
Isabel Ryan- 4th Grade Gaithersburg Elementary School
Fatihah Ullah- 7th Grade Gaithersburg Middle School
Nishan Abeywardena- 4th Grade Strawberry Knoll Elementary School
Samantha Halling- 4th Grade Strawberry Knoll Elementary School
Jessica Ahn- 5th Grade Washington Grove Elementary School
Emma Selby- 5th Grade Washington Grove Elementary School

Students were also invited to participate in an “Adult Heroes in OUR Community” essay contest, co-sponsored by the Gaithersburg Rotary Club. Participants wrote about someone who has had a positive, personal influence on their lives related to one or more of the Six Pillars of Character. Fifty-seven entries were received.

The winners are:

Layla Calix-Martinez- 5th Grade Goshen Elementary School
Rodrigo Jimenez- 8th Grade St. Martin of Tours School
Sophia Zavala- 8th Grade St. Martin of Tours School
Jennie Hudson- 7th Grade Forest Oak Middle School
Kendall Jackson- 7th Grade Forest Oak Middle School

Posters and essays will be on display in Center Court at Lakeforest Mall March 3 – 27. Winning posters and essays can also be viewed on the City’s website at www.gaithersburgmd.gov. For more information on the CHARACTER COUNTS! program please contact the Community Services Division at 301.258.6395 ext. 3 or visit the City’s website.

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