{"id":12073,"date":"2024-04-19T10:06:29","date_gmt":"2024-04-19T14:06:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/?p=12073"},"modified":"2024-04-19T10:06:29","modified_gmt":"2024-04-19T14:06:29","slug":"student-artwork-at-lynnhaven-mall-honors-military-families","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/student-artwork-at-lynnhaven-mall-honors-military-families\/","title":{"rendered":"Student artwork at Lynnhaven Mall honors military families"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
Red Mill Elementary fifth grader Myla Lehman earned a first place ribbon in the “Art of Being a Military Child” exhibit at Lynnhaven Mall. Almost 800 pieces of artwork by VBCPS students will be on display through May.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\"\"<\/a>Myla Lehman proudly showed her artwork adorned with a first place red, white and blue ribbon to her parents and sister. Her family is not in the military, but Myla said she has friends whose family members have been deployed.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought about how they must feel,\u201d the Red Mill Elementary fifth grader said.<\/p>\n

Her painting of a young girl with two sets of feelings, during deployment and after, is one of almost 800 pieces of artwork from more than 60 Virginia Beach City Public Schools on display in the \u201cArt of Being a Military Child\u201d exhibit at Lynnhaven Mall through April.<\/p>\n

The exhibit is in its 12th<\/sup> year celebrating the Month of the Military Child and is presented in partnership with the mall and Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story and Naval Air Station Oceana-Dam Neck.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Pictured at the exhibit’s opening reception, from left, are VBCPS Superintendent Dr, Donald Robertson, art award winner Landstown Middle School student Delilah Ubri, Virginia’s Superintendent of Public Instruction Lisa Coons and Capt. David Gray, installation commander, Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The art contest was open to all students. Participants and award winners were recognized at the exhibit\u2019s opening reception on April 10. The event featured a variety of guest speakers, along with an array of patriotic tunes by the Independence Middle School band.<\/p>\n

Superintendent Dr. Donald Robertson Jr. welcomed guests and thanked those in the military for their sacrifices and for protecting our freedoms.<\/p>\n

Capt. David Gray, installation commander, Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story, praised the military families. \u201cThese children should be recognized for their character, courage and resilience,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Caroline H., who attends Alanton Elementary, painted a picture of an embrace with a military service member during a homecoming. Her father is deployed a lot, according to her artist statement.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat this artwork means to me is the unforgettable feeling of your loved one coming home after what feels like forever,\u201d she wrote.<\/p>\n

Fairfield Elementary third grader Emily F.\u2019s artwork features a dog named \u201cDemo,\u201d who she described in her artist statement as \u201cthe USO dog on the boat\u201d where her family member is stationed.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wish to meet Demo to thank him for the love and smiles he brings,\u201d Emily wrote.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Caroline H. from Alanton Elementary painted a picture about the emotions of a military homecoming.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Rebecca Davila and Stefanie Hall are military school counselors who help families and students of active-duty military, and those of retirees and reservist parents and guardians.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot everyone can understand what it\u2019s like being in a military family,\u201d Davila said. The art exhibit provides students the chance to share feelings on a variety of topics, she said.<\/p>\n

Messages conveyed through the students\u2019 art include deployment, cultures experienced, transitioning to a new home and school, and patriotism.<\/p>\n

Plaza Middle School art teacher Anne Waterfield knows all about what many of the 16,000 military connected VBCPS students go through, as she grew up in a Navy family.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe hardest thing is moving and always having a new friend ahead of you,\u201d she said. The opportunity for children to express their feelings through art helps others understand what military service all is about, she said.<\/p>\n

Dan Heely helped present the art awards. The United States Air Force colonel was deployed seven times during his more than 20-year career. His three daughters made lots of sacrifices, he said.<\/p>\n

He walked through the exhibit after the awards ceremony and complimented the student artists. Seeing military life through a child\u2019s lens is impactful, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt hits home.\u201d<\/p>\n

2024 \u201cThe Art of Being a Military Child\u201d Winners:<\/h1>\n

Elementary School Level (Grades K-2)<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Fairfield Elementary student Emily F.’s artwork featured a special USO dog on a ship that she hopes to meet.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

First Place: Marilyn Nault, Kingston Elementary<\/p>\n

Second Place : Aniya Bazemore, John B. Dey Elementary<\/p>\n

Third Place: Zoey Kihorany, Centerville Elementary<\/p>\n

Honorable mention: Ava Amerine, Kingston Elementary<\/p>\n

Elementary School Level (Grades 3-5)<\/strong><\/h2>\n

First Place: Myla Lehman, Red Mill Elementary<\/p>\n

Second Place: Sophia Tyree, White Oaks Elementary<\/p>\n

Third Place: Griffin Landis, Strawbridge Elementary<\/p>\n

Honorable mention: Kealana Smith, Fairfield Elementary<\/p>\n

Middle School Level<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/a>First Place: Ada Colton, Virginia Beach Middle<\/p>\n

Second Place: Sebastian Denecke, Bayside Middle<\/p>\n

Third Place: Delilah Ubri, Landstown Middle<\/p>\n

Honorable mention: Ritika Nisaraj, Old Donation School<\/p>\n

High School Level<\/strong><\/h2>\n

First Place: Mikayla Piorun, Kellam High School<\/p>\n

Second Place: Anessa Bernard, Kellam High School<\/p>\n

Third Place: Levi Schueneman, Salem High School<\/p>\n

Honorable mention: Glyza Beltran, Salem High School<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
The “Art of Being a Military Child” art exhibit featuring works of art by almost 800 VBCPS students runs through April at Lynnhaven Mall. Sixteen students were recognized with ribbons during the event’s opening reception on April 10.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Myla Lehman proudly showed her artwork adorned with a first place red, white and blue ribbon to her parents and sister. Her family is not in the military, but Myla […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":12077,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12073","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12073","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12073"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12073\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12089,"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12073\/revisions\/12089"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12077"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12073"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12073"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12073"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}