Schools / Education news

Creativity Challenge winners from local middle and high schools were honored recently at the 11th annual awards ceremony for the competition, sponsored by Disneyland.

More than 400 students submitted drawings and photographs or performed before a panel of judges. Two middle and two high school students received awards in each of the nine categories.

Trophies were given to the top students in each category and $500 to their schools’ fine-arts departments.

Trophy winners were: Alyssa Patterson of Bell Intermediate in dance; Kyle Gladden of University High in drama; Mary Vitek of Capistrano Valley High in solo vocal; Yana Reznik of Tustin High in solo instrumental; Julie Altenhoff of Dana Hills High in black-and-white photography; Dawn Geftakys of Sunny Hills High in black-and-white art; Tuan Quoc Nguyen of Westminster High in color art; James Cui of Sunny Hills in three-dimensional art; and Julie Sarkissian of Santiago Middle School in creative writing.

Also recognized at the awards reception was David Peay of Hewes Middle School in Tustin, who won the Teacher of the Year Award.