Water Is Life-poster contest-Helix Water DistrictThird grade student Sofia Cardenas Loera of Lighthouse Christian Academy in Lemon Grove is the first place winner in the K-3 category. Photo: Helix Water District

Helix Water District “Water is Life” Student Poster Contest Winners

The Helix Water District Board of Directors June 16, honored East County student artists for their winning “Water Is Life” posters in an online awards ceremony.

Southern California students in kindergarten through eighth grade are invited to participate in their regional water agency’s Student Poster Art Contest to increase awareness about water conservation. This year, 231 students from 17 schools within the Helix Water District submitted their posters depicting how to use water wisely.

These students took top honors in two categories:

Grades K – 3

First Place – Sofia Cardenas Loera, Lighthouse Christian Academy, Lemon Grove, Grade 3

First Place – Sofia Cardenas Loera, Lighthouse Christian Academy, Lemon Grove, Grade 3

Second Place – Tiffany An, Christ Lutheran School, La Mesa, Grade 3

Second Place – Tiffany An, Christ Lutheran School, La Mesa, Grade 3

Third Place – Stella Stackhouse, Avocado Elementary School, La Mesa, Grade 2

Third Place – Stella Stackhouse, Avocado Elementary School, La Mesa, Grade 2

Honorable Mention – Lucas Regimbal, Christ Lutheran School, La Mesa, Grade 3 Contest Winners

Honorable Mention – Lucas Regimbal, Christ Lutheran School, La Mesa, Grade 3

Honorable Mention – Sanora Atoe, Lexington Elementary School, El Cajon, Grade 3 Contest Winners

Honorable Mention – Sanora Atoe, Lexington Elementary School, El Cajon, Grade 3

Grades 4 – 8

First Place – Kaylee Martin, Highlands Elementary School, Spring Valley, Grade 5 Contest Winners

First Place – Kaylee Martin, Highlands Elementary School, Spring Valley, Grade 5

Second Place – Valeria Ramirez, St. John of the Cross, Lemon Grove, Grade 6

Second Place – Valeria Ramirez, St. John of the Cross, Lemon Grove, Grade 6

Third Place – Hannah Maass, Christ Lutheran School, La Mesa, Grade 8

Third Place – Hannah Maass, Christ Lutheran School, La Mesa, Grade 8

Honorable Mention – Maddy Amezwa Cruz, Literacy First Junior Academy, El Cajon, Grade 8

Honorable Mention – Maddy Amezwa Cruz, Literacy First Junior Academy, El Cajon, Grade 8

Honorable Mention – Sarah Cervantes, Christ Lutheran School, La Mesa, Grade 8

Honorable Mention – Sarah Cervantes, Christ Lutheran School, La Mesa, Grade 8

Winners move on to regional competition

2021 Calendar-Mina Saeed's winning entries appear on the September 2021 page. Photo: MWD

Helix Water District 2020 winner Mina Saeed’s entry appears on the September 2021 calendar page. Photo: Metropolitan Water District of Southern California

Winners now move on to compete with other regional winners for the opportunity to appear in the 2022 Metropolitan Water District of Southern California calendar.

Helix Water District students have been successful in recent state competition. In 2021, art from Jose Sabedra, a fourth-grader from Bostonia Language Academy in El Cajon, and Mina Saeed, also a fourth-grader at Lexington Elementary School in El Cajon, appear in the calendar. They won the 2020 Helix Water District competition.

(Editor’s note: The Helix Water District is one of the San Diego County Water Authority’s 24 member agencies that deliver water across the metropolitan San Diego region.)