Great Oaks Scholars Inspired by Martin Luther King Jr., Create Art for Contest

Scholars from Great Oaks Academy were recently given an amazing opportunity: create art inspired by Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech.


All grades were encouraged to participate in the contest in formats such as posters, poems, art, writing, or whatever else they chose.

Fifth-grade teacher Lyndee Larose helped organize the contest and said around 75 entries were submitted. Many focused on the challenges of the pandemic.

“I was surprised by how many talked about COVID, ending it, and wanting to move forward past this and the impact it has had,” Larose said.
 

Fourth grade teachers Allison Lisowski, Michaela McArthur, and Tiffany Nelson helped serve as judges, and were able to narrow-down the decisions to one winner per grade, except for eighth grade.
 
Two pieces shared the eighth-grade top spot. One was put together as a mixed-media collage over torn bits of newsprint with images of Dr. King, the Statue of Liberty, two hands chained together and George Floyd.
 
The other eighth grade winner was a rap, featuring lyrics:
 
I have ah dream All the youngins lookin up to me
I have ah dream They respect like an OG
I gotta grind Make sure i can provide
They countin on me keep grindin i gotta try
 
The seventh-grade winning entry was colored in crayon with shades of green, red, yellow and orange, and was called “Stay With Me for Life.” Each verse was highlighted on a separate color.
 

“Stay With Me for Life”
Let the sun shine on your days
You are good enough in many ways
I love the way that you shine bright
But please stay with me for life
 
I enjoy spending time with you
I hope you like spending time with me too.
You stand out, I know I am right!
But please stay with me for life
 
I am really glad that we met
We have come so far, and still not done yet!
When it is dark you are my light
But please stay with me for life.
 

Winners were announced during daily announcements and will be featured on the school’s Facebook page.
 Great Oaks Academy is part of NHA, a charter school management company in Grand Rapids, Mich. with over 95 tuition-free, public charter schools across nine states, serving more than 60,000 students in kindergarten through 12^th grade.


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