Fourth-grader wins statewide poster contest

Kandai Shimada’s winning poster reads, “At my stop, you stop.”It shows children exiting a school bus, with drivers waiting in the background.

The poster has impressed judges at several levels. It won first-place honors at both the Camas School District, regional and state levels.

Shimada, soon to be a fifth-grader at Grass Valley Elementary, will have his poster entered into a national contest with the opportunity to win a savings bond of $1,000 and have his work displayed during the 2014 National School Bus Safety Week. He received $50 for his statewide win, and is contemplating buying a new baseball bat.

“It felt good to win and I was also surprised,” Shimada said. “The poster (idea) was the first thing that came to me. I just kept working on it. I do a lot of contests for art.”

There were two other Camas students who advanced to the state level of competition: Keirra Thompson of Helen Baller Elementary, and Liberty Middle School student Noah Gibson.

Members of the Washington Association of Pupil Transportation, Southwest Washington Chapter, judged the regional poster contest winners.

Winners at the local level included Thompson, Shimada, Gibson, Katelyn Wagner and Spencer Goodwin. The winners of each division were honored with a root beer float party at the Camas Transportation Department, and presented with a certificate, a photo with their winning poster and a goody bag.

Final judging will take place at the National Association of Pupil Transportation Conference in October. Criteria is based on safety impact message of poster, originality, artistic quality and visual impact.

“I’m very excited for our students’ accomplishments,” said Laura Nowland, Camas School District transportation director.