Polk County Public School students honored with TAG Art Awards | Business

Polk County, Florida-- Some talented Polk County 5th graders recently took center-stage as they were presented with the Tag Art Awards of Distinction.

They are among the hundreds of public school students from nearly 70 elementary schools who competed for the distinction.

Polk County Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Sherrie B. Nickell attended the ceremony at Florida Southern College’s Branscomb Auditorium.

2011-2012 Tag Art Awards of Distinction winners were given free family passes to the Polk Museum of Art where their artwork will be placed on display.

Kids Tag Art, a program of the Polk County Tax Collector’s office, is a school fundraising project that inspires young artists to use their creativity to design their own specialty license plate art. Proceeds from the sale of the tags are used to buy classroom art supplies. This program has been instrumental in raising more than $89, 000 in classroom art supplies.

Visit www.polktaxes.com and click on the Kids Tag Art link to view the artwork and other details on the program.

2011-2012 Tag Art Awards of Distinction winners include the following students listed by school location. Art teachers are listed in parentheses.

Alturas
Alturas Elementary (Jennifer Selfridge): Laney Sanchez, Karissa DeLashmit

Auburndale
Auburndale Central Elementary (Julie Roberts): Brooke Seiler, Ashley Hernandez  
Berkley Elementary (Kayla Jennings): Phoebe Sipp, Jocelyn Abaray
Boswell Elementary (Connie Furno): William Fields, Raechelle Kenemuth 
Caldwell Elementary (Pam Marion): J’Daisja Nixon, Cosmery Guzman
Lena Vista Elementary (Tiffany Belbin): Saul Torress-Galindo, Destiny George

Babson Park
Babson Park Elementary (Cindy Landen): Payton Hayes, David Cosce

Bartow
Bartow Elementary Academy (Colleen Holland): Jordan Railey, Jaiden Cason
Floral Avenue Elementary (Jessica Rothbard ): Kevin Bennett, Paige Prevatte
Gibbons Street Elementary (Belinda Rivera): Jessica Rullo, Joey Rawlins
Spessard L. Holland Elementary (Sonja Johnson ): Sergio Flores, Mandy Chuor  
Stephens Elementary (Elizabeth Webb): Stephany Torres, Jennifer Lopez 

Davenport
Davenport School of the Arts (Nancy Varner, Joyce Behnke): Samantha Pickett, Kyndra Sears
Horizons Elementary (Jan Briggs): Elysaveth Miranda, Asim Bilalovslei 
Loughman Oaks Elementary (Oriana Russe): Danielle Arredondo, Hector Montalvo  

Dundee
Dundee Elementary (Danielle Manley): Laura Vasquez, Hannah Cain

Eagle Lake
Pinewood Elementary (Kathy Winters): Cameron Cook, Donnell Leriche 

Fort Meade
Lewis Anna Woodbury Elementary (Nathanial Fountaine): Daniela Avalos, Joshua Lyle 

Frostproof
Ben Hill Griffin Jr. Elementary (Virginia Aho): Lizet Rojas-Aguilar, Isela Flores 

Haines City
Alta Vista Elementary (Heather Sparks ): Giovanni Czito, Brian Sanchez 
Bethune Academy (Raedell Coogler): Sommer Baker, Mariana Santillanes 
Eastside Elementary (King/Rodriguez ): Margarita Diaz, Alondra Flores
Sandhill Elementary (Christie Becker-Fitzgerald): Adalberto Martinez, Jessica Luongo 

Highland City
Highland City Elementary (Aundrea Schmiz): Jennifer Vasquez, Amberly Marvin 

Lake Alfred
Lake Alfred Elementary (Joy Montgomery): Magelee Delgado, Chris Mendez

Lake Wales
Hillcrest Elementary (Brannan Lawson): Rachel Breaux, Destiny Higgins 
Janie Howard Wilson Elementary (Tiffany Weaver): Joseph Hastin, Daniel Gutierrez
Polk Avenue Elementary (Dawn Yeager): Adriana Polanco, Helen Lei 
Spook Hill Elementary (Jessica Swafford): Bayley Coleman, Ashley Zurflieh 

Lakeland
Carlton Palmore Elementary (Joni Zimmerman): Tiffany Lopez, Judan Newland  
Churchwell Elementary (Cari Bateman): Madison Varnado, Su Yue 
Cleveland Court Elementary (Ken Groff): Camille Hagins, Grace Woodard
Combee Elementary (Melissa Broderick): Noah Haas, Troy Hope 
Crystal Lake Elementary (Anwar Wilkerson): Alonzo Grant, Jacob Fisher
Dixieland Elementary (Cassandra Ruotolo): Kionna Diaz, Sean Idell 
Dr. N.E. Roberts Elementary (Jennifer Bishop): Alexis Walton, Alexandra Carpenter
Griffin Elementary (Kristy Warren): Kathylnn Moffit, David Saunders 
Highlands Grove Elementary (Christie Bassett): Samantha Kimbrel, Yohantony Padron  
Kathleen Elementary (Angela Green): Joshua Timmons, Glenn Fite
Lincoln Avenue Academy (Julie Stone): Zaria Thompson, Erin Zoles
McKeel Academy (Emily Backes): Ashley Smith, Madelyn Long  
Medulla Elementary (Emily Johnson): Joseph Creasman, Ethan Carter
North Lakeland Elementary (Sarah Watson): Natasha Amack, Icis Turk  
Oscar J. Pope Elementary (Maureen Brown): Guadalupe Shaw, Jason Thompson  
Padgett Elementary (Irene Hoffman): David Dickens, Jesse Morales 
Philip O’Brien Elementary (Greg Culmone): Taylor Cardines, Diego Ochoa 
R. Bruce Wagner Elementary (Jessica Giles): Logan Barden, Sophia Strazzulla
Rochelle School of the Arts (MacKenzie Bullard): Steele Alleva, Noah Konazewski
Scott Lake Elementary (Kristi Robinson): Hannah Westfall, Megan Waldrop
Sikes Elementary (Mark Cloutier): Kaya Posner-Hashioka, Stephaney Quintero 
Sleepy Hill Elementary (Marilyn Dailey): Andrea Moreno, Logan Buvid  
Socrum Elementary ( Kate Young): Brielle LaRocca, Kristjen Ellis 
Southwest Elementary (Jocelyn Miller): Alexis Longaberger, Wesley Soles  
Wendell Watson Elementary (Ashley Wightman): Isabelle Gilbert
Winston Elementary (Marchelene Manning): Madison Reynolds, Shamona Joseph 

Mulberry
Kingsford Elementary (Chantel Rhodes): Victor Gonzalez, Levi Moseley
Purcell Elementary (Amanda Noonan): Maria Alvarez, Kyle Fletcher 

Polk City
Polk City Elementary (Colleen Schmidt): Jeremy Rodriguez, Aiden Behringer

Poinciana
Lake Marion Creek Elementary (Jackie Mangold): Jadaria Burgman, Tanaisha Rios 
Laurel Elementary (Deana Conley): Marquis Wise, Isabel Rosa

Winter Haven
Brigham Academy (Carol Conti): Haven Twyford, Thomas Jacobsen 
Chain of Lakes Elementary (Gerilyn Stark-Jerry): Samuel Woods, Tayna Moreira
Elbert Elementary (Natalie Helms): Shardajah Collins, Nyquisha Graham
Garden Grove Elementary (Jaye Hansen): Candice Carberry, Keara Brown
Garner Elementary (Amy Sharpe): Makenzie Martin, Je’nique Jean-Baptiste
Inwood Elementary (Amy Unzueta): Kristi Martinez, CJ Reddick 
Jewett School of the Arts (Victoria Hahn): Kenny Maultsby, Michael Beleut
Lake Shipp Elementary (Patrick Stone): Samantha Arteaga, Preston Cherry
Wahneta Elementary (Melvin William): Alondra Garcia, Maria Olvera