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2024 First Circuit Law Day Art Contest Winners Announced

Posted on May 17, 2024 in Featured News, News & Reports, Uncategorized
Split photo: Left image: Magic marker, crayon, & water color drawing titled “Democracy,” portraying a person whose body appears like the American flag and face is a green seed, with leaves all around and three speech bubbles encapsulating statements about laws, democracy, and freedom. Right image: Line drawing in a blue color theme with images of Patsy Mink, Frederick Douglass, Elizabeth Cody Stanton, and Haunani-Kay Trask, and red words “Your Voice Counts” at top, with images next to the words “Register,” “Learn,” “Vote,” and blue words “Make it Heard,” at bottom.

First place artwork by Third to Fifth Grade winner Lauren Higa (left) and Sixth to Eighth Grade winner Navarro Dondur (right).

Lauren Higa, a fifth grader at Maryknoll School, and Navarro Dondur, an eighth grader at Kaimuki Middle School, took the top prizes in this year’s First Circuit Law Day Art Contest.

The First Circuit Court celebrated Law Day 2024 by inviting all Oʻahu students in grades three to eight to showcase their creativity and talent with artistic interpretations of the Law Day theme: “Voices of Democracy.” A total of 235 were entries received from 23 schools.

To prepare for the contest, students learned about the importance of voter participation as the United States gears up for its 60th presidential election in November. This year’s Law Day theme from the American Bar Association encourages Americans to participate in the 2024 elections by deepening their understanding of the electoral process, discussing issues in honest and civil ways, turning out to vote, and then help move the country forward after free and fair elections. In this way, we work to ensure that our government remains responsive to the wishes of the people.

First Circuit judges graded entries based on originality, creativity, and visual impact.

Of note, this year’s submissions were so good that the judges gave two awards for both second and third place in the Sixth to Eighth Grade category.

Contest winners each received a Law Day certificate, gift card, and Law Day medal. Their artwork will also be displayed in one of Oʻahu’s courthouses during the next year.

Below are the prizewinning posters and photos of the artists who created them:

Third to Fifth Grade Category:

First Place – Lauren Higa, Maryknoll School | Fifth Grade

Split photo: Left: Marker, crayon, & water color drawing titled “Democracy,” portraying a person whose body appears like the American flag and face is a green seed, with leaves all around and three speech bubbles encapsulating statements about laws, democracy, and freedom. Right: Photo of the artist, Lauren Higa.

Second Place – Rylie Inouye, ʻIolani School | Fifth Grade

Split photo: Left: Magic marker drawing titled “Voices of Democracy,” featuring a bust of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., (center) and behind him people holding “Vote” signs, with an American flag in the background. Right: Photo of the artist, Rylie Inouye.

Third Place – Jade Lin, ʻIolani School | Fifth Grade

Split photo: Left: Magic marker & crayon drawing titled “Voices of Democracy,” with the head of a bald eagle entering the picture on the right, a “Route 66” sign displayed on a highway two females holding signs “My Voce” and “Our Right” with an “Our Fight” sign on the right. School bus, house, and mountain range in the background. Right: Photo of the artist, Jade Lin.

Sixth to Eighth Grade Category:

First Place – Navarro Dondur, Kaimuki Middle School | Eighth Grade

Line drawing in a blue color theme with images of Patsy Mink, Frederick Douglass, Elizabeth Cody Stanton, and Haunani-Kay Trask, and red words “Your Voice Counts” at top, with images next to the words “Register,” “Learn,” “Vote,” and blue words “Make it Heard,” at bottom.

Tied for Second Place – Jacqueline Daubner, Kaimuki Middle School | Eighth Grade

Split photo: Left: Magic marker & pencil drawing titled “Voices of Freedom,” an American and Hawaiian flag in the center middle of the picture. At top, illustrations of King Kamehameha I, Rosa Parks, and Martin Luther King, Jr., and quotes by each. Below the flags, quotes by Elizabeth Cody Stanton, Rosa Parks, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Malala Yousafzai, and Susan B. Anthony. Right: Photo of the artist, Jacqueline Daubner.

Tied for Second Place – Riley Del Rosario, Moanalua Middle School | Seventh Grade

Magic marker & crayon drawing of young men and women of various ethnicities, some holding a Hawaiian flag, with a rainbow and musical notes above. At right, a female who is holding a microphone and her speech bubble contains a drawing of the Earth, with various hands holding pencils, markers, and crayons drawing hearts and coloring the planet. At top left, the words “Together, everyone’s voice would create a melodic masterpiece!” At top right, a sign, “Vote: Your opinion matters!!”

Tied for Third Place – Chiara Borges-Smith, St. Andrew’s Schools, The Priory | Sixth Grade

Split photo: Left: Black ink line drawing with water color. On left, a building flying an American flag, and below it the words, “Voices of Democracy,” and many hands reaching up to the words from below. Center, a sign, “Your Vote Matters,” and below a ballot going into a red ballot box with the word “Vote” on it. Right: Photo of the artist, Chiara Borges-Smith.

Tied for Third Place – Emma Huynh, Robert Louis Stevenson Middle School | Seventh Grade

Magic marker drawing of a banner at the bottom with words, “Voices of Democracy,” and banner flowing from top to middle with words, “Every Vote & Every Voice Builds A Nation.” At right, a blue ballot going into a brown ballot box with the words “Voices are Heard” on it. Red color words around the page, “Vote for what’s right; You have a voice! You are Heard.”