PRESQUE ISLE — Winning posters from the 2013 ACAP Aroostook County Children’s Dental Health Month Poster Contest are on display at The Aroostook Medical Center’s North Street Healthcare facility, located at 23 North St. in Presque Isle. Posters are on display in the windows by the main entrance until the week of March 25, when ACAP will forward them for participation in the state’s contest.
Students from 13 county elementary schools participated in the ACAP Oral Health Education Program’s County Poster Contest. Each participating school held a preliminary contest and winners were chosen from four divisions: kindergarten, grades 1-2, 3-4, and 5-6. Approximately 50 winners were entered in the county contest. From those entries, ACAP Oral Health Education Program staff chose first-, second- and third-place county winners for each of the four divisions. All winning posters from the schools will be mailed to the state contest during the week of March 25. This means, each participating student has the chance to place three times during the contest.
The basis for the contest is to illustrate the importance of oral health and ways to keep teeth healthy. Students are required to have a basic understanding of good oral health concepts. Participants reflect these concepts as illustrations of this year’s theme “Get a Gold Medal Smile.” The grade level determines the appropriate topics.
“The Aroostook County Dental Health Poster Contest is a great opportunity to promote the importance of good oral health. This project stresses the message to both children and adults in our community and helps demonstrate the value of having good dental hygiene,” said Renee Bragdon, community education specialist for ACAP Oral Health Education Program. “If children see that we — as adults — care about their wellbeing, this will raise the desire in them to imitate positive healthy habits now and as they grow.”
First-, second- and third-place county winners in each of the judging categories will be awarded prizes. First place receives a stadium cup filled with prizes, an Oral Health Education T-shirt and up to $50 used for a healthy party or activity for the class, which will be decided upon by students and teacher with final approval by the ACAP Oral Health Education Program. Second place receives a stadium cup filled with prizes. Third place receives an age-appropriate book.
For the kindergarten division, the first-place winner is Damien Reeces of Hodgdon. The second-place winner is Madison Bridges from the Cornerstone Christian Academy, and the third-place winner is Logan Pelletier of Frenchville. For the 1-2 division, the first-place winner is Vickie Porter from Hodgdon, second-place winner is Grace Flewelling of Easton, and the third-place winner is Emily Lambert from Houlton.
In the 3-4 division, the first-place winner is Lauren Paradis from Frenchville, second-place winner is Trinity Bartlett from Washburn, and the third-place winner is Sierra Pierlioni from Hodgdon. For the 5-6 division, the first-place winner is Lydia Miller of Mars Hill, second-place winner is Katherine Berube of Hodgdon, and third-place winner is Rachel Ellis from Zippel Elementary School.
Participating schools in the 2013 contest include Ashland District School, Easton Elementary School, Cornerstone Christian Academy, Dr. Levesque (Frenchville), Zippel and Pine Street Elementary Schools (Presque Isle), Washburn District Elementary, Mill Pond School (Hodgdon), Mapleton Elementary, Gateway Elementary (Van Buren) and New Sweden Elementary.
For more information about the contest, contact Bragdon at 768-3026.
