Laker JH girls win Laker Code of Civility challenge

Earlier in the fall, Laker Superintendent Brian Keim proposed a challenge for all secondary school students – create a professional looking display for the Laker Code of Civility.

The challenge was posed to each first hour class, or homeroom. Students could use any artistic medium they wanted – paint, print, photography, computer graphics, etc. – as long as it could be reproduced. Students could work individually or in groups to complete the challenge.

The judge panel, made up of school administrators, reviewed all the entries and picked a winner, which was created by eighth graders Savannah Schulz and Maya Viers. They are in Stephanie Segroves’ homeroom.

“We were really happy (when we were told we won),” Maya said.

The poster, created with colored pencil, features hands overlapping one another, and various positive character traits are displayed on each arm. The words “Laker Civility” are in a font that includes a black and white swirl pattern within the letters.

“We originally were going to use the Laker wheel, but then we wanted to do something that symbolized everyone at Lakers,” Maya said. “So that’s why we decided to use all sorts of different hands.”

“We were going to use shaking hands, but then we were looking at pictures of people holding hands and we saw this type of picture, and we thought it would be cool to draw,” Savannah said.

The girls projected the hands image onto a whiteboard, did an initial tracing, and then shaped everything how they wanted it. They said getting the overlapping hands to look realistic was one of the most difficult aspects of the project.  Another difficult part was doing all of the shading on the arms.

When asked if the poster turned out better than they imagined, both girls said an enthusiastic “yes”.

Judges critiqued the Laker Code of Civility entries in the following areas: professionalism, display and duplication. The goal was to have a product that looked like it could be in a corporate business setting.

The winning poster is now in the hands of the school’s digital media department, and they will work on digitizing the image so it can be reproduced and placed around the school. Maya and Savannah said it makes them feel proud that it’s going to be posted in many places.

The girls will receive an Amazon gift card, and so will Mrs. Segroves. They’ll also be taken out for lunch at a local restaurant.

The Laker Code of Civility is a guide detailing the importance of being civil to everyone within the school system and those who visit the school.

“At Lakers, we want to do more than talk about developing character … we want to live it and model it every day,” the Code of Civility states. “Here are a few very simple things a casual observer should be able to see from our Laker staff and students.”

Those things include greeting and acknowledging each other, saying please and thank you, treating one another equally and with respect, being direct and honest and addressing incivility when it occurs.

“If we all live by this code, Laker Schools will be a better place for students to learn, and our community will be a better place to live,” the code states. “It really is that simple.”

Mr. Keim said one goal for the Laker Code of Civility challenge was to promote creativity, compassion and core values.  Another goal was for the students and teachers to discuss the Code of Civility.

He said all of the entries impressed the judges. The winning entry, though, best displayed the overall theme of the Laker Code of Civility.

“For the winning entry, the group liked the depiction of many hands coming together as a symbol of unity and support across the Laker Family,” Mr. Keim said. “We also liked the character traits displayed on each arm.  Overall, the entry best captured the concept of ‘civility,’ which is something we really want to promote.  Kudos to the artists for their great work!”