Prince William County Public Schools

This year's National Foreign Language Week poster contest for middle and high school students was based on the theme, "Languages are the Key to the World." Prince William County Public Schools (PWCS) celebrates National Foreign Language Week each spring by organizing a variety of school-wide activities that showcase the language diversity of the students and staff in their school communities and the world languages studied in their schools.

A committee of PWCS teachers, coordinated by Carol Bass, World Languages Program supervisor, oversees the student poster contest that allows any student studying one of the 10 languages offered in PWCS to use their language and art skills to design a poster representing the theme. Contest rules require the use of the target language or the language of study in the theme title and written content, and to follow other graphic parameters.

This year's winners are as follows:

High School

• First place: Tarik El Bakkouri, Gar-Field High School, sponsoring teacher Catherine Mays
• Second place: Corynn Ellsworth, Osbourn Park High School, sponsoring teacher Miguel Hernandez
• Third place: Shaylee Sillito, Hylton High School, sponsoring teacher Olegario Melendez

Middle School

• First place: Justice Sullivan, Bull Run Middle School, sponsoring teacher Jamie Arredondo
• Second place: Amran Mesfin, Porter Traditional School, sponsoring teacher Lauren Bortfeld
• Third place: Amy Chavez, Saunders Middle School, sponsoring teacher Ditzanoris Berrios

This year's judges included retired PWCS leaders: Mrs. Debbie Barnard, Visual Arts Coordinator for the Division, Mrs. Charlene Baron, department chair and Spanish teacher of Marsteller Middle School, and Mrs. Phyllis Fenner, department chair and French teacher of Woodbridge High School.