East Holmes seventh-graders earn honors in annual MyPlate poster contest

The annual MyPlate poster contest for East Holmes seventh-graders in the Wise, Chestnut Ridge and Mt. Hope schools took place Thursday, Oct. 30 at Chestnut Ridge School, where the girls created nutrition posters in hopes of snagging one of the winning ribbons.

Janna Mast, family and consumer science teacher at Chestnut Ridge School, has the pleasure of guiding this popular contest, and she said it remains a favorite of the seventh grade students who make posters that define healthy options when it comes to eating.

“It’s important for the girls to learn to recognize what good choices are when it comes to nutrition,” Mast said.

The girls are given several class sessions and are allowed to take their posters home to work on them, which is good because Mast said there is always a certain amount of secrecy surrounding the contest, with the girls not wanting to tip their hand as to what they are creating.

Mast said one thing she won’t allow is for them to simply print out pictures, cut them out and use them. She said tracing is an option, but she wants the girls to use their own talents in designing each poster.

“I encourage them to use any means of creativity possible as long as they are creating it themselves,” Mast said. “After that, it’s in the judges’ hands, and every judge has their own take on what they like.”

Once the contest judging day arrives, all the posters are hung on the gymnasium wall, where judges have the task of determining the winning entries.

This year that task fell upon the shoulders of a pair of former Chestnut Ridge librarians, Tami Polen and Norma Schlabach, both of whom have judged in the contest before.

“It never gets any easier,” Polen said of tabbing the winners. “They all do such a great job.”

Schlabach said having the instructions and guidelines from Mast always helps in determining the winning entries.

"Some of the posters look great, but they are missing some of the requirements,” Schlabach said. “Using each element is critical, and it is helpful for us to narrow down our options. Then it comes down to originality and neatness.”

The overall winners for the poster contest were Kristen Miller of Wise, first; Eva Kuhns of Chestnut Ridge, who placed second; and Kyra Mullet of Mt. Hope, who finished third.

The Mt. Hope winners were Kyra Mullet, first; Aviana Miller, second; Ariah Yoder, third; and Kierra Kline, honorable mention. The Wise winners included Kristen Miller, first; Regina Miller, second; Samantha Miller, third; and Kiayla Shetler, honorable mention. Top finishers for Chestnut Ridge were Eva Kuhns, first; Allison Troyer, second; Brianna Kramer, third; and Jenna Kline, honorable mention.

Following the guidelines for developing the poster was key to emerging as one of the winning creations. The goal was to use healthy eating recommendations including half of the daily intake of whole grains, varying vegetables, focusing on fruit, eating calcium-rich food and opting for a lean protein diet.

Posters also were supposed to include the five food groups of grains, vegetables, fruit, dairy and protein.

Other advice Mast presented to the seventh-graders included being original, being neat, using plenty of color, creating a poster that could be easily read and understood, and using the MyPlate or MyPyramid signature design.

“This year I realty tried to stress the importance of using color because, for the most part, the girls are very cognizant of being neat and being original in their design,” Mast said. “Although, I did see some new ideas this year including an auto body shop and the flamingos, two things I can’t recall anyone doing before.”

Mast said it is always fun to see the creative ideas the girls come up with.

As technology advances and improves, so do the ideas for posters. Mast said many of the girls used the free online graphics tool Canva to create ideas prior to diving in and making their posters.

“That really does help them better visualize what they are hoping to create,” Mast said.

The winning posters will be on display at Berlin Fabrics in German Village Nov. 21 through Dec. 5.