ORANGE — In what appears to be a first, one school boasts all three division champions of the annual school bus safety poster contest held by the School Transportation Association of Massachusetts.

Dexter Park Innovation School students Mia Cooley, Connor Mallet and Eva Cole were surprised last week with the news their submissions had been selected as winners of the contest with a theme of “Safely Rolling to my Destination.” The three pupils were announced as the winners during a ceremony with students, staff members and parents in attendance.

“We wanted to keep it very, very secret and just said there was a ceremony honoring some poster winners,” said Vice Principal Paul Fraleigh. “So this was all a surprise.”

Eva, a second grader, was named the winner of both her division and the overall statewide contest, earning a $500 prize. Her poster, which will now be entered in the national competition, depicts a school bus driving up a road on a grassy hill to bring students to school.

“I just wanted to draw it because it has the road to my house and to school,” she said.

The national winner will be used to promote National School Bus Safety Week. National School Transportation Association members get copies of the winning poster to distribute to their members to hang in their bus garages.

Connor, a third grader, won $250 for drawing a school bus driving on a colorful road from a house to a school with an American flag on its roof. Mia, a sixth grader, earned $250 for her poster of a school bus meandering through a neighborhood filled with trees. She said she was “happy and surprised” to win and she plans to use her prize money to help homeless people.

The school’s art department also won $1,000. Art teacher Catherine Lee said she plans to buy painting supplies, easels and possibly some clay.

“I’m very excited,” she said. “I’m going to buy a lot of things that we need for the class.”

Lee said she taught her students about graphic design and showed them poster examples, including previous contest winners.

Fraleigh said the winning posters will be hung up in Fisher Hill Elementary School in the fall. Dexter Park, built in 1951, is set to be demolished and replaced with a wildflower meadow. All students will be in Fisher Hill with its 50,000-square-foot addition as part of a $45 million expansion project when summer break ends.

Reach Domenic Poli at: dpoli@recorder.com or
413-930-4120.

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