Gateway Students Win Honors in International Children's Day Art Competition

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Two students from Gateway Middle School won awards in the International Children’s Day Art Competition. Both students were recognized on stage during the children’s Day celebration in April at the Carnegie Library Music Hall in Homestead.
The theme of this year’s competition was “Understanding Others and Appreciating Differences.”
Winners were Joy Pedrow, 8th grade student, who won first place for “Diversity Brings Us Together,” and Bria Williams, 7th grade student, who won third place for “Joining Together.”
“I am very proud of these girls — as well as the other participants — for electing to create a work of art that dealt with such an important topic,” said Greta Severson, Gateway Middle School art teacher. “Many middle school students think deeply about the world around them and they don't often have a chance to share their insights.”
Ms. Pedrow’s winning painting featured a puzzle of diverse young people.
“Everyone painted in the puzzle is someone I know,” she said. “It’s called ‘Diversity Brings Us Together’ because each puzzle piece separately doesn’t mean anything, but when you bring them all together it makes a whole. Separately, you just see one person, but without each different puzzle piece we wouldn’t be complete.”
Ms. Pedrow received $150 for winning first place in the contest.
Bria Williams’ winning pencil drawing features diverse people living together in the same community. “My artwork communicates the idea about joining together with foreign people from different countries,” she said. “My artwork expresses where they came from and what they experienced.”
Ms. Williams received $50 for her winning entry.
Gateway Middle School also received matching financial grants to support its student art programs. The competition was open to Western Pennsylvania children in grades 5-8 and sponsored by the Pittsburgh Dialogue Foundation.
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