CUT KNIFE — Akeira Anseth of Cut Knife placed second from across Canada in the Royal Canadian Legion’s annual literary and poster competition with her black and white poster in the intermediate division.
Royal Canadian Legion Branch No. 200 of Cut Knife was pleased to have their first provincial winner in the competition. Having a student place second on the national stage was a thrill.
Placing second gives Anseth an award of $250 plus her artwork will hang in the foyer of the parliament building from late in October until Remembrance Day. If the foyer is still in the midst of renovations, it will hang in the National War Museum for that period of time.
Anseth attends Cut Knife Community School and has consistently placed well with her artwork. Last year she placed second provincially, but it was not until this year that she has gone on to the national competition. As a Grade 8 student she has one more year to compete in the intermediate division before going on to the senior competition.
Each winner at the local level goes on to compete at the zone level. The winners of zones go on to compete at the district level and those winners compete provincially. Winners at the provincial level go on to compete on the national level.
Every year branches of the Legion connect with their local schools, asking the students to participate in the competition. Students have the choice of competing in one or more of the various divisions including essay, poem, black and white poster and colour poster. Last fall there were 88 entries in various categories from CKCS.
In addition to the recognition and certificates, winners at each level receive cash awards. Those finishing in the top three also win cash awards at the local, district and provincial levels.
Cruz Norgaard was the only other CKCS student who went on to compete at the provincial level, placing third in Saskatchewan in the primary poster – black and white category.
Raelynn Hampson placed first in both the intermediate essay and poem categories at the zone level and went on to place third in the district level for her essay. Ella Drake place third in the primary poster – colour category at the district level. Zelda Moolman placed third at the district level in the senior poem category.
Other students placed well at the zone level, including Avery Duncan, second place in the junior essay category; Brittany Williams, second place in the junior poster – black and white category; Kiri Hampson, third place in the junior poem category; and Logan Hampson placed second in the senior essay category.
After the provincial judging is reported each year, members of the Cut Knife Royal Canadian Legion go to CKCS to present certificates and monetary awards to the winning students. The awards are typically presented at a student assembly, however COVID times have demanded that the awards be presented in the classrooms again this year. Thankfully, the national second place finish for Anseth was announced at the final student assembly of the school year June 10.
Congratulations to all those who take the time and make the effort to remember our heroes.
A caption for a photo with this story has been updated to clarify when the poster will hang in Parliament.
