Ferri winner seeks votes in Google contest

Posted

Matthew Tsonos, the principal at Nicholas A. Ferri Middle School, didn’t mind organizing a surprise assembly Tuesday morning. After all, it’s not an every day occurrence that a sixth grader emerges as the state champion in a nationwide contest, and Wilson El Hage’s design may became the face of Google’s website, which features daily iconic and cleaver creations.

El Hage won first place in the recent Rhode Island Doodle 4 Google Competition, and if his artwork is selected as the best among 53 other state winners, it will be on the Google homepage for millions to see.

“Everyone had fun with making this surprise announcement to Wilson,” Tsonos said. “We wanted to make is special and a surprise.”

With the help of Carolyn Carnevale, one of El Hage’s teachers, Tsonos called students to the assembly mid-morning Tuesday to make the announcement and show off El Hage’s winning artwork.

“He one of only 53 state winners in the country,” said Tsonos. “Think about it; that’s special. This was Google’s ninth annual Doodle 4 Google competition, and the contest was open to students in k-12 across the United States.”

Students were asked to submit their artwork under the theme, “What I see for the future.” El Hage’s entry was entitled “The Travel Watch” and saying, “Do you want to travel into the future, see Mars or Venus? Or do you prefer to go back into the prehistoric times? The time travel watch can take you anywhere, so why not?”

His entry, Tsonos said, was selected from thousands of entries Google received this year. To help Wilson succeed in the competition, online voters from across the country can vote for El Hage’s design until March 6.

Google announced that the public vote will determine the five national finalists and there will be one in each age group. The company plans to announce the five national finalists and the national winner on March 31. The winner’s doodle will go live on Google.com that day.

More important, as Tsonos and Carnevale pointed out, “The national winner will take home a $30,000 college scholarship and his or her school will receive a $50,000 Google for Education Grant towards establishment and improvement of a computer lab or technology program.”

Voting is now taking place at www.google.com/doodle4google/vote.html. El Hague's submission has been placed in the grades 6-7 category. 

Comments

No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here