Van Allen School fourth grader Peyton Jacobs of Escalon was the grand prize winner in the South San Joaquin Irrigation District’s second annual Vehicle Wrap Art Contest.

The contest is part of the District’s outreach to elementary students regarding water awareness. Historically, SSJID participates in events like school Agriculture Days and AgVenture.

 Last year, SSJID introduced this event as another avenue to communicate the importance of water to the district’s younger population. The winning entry was produced as a vehicle wrap design that was placed on the tailgates of all of the District’s water delivery trucks. 

The theme this year was “The Flow of H2O”. The contest was open to elementary age students from the public schools in Manteca, Ripon and Escalon Unified School Districts. There were two age categories: 1-3 grade and 4-5 grade. There was a 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winner in each of the age categories and a grand prize winner. First place winners received a $75 Target gift card; second place winners received a $50 Target gift card; third place winners received a $25 gift. The grand prize winner received a $100 gift card and their artwork will be displayed on SSJID’s trucks for the 2020 irrigation season. This year, SSJID also awarded the school with the most contest entries a $250 Staples gift card to be used for school art supplies. For the second year in a row, the school with the highest participation was Colony Oak in Ripon with 30 entries.

Other contest winners were:

*GRADES 1 – 3:  1st place – Katy Scheffel, 1st grade, Colony Oak, Ripon; 2nd place – Zane August, 1st grade, Colony Oak, Ripon; and 3rd place – Madeleine Masi, 3rd grade, Dent Elementary, Escalon.

*GRADES 4 – 5:   1st place – Payton Strong, 5th grade, Stella Brockman, Manteca;  2nd place – Grace L Alvarez, 5th grade, Stella Brockman, Manteca; and  3rd place – Kiera Egan, 4th grade, Dent Elementary, Escalon.