Churchill, Rio Students' Art Makes Calendar

Artwork from students at and schools will be featured in a calendar.

All but two of the pieces of student art featured in this year’s calendar for the Triple-A baseball team were created by students.

Two Churchill students’ work made the cut, and each was surprised to learn they’d been selected.

“I was really excited,” said sixth-grader Annemarie Meade, whose depiction of a -themed jack-o-lantern is the calendar’s October feature. “I started jumping up and down.”

Eighth-grader Michaela P. has a July piece that features the Sacramento River, the city’s iconic Tower Bridge and an appropriately placed American flag.

“I’ve never submitted anything for an art competition before,” she said. “I didn’t really think I’d be selected, because I saw everyone else’s work in my art class, and they were pretty amazing. So it feels good.”

Artwork from Rio students Katherine DuPont (grade 12), Kyle Lawson (10) and Caroline Stauffer (11) are also included in the calendar.

Twin Lakes Elementary School fifth-grader Zane Williams had plenty of inspiration to channel when he worked on a drawing he hoped would be selected for the Cats’ annual Art of Baseball calendar.

Williams enjoys drawing cartoon characters, loves to play baseball – and he’s a big fan of the local ball club’s beloved mascot, Dinger, who gifted Zane a prized autographed ball.

But the 10-year-old never thought his colored-pencil creation of Dinger would be picked from 1,500 student art submissions to grace the cover of the 2012 calendar. So it’s a big confidence booster for the young first baseman and budding artist.

“I would have thought I might have a good chance of getting in the calendar, but not on the cover,” Zane said. “It was kind of a shock.”

The minor league baseball team – which displays youth art throughout its Raley Field home stadium – has produced the calendar each year since 2003 as a way of supporting art education in local schools. Each student who submits a piece gets a ticket to a special art-themed event and game at the ballpark.

Calendar copies are distributed free of charge throughout schools, the community and to the student artists and their families.

“In these times, it shows the commitment that the organization and the ownership has to art, drama, music, athletics – those other areas of educating the entire child,” said Tony Asaro, a River Cats official who works with children in schools throughout the Sacramento area.

The other San Juan Unified students whose art made the calendar are:

•    Jessica Bonham, grade 12, Casa Roble Fundamental High School
•    Brigid Velayas, grade 7, Andrew Carnegie Middle School
•    Courtney Bennett, grade 11, Casa Roble Fundamental High School
•    Angelika Mudik, grade 5, Harry Dewey Fundamental School
•    Angelina Dykes, grade 2, Ottomon Elementary School
•    Robin Guillot, grade 11, Casa Roble Fundamental High School
•    Brianna Hartley, grade 6, Pershing Elementary School