Mountain Views News, Combined Edition Saturday, May 25, 2019

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Mountain Views-News Saturday, May 25, 2019 

UPPER DISTRICT ANNOUNCES WINNERS OF 
THE 2019 “WATER IS LIFE” 
STUDENT ART CONTEST

The Board of Directors for the Upper San Gabriel Valley 
Municipal Water District (Upper District) honored 20 San 
Gabriel Valley students who submitted award-winning 
entries to our annual “Water is Life” art contest. The art 
contest helps raise awareness about conservation and 
educates students about the importance of preserving our 
most precious resource. 

Students are encouraged to express what water means to 
them and its impact on our lives through artwork. This is 
the 15th year that Upper District has hosted the “Water is 
Life” art contest introduced by Metropolitan Water District 
of Southern California (MWD). 167 art submissions were 
received and 33 schools participated this year. Schools 
within the Upper District boundaries were allowed to 
participate and submit a maximum of five entries per 
student category as follows: Kindergarten-2nd; 3rd-5th; 
6-8th; and 9th-12th grades.

All eligible art entries were displayed at Upper District’s 
board room for a week to allow the Board of Directors, staff, 
and members of the public the opportunity to vote by ballot 
for their top choices in each student category. The votes 
determined the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th place winners. 
Students were awarded certificates of recognition and check 
prizes at today’s board meeting. They were joined by their 
family and teachers in celebration for their achievements. 

“Every year we are amazed with how incredibly talented and creative the students are in demonstrating 
their perspective on life’s dependence on water. Educating students about our local water supply and 
groundwater basin helps them develop their own understanding of why water is a critical resource in 
our region. We will continue to support programs that work towards this goal,” said Board President 
Ed Chavez. 

Upper District’s winning entries will now go on to compete in the “Water is Life” student art contest 
hosted by MWD. The winners for this contest are normally announced in the fall. The student winners 
of Upper District’s 2019 “Water is Life” art contest are as follows:

K- 2nd Grades

• 1st Place: Cindy Xinyi Zhang, 1st grade, LA Art Academy 
• 2nd Place: Bianca Lim, 1st grade, St. Martha School
• 3rd Place: Lanlan Li, 2nd grade, LA Art Academy 
• 4th Place: Grace Cheng, K, Clairbourn School
• 5th Place: Sophia Rodriguez-Ibanez, 2nd grade, Cedarlane Academy 


3rd – 5th Grades

• 1st Place: Tiffany Chu, 5th grade, Cleminson Elementary 
• 2nd Place: Julia Yu, 5th grade, LA Art Academy 
• 3rd Place: Catalina Tsao, 4th grade, Cleminson Elementary 
• 4th Place: Arthur Wang, 4th grade, LA Art Academy
• 5th Place: Hayley Fung, 3rd grade, LA Art Academy 


6th – 8th Grades

• 1st Place: Claire Li, 8th grade, LA Art Academy 
• 2nd Place: Iris Xu, 8th grade, LA Art Academy 
• 3rd Place: Ellie Nakamura, 7th grade, South Pasadena Middle School 
• 4th Place: Jessica Lu, 6th grade, LA Art Academy 
• 5th Place: Selina Yu, 8th grade, LA Art Academy 


9th – 12th Grades

• 1st Place: Mia Dominguez, 10th grade, Los Altos High School 
• 2nd Place: Janice Wu, 11th grade, LA Art Academy 
• 3rd Place: Jessica Mayo, 9th grade, California School of the Arts, San Gabriel Valley 
• 4th Place: Charlene Hsu, 9th grade, California School of the Arts, San Gabriel Valley 
• 5th Place: Phoebe Luo, 9th grade, LA Art Academy 


Upper District’s mission is to provide a reliable, sustainable, diversified and affordable portfolio of high 
quality water supplies to the San Gabriel Valley; including water conservation, recycled water, storm 
water capture, storage, water transfers and imported water. Upper District services nearly one million 
people in its 144 square mile service territory. Governed by a five member elected board of directors, 
Upper District is a member agency of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. Annually, 
more than 78 billion gallons of water is used in Upper District’s service area. For more information 
about Upper District, please visit our website www.upperdistrict.org or call 626-443-2297. 

(From left to right) Board of Directors Jennifer Santana, Ed Chavez, and Al Contreras with the winners 
of the 2019 “Water is Life” art contest.


Mountain Views News 80 W Sierra Madre Blvd. No. 327 Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024 Office: 626.355.2737 Fax: 626.609.3285 Email: editor@mtnviewsnews.com Website: www.mtnviewsnews.com