Essay Contests

2nd Annual SEMAH-SBIA Essay Competition 2009 Winners

We would like to congratulate the winners, thank all of the children who participated for sharing their thoughts and drawings with us about.

What they appreciate about themselves, their families, their communities the most, and one thing that they would like to change if they could.

Our thanks also go to the parents and educators, those who collected and sent the essays, and made our event possible...

As judges, we felt priviliged to have a chance to read these essays; sometimes laughing outloud, sometimes amazed at the clarity and sincerity of their visions, and sometimes with teary eyes on account of their short but rich life experiences. We must admit that we had the hardest time picking the best among them.

Due to swelling numbers of some grades, we have regrouped the categories to have a more even distribution in each subgroup.

275+ entries included students from the following communities:

BAMMOM,
El-Iman Yaseen Foundation Sunday School,
Granada Islamic School,
Ilm Tree Islamic Coop,
San Ramon Islamic Sunday School,
SBIA Islamic Sunday School,
Silicon Valley Academy.

The Winners and Special Award Winners

Winners

KG-1st GRADE

Ali Chaudhry - 1st Place
Furkan Ercevik - 2nd place
Donya Joseph - 3rd Place

2-4th GRADE

Younis Imad Yousef - 1st Place
Ujala Dean Shafiq - 2nd place
Ameen Mukhtar - 3rd Place

5th GRADE

Fatima Israr - 1st Place
Hanna Kim - 2nd place
Razan Kaddoura - 3rd Place

6-7th GRADE

Nour Obsiye - 1st Place
Liya Khan - 2nd place
Alea Sabrina Muhammad Suhair - 3rd Place

8-12th GRADE

Yasmeen Awadalla - 1st Place
Jihane Abdelhadi - 2nd place
Zara Shaikh - 3rd Place

Special Awards

Youngest Artist Special Award - Sarrah Farid, 4 year old
Best Graphic Artist in K-1st Category Special Award - Sena Atesoglu, 1st grader
Kindest-hearted Kindergartener Special Award - Sanaa Kashif, KG-er
Humanitarian Special Award - Ayah Hilali, 2nd grader
Most Interesting Super Hero Special Award - Mohammad Othman, 2nd grader
Environmentalist Special Award - Ismaeel Jamal Hyder, 3rd grader
Best Expression Special Award - Ghazal Masarweh, 3rd grader
World Peace Art Special Award - Hilal Atesoglu, 4th grader
Best Peace Plan Special Award - Nabiha Ahmed, 3rd grader
Best Foreign Policy Analyst Special Award - Waheeb Thabit, 5th grader
The Funniest Essay Special Award - Kareem Ahmed, 5th grader
Welcome to your CA Community Special Award - Sami Derbel, 6th grader
Peace Maker Special Award - Aurian Saleh, 7th grader
Most Appreciative Personality Special Award - Ahlam Taha, 7th grader
Most Descriptive Self Assessment Special Award - Ben Kim, 7th grader
Most Descriptive Essay Special Award - Raeesa Ashique, 7th grader
Acceptance Special Award - Safiyyah Bachar, 8th grader
Encouragement Special Award- Shifa, 8th grader
Best Planned Community Special Award - Nadia Rizvi, 9th grader
Middle 'Peace' Special Award - Amena Elmashni, 10th grader
Most Poetic Special Award - Cem Yesilyurt, 11th grader
Tolerance Special Award - Sana Sareshwala, 11th grader
Special Recognition Participation Award - Muaz Amir, 6th grader

Click here to read these kids' essays.