[StBernard] Poster Contest Illuminates Sun-Safe Behaviors

[Westley Annis]

Poster Contest Illuminates Sun-Safe Behaviors 
Annual competition gives students chance to raise awareness, win prizes;
deadline: April 7, 2010 

(Dallas, Texas – November 5, 2009)  Students can help raise awareness about
sun safety and win prizes by entering the 2010 SunWise with SHADE poster
contest.  The annual contest is a joint effort by the SHADE Foundation of
America, WeatherBug Schools and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to
teach children ways to protect their skin and eyes from excessive sun
exposure.  Last year’s winner, a 13-year-old from Bernville, Pennsylvania,
showed a girl talking to her friend about her unhealthy relationship with
the sun. 
  
Too much sun can lead to skin cancer, cataracts and other eye damage, and
immune system suppression.  Sun protection is especially important for
children because unprotected exposure in childhood increases the chances of
developing the most dangerous form of skin cancer, melanoma.  One in 55
children born in 2005 will develop melanoma during their lifetime—almost 30
times higher than the rate for people born in 1930. 
  
“As the school year gets under way, this contest is the perfect forum to
remind families and schools that simple steps like wearing hats, sunglasses
and shirts, using sunscreen, and staying in the shade can greatly reduce
their risk of getting a sunburn, or worse, skin cancer,” said Acting EPA
Regional Administrator Lawrence E. Starfield.  “In fact, skin cancer is the
most common form of cancer in the United States.  The SunWise with SHADE
poster contest is a fun, creative way to increase awareness of the
importance of being safe in the sun.” 
  
In 2009, the poster contest featured entrants from all states in EPA’s
Region 6, a noteworthy accomplishment.  State winners included: 
  
•       Arkansas:  Alexis B. of Greers Ferry 
•       Louisiana:  Deborah K. of Mandeville 
•       New Mexico:  Angel R. of Las Cruces 
•       Oklahoma:  Jessica S. of Tulsa 
•       Texas:  Kaylie M. of Hewitt 
  
The contest due date is April 7, 2010.  Starting this year, there are two
age categories for poster entries—kindergarten through third grade, and
fourth through eighth grade.  Students in both categories must submit
hand-drawn posters on 8.5 x 11 inch pieces of paper.  Entries must be
original, creative, show ways to prevent skin cancer and raise sun safety
awareness, and must be attached to an official entry form, which can be
found at http://www.shadefoundation.org/programs/poster-contest/. 
  
Poster winners receive state and national prizes, with the national winner
in the 4th-8th grade category receiving a family trip to Disney World and a
WeatherBug Tracking Station for his/her school with lifetime access to
WeatherBug Achieve. 
        
The WeatherBug Schools Program (http://www.weatherbugschools.com) is
committed to providing an engaging teaching tool for schools nationwide.
With WeatherBug, teachers can create customized learning activities based on
current and historical weather conditions from the WeatherBug Tracking
Station and compare local conditions to 8,000 other stations nationwide. 
  
The SHADE Foundation’s mission is to eradicate melanoma through the
education of children and the community in the prevention and detection of
skin cancer and the promotion of sun safety. 
  
EPA’s SunWise Program is an environmental and health education program that
uses classroom and community tools to teach children and their caregivers
how to protect themselves from overexposure to the sun. 
  
More than 80,000 students have helped spread the message of sun safety by
participating in the annual contest since its creation in 2003.  Additional
information on SunWise and the 2010 SHADE poster contest is available at
http://www.epa.gov/sunwise/