Boy's artistic talent ratified in contest
Glenview student's poster on
Constitution wins national honors
| Kimon Bolaris,
in his classroom at Plato Academy in Morton Grove, is the son of Greek
immigrants. "A lot of winners are immigrant kids," says Martha Childers
of the GovDoc Kids Group. "Their families know what the freedoms
are." (Photo for the Tribune by Andrew A. Nelles / December 8, 2009)
|
By Peter
CameronSpecial to the
Tribune
December 11, 2009
When
you're the youngest of four boys in a large Greek family, recognition can be in
short supply.
So the
day Kimon Bolaris heard his painting had been chosen from an international pool
of almost 2,400 entries as a winner in the third annual GovDoc Kids Group
Constitution Day Poster contest, his reaction was understandable
"I
was really shocked and happy," the Glenview boy said.
Kimon
(pronounced "Key-moan"), a 12-year-old seventh-grader at Plato
Academy in Morton Grove, was in the school office making copies when the vice
principal got the congratulatory e-mail and told him the news.
Kimon
was one of 13 winners from 37 states and Department of Defense schools in
Italy, Japan and Korea.
The
GovDoc Kids Group, an association of librarians and archivists, holds the
contest to promote the use of democracy and to encourage children to learn
about such government documents as the Constitution.
Kimon's
watercolor painting features a red-and-white-striped circle against a blue sky.
The words "We the people..." adorn the top of the circle. Stars rest
below.
"It's
dramatic, it's striking," said Martha Childers, a coordinator for the
GovDoc Kids Group and a librarian at the Johnson County Library in Kansas.
"When you look at it, you go, 'wow.' "
"It's
supposed to be the Earth as an American flag," Kimon said. "America
is the land of opportunity and freedom, and I think the whole world should be
free."
As the
son of Greek immigrants, Kimon is not the first winner of the poster contest
with foreign-born parents living in the United States.
"A
lot of winners are immigrant kids," Childers said. "Their families
know what the freedoms are, and the families that are old stock kind of take it
for granted."
Having
Plato Academy students participate in the contest was the idea of Kimon's
visual arts teacher, Kathy Hatzopoulos, to honor Constitution Day on Sept. 17.
His win came as no surprise to /her.
"Kimon
is a very fun and witty child," Hatzopoulos said. "His work is
definitely beyond his age."
Along
with art, Kimon's favorite class is literature. Outside of school he likes
kicking a soccer ball around with his brothers, playing the piano and
performing every couple of months with his Greek dance troupe in retirement
homes and banquet halls.
For his
effort, Kimon will receive a certificate and two theater-size posters of his
painting.
He
plans to hang one poster on the wall in his bedroom and the other somewhere
else in the house -- perhaps in a place where his brothers can see it too.
