February Monday Memo Photo Contest

Congratulations to all 31 people who submitted photos into the February Monday Memo Photo Contest with the theme “What I Love.” The contest, heavy with submissions of child and animal photos, offered some warmth during an unusually snowy and cold February. Six judges each voted for their top three photos, which were awarded a point system for first (3 points), second (2 points), and third (1 point). To view all submissions, click here. The contest winners are as follows:

First Place (10 points) -- Carrie Likes, third-grade teacher at Okolona Elementary
Second Place (5 points) -- Tomika R. Crowder, clerk III with Jefferson County Public Schools (JCPS) Human Resources
Second Place (5 points) -- Trish B. Hamilton-Cooper, art and photography teacher at Eastern High
Third Place (4 points) -- Carol Buckingham, math and business teacher and JCPSeSchool liaison at Pleasure Ridge Park High

Carrie Likes, third-grade teacher at Okolona Elementary, received a new camera for Christmas at the same time her parents acquired a puppy, Lucy. Likes enjoyed experimenting with her new camera and held a pet photo shoot. Likes placed Lucy inside the shoe to give perspective on her size. She has enjoyed photography as a hobby for at least five years, and most of her photos are candid shots of her 2-year-old son. Likes hopes to take some photography classes this summer with the JCPS Adult and Continuing Education Program.

	Tomika R. Crowder, a clerk III with JCPS Human Resources, took this photo on the evening of her daughter’s second birthday. They celebrated by taking a super-bubbly bath with Cathren’s favorite bath toys. “This is one of my favorite pictures because looking at it reminds me to enjoy the simple things,” Crowder says. “Because at the end of the day, that’s all that really matters.”

“What I love is taking my daughters on photo shoots,” says Trish B. Hamilton-Cooper, art and photography teacher at Eastern High. Hamilton-Cooper took this photo of her daughter, who attends Middletown Elementary, in the Highlands on a JCPS snow day. Her daughter is dressed as the Queen of Hearts for a series of urban fairy tale photos. Hamilton-Cooper used a fill-flash and a wide-angle lens, and the candid shot captured her daughter’s natural exploration and fascination of the reflecting puddle. A moment after she took this photo, her daughter fell in the mud, which ended the photo shoot.

	Carol Buckingham, math and business teacher and JCPSeSchool liaison at Pleasure Ridge Park High, took this shot of her niece last year while on a vacation in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The family was near a stream, and the area was thick with large, beautiful butterflies. Buckingham enjoys the expression on her niece’s face and the composition of the photo.