Students at Helen Haller Elementary School and Sequim Middle School were recently lauded for their responses in the annual Americanism Essay Contest, sponsored by the national Elks Lodge.

Local contest winners include River Moxley-Horgan, Olianna Brailey, Paisley Rain Scriver and Kendall Adolphe, each of whom wrote on the topic, “What does our Bill of Rights mean to you?”

Students in grades 5-8 were asked to participate in the annual contest. Four students submitted outstanding essays to the Sequim Elks’ Lodge, and those essays were forwarded to the Western District level of competition, and Moxley-Horgan’s was forwarded to the State level.