By ROWENA PLETT

Staff writer

After months of waiting, Centre student Anna Godinez Vinduska finally was able to receive an Arbor Day award that she won in a Kansas-wide drawing contest in May.

Anna placed first as a fifth-grader for her pencil drawing on the theme, “We All Need Kansas Trees for Resilience,” but she had to wait until Tuesday to receive it.

Her poster was in a comic strip format. She developed the project independently as a student in Centre’s gifted program.

Centre received two framed pictures of all the winners and one framed award certificate. Anna received her framed original drawing, a backpack, and two nature books.

Anna received the award Tuesday at Centre’s school garden, with her parents and grandparents in attendance, as well as preschool through fifth-grade students and teachers all.

A flowering crab tree donated by the Arbor Day Foundation was planted in the garden.

The presentation was broadcast to students in sixth through 12th grades, who are restricted to virtual learning.