Press Release:

The Digies, a yearly conference and festival organized by the School Library Service, which is part of Genesee Valley BOCES, aims to enhance the connection between digital media across various educational levels, from Pre-K-12 schools to higher education and professional institutions. The Digies showcases the talent and potential of students through an annual festival, attracting entries from the region.

Congratulations to these creative students!

Student Name(s)/Project Title/School District

Audio - PreK-3

• 1st - Ares Kohlerman/The Pika Podcast/Geneseo CSD

Audio - 7-9

• 1st - Megan Kinney, Tori Halpin/Concerned about Political Polarization?/Avon CSD
• 2nd Aydan VanDekken, Elisha Swift, Panagiotis Kolokouris, Nick Fries, Ryan Diddio/US Citizenship: Rights and Responsibilities Podcast/Avon CSD

Audio - 10-12

• 1st - Gadge Savastano/Feilde/Mount Morris CSD
• 2nd - Matthew Domzalski/Island Breeze/Orchard Park CSD
• 3rd - Earl Kipler III/Evolution/Orchard Park CSD

Interactive PreK - 3

• 1st - Jace Jordan, Scott Solis Berger/Dogman the Video Game/Letchworth CSD
• 2nd - Donnie Anderson, Layla Bailey, Amelia Braley, Norah Chesnes, Cash Coyne, Arianna Crotser, McKenzie Cullinan, Andrew DeCarlo, Connor Freeman, AJ Heeres, Anthony James, Remington Knapp, Desire Maynard, Olivia Miller, Addie Nardi, Westley Paganin, Gracelyn Potter, Coltin Ranalli, Chole Ventura, Zack Walworth/Habitats and Animal Adaptations/Avon CSD
• 3rd - Brooklyn Bannister, Bailey Granger, Briea Moore, Emah Powers, Ariana Sardina, Abby Stephens, Kendall Tucci, Lincoln Bowes, Maxon Logsdon, Grant Mead, Zack Moon, Jase Osterman/Monster Story Writing/Pavilion CSD

Interactive 4-6

• 1st - Teagan Heeb/One Wild Space Adventure/Letchworth CSD
• 2nd - Owen Lugo/Road Dodger video game/Alexander CSD
• 3rd - Maria Kipphut/Meow Machine/Livonia CSD

Interactive 7-9

• 1st - Alexander Haywood/Masked (Demo)/Town of Webb UFSD
• 2nd - Ayden Midkiff/Steam Tractor/Pembroke CSD
• 3rd - Brenna-Lynn Marleau/Jupiter's Quest/Town of Webb UFSD

Interactive 10-12

• 1st - Mya Button, Wes Morrell, Morgan Moses, Kyle Worden/Student Media Arts Collective/Wayland-Cohocton CSD
• 2nd - Karli Hy/Photo Web Portfolio/Geneseo CSD
• 3rd - Christopher Doody, Evelyn Northrup, Kylie Conway, Liam Campbell, Keean Cummins, Lauren Kingsley, Karley Zinkievich/Pavilion Gopher Pride Instagram/Pavilion CSD

Graphic Arts - PreK - 3

• 1st - Layla Price/Layla Price Self Portrait/Avon CSD
• 2nd - Rayna Marciniak/Rayna Marciniak Self Portrait/Avon CSD
• 3rd - Wyatt Vetter/Wyatt Vetter's playground/Avon CSD
• 3rd - Ashley Dechau/Ashley Dechau's Playground/Avon CSD

Graphic Arts 4-6

• 1st - Alice Szustakowski/STEAM Award/Alexander CSD
• 2nd - Christy Succes/Aurora Shadows/Livonia CSD
• 3rd - Andrew Klancer/Emoji Art/Pavilion CSD

Graphic Arts 7-9

• 1st - Isabella Ehrman/Self Portrait/Southwestern CSD
• 2nd - Bennett Antonucci/Andy Warhol style Self Portrait/Geneseo CSD
• 2nd - Olivia Mower/Portrait of Ellie from the Last of Us/Alexander CSD
• 3rd - Madeline Ingraham/Rush-Henrietta District Calendar Cover/Rush-Henrietta CSD

Graphic Arts 10-12

• 1st - Skylar Wilson/Hands With Water/Pittsford CSD
• 2nd - Molly Chittenden/Fleeting Time/Pembroke CSD
• 3rd - Lukas Ladd/Enduring Issues/Alexander CSD

Video PreK - 3

• 1st - Annie Tuttle/Dog Stuffy Commercial/Geneseo CSD
• 2nd - Paisley Emerson-Kunes/Polar Bears/Livonia CSD
• 3rd - Nathan Sedore, Henni Baughman/Fiestas Patrias in Chile/Livonia CSD

Video 4-6

• 1st - Caden Montesano, Evan Vetter, Keaton Griffiths/The Booner's Solve/Avon CSD
• 2nd - Gracie Stroud, Gianna Zidanich, Emelia Honan/Santa's Delivery/Avon CSD
• 3rd - Noah Wheeler, Ethan Heeres, Dylan Jimenez-Rodriguez/The Corn Escape/Avon CSD

Video 7-9

• 1st - Ari Arnold/How to Build a Fire (featuring Harry and Ron)/Avon CSD
• 2nd - Benedict Lickona, Noah Lantz, Albert James Parker, Daniel Aforismo, Hayden/Long Break and Build/Rush-Henrietta CSD
• 3rd - Keith Giardina/Animated Cart Wheel/Rush-Henrietta CSD

Video 10-12

• 1st - Adriana Ochoa/Fetch/Pittsford CSD
• 2nd - Charlie Ritter/Dots/Pittsford CSD
• 3rd - Ethan Taft/Rotoscope GIF/Dansville CSD

Above: Christina Brown, a student from Batavia City School District, created a design called "Covid-19" and placed third in The DIGIES Graphic Arts division -- Grades 7-9.

Submitted image and press release:

Despite cancellation due to COVID-19 of the annual media awards event called "The DIGIES" put on by the School Library System, there were more entries than ever this year and a total of 14 third-place winners from Genesee County.

The system's media conference, festival and awards is a program of the Genesee Valley Board of Cooperative Educational Services -- BOCES.

The mission of The DIGIES is to strengthen the digital media continuum between PreK-12 schools, higher education and professional institutions. The DIGIES recognizes student potential in an annual festival format and students compete from all throughout the region and the Upstate New York area.

The year’s festival awards event was scheduled to be held last month at The Strong National Museum of Play in Rochester. 

Emilee Hillman and Andrea Fetterly, Library Technologies’ specialists coordinate this conference. Fetterly said that school building closures due to COVID-19 did not dampen enthusiasm for this year’s festival, which drew a number of entries.

“We are excited to celebrate the amazing creativity and skill demonstrated by the participants in this year's DIGIES festival," Fetterly said. "Despite a shortened in-person school year and extraordinary circumstances, students continue to achieve great success."

Below is a listing of categories, grades, winners and school districts from Genesee County. (Other categories were Audio and Interactive Media, but there were no winners from Genesee County.)

Congratulations to these imaginative students!

GRAPHIC ARTS

Grades 7-9

1st:                   The Stranger by Zac Hakes -- Hilton CSD

2nd:                  Fatoma by Cornelia Adakah -- Pittsford CSD

3rd:                  Covid-19 by Christina Brown -- Batavia CSD

3rd:                   En Pointe by Cammi Eccleston -- Hilton CSD

VIDEO

Grades 7-9

1st:                   The Silk Road by Jonathan Popper -- Pittsford CSD (Submitted by Animatus Studio)

2nd:                  Land Rover Series III Pickup: Desert Joyride by Zachary Heiman -- Dansville CSD

3rd:                  Things to do in Quarantine by Matthew Covert -- Le Roy CSD

Grades 10-12

1st:                  Doors by Jacob French -- Geneseo CSD

2nd:                 Michi by Ashlyn Kreiss -- Pittsford CSD

3rd (tie):           A Quest to Learn Part I by Devon Deuel -- Dansville CSD

3rd (tie):          Quarantine Catch by Mikayla Hickey, Makenna Boyce, Kayla Yax, Adeline Kautz, Kelsey Kautz, Samantha Sawyer, Neva Saile, Emma Raines, Courtney Schum, Emily Balduf, Sydney Smith and Taylor Fletcher (Alexander Softball) -- Alexander CSD

(Editor's note: we asked, but entries from the Le Roy and Alexander winners were not available from GV BOCES' School Library System, which runs The DIGIES event.)