The Museum teams with the City of Los Altos Historical Commission annually to offer the Margaret Thompson Essay Contest—open to students in grades 3-6 in the Los Altos School District. May 2009, marked the 25th anniversary of this event, and Margaret Thompson wanted to do something special to celebrate the milestone. She suggested a 25th Anniversary trophy to be engraved and awarded to the school with the most winning essays. The winning school receives the trophy at the Museum’s Ice Cream Social in May, and may proudly showcase at their school for a year.
The theme for this year’s contest was “Inspired by Juana!” tying it to the popular Museum exhibit. The Education Committee members judged the contest—all 156 essays—and selected 1st through 3rd place winners/grade. The winning essays are preserved in the Museum archives.
2019 Margaret Thompson Essay Contest Winners
3rd grade
1st place: Kira Tierling, Gardiner Bullis School
2nd place: Rachel Kim, Covington
3rd place: Zachary Po, Covington
4th Grade
1st place: Audrey Wang, Covington
2nd place: Madeleine Park, Montclaire
2nd place: Claire Hanson, Loyola
3rd place: Giancarlo Mendoza, Santa Rita
5th Grade
1st place: Bryanna Dong, Covington
2nd place: Nora Saraci-Alonso, Covington
3rd place: Elaine Choi, Covington
6th grade
1st place: Shelby Stevens, Springer
2nd place: Michael Shtrom, Pinewood
3rd place: Caroline Koltek, Pinewood
3rd place: Abigail Kamenetsky, Pinewood
Award Recipients
Contributed by Anne Roberts, Education Committee Chair
