Loyola Elementary Student Work Showcased in Education Office Gallery

A rotund elephant fixes his blue eyes on the viewer at the art gallery of the Santa Clara County Office of Education.

It is the work of a Loyola Elementary School first-grader, Mira. And it is one of 24 winning pieces of student art that were inducted into the education office's permanent gallery earlier this month at the 15th annual Young Artists Showcase.

The winning students from 15 school districts were feted at the ceremony, touring the county education office's student art gallery, and received special commendations from local elected officials, such as Campbell Mayor Jason Baker.

A panel of judges selected the winning pieces from about 200 submissions this year. 

The winning pieces were added to the Office of Education's permanent gallery of about 900 pieces of student artwork, amassed over the past 15 years. The student art gallery is believed to be California's largest collection of permanent artwork from public school students, according to the county office.

Viewers can see photographs of the event, as well as students posing with their winning artwork, County Office of Education website. Los Altos Patch has posted a few other examples of the art work here, and you can see all 24 pieces of the winning artwork on the county site.

The office of education has a policy of identifying students by their first names and schools.