West Islip Second Grader Places In Statewide Art Contest

WEST ISLIP, NY — West Islip has an accomplished young artist in town.

Derek Pankratz, a second-grader at Oquenock Elementary School in the West Islip School District, was selected as the third-place winner in his age category, K to 3, in the "New York Recycles" poster contest, sponsored by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.

This is his second consecutive win, and his artwork will be on public display at the DEC headquarters in Albany.

The contest promotes recycling and the purchase of products that are made from and packaged with recycled materials. Pankratz' artwork focused on the importance of reducing single-use plastics and illustrated one way students can help to decrease the amount of waste they create — by using a reusable water bottle every day at school as opposed to bringing a plastic water
bottle.