What are the responsibilities of being a good citizen? This is, perhaps, a question all of us should ask. Interestingly enough, it is a question being asked of students at Indian Trail Elementary School in Highland Park.

The Rory Award Program was first established in 1999 by Barry Bakal, a close friend of the Deutsch family. The award was instituted so that future generations of Indian Trail students would continue to remember Rory as a "caring, sweet boy who was always willing to help others." Barry continues donating to the Foundation in the name of each Rory Award winner. As Veronica Patt, principal of the school explains, "The Rory Award Program reinforces our ongoing CARE (Caring and Accepting in a Responsible Environment) program and the school's objective of helping every child to feel valued and respected."

The school is proud to announce the two award winners for 2001. Madeline Barsky, kindergartner, earned honors for her highly creative drawing depicting good citizenship (see above). The essay award went to Hannah Kreindler, grade four, for her outstanding and elaborate work on the duties of good citizenship (see below).

It's obvious from the works of both of these students that they clearly understand that good citizenship carries responsibilities. There is a skill to being a good citizen that needs tending and developing. But, according to Hannah Kreindler, this may not be that difficult. "It's kind of easy," she says in her essay... "like drawing – once you start you can't stop."