A Lakeside Middle School student recently won first place in the art category of the 11th annual Holocaust Art and Writing Contest, while a classmate was named one of five finalists. Eighth-grader Bailey Smith took the top honor in art and John Ingrao was chosen as a finalist for the second straight year at a March 5 awards ceremony for the contest, which was presented by Chapman University and The "1939" Club, one of the largest and most active Holocaust survivor organizations in the nation. In all, 70 middle schools from Los Angeles and Orange counties were present, and students from each submitted work in the three categories: art, prose and essay. Kelli Seydewitz, Bailey’s teacher, said 69 kids from Lakeside participated with projects on actual Holocaust survivors. The entries were both emotional and enlightening, and for Bailey the awards ceremony was particularly moving because of a special guest. “The survivor that Bailey chose to do her project on, Ilse Diament, was at the ceremony,” Seydewitz said. Along with her first-place prize, Bailey, her parents and her teacher have been invited to participate in an expense-paid study trip to visit the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, as well as and other sites in Washington, D.C., from June 27 through July 1.