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Poster Contest

Escaping Vaping Program

In the spring of 2026, all fourth and fifth-grade students in the Barrow County School System participated in the Escaping Vaping Poster Contest, a tobacco-free education program developed by the Georgia Academy of Family Physicians and sponsored by the Georgia Healthy Family Alliance. Family physicians started the program in 1988 as the Tar Wars Poster Contest to educate children about the dangers of tobacco use. Due to current trends, the program has expanded to cover other nicotine and tobacco products.

Through the Escaping Vaping Program, Northeast Georgia Medical Center (NGMC) Barrow and Barrow County School System partner to teach students about the health effects of tobacco use, the cost associated with using them, and the advertising techniques used by the tobacco industry to market to youth.

About Escaping Vaping Poster Contest

As part of the program, all students design a poster to illustrate their learning and discourage tobacco use. Each class selects the top 3 posters to be submitted for district-level competition in the Escaping Vaping Poster Contest. All posters are sent to the Barrow Area Rotary Club to narrow the submissions to the top 5. The top 5 posters are then featured in a voting campaign on NGMC’s Facebook page, and the top 3 posters are selected. The top 3 posters also go on to the state competition. Special thanks to the team at NGMC Barrow, including Sunita Singh and John Neidenbach.

2026 Poster Contest Winners

During the Aug. 4 BCSS Board of Education meeting, all 3 BCSS winners were recognized and awarded prizes from Northeast Georgia Medical Center Barrow.

Congratulations to our system winners for the 2025-26 school year!

1st Place: Landon Mathis
"Be a Friend to Your Lungs"

2nd Place: Charley Stowe 
"Your Lungs Aren’t Trash"

3rd Place: Kailynn Zapata
"Don’t Vape – Your Lungs Matter"

Congratulations to Charley Stowe for winning the State Level Contest! Kailynn Zapata placed 2nd in the State Level Competition.

A special thank you to Lauren Shamblin from the Georgia Healthy Family Alliance for gifting each elementary school with a donation to support healthy initiatives for students.

See the Full Presentation

A group of students and adults pose for a photo at an awards ceremony, with banners in the background.

  • 2023-2024 Poster Contest Winners
    During the Aug. 6 BCSS Board of Education meeting, all 3 BCSS winners were recognized and award prizes from Northeast Georgia Medical Center Barrow.

    Congratulations to our system winners for the 2023-24 school year!

    1st Place: Jecoliah Tagnan
    "Be Kind to Your Lungs"

    2nd Place: Haley Falkenhayn
    "You're Important"

    3rd Place: Cannon Lord
    "Imagine Your Life"

    Three young people stand in front of a banner, each holding a colorful painting.

     

  • 2022-23 Poster Contest Winners
    BCSS has been fortunate the last few years to have students’ posters win at the state level. In 2021 we had a 2nd place state winner, in 2022 we swept the state with 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place wins, and this year Lynda-Mae Peppers was awarded 2nd place in the state poster contest by Kara Sinkule, Deputy Director for Georgia Healthy Family Alliance. During the Aug. 1 BCSS Board of Education meeting, all 3 BCSS winners were recognized and award prizes from John Neidenbach, Administrator for Northeast Georgia Medical Center Barrow, and Ms. Sinkule recognized Lynda-Mae Peppers.

    Congratulations to our system winners for the 2022-23 school year!

    1st Place: Lynda-Mae Peppers, HES
    (2nd Place for the State!)

    2nd Place: Emily Mendoza, BES

    3rd Place: Sefora Santa, AES

    A group of people pose for a photo, holding certificates in front of a school backdrop.

  • 2022 System Winners
    Congratulations to our system winners for the 2021-2022 school year!

    • 1st Place: Melody Chavous, 5th grade Kennedy Elementary
    • 2nd Place: Asare Opoku, 4th grade Yargo Elementary
    • 3rd Place: Jayden Babilonia Hernandez, 5th grade Auburn Elementary

    A group of people pose with certificates and a poster, smiling for the camera.

    L-R: Sunita Singh, NGMC Barrow PR Manager; Melody Chavous; Asare Opoku; Ellen Petree, BCSS School & Community Relations Specialist; Jayden Babilonia Hernandez

     

    2022 State Winners
    After the district competition, our winners then swept the state competition! To recognize them, Tar Wars Statewide Manager Abbey Carr and Deputy Director for Georgian Health Family Alliance Kara Sinkule presented students with their monetary award and certificate at the Oct. 4 Board of Education meeting.

    The state rankings were:

    • 1st Place in Georgia: Melody Chavous
    • 2nd Place in Georgia: Jayden Babilonia Hernandez
    • 3rd Place in Georgia: Asare Opoku

    A group of people pose for a photo in front of a banner.

    State Recognition at Oct. 4, 2022 BOE Meeting

     

    An illustration depicts lungs with the words 'Don't Smoke That Stick'.

    Melody Chavous, 5th grade KES

     

    A hand-drawn illustration with a lighter, tombstone, and lit cigarette, with text about quitting smoking.

    Asare Opoku, 4th grade YES

     

    A colorful anti-smoking poster depicts a cigarette with a face holding a lighter and a person.

    Jayden Babilonia Hernandez, 5th grade AES

     

     

    TAR WARS 2021-22 DATA
    To measure knowledge gained through Tar Wars students are given a pre-test to establish their baseline knowledge. After completing the Tar Wars program, they take a post-test. Data revealed significant gains in all areas especially in student learning about the effects of smoking or vaping on the body, the tactics of targeted advertising, and the influence of peers in making choices. 84% of students reported learning something new from the Tar Wars program.

  • During the Aug. 5 BCSS Board of Education meeting, all 3 BCSS winners were recognized and award prizes from Northeast Georgia Medical Center Barrow.

    Congratulations to our system winners for the 2024-25 school year!

    1st Place: Savannah Ogles
    "Fly Away From Tobacco, Love Your Lungs, Smoke Free"

    2nd Place: Mary Frempong
    "Bee Glad Your Lungs Aren't Sad! Stay Tobacco Free!"

    3rd Place: Isabel Wilches
    "Be Smoke Free and You Will Be as Beautiful as a Butterfly"

     

    Three young girls proudly display certificates and artwork.

    L-R: Mary Frempong, Isabel Wilches, Savannah Ogles

     

    Making an Impact in Barrow

    We are very thankful to our District Partner In Education, Northeast Georgia Medical Center Barrow, for their leadership and support in promoting healthy lifelong choices for students.