Three photographs submitted by Massapequa’s Berner Middle School to Home of the Free: A Photojournalism Project have been selected as winners. These photographs will be exhibited at The New-York Historical Society in New York City beginning December 3. They will be displayed along with 70 other winning photographs from across New York and New Jersey in conjunction with an exhibit by Pultizer Prize winning photojournalist David Hume Kennerly. On December 3 Washington Mutual and The New-York Historical Society, the project sponsors, will host an opening celebration for the exhibit. The photos will also be exhibited at Washington Mutual Bank in Sunrise Mall beginning November 17.

Five Berner students were selected by Laura Siegel, project advisor to participate in this project. These five students are Sara Hirsch, Nicole Saraniero, Jacqueline Slomin, Joe Waterhouse, and Alyssa Wittenberg. The project began September 19 with a kick-off event at Chelsea Piers in New York City. David Hume Kennerly and Channel 2 News anchor Ernie Anastos provided motivation and suggestions for taking photos. Cannon donated a digital camera for student use and Washington Mutual provided a $500 honorarium to cover expenses.

Over three weeks, students worked as a team taking photos of people in public service in the Massapequa community. They photographed Congressman Peter King, Assemblyman Steven Labriola, Town of Oyster Bay workers, and Berner staff. Students also asked these public servants questions about their jobs.

The team had the difficult decision of selecting which photos to submit to the competition. Almost 200 pictures were taken and only fifteen could be submitted. Once the fifteen photos were selected they were sent to a panel of professional photographers for judging.

Berner is proud of the quality of photos submitted by these students and the dedication they showed toward this project.

Winning photographs can be viewed on the Washington Mutual web site at www.wamuhomeofthefree.com.