Bank program honors 4 fifth-graders

Four fifth-graders were honored Wednesday for their outstanding

artwork and essays as part of the Downey Savings’ “Banking Basics”

program.

The first-year program is a collaborative effort between the

Newport-Mesa Unified School District and Downey Savings and included

teaching the students banking essentials, such as how to write deposit

slips, read registries and save money.

In addition to the program, Downey sponsored an artwork and essay

contest to give students a chance to illustrate what they learned.

Grace Muling Lau from Lincoln Elementary School in Newport Beach

earned the first-place prize of a $5,000 one-year certificate of deposit.

Her winning entry also scored five computers for her school, and her

artwork will be displayed in Downey Savings branches throughout the

state.

The four other winners are Kaiser Elementary School’s Scott Figueroa,

who received a $2,500 certificate of deposit; Lincoln Elementary’s Heywon

Ahn, who won a $1,000 certificate of deposit; Lincoln’s Keyton Kosek, who

won a $500 certificate of deposit; and Eastbluff Elementary School’s John

Barrett, who also won a $500 certificate of deposit.