'Be Reel' Video Contest Starts for Middle-School Students

The Street Smarts video contest for middle schoolers has started, with kids across the San Ramon Valley Unified School District thinking of creative ways to teach the community about pedestrian safety in 60 seconds or less.

The theme for this year's contest is "Walking and Biking to School Together Is the Cool Thing To Do."

Kids in sixth to eighth grades will produce 60-second public service announcements that will be judged in April. The top 10 finalists will be in the Danville International Children's Film Festival.

In last year's contest, finalists included first prize for Diablo Vista students Danielle Morelan, Kate Callahan and Michael Collari, with Charlotte Wood students Gregg Polosky and Jack McGill taking second place.

All 10 finalists' videos from last year — including a pedestrian-safety video of Lego characters and videos about the dangers of using your cell phone or iPod while riding a bicycle or scooter — can be seen online. 

Middle schoolers who want to participate in the contest can download the PDF information packet and visit the Street Smarts website.