Once again, Westside’s art department is a record breaker.

Yesterday, Feb. 5, the Nebraska Scholastic Art Awards released its recipients of Gold Keys, Silver Keys and Honorable Mentions. Just like last year, Westside dominated the competition, earning 146 total awards at the high school level and 22 total at the middle school level.

The 146 high school awards gave Westside almost two times as many as the second-best school, Skutt High School, which earned 75 awards.

“I just think we have high expectations, which is kind of a district standard,” art instructor Shawn Blevins said. “As a lighthouse district, we like to have high expectations in every area, and I think you see that in our sports and in our performing arts and in our visual arts.”

The 168 awards between Westside High School and Middle School broke last year’s District 66-record total of 123. The high school’s 146 broke last year’s school-record total of 98.

“The last few years, we’ve been hovering around 100 [awards], so we just wanted to see if we could push it over that and get it into the triple digits just for no other reason than to recognize more kids,” Blevins said. “…It’s just a good way to recognize kids and the hard work they put in and the extra mods and extra hours they spend at home on their art projects…It’s pretty exciting to get that many.”

Of the high school’s 146 awards; 59 were Gold Keys, the highest honor given out by the program; 45 were Silver Keys, the second highest honor; and 42 were Honorable Mentions. Each of those totals was the highest for any school at each respective award level.

Leading the charge for Westside were seniors Jenny Solheim and Sarah Lemke along with junior Alex Neumann. Solheim collected 10 awards (all Gold Keys), Lemke earned six (four Gold Keys) and Neumann picked up six (three Gold Keys).

All of the Gold Key recipients will have their work sent to the National Scholastic Art Awards to be judged. The top 2,000 of all regional Gold Key winners will be given National Medals. Last year, Solheim earned a National Medal. Blevins said multiple Westside students, including Solheim, have good chances of being recognized at the national level.

“We always have good odds,” Blevins said. “I think we have really strong artwork that competes well. [Jenny’s] technical skill is really tough to beat; it’s almost photographic. She has a really nice shot. Her portfolio is very strong.”

Blevins also said there is a possibility of a Westside student earning a National Medal for an entire portfolio. Solheim and three others will have their portfolios submitted for judgement at the national level. Westside has not had an artist receive a National Medal for a portfolio since 2006.

Saturday, Feb. 28, Scholastic Art Awards of Nebraska will host a ceremony to recognize the Nebraska award recipients. The ceremony will start at 11 a.m. at the Omaha Public Schools Teacher Administrative Center building. Westside Wired will be covering the event.