A Weatherly Area Elementary School student is among those who won the Office of Attorney General's 17th annual Drug-Free Calendar Contest.

Amanda Colecio, a fifth grade student, was among 13 students from across the state who were chosen out of the nearly 800 entries for the 2014 calendar. Each drawing will represent a month on the calendar.Amanda's month is August, and depicts a child riding a roller coaster and shouting "Whee! I'm drug-free!"She explained that she entered the competition because she likes to draw and be athletic."I play basketball and softball and you can't dribble or pitch a ball if you take drugs and alcohol," the 10-year-old said. "Being drug free is an important message to kids my age."Colecio was amazed when she found out her drawing was one of the winners."When I heard my name over the announcements in school, I was shocked," she said. "I never won a drawing contest this big."She, as well as the other winners were then treated to a day in Harrisburg, courtesy of Attorney General Kathleen G. Kane, earlier this week.Colecio said the experience was very memorable.A Schuylkill County student named Kameron, last name not released, was also selected as a winner. He is from St. Nicholas Elementary School in Minersville, and his drawing, which features a child kicking up his heels and declaring "The best of me, drug free!" will be featured the month of April.The annual contest is funded through cash seized by agents of the Attorney General's Bureau of Narcotics Investigations, which represents the profits of drug trafficking organizations."Fifth-grade students are at an age when most have not been exposed to drugs or alcohol socially, so the goal of our contest is to engage them before they or their friends make a bad choice," Kane said."Agents from my office visit schools and meet with children of all ages year round to educate them about the importance of living a drug-free lifestyle," she said. "The drawings and paintings submitted by all of this year's contestants show that the students are paying attention and our message is getting through."Winners were chosen from more than 720 entries from 210 schools in 52 counties throughout the commonwealth. The winners were chosen based on the artists' creativity and ability to illustrate and convey a drug-free message.The calendar pages can be seen at

http://www.attorneygeneral.gov/uploadedFiles/Press/2014_OAG_DRUG_FREE_calendar.pdf