As the school day was ending for Alina Cielak, she was met with a surprise from her mother Mrs. Cielak and Kurt Kaiser, a member of the Cary 26 Education Foundation.

Alina, 8, is the winner of the 2012 Cary Shuffle 5k T-shirt design contest. A panel of judges from the Cary 26 Education Foundation chose Ali’s piece from the nearly 30 entries designed and submitted by students across District 26 schools, a foundation press release said.  

“Excited and surprised,” Alina said of finding out she was the winner on Wednesday after class. Alina’s design ultimately won because of its detailed descriptions of all the schools in the district, the date and colorfulness. 

Alina is a student in Mrs. Walters’ second-grade class at Three Oaks Elementary School.

Kaiser made the announcement to Walters’ class as the school day was ending.  

“The Cary 26 Education Foundation would like to congratulate Alina and all of the students that participated in this year’s contest,” the press release said. 

• Check out the winning design on the Cary Shuffle 5K web site.

Do you still need to register for the Cary Shuffle?  

There is still time to register for the April 14 Cary Shuffle 5K Run/Walk!

Register online until Tuesday, April 11.

After that, you can register at Wool Street Grill in Cary from 5 to 9 p.m. Thursday, April 12, or on race day at Cary Junior High beginning at 7 a.m.

The Cary Shuffle 5K Run/Walk is a fundraiser for the Cary 26 Education Foundation, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to expand and enrich the quality of education for all District 26 students.

Due to the generosity of individuals and businesses in the area, the Cary 26 Education Foundation has awarded more than $60,000 in grants, technology, and programs that directly affect District 26 students.

To learn more, you can find the Cary 26 Education Foundation on Facebook, or go to http://cary26foundation.org.