First Lady Cathy Justice is inviting all West Virginia students to participate in the 20th annual First Lady Student Ornament Competition.
All kindergarten through 12th grade students who are public, private, or home-schooled are encouraged to create a “Santa” themed ornament for the tree, which will be on display at the Culture Center in Charleston during this year’s holiday season.
Ornaments will be classified in four divisions according to grade: K-2, 3-5, 6-8, and 9-12. Each ornament will be individually judged and four winning classes will be selected, one from each division. In January 2025, the winning ornaments will be donated to the West Virginia State Museum for a permanent collection.
The ornaments and the Christmas tree will be unveiled in conjunction with Joyful Night, the annual holiday celebration at the State Capitol held in early December. The four winning classes will receive a gift card to help purchase supplies for their class.
Design information:
- Only one ornament per class is allowed for judging.
- The ornament should represent the “Santa” theme.
- The ornament must be no larger than 10 inches tall and can be three-dimensional.
- For the construction of the ornament, use lightweight materials such as paper, foam board, cardboard, felt, or paper mache.
- Be creative. Decorate the ornament with items such as glitter, photographs, crayons, paint, aluminum foil, or paper.
- On the reverse side of the ornament, write the teacher’s name, school and class, email address, phone number and mailing address. If the information is not written on the reverse side of the ornament, the ornament will be displayed on the tree, but not eligible for judging.
- Attach a five-inch loop of string or ribbon to hang the ornament on the tree.
The ornament will not be returned.
The ornament must be received no later than Nov. 22. Send ornament to Elizabeth Yeager, Department of Arts, Culture, and History, The Culture Center, 1900 Kanawha Blvd., East, Charleston, WV 25305. Post marked ornaments received after this date cannot be judged.
The winning class will be notified the week beginning Dec. 2.
