CHARLESTON, WV - The winners of the First Lady Student Ornament Competition were announced during the Joyful Night celebration.

The competition is a holiday tradition encouraging students across the state to submit ornaments around a particular theme. This year, the First Lady asked students to help “Deck the Halls with Santa Claus” by creating a Christmas ornament that honors the spirit of Santa Claus during the holiday season.

The winners will be displayed in the Great Hall of the Culture Center in Charleston for the rest of the season, along with the other submitted ornaments. The First Lady Student Ornament Competition had 144 entries from 23 West Virginia counties.

“I’m absolutely delighted with the incredible creativity we’ve seen in this year’s Student Ornament Competition,” First Lady Justice said. “Our theme, Santa Claus, brought out so much talent and imagination from students all across West Virginia. Congratulations to our four winning classrooms, and a heartfelt thank-you to everyone who participated. It’s always such a joy to see the effort and artistry our students put into their work. These ornaments will add a special touch to the Culture Center this holiday season.”

Each winning class was awarded a $100 gift card to purchase art supplies.

The winners of the four age groups are below:

PK-2nd grade
Mr. Underwood, Kindergarten class
Belle Elementary School
Kanawha County

3rd-5th grade
Ms. Marissa Brock and Jamie Meddings, 5th Grade class
Kermit PK-8
Mingo County

6th-8th grade
Mrs. Stewart, 8th Grade class
Oceana Middle School
Wyoming County

9th-12th grade
Ms. Roark, AP Art class
Brooke High School
Brooke County