Three Saint Joseph School students were honored Dec. 3 for portraying the true meaning of Christmas through images and words.
Second-grader Coraline Reed won in the first- and second-grade category of the “Keep Christ in Christmas” contest sponsored by the Knights of Columbus. The winner among those in grades three and four was Lily Soltis, a fourth-grader. Sixth-grader Rhea Rawat’s artwork was deemed the best among those submitting 11-by-17-inch posters in grades five and six.
The students received framed certificates and gift cards from Jonathan A. Noyalas, a member of Monsignor Lackey Council 1169 of the Knights of Columbus in Martinsburg, during an assembly in the school gym.
The artwork was judged on how clearly the “Keep Christ in Christmas” message was presented and how effectively the students’ drawings captured people’s attention. They featured images of the holy family, angels, stars and crosses. Rawat’s entry also featured this message: “The beauty of Christmas is not in presents, but in His presence.”
SJS art teacher Jane King judged all of the entries.
The gift cards were donated in memory of Noyalas’ late grandfather, Robert Klementovicz. Klementovicz, born in 1918, was part of the “Greatest Generation” and served in the Pacific during World War II. The son of Polish immigrants, he was devoted to his family and loved children. He was a fan of big-band music and the arts, which Noyalas celebrates with the poster contest prizes.
The winning posters will be judged at the district level.