From Dec. 2 to Dec. 12, Norwin High School participated in a door decorating contest and a locker decorating contest. The door decorating contest was hosted by the Student Council (STUCO) and Peer Mentor and Buddy Club (PMBC). Homerooms had the opportunity to decorate their doors for the holidays, and the doors were judged on Dec. 12 by the PMBC. On Dec. 13, the winning homeroom was announced. The winning homeroom was Miss Sweeney’s 1st Period room 143 ‘Hanging with my Gnomies.’ The lockers were judged after the school day on Dec. 12 by STUCO officers and STUCO advisers.
There was no specific theme for the door decorating contest beyond the general holiday focus. The idea of the contest was to increase student excitement for the holidays and decorate the school for the winter festivities, as well as provide a scenic backdrop for the Candy Cane Castle train route.
Miss Sweeney’s winning door had a gnome theme. The main color scheme of the door was red with white snowflakes and a few minimal green accents. Other doors include Mrs. Brentzel-Martina’s gingerbread-themed door, Mrs. Sweeney’s door with a Santa theme and a candy cane pattern, and Mrs. Hufnagel’s door with a candy theme.
Common materials for the doors included wrapping paper, other types of long-sheet paper, paper snowflakes, photographs, and other paper decorations. Many rooms constructed snowmen out of construction paper. Some rooms had inflatables or some sort of self-standing decoration.
The locker decorating contest had a couple more requirements than the classroom door decorating did. Since the lockers are grouped together, any decorations could not interfere with any student’s ability to access their locker. All decorations also had the stipulation of needing to be able to be easily removed so as to prevent damage to the lockers. The recommended material for decoration was anything connected to the locker with magnets for ease of removal, but the materials were overall similar to those used in the door decorating contest.
The prize for winning the locker decorating contest was a $100 gift card chosen by the student. There was a benchmark of 100 student participants in the locker decorating contest for the prize to be awarded.
The locker decorating contest is a new addition to Norwin High School’s holiday festivities. Its purpose was to foster the holiday spirit. Some students already decorate lockers for various sports, but the contest allowed students who are not involved in sports the opportunity to do so.
“The locker decorating contest is being held this year to promote school spirit and give students who don’t participate in sports the opportunity to have their lockers decorated,” said Julia Choby, Norwin junior and STUCO officer.
STUCO officers and advisers had some criteria for judging the lockers. Multiple factors were considered when evaluating the locker doors. Having specific categories of assessment made the locker judging consistent.
“The criteria the student council officers are judging is based on creativity, effort, Holiday theme, and whether it is eye-catching or not,” Choby said.
Both the locker decorating contest and the door decorating contest intended to add a bit of holiday cheer to Norwin High School. The contests also allowed students to get involved in the holiday atmosphere at the school.
“I think the locker decorating contest is going to make the atmosphere a lot more positive for students this year and give them something to look at when walking through the hallways and going to their lockers throughout the day,” Choby said.
