WASHINGTON, D.C. – At 56 schools across the country, students are creating one-of-a-kind ornaments for the 2019 National Christmas Tree display on the Ellipse in President’s Park, according to the National Park Service.
The handcrafted ornaments will adorn 56 smaller trees that surround the National Christmas Tree. The 56 trees represent each U.S. state, territory and the District of Columbia as part of the America Celebrates display.
“I never would have imagined I could actually create an ornament for the National Christmas Tree display that represents my entire state!” Kayden Moore, a seventh grade student at Harlem Middle School in Loves Park, Illinois said. “It is an honor that students from our small city were chosen for this once in a lifetime event!”
Students across the country are creating ornaments that celebrate their state, district or territory.
“Everyone has a home but not everyone has the honor of representing their home in Washington, D.C.,” Danica Lambert, a seventh grader at St. James–St. John School in New Bedford, Massachusetts said. “My heart is filled with love and joy to be able to represent my home of Massachusetts.”
Through a partnership with the National Park Service, the U.S. Department of Education worked with state art and education agencies to identify elementary, middle and high schools whose students would create the ornaments for the America Celebrates display. Over 1,500 students will participate in this year’s project. The project is funded by the National Park Foundation.
“I am happy that other people get to see our work!” Brian Hunter, a sixth grade student at Marvin M. Sedway Middle School in North Las Vegas, Nevada, said. “I want to show everyone that we can do it!”
The America Celebrates display is one of the highlights of the National Christmas Tree experience, which will begin on Thursday, Dec. 5 with the 97th Annual National Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony.
Here’s a list of the 56 schools that will create ornaments for the 2019 National Christmas Tree display in President’s Park:
|
Alabama |
Hamilton High School |
|
Alaska |
Valley Pathways High School |
|
American Samoa |
Leone High School |
|
Arizona |
Grand Canyon Unified School District |
|
Arkansas |
Monticello High School |
|
California |
West Valley High School |
|
Colorado |
Grand Mountain School |
|
Connecticut |
House of Arts, Letters and Science (HALS) Academy |
|
Delaware |
Cab Calloway School of the Arts |
|
District of Columbia |
Ballou High School |
|
Florida |
Suwannee High School |
|
Georgia |
Valley Point Middle School |
|
Guam |
Simon Sanchez High School |
|
Hawaii |
Maui High School |
|
Idaho |
Timberline High School |
|
Illinois |
Harlem Middle School |
|
Indiana |
Paoli High School |
|
Iowa |
Clear Creek Amana Middle School |
|
Kansas |
Cheney High School |
|
Kentucky |
Adair County High School |
|
Louisiana |
Dutchtown High School |
|
Maine |
Presque Isle High School |
|
Maryland |
North Hagerstown High School |
|
Massachusetts |
St. James – St. John School |
|
Michigan |
NorthPointe Christian High School |
|
Minnesota |
Riverside Christian School |
|
Mississippi |
Florence High School |
|
Missouri |
Carthage High School |
|
Montana |
Hellgate High School |
|
Nebraska |
Lutheran High Northeast |
|
Nevada |
Marvin M. Sedway Middle School |
|
New Hampshire |
Belmont Middle School |
|
New Jersey |
Morris County School of Technology |
|
New Mexico |
Los Alamos Middle School |
|
New York |
Averill Park High School |
|
North Carolina |
Bethel School |
|
North Dakota |
Simle Middle School |
|
Northern Mariana Islands |
Saipan Southern High School |
|
Ohio |
Firelands High School |
|
Oklahoma |
Coweta High School |
|
Oregon |
Howard Street Charter School |
|
Pennsylvania |
Danville Area Middle School |
|
Puerto Rico |
Ernesto Ramos Antonini Fine Arts School |
|
Rhode Island |
Exeter-West Greenwich High School |
|
South Carolina |
Johnston-Edgefield-Trenton Middle School |
|
South Dakota |
Sisseton Middle School |
|
Tennessee |
D-B EXCEL |
|
Texas |
Lyford Middle School |
|
Utah |
Whitehorse High School |
|
Vermont |
The School of Sacred Heart Saint Francis de Sales |
|
US Virgin Islands |
Arthur Richards K-8 School |
|
Virginia |
Appomattox Regional Governor’s School for the Arts and Technology |
|
Washington |
Cavelero Mid High School |
|
West Virginia |
Robert L. Bland Middle School |
|
Wisconsin Wyoming |
Red Creek Elementary School Wyoming Indian Middle School |
Learn about last year’s student artists and ornaments.
The National Christmas Tree Lighting has strong ties to education. In 1923, a letter arrived at the White House from the District of Columbia Public Schools proposing that a decorated Christmas tree be placed on the South Lawn of the White House.
On Christmas Eve that year, President Calvin Coolidge walked from the Oval Office to the Ellipse and pushed a button that lit the first National Christmas Tree. It was a 48-foot fir donated by Middlebury College in Vermont.
