Door decorating contest puts Patterson pride on display |

Door decorating contest puts Patterson pride on display

Posted on October 24, 2011 by pattersonpress405 Leave a comment

By Mengfei Chen, Patterson Press staff writer

Patterson High School showed off its pride by holding its annual door decorating contest on Thursday, October 13. The contest took place during the START period that occurs every Thursday between first and second period. When an announcement over the PA system declared that it was time, every classroom went to work decorating their door. The process continued for thirty minutes. When the time was up, every door had already changed its appearance.

Each classroom had a different kind of decoration. A common image used by many rooms was the clipper ship. As the symbol of our school, it shows Patterson pride and spirit. There were also many images from other countries, representing Patterson’s internationalism.

As I travelled the hallways from classroom to classroom, I talked to some of the teachers and students participating in the contest. Ms. Harris’ class explained that the idea for their door came from their subject, American Government, and the materials used were voted on by all of the students. According to Ms. Harris, the design represents, “Patterson pride, freedom and internationalism”..

Teachers urged on their students and encouraged them to be self-confident. “Be the master team, guys; be the best!” a voice boomed from Room 223. Ms. Franklin’s class explained that they used flags on their door to “show the international spirit”. “We are a family!” Ms.Franklin said.

During third period, judging took place. A team of judges examined each poster, using a rubric that was based on creative use of material, originality, school spirit and overall presentation. Which classrooms would succeed in catching the judges’ eyes?
The next day, the academy winners pictures’ were put on display in the hallway, but they still needed to compete for the honor of being the final winner. The whole student body voted on their favorite choice that day. At the Homecoming game, the winner was announced: It was Ms Holter’s class, the “Global Van Goghs” with their “shoot for the stars” theme, complete with a student-made copy of Vincent Van Gogh’s famous painting, “Starry Night”. Congratulations to her class, and to everyone who participated in the contest!