Door Decorating Increases Holiday Spirit
The winning door decoration by Lori Ricks
December 19, 2017
On December 8, students and teachers started decorating their homeroom door with a holiday theme in order to compete for a holiday breakfast reward for the best door.
The winners, announced December 14, were: math teacher Lori Ricks’ homeroom (in first place), support teacher Janelle Troup’s homeroom (in second place), English teacher Sarah Buttiens’ homeroom (in third place), English teacher Rachel Appleby’s homeroom (in fourth place), and science teacher Ryan Rupp’s homeroom received honorable mention.
Administration graded the door decorations on most creative, most festive, best execution, and best overall. No information was given on which winners won which categories.
Judging was originally scheduled to take place on December 15, but was rescheduled for December 14
.
The Comprehensive Planning Committee (CPC) started the door decorating last year. Members of this committee include: English teachers Jenna Ritter, Grant Leonard, and Sarah Buttiens; history teacher Andrea Walton, support teacher Dyan Hulslander, and band director Matthew Barr.
Ritter described the C.P.C. by saying “The Comprehensive Planning Committee was put together by the school and district; we have been primarily working to create team-building events among staff and students to promote a fun and positive work environment. For example, we organized for the staff to go to Ski Roundtop at the beginning of the year for staff development, and we organize the holiday fun day for students.”
Ritter also said that she joined the C.P.C. because she wanted to help create a sense of fun and positivity for all staff and students.
Ricks’ door and hallway decorations was an elves workshop theme. All of her students were acting as the elves in the workshop.
In second place, Troup’s homeroom door decoration theme was a winter wonderland, which included penguins, igloos, and lots of snowflakes.
Buttiens’s door decoration consisted of a train from the holiday classic The Polar Express with all of her homeroom students in the windows of the train. In addition, tape on the floor looked like train tracks that led to a construction paper tunnel.
In fourth place, Appleby’s door decoration was based on the movie Elf. Her decorations included a Buddy the elf cut out, a quote from the movie, and the ability to take an “elfie”–playing on the idea of an selfie through the glass window.
Rupp’s homeroom decorated their door with goofy faces of other teachers, stockings, and a bunsen burner fireplace since Rupp is a chemistry and biology teacher. One goofy face included a Leonard face cut out with a piece of burnt toast–a nod to his recent Ram Reward winnings.
Many teachers and homerooms participated in the contest featuring a wide variety of themes and ideas.
Art teacher Wade Walton had a Mountain Dew theme on his door. Some of his decorations included a flat tree made out of Mountain Dew cans, christmas lights made of Mountain Dew cans, and a phrase at the top that said “All I want for Christmas is Dew”. That phrase is a play on the words of a popular Christmas song by Mariah Carey.
At the end of the science hallway, FFA teacher Abby Cornett’s homeroom had a mechanical Santa, a fireplace, and above that, the Ram from the lobby.
Foods teacher Kimberly Engler’s homeroom decorated their door in a Hanukkah theme. The theme included a menorah, and some Jewish celebrity face cut outs.
