This story has been updated to reflect the correct name for one of the winners, which were provided by the school.

The top voted entries for Newtown Middle School’s annual scarecrows and painted pumpkins event have been announced.

The scarecrows and painted pumpkins were put on display at the school on Saturday and Sunday, October 22 and 23, and residents were encouraged to visit, vote for their favorite entries, and bring donations for FAITH Food Pantry. The winners of this year’s event were announced at the school on October 27.

NMS art teachers Leigh Anne Hildebrandt and Kris Ladue are overseeing the effort this year.

For the annual scarecrow project, students designed larger-than-life scarecrows that were able to withstand Mother Nature. For the effort, eighth grade students were permitted to work in groups of three to four to create a scarecrow.

Seventh and eighth grade students could choose to paint a pumpkin individually, and received six hours of community service for the effort.

According to Hildebrandt, there were 41 entries for scarecrows and painted pumpkins combined. Over the two days of voting, 548 votes were cast, and four “overstuffed bins of food donations” were collected for FAITH Food Pantry.

“We were excited to see how many students participated this year, and hope to see it gradually regain some traction, especially with the eighth graders for the scarecrows,” Hildebrandt said in an e-mail. “The Saturday morning that we go and set up is always our favorite because we are always blown away by the amazing work our students produce, and it gives us a chance to meet some of the parents as well.”

Hildebrandt also noted that the pandemic required restructuring of the annual event in recent years, resulting in the digital voting format (paper ballots were previously collected), and in place of money donations that would go to local charities of the top voted entries’ creators’ choosing, food donations are collected for FAITH Food Pantry.

“Although we didn’t collect as much as we have in the past, we were beyond grateful for the donations that were made,” Hildebrandt wrote. “The importance of giving back is a value we hope to instill and reinforce with our students.”

Top Voted Entries

As announced by Newtown Middle School, there were 11 scarecrow entries this year. The top voted scarecrows were “The Firepit Campsite” by Ella Schuster and Kaitlyn Doyle in first place; “It’s Corn” by Eva Fenaroli, Rachel Hugo, and Charlotte Comstock in second place; and “Gru and the Trick Or Treating Minions” by Elizabeth Huizar in third place.

There were 31 painted pumpkin entries this year. The top voted painted pumpkins were “Hansel and Gretel” by Victoria Rausch in first place; “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” by Iris Brown in second place; and “The Hen with Baby Chicks” by Amelia Bossio-Dotolo in third place.

Education Editor Eliza Van can be reached at eliza@thebee.com.