Newtown Middle School announced its winning entries for this year’s Eighth Grade Scarecrow Contest on October 22.

Voting for this year’s contest was open to the public October 20 and 21. The event is an annual fundraiser for local charities. Residents vote for their favorite scarecrow with a donation of $1 per vote. Residents can vote as many times as they want, as long as they also donate the corresponding amount.

The program began in 1996, and eighth grade students have been tasked ever since to create larger-than-life scarecrows that can withstand Mother Nature. Scarecrows are sited on the front lawn of the Queen Street school. Students in Art Enrichment classes are charged with completing a scarecrow as part of a class project, and other eighth grade students can participate, too. NMS art teachers Leigh Anne Coles and Kristen Ladue oversaw the contest.

This year students drew inspiration from movies — like Back to the Future — societal issues, and iconic characters, like Genie from Disney’s Aladdin and Cookie Monster. There were two large dragons, an oversized pumpkin, and scarecrows that seemed to spring straight from the students’ imagination.

There were 26 scarecrows on display at the school as of Saturday morning, the first day of the contest. This year’s contest raised more than $1,500 for local charities. The student groups are expected to choose to which local charities they will donate their winnings in the next week.

As announced by the school, two groups tied for third placed. Each group earned $196.50 to donate to a charity. The Genie from Aladdin, or scarecrow 30 — created by Paige Armstrong, Madison Singlak, Addie Sullivan, and Annabel Saunders — tied with Save the Turtles, or scarecrow five — created by Ayla Ryder, Angie Romano, and Kaite Daoust.

In second place, the CD Fish, or scarecrow 27 — created by Cate Dalton, Allie Kost, Kayleigh Troy, and Skylar Lewis — earned $393 to donate to a local charity.

In first place, the Back to the Future DeLorean and Marty McFly, or scarecrow one, by Adam Uhde and Alamin Islam earned $786 to donate to a local charity.