Storybook Pumpkin Contest
Fourth and fifth grade students at Russell Elementary in Litchfield, IL had the opportunity to participate in a storybook pumpkin contest to celebrate Halloween and literacy, on Thursday, October 15th. A total of forty-three contestants entered, all competing for grade-level titles of Most Creative, Best Representation, and Funniest. Most Creative winner for fourth grade was Ryleigh Hamm with her rendition of Camilla from Bad Case of Stripes, by David Shannon. AJ Jarman won the category for fifth grade with her I Survived series, written by Lauren Tarshis, pumpkin. The fourth grade winner for Best Representation pumpkin was awarded to Bryce Maguire for his depiction of Slappy, from R.L. Stine’s Goosebumps series. Adia Melchert was the fifth grade winner with a Scooby Doo pumpkin. Funniest pumpkin winners were fourth grader, Brycen Sperry, for his Fly Guy pumpkin, from Tedd Arnold’s series of books and fifth grader, Ryker Witt, with Captain Underpants from Dav Pilkey’s series of books. Honorable Mentions were also awarded to fourth grader Maria Adam, who also had a Captain Underpants pumpkin and fifth graders Emma Weidner, for her Dumbo pumpkin, and McKenna Harmon for her The Giving Tree pumpkin, authored by Shel Silverstein. Winners received a Halloween bucket of treats, representative of their category, while honorable mentions were awarded a bag of candy. Russell Teachers and Staff want to thank and congratulate all participants for their creativity and a job well done.