By Florida Catholic staff - Florida Catholic
Winner, grades 7-8:
Artist: Saidy Burch,
Grade 8,
St. Agnes Academy, Key Biscayne
Winner, grades 5-6:
Artist: Sharon Liu,
Grade 6,
St. Gregory the Great School, Plantation
Winner, grades 3-4:
Artist: Ivana Moya,
Grade 4,
St. Michael the Archangel School, Miami
Winner, grades 1-2:
Artist: Daniel Diaz,
Grade 1,
St. Mark School, Southwest Ranches
Winner, kindergarten
Artist: Nicholas Ivey,
kindergarten,
St. Louis Covenant School, Pinecrest
Runner-up, grades 7-8:
Artist: Megan VanWambeck,
Grade 8,
St. Timothy School, Miami
Runner-up, grades 5-6:
Artist: Cary Scheuerle,
Grade 6,
Blessed Trinity School, Miami Springs
Runner-up, grades 3-4:
Artist: Bella Molina,
Grade 3,
St. Bonaventure School, Davie
Runner-up, grades 1-2:
Artist: Anthony Rodriguez,
Grade 2,
St. Kevin School, Miami
Runner-up, kindergarten:
Artist: Emily Smith,
Grade kindergarten,
St. Bonaventure School, Davie
MIAMI | It took five adults nearly three hours to decide on a winner, but a tiny portion of the enormous talent of archdiocesan children is colorfully displayed in the Christmas edition of the Florida Catholic (and the slide show above).
Reproduced here are the winning entries of the 2016 Mission Kids Christmas Art Contest, which has been sponsored since 2013 by the Missions, Schools and Religious Education offices. The contest is open to students in both religious education programs and Catholic schools, from kindergarten to grade eight.
This year, the five judges viewed more than 1,900 entries from students in 33 parishes and schools — quite an increase from last year’s 700 entries and 17 participating churches and schools.
The overall winner was a modern take on the Virgin with child drawn by Milene Braga, an eighth-grader at St. Lawrence School in North Miami Beach.
A winner and a runner-up — displayed on this page — also were chosen from each of the following grade levels: kindergarten, first-second, third-fourth, fifth-sixth and seventh-eighth.
The judges were: Stephen Colella of Parish Life; Donald Edwards of Schools; Peter Ductram of Catechesis; Rosemarie Banich of Youth and Young Adults; and Ana Rodriguez-Soto of the Florida Catholic.
Appearing in the newspaper and on the archdiocesan website is the prize for the winners. But every entry also will be forwarded to the Pontifical Missions Society in New York for participation in their annual contest. The artwork selected by the Society will be featured on their 2017 Christmas cards, and exhibited at the National Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C.
“Last year’s (Miami) winner went on to win the national contest as well,” said Teresita Gonzalez, director of the Missions Office.
Owen Liu, a second generation Chinese immigrant from St. Jerome Church’s religious education program, “was very excited as he went to Washington for the first time,” Gonzalez said.
She added that the contest helps “give these kids a reminder of what Christmas is about, and an opportunity to share their gift for spreading the Good News.”
