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Tuesday, February 11, 2025

High school art students face off in creative holiday decorating

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Sam the Snowman Captures the spotlight in art students’ holiday window competition

Armed with their imaginations, paints, and competitive spirit, students from Metea Valley, Naperville North, and Neuqua Valley high schools arrived at Main Street Promenade’s second floor dental offices in late November to face off in the fifth annual holiday “War of the Windows.” This creative competition is sponsored by Naperville Dental Specialists and General Oral Health Care and Innovative Orthodontic Centers.

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The talented students were asked to design and paint holiday scenes that include the downtown mascot, Sam the Snowman, somewhere on the festive windows. Thirty-one students worked with their art club sponsors and teachers to create these delightful masterpieces, including windows with a gingerbread house theme, another with characters from a popular children’s book, and a third with Huskies pulling a sled.

According to Janell Matas, art teacher and art club sponsor at Naperville North High School, “Our students stuck with the theme we used for the Dr. Snowcavities sculpture we designed on Van Buren that we made for the dentist’s office. That snowman has Hermie the Elf dentist and other characters from the Rudolph Christmas program. So our mural has Hermie as a sled driver for our pack of Huskies, our school mascot. Then we have snowmen watching them pass. One is Sam the Snowman, then Dr. Snowcavities, and then another snowman.”

Carol Kinast, jewelry and drawing teacher and art club sponsor at Neuqua Valley High School, explained that her students started with a gingerbread house theme and added the snowman as a central character. She added, “My students all said that this was their favorite art club of the year.”

Karen Popovich, art teacher, art club sponsor, and National Art Honor Society sponsor at Metea Valley High School, described her students’ concept. She said, “We wanted to come up with something that was creative, would grab the attention of the viewers, as well as tell a story. I suggested a children’s book that I read to my sons, The Mystery of the Missing Mitten by Steven Kellogg, and they all agreed that this would be a great starting point.” According to Popovich, “They had a lot of fun fostering a sense of community through this artistic endeavor. They worked as a team.”

Student Stephanie Guarino, a Metea Valley senior, added, “I’m grateful for being able to be part of a project that can allow others to see how art can come to life in our community, while evoking a sense of the season’s joy.”

Sam Steier, also a senior at Metea Valley High School, commented, “It was inspiring to come together as a team to accomplish a project that will bring joy to the community. From giving each other artistic advice, adjusting the composition, and catching paint about to drip onto the floor, all of us shared laughter and a sense of camaraderie through this opportunity.”

Prizes will support school art programs

Doctors from both dental offices and their staffs will vote on the windows and select winners in three categories. Dr. Anthony LaVacca and Dr. Manal Ibrahim will present checks to the winners for their schools’ art programs. The prizes include: Best Overall Window, $500; Best Holiday Scene, $250, and Most Original Concept $250.

Dr. LaVacca truly enjoys sponsoring the window competition each year.

“All of our windows are truly amazing. The artwork that was put into each and every one of them represents the spirit of Christmas through the children’s heart and soul,” he said.

Dr. Ibrahim added, “Oh my gosh, what a wonderful job the children did this year decorating our windows. We from Innovative Orthodontic Centers cannot thank them enough for this amazing spirit of Christmas.”

For more information or to view the windows, visit www.ndscare.com or www.orthocenters.org or stop by the dental offices on the second floor of the Main Street Promenade, at 55 S. Main Street, suites 231, 241, and 251.

Photos/story courtesy Jini Clare

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PN Ombudsman
PN Ombudsman
An ombudsman is Scandinavian in origin dating back to Viking times; and refers to a community representative; usually acting independently on behalf of an organization, body of elected officials, or civic group. Thanks Scandinavia for inventing ombudsman.
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