LI 3rd graders’ ornaments picked for tree in President’s Park

Ornaments designed by third graders at Maplewood Intermediate School in Huntington were selected to adorn a Christmas tree at President’s Park in Washington D.C.

The ornaments by the students from Viviana Polanco’s third grade dual-language class were selected as part of the America Celebrates program, and will be hanging on one of 58 smaller trees that surround the National Christmas Tree. Each tree represents a state, a territory, the District of Columbia and schools managed by the Bureau of Indian Education and the Department of Defense.

The National Park Service and the U.S. Department of Education had to pick the submission of 12 to 18 ornament designs from one classroom, at one elementary, middle, or high school from each state. Out of the more than 4,400 schools in New York State, the students in Polanco’s class were chosen to represent New York. 

The 2022 National Christmas Tree Lighting ceremony was recorded on Nov. 30, and will be broadcast on CBS-TV on Sunday, Dec. 11. The President Park’s Facebook page also has photos of the ornaments.