{"id":15516,"date":"2026-11-06T16:58:44","date_gmt":"2026-11-06T21:58:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/?p=15516"},"modified":"2026-11-06T16:58:44","modified_gmt":"2026-11-06T21:58:44","slug":"old-donation-school-student-artwork-featured-at-the-nations-capital","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/old-donation-school-student-artwork-featured-at-the-nations-capital\/","title":{"rendered":"Old Donation School student artwork featured at the nation\u2019s capital"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
Finlee Riordan, left, showcased the Virginia bluebell flower in her ornament design, while Tess Scharver featured the Cape Henry Lighthouse. Both said they were excited for the opportunity to submit drawings for holiday ornaments to be displayed on the tree representing Virginia in Washington D.C.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

By <\/em>Cindy Butler Focke<\/em><\/a><\/u><\/p>\n

The state of Virginia will be proudly represented at the White House during the holiday season thanks to a group of Old Donation School art students.<\/p>\n

Art teacher Dr. Leigh Drake is president of the Virginia Art Education Association and was invited to select a class this past spring to submit Christmas tree ornament designs for one of 59 trees lining the \u201cPathway to Peace.\u201d<\/p>\n

The walkway is near the National Christmas Tree south of the White House in Washington, D.C.<\/p>\n

She chose one of her seventh grade art classes.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey were always eager to take on new challenges,\u201d she said. \u201cWhen I introduced this, their eyes lit up.\u201d<\/p>\n

The assignment was to create artwork on five by 5-inch paper templates focused on what makes Virginia beautiful.<\/p>\n

The students\u2019 designs were scanned and submitted. Seventeen were chosen to be transformed into 2026 ornaments for the tree highlighting their home state.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Students were asked to create an ornament design based on what makes Virginia beautiful. Tess Scharver focused on the Cape Henry Lighthouse, surrounded by water.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Tess Scharver included the Atlantic Ocean, the Cape Henry Lighthouse and a beautiful sunset. \u201cThat\u2019s the Virginia Beach I know,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

The flowering dogwood, Virginia\u2019s official state flower and tree, was featured on Hannah Hardy\u2019s ornament.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s neat to be able to display what makes our state beautiful,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Finlee Riordan drew a Virginia bluebell, a perennial wildflower commonly found in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. \u201cMy family goes on hikes and bluebells are some of the things we like to find,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

The fishing industry was the theme of Logan Vastardis\u2019 drawing, while classmate Emilia Beschier focused on marine life, including seaweed, coral, turtles and a dolphin.<\/p>\n

Julia Schroeder combined ocean waves with farms and rolling hills.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s so much water here and I have cousins in the Piedmont region,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

In 1923, the first National Christmas Tree was a 48-foot balsam fir. The first tree lighting ceremony began during President Calvin Coolidge\u2019s administration.<\/p>\n

President Dwight D. Eisenhower expanded the Christmas tree tradition in 1954 by adding smaller trees lined up near the National Christmas Tree.<\/p>\n

He invited kindergarten through 12th<\/sup> grade students throughout the United States to design one-of-a-kind ornaments focused on what makes their home special.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Logan Vastardis, left, and Bennett Joseph were in one of Dr. Leigh Drake\u2019s art classes last year and had the opportunity to design ornaments for a holiday tree representing Virginia and on display near the White House.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Each tree represents a U.S. state or territory.<\/p>\n

ODS principal Joel Guldenschuh applauded Drake for offering students the opportunity to showcase Virginia through their artistic talents.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt ODS, we are proud of Dr. Drake’s commitment to supporting visual art projects for our students,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Drake said being selected to represent Virginia was an honor for the students.<\/p>\n

\u201cTheir creativity and hard work will be displayed on a national stage while celebrating the spirit and heritage of our state,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

The National Christmas Tree lighting ceremony is scheduled for Dec. 3.<\/p>\n

To view the ornaments and for more details, visit www.thenationaltree.org\/ornaments\/virginia<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
1. ODS art teacher Dr. Leigh Drake chose her seventh grade art class last year to design ornaments for one of the 59 trees lined up near the 2026 National Christmas Tree in Washington, D.C.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Marine life was the theme of Emilia Beschier\u2019s holiday ornament design, while Julia Schroeder combined ocean waves with farms and rolling hills.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Students in one of Dr. Leigh Drake\u2019s seventh grade art classes last year, including Hannah Hardy, created artwork for the tree representing the state of Virginia during the 2026 holiday season in Washington, D.C.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Students in one of Dr. Leigh Drake\u2019s seventh grade art classes last year, including Hannah Hardy, created artwork for the tree representing the state of Virginia during the 2026 holiday season in Washington D.C.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Alejandra Sena\u2019s design focused on Virginia\u2019s state bird, the cardinal.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
An ODS seventh grade art class designed holiday ornaments for the Virginia tree, one of 59 lining the \u201cPathway to Peace\u201d beside the National Christmas Tree in Washington, D.C. The 17 designs chosen for ornaments can be viewed online.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Cindy Butler Focke The state of Virginia will be proudly represented at the White House during the holiday season thanks to a group of Old Donation School art students. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":15520,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15516","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15516","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15516"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15516\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15530,"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15516\/revisions\/15530"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15520"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15516"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15516"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15516"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}