Lincoln Middle School Students to Shine at National Tree Lighting

As the National Christmas Tree lights up on Thursday, Dec. 9 in Washington, D.C., 25 Lincoln Middle School students will shine, too -- with pride. The students created ornaments to adorn Connecticut's tree at the National Christmas Tree exhibit. They are "thrilled beyond belief" to be part of this project, said their art teacher, Christine Webster.

The tree lighting ceremony will be streamed live beginning at 5 p.m. on www.thenationaltree.org. Public television will rebroadcast the festivities throughout the month of December.

Connecticut's Christmas tree stands in the Pathway to Peace on the Ellipse at President's Park near the White House. The pathway, lined with smaller trees from the states and U.S. territories, leads to the National Christmas Tree.

The 6-inch acrylic globe ornaments, created by the Lincoln students in October, commemorate Connecticut's 375th anniversary. They feature the Charter Oak, Connecticut's state tree, on one side and the state logo on the other side.

"I think the students had a tremendous sense of pride in creating the ornaments knowing they were going to the White House," Webster said.

Students modeled their ornaments on a Charter Oak painted by New London artist Mark Patnode to mark the state's anniversary. The award-winning artist spent a day helping the students craft the ornaments at Lincoln Middle School.

Patnode will be on hand for the tree-lighting ceremony. He hopes to have President Obama autograph a poster showing the Lincoln students creating the ornaments.

"This wonderful initiative will advance arts in education and historic interests," he said. "I look forward to participating in the festivities."

Patnode, a state artist in residence, works with Connecticut's HOT (Higher Order Thinking) schools. HOT schools are part of an arts-in-education program run by the Connecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism. A HOT school for 12 years, Lincoln is the only HOT middle school in the state.

When approached about choosing young artists to work with Patnode, Lincoln Principal Leo Lavallee selected the students in the bilingual program. "These students are new to our country," Lavallee explained. "This is a great way to promote citizenship."

Before the students made the ornaments, they spent time learning about the history and significance of the Charter Oak. In 1687, King James II of England sent an agent to take back a charter that granted freedoms to the Connecticut colonists 25 years earlier. The colonists foiled the attempt by hiding the charter in the now-famous white oak tree that stood on the banks of the Connecticut River in Hartford. The 200-year-old tree fell during a storm in 1856.

In addition to learning about the Charter Oak, the students spent a day with Webster learning to paint trees using the Japanese brush stroke technique.

To make the ornaments, the students first painted the inside of the globe a color of their choice. They then depicted their own versions of the Charter Oak on the outside of the globe.

Webster photographed all the ornaments before they were shipped off to Washington, D.C. One of those photographs will bedeck the front of Lincoln Middle School's holiday card this year.

See New London Patch for a releated story.