Colton students make ornaments for national tree in Washington, D.C.

Ornaments made by Colton students will be among those on the National Christmas tree in Washington, D.C. Artisans at the Dahmen Barn worked with local artist Sue Dahmen to bring ornament projects to the students for the tree.

This year the 80-foot tree will come from Washington state.

Sue designed projects for the students using crops donated by farmers Mike Faerber and Mraz Farms. Each ornament had a local, rural theme.

Names of the students went into a drawing for an all-expense-paid trip for a Washington student and his/her parents to attend the tree lighting ceremony.

Students from grades 7 - 12 had an opportunity Oct. 9 to make ornaments for the State of Washington tree for the National Park Service display in Washington D.C. The students, along with Artisans at the Dahmen Barn, were invited by the Washington State Arts Commission to be the only group making ornaments for the Washington State tree. Using funds raised in the community to provide art experiences at the school this year, Dahmen worked with the students to embellish the 24 openable plastic spheres which were provided by the Park Service. Students decorated them with themes about Washington State. Lots of different materials were offered to the participating students.

All the ornaments have now arrived in Washington D.C. On its website, the National Park Service will feature the ornament depicting a Washington State ferry made by student Francis O’Toole.