Among the hundreds of submissions are drawings created with pencils, crayons, pencil crayons and pastel, as well as the more difficult media of brush painting in watercolour and oil.

It’s never easy to select winners, but this year a painting submitted by Angela Iglesias-Macias was a unanimous pick to not only take first place in the Grade 4-6 category, but also to grace the cover of our Christmas issue.

The 11-year-old Grade 6 student from Mississauga, Ont., created an exquisite depiction of the scene in the manger on that first Christmas morning. The judges were impressed by how the young artist kept it simple — just the baby Jesus, Mary and Joseph — and by her creative presentation of the star of Bethlehem, which shines through the manger to illuminate the Holy Family.

The winner of the Grade 1-3 category is Ereeny Elias, an eight-year-old Grade 3 student from Mississauga, Ont. She impressed the judges with the overall joyfulness of her entry, in which even the animals seem delighted.

In the Grade 7-8 category, Pascal Russo, 13, is the winner for a meticulous drawing of the Holy Family. The Grade 8 student impressed the judges with the way he employed delicate colouring and shading to achieve a sense of harmony which reflects the holiness of the first Christmas morning.

Each of the winners receives a prize of a $75 day at the movies. 

Thank you and Merry Christmas to all the participants.

Grade 1-3 FIRST PLACE by Ereeny Elias

Grade 4-6 FIRST PLACE by Angela Iglesias-Macias

Grade 7-8 FIRST PLACE by Pascal Russo

Contest honourable mentions