Moriches Elementary students recently let their creativity shine as they participated in the 46^th annual “Great Pumpkin” contest! This time-honored tradition challenges students and their families to carve pumpkins into the most unique designs they can come up with (family assistance is allowed and encouraged!). The final designs then get judged by a team of faculty and staff members at Moriches Elementary based upon their creativity, originality and craftmanship.

More than 70 students submitted pumpkins for this year’s contest and came up with some truly exceptional designs! On Halloween, art teacher and contest coordinator Amanda Maertz announced this year’s three winners and three honorable mentions. Each student who heard their name called received a special certificate, a pin and a goody bag for their efforts. Congratulations to all of the students who had their pumpkins chosen as winners and to all of the students who participated in the contest!

See below for a list of this year's winners and honorable mentions as well as a video highlighting the creation of this year's first-place pumpkin! 

Winners
First Place: “Alien Abduction” by Iker Cedeno Garcia
Second Place: “Stay Puft Man” by Cameron Pistolese
Third Place: “Beach” by Rocco Ingarra

Honorable Mentions
“Spooky Merry Go Round” by Jason Morales Zavala
“Cookie Monster” by Iara Molina
“Plankton and the Secret Formula” by Alyson Martinez