At school, they’re a cut above the rest

By Elise Franco

AUSTINTOWN — Every year for at least five years the Lynn Kirk Elementary PTA organizes a pumpkin-carving contest for its pupils.

And every year someone is given the honor and task of choosing three creations that stand out above the rest; this year, that person was me.

Lined up on a small set of bleachers in the cafeteria were 50 pumpkins, all created by pupils.

They were all interesting and eye-catching. I could tell this would be no easy feat.

One stood out above the rest, though.

It was clear that second-grader Nick Mitchell spent the necessary effort on his sea turtle pumpkin, and he deserved the first-place honors.

“I was in Florida, and I saw a turtle and thought of the cool idea,” he said.

Nick’s turtle was a pumpkin cut in half and laid flat on a cookie sheet that was filled with sand and sea shells. The stem acted as the head, and he used carved pieces of pumpkin for the legs.

“It took about an hour to make it,” he said. “My mom helped me a little bit.”

Nick said it felt good to win first place, but it wasn’t something he was expecting.

Second-place winner Delaney Schumacher said she knew as soon as she saw Nick’s pumpkin that he would win it all.

“I knew I was going to win second place,” the third-grader said confidently. “I thought the turtle should have won first, and he did.”

Delaney’s entry was a pumpkin spray-painted gold and decorated with silver glitter and silver ribbon to mirror Cinderella’s pumpkin carriage. She used miniature pumpkins, painted the same way, as the wheels.

“Spray-painting it was my favorite part,” she said.

Delaney said her mom helped her come up with the idea for the pumpkin by printing off pictures for her to choose from.

“She picked an apple with a worm, a girl and Cinderella’s carriage, and that’s the one I liked best,” she said.

Logan Skica, who, in kindergarten, was among one of the youngest entrants, took third place with his rendition of mice and cheese.

All three winners were given certificates and goodie-filled prizes.

PTA member and contest co-organizer Jennifer Ellinos said it’s one of the kids’ favorite projects.

“They’ve been coming in and out all day looking at the pumpkins,” she said. “It’s so cute because they come in and point theirs out.”

Ellinos said every pupil who entered a pumpkin was given a certificate of honorable mention.

“These kids did this by themselves, except for maybe the smaller ones,” she said. “They get more and more creative every year.”