
The 2016 Basket of Cheer Contest: 4 Categories, 4 Winners
We have our finalists!
This 2016, we launched a special contest for Seton high school students; a basket of cheer contest with four categories, and we’re excited to showcase our four finalists! You can read their entries in the winter issue of the printable Bulletin.
Congratulations finalists!
About this Contest
The ‘Basket of Cheer’ is something Seton has celebrated each year with our Seton families, inviting them to share recipes, news and Christmas greetings from around the world.
Now, Seton is launching a new contest with 4 prize categories and a single winner for each. You can enter as many as you wish!
Open to Seton High School students, grades 9-12.
Category 1: Christmas Art
(Formerly the Winter Quarter Art Challenge)
In any medium you like – painting, sketch, pencil, charcoals. The theme is the annunciation of the angels to the shepherds, Luke 2:8-15.
One finalist will be selected from this category. If there are sufficient entries of note, we will have honorable mentions published here online.
Category 2: Christmas Story
Any story you like relating to Christmas. Word counts must cap at 3000 words. Submissions will be reviewed for the best quality and attention to the craft of writing, grammar, and composition, apart from being a story of note to share with the Seton community.
One finalist will be selected from this category. If there are sufficient entries of note, we will have honorable mentions published here onlin.
Category 3: Christmas Poetry
Explore any theme you like regarding Christmas. We are not looking for free verse at this time. Entries must display a competent handle of rhythm, rhyming and good use of alliteration and assonance. Only submissions of the highest quality will be selected for the finalist position.
One finalist will be selected from this category. If there are sufficient entries of note, we will have honorable mentions published here online.
Category 4: Christmas Tradition
Write about a Christmas tradition that you and your family have enjoyed celebrating. Word count is capped at 1200 words. Structure your piece properly like an essay, with an introduction paragraph, several body paragraphs explaining the observation of the tradition, perhaps its historical practice, and why you would like to see more popularity for this tradition. End with a final paragraph briefly summarizing the points you made.
One finalist will be selected from this category. If there are sufficient entries of note, we will have honorable mentions published here online.
How to Enter
Register for free to enter the contest. All registrants will be part of a special emailing list to keep you updated and informed about the contest.
Prizes:
All submissions will be judged by grade level, with the potential for first and second place finalists for each grade.
- 1st place: $50
- 2nd place: $35
Contest Rules
Open to Seton high school students, grades 9-12. Research and write about an obscure, ethnic and/or forgotten Christmas tradition. (We are not looking for family traditions that you/your family may have invented, however wonderful they may be.)
This year, instead of celebrating aspects of the Christmas season that we are all familiar with, explore your family history, your county or country’s traditions, or learn more about a tradition that is no longer remembered. Topics can include cultural activites, particular rites, certain foods and their preparation, etc.
We see this as an opportunity for us all to learn more about how Christmas is celebrated around the world, and a way to revive interest in our many beautiful and rich traditions.
Contestants must:
- Not use Wikipedia. You can start there as a point of reference, but do not base your article on it/use it as part of your bibliography.
- Show your Bibliography/list of books & websites cited at the end of your submission. You should try to have around 5 sources.
For their article, contestants must:
- Show the origin of the tradition
- Discuss the way it is currently observed, if at all
- Explore how your and your family may observe this tradition, or what it has been like to start.
Maximum Length: 5000 words Any questions? Ask away!

Round 3 | Finalists





Round 2 | Category: Art

Natalie Pratt
'And the Glory'

Sarah Padovani
'You Shall Find the Babe Wrapped in Swaddling Clothes'

Bernadette Rowe
'Annunciation of Angels to Sheperds'

Round 2 | Category: Poems

Regina Peters
'Song of the Silent Night'

Abigail Pulatie
'All Through the Night'

Katherine Wieczorek
'Winter in Bethlehem'

Round 2 | Category: Stories

Eleanor Fisher
'Christmas Inside the Walls'

John Regnier
'I Carried the Woman Who Wore the Sky'

Round 2 | Category: Essays

Jillian Van Daele
'The Forgotten Christmas Tradition'

Sonja Hiserman
'A Cheery Christmas Eve Tradition'

Claire Amaya-Parra
'A Mixed Tradition'

Round 1 | Category: Art

Amelia Coleman
'A Child Is Born'

Mary Ingram
'The Annunciation of the Angel to the Sheperds'

Sarah Padovani
'You Shall Find the Babe Wrapped in Swaddling Clothes'

Ashlianna Kreiner
'The Shepherd's Angel'

Ann Pham
'The Heavenly Host'

Natalie Pratt
'And the Glory'

Colette Corkery
'Be Not Afraid'

Isabella Kercher
'The Annunciation'

Josephine Raphaelle Ng
'Fear Not'

Maria Pratt
'Glad Tidings'

Olivia Schemmel
'Luke 2:9'

Sarah Hynfield
'And They Were Sore Afraid'

Gabriella Moore
'Luke 2:9'

Eleanora Peters
'Surprise of the Shepherds'

Elise Asan
'To You A Child Is Born'

Carmen Payne
'Sore Afraid'

Bernadette Rowe
'Annunciation of Angels to Sheperds'

Therese Hickman
'Journey to Bethlehem'

Regina Peters
'Be Not Afraid'

Round 1 | Category: Poems

Sara Caughron
'Fire of Christmas'

Gabrielle Brounstein
'Christmas Means More'

Anna Regnier
'One Night in Bethlehem'

Abigail Pulatie
'All Through the Night'

Dominique Sheffield
'Christmas Shoes a Size Too Big'

Claire Mullan
'Miracle'

Regina Peters
'Song of the Silent Night'

Lauren Mullan
'The Donkey'

Katherine Wieczorek
'Winter in Bethlehem'

Emily McKinnon
'I'll Be Home for Christmas'

Noelle Isermann
'A Birth in Bethlehem'

Maria Pratt
'A Christmas Gift'

Clare Marie Fitzpatrick
'A Christmastide Train of Thought: The Nativity'

Elizabeth Laux
'On Christmas Night'

Round 1 | Category: Stories

Eleanor Fisher
'Christmas Inside the Walls'

Maria Pratt
'The Song My Heart Sings'

Gracie Winter
'Joseph's Gift'

Emily McKinnon
'One Christmas Wish'

Elodie Pierlot
'A Soldier's Honour'

Samantha Miller
'The Advent Flame'

Hailey Dodson
'28 Days'

Madalynn Bourque
'Merry Christmas, From the Rich and the Poor'

Robert Rowe
'Carol Peril'

John Regnier
'I Carried the Woman Who Wore the Sky'

Kate Kirstein
'Merry Christmas'

Joshua Lorigo
'Christmas: Behind the Scenes'

Chantal LaFortune
'The Joy of Giving'

Abigail Pulatie
'Angels We Have Heard on High'

Amelia Coleman
'Through Joseph's Eyes'

Kate Kirstein
'Finding Christmas'

Claire Mullan
'Highway Christmas'

Martha Blank
'The Shepherd's Song'

Round 1 | Category: Essays

John Regnier
'The Nativity Scene: What It Is, Where It Came From, and Why It Still Matters'

Genevieve LaFosse
'Fasting and Abstaining Before the Christmas Feast'

Sonja Hiserman
'A Cheery Christmas Eve Tradition'

Daniel Usakowski
'A Polish Christmas Eve'

Lisa Gray
'Italian Family Christmas'

Claire Amaya-Parra
'A Mixed Tradition'

Annie Outman
'The Yucky Dinner'

Jillian Van Daele
'The Forgotten Christmas Tradition'

Josephine Raphaelle Ng
'Simbang Gabi'

Emily McKinnon
'The Tradition of Grandma's Presents'