The Questar III BOCES New Visions: Visual and Performing Arts program was selected by the National Park Service and the National Park Foundation to create ornaments for the New York state tree in the America Celebrates display on the Ellipse in President’s Park in Washington, D.C. Students from the program created 24 ornaments for the tree and were the only students in the state invited to participate. 
“We are extremely proud of our New Visions Visual and Performing Arts students and the creativity, talent, and collaboration they brought to this project. They did a wonderful job portraying elements that represent New York state, including the Statue of Liberty, the Adirondacks, native wildlife, and more,” Questar III BOCES District Superintendent Dr. Gladys I. Cruz said.
Students were given a template for the design, with the requirement that it be emblematic of NYS; the ornaments were printed as six-inch discs with the design appearing on both sides. With discussion and planning, creating, critiquing, and finalizing the designs, students spent a combined 45 hours on the project.
A collection of 58 trees with student-designed ornaments represent the United States’ 56 states and territories, and schools managed by the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Indian Education and the Department of Defense Education Activity. The ornaments were unveiled on December 5th as part of the tree lighting ceremony. The televised broadcast of the ceremony will air on Friday, December 20th at 8 p.m. EST on CBS6. The site will be open daily in Washington, D.C. through January 1st and the trees will be lit at sunset each evening.