Summer seemed to have come early to the library this December—decorated with palm trees and beach-like items.

The library held its second annual Christmas tree contest with the theme of “A Hawaiian Christmas,” of “Mele Kalikimaka.”

Voting results are in. The Language Arts Dept. came in first; the World Languages Dept. placed second, and the FACS Dept., third.

According to the librarians, this theme was chosen because they “enjoy warm weather and the fun that comes along with it,” and they thought “a break from tradition might be interesting,” according to Erica Tate, library aide.

Six departments created trees for the contest; other than those departments already mentioned, the other departments were Art, Science and Social Science.

Students and staff voted on their favorite tree as many times as they wanted before or after school or during Falcon 50. Voting closed on Dec. 15, and the winners were announced Dec. 19.

The prize for the Language Arts Dept. is breakfast from the library staff and “of course, bragging rights.”

The teachers who created the Language Arts Dept. tree were Kayla Bevers, Lauren Hannon, Kiley Michaud, Victoria Palomino and Jennifer Vellenga.  It was a palm tree with bark created from pages of The Great Gatsby; some of its ornaments included mermaids and beachcombers that featured photos of the department’s teachers.