Jemtegaard Middle School students create holiday candy houses

WASHOUGAL — Jemtegaard Middle School art students are being challenged to create the best candy house or candy display. Each team will plan and build their work of art using only edible materials, including graham crackers, licorice, sugar cones, Rice Krispies Treats, icing and lots and lots of colorful candies. The competition involves 43 teams and a total of 148 students, from all grade levels. A team of sixth-graders, Paige Prynn, Taylor Cotton, Samantha Gifford and Madison Swanson, decided their candy display would have a crime scene theme. “We thought it would be fun to make and get a lot of votes,” Cotton said in a news release. The scene is a red licorice-fenced ice rink with an unfortunate victim impaled by a candy cane. Completed pieces will be on display in the school library where students from JMS and Columbia River Gorge Elementary will vote on their favorites. Voting will be tallied on a Google Form so results can be tracked real time. Five winning teams will choose between a reward of doughnuts or pizza.