GISH Freshman Wins Annual Holiday Card Artwork Contest from Field of 1,400 Entries
GRAND ISLAND (Neb.) — The holiday season brings a district favorite annual tradition at Grand Island Public Schools. And for the tenth straight year, a student’s original artwork will be featured on the cover of the annual district Holiday Card.
For the 2025 season, Layla Gerber, Freshman at Grand Island Senior High (GISH), has been named the overall winner.
The annual Superintendent Holiday Card Contest has been a fun, festive GIPS tradition for a decade. The friendly competition is open to all students across GIPS from Pre-School to High School.
The challenge?
Create and submit original artwork centered around a holiday theme of “Winter Wonders and Happy Wishes”.
Throughout the month of November, submissions rolled into the GIPS District Office featuring a variety of creative designs. From The Grinch to Snoopy, from fireplace displays to Christmas trees, from happy family portraits to snowscapes adorned with holiday lights — all of them showcasing artistic expression from students ages 4 - 18 years old.
This year’s campaign welcomed a record-breaking over 1,400 submissions from student artists across the district with all 18 schools represented. All of them ended-up on Superintendent Matt Fisher's desk.
For Layla, this year’s winner, the news came as a shock, but brought deep meaning and a smile to her face.
“I'm honored!” Layla said, “I didn't expect to win, because I submit a design almost every year. So I was like, ‘I won!’... I was just so shocked. But then, a few days went by and I was happy.”
The path to the final three and becoming the overall winner covers about a month.
All 1,400+ submissions are gathered at the district office throughout the month of November. Once all the submissions are collected, staff members in the Kneale Administration Building participate in a blind voting process to narrow the field. Three finalists are ultimately chosen, one representing the Elementary, Middle School, and High School levels.
From the field of finalists, it’s up to Superintendent Matt Fisher to make the final selection of the overall winner. This winning artwork is then reproduced on the cover of the official GIPS annual Holiday Card.
“The level of artwork coming from all grade levels is really incredible.” Superintendent Matt Fisher shared. “It is really very impressive to see the talent our students have. Making a decision once the finalists hit my desk is always very challenging.”
The 2025 Superintendent Holiday Card Contest Honorees are:
-Layla Gerber, 9th Grade - GISH (Overall Winner)
-Maria Castro Gutierrez, 5th Grade - Howard Elementary (Elementary Finalist)
-Gabriela Cortez Moreno, 8th Grade - Walnut Middle School (Middle School Finalist)
In addition to celebrating student creativity, this year’s field of finalists brings a display through a number of different artistic techniques. With pencil work and shading capturing outdoor winter scenes, to full color textures capturing a holiday tree forest, the artwork is as eye-catching as it is festive.
The winning work, Layla’s art, shows a holiday elf trekking through the snow alongside glowing decorated trees, and a silhouette of Santa and his reindeer across a full moon. The colors vibrant, the frame full scope, the perspective enveloping, and the holidays happy.
Layla’s been drawing, and painting, and bringing her creative ideas to life on paper for as long as she can remember. Art supplies are a staple on her annual Christmas and Birthday lists. And there’s never a shortage of drawings on display around her house. Reflecting on earning the holiday card recognition, it brings a welcome sense of pride.
“I feel really happy that my art gets some recognition, and that other people get to see it.” Layla reflected. “Maybe it'll inspire them to be creative too.”