IMS 7th Grade Chinese Class Celebrates Lunar New Year Through T-Shirt Design Contest

The first place t-shirt (#12) in the seventh grade Chinese class at IMS Lunar New Year t-shirt design contest on the left followed by the second place finisher (#2), and the third place t-shirt (#13).

Mercer Island, WA, March 5, 2026 – Seventh grade students in Jing An’s Chinese class at Islander Middle School competed in a t-shirt design contest to celebrate Lunar New Year, the year of the Fire Horse.

“We started the contest back in 2018 as a fun way for students to share their take on the Lunar New Year celebrations,” said An.

All students in the seventh-grade Chinese class participated in the contest and a total of 16 t-shirt designs were submitted. A total of 324 votes were cast by students and staff at IMS to determine the winners. Design Number 12 took first place, followed by Design Number 2 and then Design Number 13.

“We link this contest to the lessons and discussions on various cultural products and practices around the Lunar New Year in the seventh-grade Chinese class,” said An. 

Students designed the t-shirts using paper and pencils with some students integrating other art formats, like paper cutting, into their designs.

“Lunar New Year is celebrated across many different cultures, each with a unique take on what the holiday means to them. I feel this is a great opportunity for us as a community to celebrate both what we share in common and our unique individual experiences. Lunar New Year is a universal celebration, but it is also Chinese New Year, Korean New Year, Tết, and more,” continued An.

The photos below of the t-shirt designs show the winning selections in order followed by the submitted designs in numerical order.