Entries in this year’s Newtown Middle School My Favorite Scarecrow Contest are on display through this Sunday, October 27.

 This year marks the 17th year eighth grade student groups have been challenged to create a larger-than-life scarecrow, designed to frighten away a demon of their choice, that can withstand inclement weather. The scarecrows are then put on display on NMS’s front lawn on Queen Street, voted on by the public for $1 per vote, and the top three winning scarecrow groups receive the proceeds to donate to charities of their choice.

Each student group is limited to spending $30 on its scarecrow.

When putting their scarecrow up for display on Saturday, October 19, NMS students Charli Condon, Danielle Samson, Lizzie Hodge, and Sam Strocchia — who designed the “Witch in a Box” entry — said it took about three weeks to make the scarecrow. The group that made “Willy the Whale” — Cassidy Kortze, Meaghan Lynn, and Romy Gold — said they had worked for a month-and-a-half.

Miranda Daly, Brooke Varnum, Ashley Santore, Dylan Zahansky, and Ali Nuzzo created the “Sandy Hook Duck” entry, which includes a large white duck with a green ribbon on it and a board with a green ribbon and markers available for people to sign their names under a drawn “We Are Newtown” ribbon. The group said they hope to donate the duck and the signed board to a Sandy Hook charity if it is one of the three top winning scarecrows.

Other scarecrows created for this year’s My Favorite Scarecrow Contest include a character from Minecraft, a popular computer game; a Dalek from BBC’s Doctor Who; a Pokemon; an Newtown High School blue and gold sneaker; and “The Yellow Submarine.”

Voting on the scarecrows is open while the creations are on view for the public. Ballots are available at the school, in the October 18 print edition of The Newtown Bee, and online here. Votes can be submitted with the accompanying payment to either NMS or dropped off at The Bee’s 5 Church Hill Road office.