Editor's note

Patricia West-Barker | The New Mexican

12/23/2007 - 12/23/07

The winning stories, essays and poems published here are just the tip of the 2007 Holiday Writing Contest iceberg: We received more than 225 entries this year. Some touched our hearts with memories of holidays past; others made us laugh out loud. All renewed our faith in the strength of the human spirit and the willingness of Northern New Mexicans to share their lives with us.

This year, seven of the prizes went to students in the seventh and eighth grades at the Santa Fe School for the Arts and Sciences — topping the McCurdy School's five-winner record set in 2005. With just 100 students enrolled in preschool through grade 8, that's quite an achievement. Now in its eighth year of operation under the direction of Rayna Dineen, SFSAS is a nonprofit, independent school with a large percentage of students on scholarship. Developing each child's personal talents and a lifelong passion for learning and exploration are among the school's stated goals — and one it appears to be achieving.

We hope you'll enjoy reading these stories, essays and poems as much as we did.

Patricia West-Barker
The New Mexican