A trio of Vashon High School students took first place in a state Board of Education-sponsored video contest for their four-minute video about the importance of the arts in schools.

“It’s amazing — this is a statewide competition and there were lots of entries,” said VHS teacher Joel Walters, who leads the multimedia class in which the three students were enrolled last trimester.

He described 10th-graders Leah Andrews, Corrine Pruett and Conrad Pearson as “diligent and creative” students.

“They really did a great job,” said Aaron Wyatt, spokesman for the Washington State Board of Education. “The purpose of the competition this year was to really celebrate the influence of arts education on students’ lives, to also showcase examples of student art and to really give students a voice in why arts is personally important to them. All three of those things Vashon just rocked on.”

The student-made video features clips of Vashon High students and staff discussing the importance of the arts in their lives, interspersed with live action scenes of art in progress at VHS — from silk painting to enthusiastic drumming performances.

Andrews and Pruett said they were excited when they heard the news.

“We were pretty shocked,” Andrews said. “They announced it on the intercom.”

Pruett said she was proud to be able to showcase some of Vashon High School’s outstanding artistic talent.

“I like that our community is always so full of art, and I was really happy and proud to be able to display that for whoever sees the video,” she said. “It was a good way to show what we think about art.”

Andrews said her favorite part of the filmmaking process was interviewing others about the importance of art in their lives.

“I liked hearing what people had to say — how each person in their interview had a reason what art meant to them and how it affected their lives,” she said.

VHS Principal Susan Hanson, whose interview was featured in the video, said she’s proud of the filmmakers.

“I thought it was an exceptional video. It was so fun,” she said. “They are obviously very talented; they have a good eye and they can edit.”

She said the students shot “a huge amount” of video and worked hard to edit it down to the four-and-a-half minute video that they entered in the statewide competition.

“I was impressed with how the video flowed,” Hanson said. “It was very, very professional.”