Students in Kim Woodward’s eighth period art class in Tamaqua Area High School can’t wait for the first plowable snowstorm this year. It’s not because they are looking for a snow day from school, although that’s always a plus.

This year, it’s because one of the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation’s snowplows will be clearing roads behind a special plow blade designed and painted by the students.

“Paint the Plow” is a PennDOT program encouraging students to turn a 12-by-4-foot plow blade into a work of art representing their individual school.

This year, Schuylkill County students were invited to participate, with Tamaqua, North Schuylkill, Shenandoah Valley and Mahanoy Area students accepting the challenge. A panel of judges will select one team design as a “Judges Pick” while there will be an option on Penn­DOT’s Facebook page for the public to vote on a “Fan Favorite.”

This year’s theme was “Don’t Crowd the Plow.” Student Leah Mateyak created Tamaqua’s design, which incorporates the school’s stylized T and fire-breathing dragons to complete the theme with “or you will feel the burn.” She chose dragons because she “likes them and they fit in with the feel of the burn theme.”

Her fellow students say the biggest challenge was the weather and working with the blade’s curve. “I’m not sure which was worse, the hot sun or the rain,” said Kayla Zamudio. After some thought, all agreed the biggest problem was dealing with the bees.

Woodward said painting the curved blade was “probably the most challenging project we’ve ever done, but it was great fun.”

Destiny Landes agreed, saying “Working together was the best part of the project.”

PennDOT will pick up the completed blade by Oct. 25. Then it will be up to the weather as to when the students will see their design in action.

The blade will be used on Routes 209 and 309 in the Tamaqua area.

If you’re out in a snowstorm and see a couple of fire-breathing dragons in your rearview mirror, don’t panic, just “don’t crowd the plow.”