Lexie Januszewski, Alexa Benoit, Prysila Whyte, Mégane-Rose Mailloux, Norah Ward, Emma Sagala
Hemmingford Elementary School
Students from Hemmingford Elementary School and École Saint-Romain came together to make a delightful mural over the week of February 24 to the 27.
“They wanted to pick a village that had an English school and a French school,” said one of the participating students from Hemmingford Elementary. The mural was done through the Create to get Closer program, a national organization that funds the creation of collective murals by children from official language communities.
The design of the mural features a spring scene in Hemmingford with houses, both schools, and the two churches. There are three large silhouettes of children, with the fleur de lys, maple leafs and the Hemmingford coat of arms. The mural was made using four panels that were connected when the students were finished painting.
There were six ambassadors from each school, including students from Grades 5 and 6. All of the students in the school contributed in some way to the mural. “All of the kids listened very well,” said one student who helped the younger kids to paint things like the sky and clouds with their hands. “We also helped to wash their hands afterwards,” she added.
The activity was led by Jean Pierre Archand, the national director of the Create to get Closer program. “It was the best experience of my sixth grade so far, because we made new friends and he taught us so many tricks about how to paint,” said another student from Hemmingford Elementary.
Principal Carla Shaw said the mural gave us an opportunity for the students to work together on a project.” The municipality also partnered with the project, because the mural will be displayed in a public place once it dries.
“It is not very often we get our students from both schools to do something together and to build some community spirit,” added Shaw.