Most of the clubs here at the high school get involved with the elementary school students one way or another. Things like district-wide spirit weeks, canned food drives, apparel fundraisers, toy, book, and hygiene item drives have all been projects done in the past through clubs like Key Club, National Honor Societies, etc.
The National Art Honor Society, or NAHS, has been particularly successful in collaborating with the elementary school over the last month.
“NAHS collaborates with Lyter Elementary School each year to create encouraging posters for the Walk-a-Thon along with painted pumpkins for the library,” said NAHS president Bailey Ulmer.
“NAHS loves to do these projects each year because it’s a great way for high school students to involve themselves in projects across the district and benefit the younger kids,” said Ulmer. “Things as simple as a cute poster or a painted pumpkin of their favorite book character could be core memories for them.”
The art department is very busy this time of year. Along with the prep for the annual art show in December, NAHS adviser Miss Holley Fuller is also in charge of coordinating these projects.
The painted book character pumpkins are used in a raffle in the elementary school libraries.
“The librarian runs a reading program where students can enter a ticket to win a pumpkin. They can earn tickets by meeting reading goals,” said Fuller. “The pumpkins are painted to represent a book character and go on display in the library with the book. Whoever wins gets to keep the pumpkin and the book.”
“I think this kind of activity engages the students in a healthy form of competition and allows them to see the creative side of others,” said the elementary technology teacher, Mrs. Karissa Jones.
“This year has totally blown my mind,” Jones said. “The ideas are out of this world and I certainly would not want to be a judge. I honestly can’t pick a favorite because they are all such incredible and unique ideas.”
Ulmer’s personal favorite pumpkin she has seen throughout the years of this project, was a Pete The Cat inspired one last school year.
Ulmer said, “It was definitely one of my favorite books in elementary school so it was nice to feel that nostalgia.”
These pumpkins take lots of creativity, and often require multiple hours of work from the students. So why do so many still want to participate in what sounds like such a daunting project for most?
“Many students are motivated knowing that their work is seen by the elementary school students. Some have siblings at the elementary school,” said Fuller. “We also highly encourage community involvement through art, so many members are eager to participate.”
Ulmer feels as though students are still so excited to put the effort in, “because of their love for art and service.”
“It’s really inspiring to come together and create things to serve the community and school, which I think is really enticing to most of our members,” Ulmer said.
Another service project that takes lots of time and hard work from NAHS members is making encouraging posters to put up around the stadium for the Walk-a-Thon.
The Walk-a-Thon is a fundraiser for the PTO, held every fall in Memorial Stadium. Students from both Lyter and Loyalsock Valley Elementary Schools participate in the event, by walking, or sprinting (there is no in between for these crazy kids), and getting a tally each lap. Students collect donations from generous sponsors, and this year, the students raised over $36,000.
“Our members paint encouraging messages for the elementary school students to keep their motivation up during the Walk-a-Thon, usually with movie characters and cute drawings on them,” said Ulmer.
“We keep coming back to these projects each year because the elementary students really enjoy seeing the posters,” said Fuller. “My favorite part of these projects is the collaboration! It’s nice to see members create work for others.”
The elementary students have lots of fun during this time of year, partly due to the fact that they are in awe that they get to see high school art projects in their hallways, and also because of the anticipation and excitement when a new character pumpkin is added to the display.
“The kids are told to look with their eyes and not their hands and boy are they looking,” said Jones. “It’s fun to hear them in the hallways as they pass when a new one has been added to the rest.”
Ulmer is one of the lucky students who has time in her schedule for an art class. Many students are very passionate about art, whether it’s drawing, painting, or ceramics. But some don’t have the space in their schedule to be able to take the class, or the classes get filled up before their name gets picked.
That’s why it is such a neat opportunity for students to be able to express themselves artistically, and even bettering the community in the process with the help of Fuller and the National Art Honor Society.
“My favorite part of the service projects is using my creativity and love for art in so many different ways besides just in art class,” said Ulmer. “It’s so awesome to see how the things we make and events we host put smiles on peoples’ faces.”
As of right now, some future plans for NAHS include an art vending machine, and another activity with the elementary schools, specifically art teacher, Mrs. Robyn Smelko, and her classes, is currently in the planning stage.
“The idea is to have some elementary students create monster drawings. The monster drawings will then be sent to the high school for members to create 3D versions out of clay,” said Fuller. “We might even collaborate with Creative Writing to have students create short stories about the monsters. Everything will then be given to the elementary students at the end of the school year!”
Featured photo (at top): Inspirational posters hang throughout Memorial Stadium during the annual Walk-a-Thon. The elementary school students collected sponsors and circled the track as many times as they could, in order to raise money for the PTO. Photo provided by Miss Holley Fuller.
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