On March 13th, the Chestermere Lake Middle School had a Fine Arts’ Night. Featuring many different means of artistic expression, parents and students came to support participants, and also had the opportunity to take part in a Silent Auction. The night was opened with the silent auction, which was featured in the school library. From items ranging from jewelry to paintings, auctioneers had the opportunity to bid money for the items which the school used in it’s fundraising for a cause. “The purpose of our fundraising is because we are wanting to build a school in Sierra Leone,” Lauren Millett, a teacher at CLMS shares, “twenty dollars buys a brick, and ten thousand builds a school.” The silent auction was running during the entire Fine Arts’ Night, and closed at 7:30. Education is an extremely important opportunity that many kids are unfortunately deprived of. With education, children have the chance to break the cycle of poverty and abuse that often comes in less privileged countries. If you would like to help the Middle School’s efforts in fundraising for this project, please contact Lauren at lmillet@rockyview.ab.ca. After that, a fashion show was held that featured wearable art. A handful of students modeled clothing that either they, or their designer, created which was then showcased in a runway performance. The show demonstrated the talent that the students have with their eye for fashion and pushing the limits of modern day style. It was also announced that the Middle School play for the year is The Outsiders, and it will be held on May 14th, 15th, and 16th. Tickets can be purchased at the school. Once the fashion show commenced, a gallery walk was held just outside the library, which featured creations from the art students at the school. There were beautiful watercolour paintings of marine life, nature, and landscapes. A gallery walk such as this one exemplified the diversity in technique and style within each of the artists; each painting had its own ‘voice’ that was unique to the individual who painted it. When asked why taking a fine art is so important, Millett says, “It encourages students to have individuality and it gives them the opportunity to explore different creative outlets in a positive way.” After the walk through, the grade 8 band performed O Canada, followed by a rendition of Viva la Vida by Coldplay. The next song, Oye Como Va, featured many more instruments including a guitar section led by teacher Mr. James. It was done completely by memory without any sheet music at all. Following that was the grade 9 band that performed the original Hockey Night in Canada theme song as well as a song called Caravan, which was composed to evoke the feelings an individual would get if they were in the Sahara Desert. Fine arts’ nights such as this are a chance for students to showcase all of the hard work they have put in to their artistic courses. By coming to support events such as this we encourage the youth of Chestermere to continue having a positive and creative outlet they can use to de-stress or even pursue in post secondary school. Keep an eye out for the next fine arts’ event; you never know what they will have to show off next!
