NAEC students shine at stained glass

Submitted by NAEC | Dec 15, 2011

Photo: Wilf Heggart shows off his completed snowflake.

On November 28, students from the Grade 11/12 Art class traveled to The Glass House in Kingston to learn how to make stained glass sun-catchers.  Profits from the November 16 “Northern Highlights” Art class booth subsidized the trip. Students had made glass jewellery, candle holders and coaster to sell at the art show.  

At The Glass House, students learned about the origins of stained glass, and were then guided through the process of making their sun-catcher.  Usually, a beginner’s class lasts 6 hours, but due to time constraints, the time was cut in half because the staff of the Glass House had pre-cut the glass. The sun-catcher was in the shape of a snowflake, with different colours of blue glass, iridescent glass and glass beads.  

Students were still required to grind the glass pieces, and then foil them with copper foil.  After this, they painted flux on the copper foil and soldered their pieces together. It was a very labour-intensive process, and students only stopped for about 20 minutes to eat lunch before continuing their creative process. All the students had completed their project by the time the bus arrived to take them home.  

Students really enjoyed this trip, and it seems likely that this will be an annual occurrence for Grade 11/12 students.

Empty Bowls Project a Big Success Submitted by NAEC

NAEC will delivering a cheque to the food bank this week.  The Empty Bowls Project at “Northern Highlights” netted a total of over $250 for the local food bank, along with two bags of non-perishable food items.  NAEC’s Grade 11/12 Art class produced bowls, which were sold for a minimum donation of $5 and filled with chili made by the Grade 9 girls Physical Education class or soup made by the Grade 9 Academic French class.  These delicious meals were accompanied by wonderful bread made by the School to Community class.  The materials for the bowls were donated by the Arts and Humanities Department, so the only cost associated with the project was the cost of the food.

People were delighted by the various choices of bowls, which came in all shapes and sizes, and a variety of glazes.  Students produced nearly 60 bowls, and only a few were left by the end of the night.  

Staff, vendors and visitors also enjoyed the food that went into the bowls, and the bread that accompanied it.  It was a hearty meal. The chili ran out, and the leftover soup was donated to the NAEC Lunch Club program

NAEC has been very active in supporting the Food Bank over the last few months, and will continue to support this very important community service.  Principal Angela Salmond remarked, “It is so good to see so many classes working together for a common good.  This shows how our “Whole School” community is unique and serves our community at large.”