The Grade 8 students at Dalmeny High School took full advantage of the abundance of snow in the area by making snow sculptures.
Both of the Grade 8 classes at the school were split into groups and over a two week period built different types of sculptures, which was part of a class project.
Dalmeny Grade 8 teachers, Bridget Osika and Tracy Koski wanted to find something the students could do outside that coincided with their course work, and they were inspired by the huge dragon snow sculptures that were built by Saskatoon residents.
Also, with the amount of snow in the schoolyard, it made it possible for them to make some creative sculptures. Osika said the project coincided physical education and art class.
During the two week project, weather conditions fluctuated which was a challenge for the students.
“The weather warming up just made the snow pack better and then they persevered the cold to get it done,” said Osika.
In total, there were eight sculptures made and according to Osika, the students had to put in some manual labour to get their final product.
“There was a lot of shoveling that had to happen in moving the snow, so there was a lot of activity,” she said. “They had to build it and pack the snow and we painted it with food colour and water and just sprayed it on.”
Osika said it’s been quite a few years since she had students participate in a snow sculpting project because it’s something that requires a lot of snow to do.
“You have to have the perfect combination of the right snow. I’ve done it with high school older groups, so I was a little concerned about doing this project with Grade 8s, but they stepped up and they were fantastic,” she said.
Many of the Grade 8 students had never made a snow sculpture before and this was a great learning experience.
Both Osika and Koski said the students enjoyed this project. After the students completed there respective sculptures on December 17, each group was happy with what they had created.
“There were people walking by and my Grade 8s were like ‘oh, they’re coming to look at our sculptures.’ They were excited and very proud of what they’ve done,” said Koski.
During the pandemic, a lot of school group activities had been cancelled and it was still important for students to interact with each other while engaging in something other than traditional school work.
“It gives the kids a break to be outside and have fresh air, because they’ve missed out on some field trips. So It’s really nice that they got this opportunity to do something fun and creative at the same time,” said Osika.
While the students were building their sculptures Osika said people who walked by were impressed with what the students created.
“It’s sort of a little gift to the community as well. What we talked about at the beginning (of the project) is we’re doing something to bring some joy,” said Osika.
