Country Heights Elementary School students spent the first few weeks of school learning about pointillism and pixelism while creating a mosaic of their school mascot through a grant from the You CAN Rubik’s Cube program.
Art teacher Barbara Poynter requested the largest amount from the program, 600 Rubik’s Cubes, to be sent to CHES for the school project. As only one of four schools nationwide to receive the grant, CHES students, teachers, administrators, bus drivers, cafeteria workers, custodians and support staff used synergy to create the mosaic.
As a whole-child school, as well as a Lighthouse school, the focus is on connection, Poynter said. Academically, teachers ask “Why are we doing this? How will it work out?” to connect lessons with student learning as well as connecting students to each other.
Using graphing and multi-step directions, combined with fine motor skills, the 500 students worked together in their art class to create the masterpiece.
“Everyone worked on it,” Poynter said. “The kindergarten classes created all blue faces [on the cubes], but as the grades went up, [the design for each] was more challenging.”
Choosing the husky as the mosaic was important to the school, which refers to themselves as a pack.
“It was absolutely perfect as our symbol,” Poynter said.
The husky was graphed in 25-cube blocks and then placed on a large table in the media center.
“That’s where we started to build,” Ponyter said, adding that it took eight people to move the mosaic to the gym for the big reveal.
Poynter said that some students were able to create their pattern quickly while others, including the principal, needed help. She explained how famous artists, Michaelangelo for example, had others helping create masterpieces, so this, too, was a masterpiece of synergy.
“Students loved doing it,” Poynter said. “It was really cool to see how those who were intimidated worked with those who got it and to see others helping others. Some worked on the same cube for over a week. There were so many moments of accomplishment.”
