Art Competion on Wildlife Conservation

The news of the Senior School art competition spread fast as students from all senior grades rushed into the Commons with crayons, pencils, paints, sketches and art utensils as far as the eye could see. In a matter of about 10-20 minutes, the room was flooded with children bubbling with excitement, ready to create their masterpieces on paper. The heads of control and the teachers helped settle the excited students. A3 and A4 papers were handed out quickly and the competition began.

On 15^th May 2014 the Junior School organised an art competition for the Senior School students. Wildlife Conservation was the theme on which the students were to make their paintings or drawings. As it is a crucial topic of discussion in today’s world, an art competition would be one of the best ways to help the students understand the depth of the situation as well as build a learning experience which is fun. “Go green” and “animal protection” were some of the common themes seen on all the works. The students created very explicit messages to be passed on.

For a whole 45 minutes, silence decked the room and only the frequent sharpening of pencils or the scribbling of children hard at work was heard. It was like an examination hall and the enthusiasm from the students could be seen throughout the entire struggle. The hall had transformed completely. Tension was on high and everyone went “all in” to finish their work to the best of their ability. It was amazing to see how even the reserved students poured their imagination out on the papers in front of the world.

It was literally a race against time as the countdown towards the final moments of the competition seemed to tick away. Hands shivered and sweat poured down the faces of the to-be artists at work. The teachers helped keep track of time and also pushed the students on, raising both their stress levels, as well as their confidence. In the closing minutes of the session, the students gradually finished their work. The teachers came round to check on some of the spectacular works that the children put forward.

Ali Hamza Roy, MYP 3