Representatives drawn randomly from each class at Valemount Elementary School got a short field trip last week, to present their collective work of art to the Valemount Clinic, titled Tree of life.

When the remodeling on the office was finished, the school was asked to provide a mural for the waiting area. Sharon Darragh, Chair of the Parent Advisory Committee got the idea of making something out of old pallets, but quickly realized that would be too heavy to hang on the wall. So she started with some thin plywood, cut out the shape of a tree, then cut it into 112 pieces. Each piece was numbered, sanded and primed, and then given randomly to students in all grades, with instructions to “paint what you feel.”

All 112 pieces came back, and Mrs Darragh was able to fit them perfectly back together on the background. She’d hoped to do the presentation last spring, but ran out of time.

Valemount Clinic, Valemount students, Valemount Parent advisory committee
Lee-Anne Anthony from the Valemount Clinic, Sharon Darragh from the Parent Advisory Committee and representatives from each grade presented their art to the Clinic last week. Photo: Korie Marshall