Students find sweet home in cans
THE 1.8-metre high Christmas toyhouse standing in the playground of the Sacred Heart Canossian College was made of 2,054 soft drinks cans.
And there was an eye-catching banner in the shape of a Christmas tree hanging from the seventh to the ground floor of the school's tower, conveying the season's greetings to passersby.
Both were the creations of a group of Form Four and Six students, who spent a month making the decorations.
The toyhouse was made by the Art Club's 12 committee members. Iris Chan Chui-yee, chairman of the club and a Form Six student, said: ''We used cans because we wanted to decorate the school with something creative.'' She said using rubbish as materials was also a way to protect the environment.
Iris said the name of the house, ''Sweet Home'', referred to the sweetness and warmth of Christmas which they wanted to share with their fellow students.
It took the girls about a month to collect the 2,054 cans from other students and restaurants.
The path leading to the toyhouse was made of flattened cans, and the surrounding area was covered by ''snow''.
The students said they encountered many problems in the making process, but the finished product was worth all the work: schoolmates visited the house, and took pictures.
The Christmas tree banner was made by 19 Form Four students, who were taking fine art.
Their art teacher, Mr Cheng Ka-kay, said the banner was an amalgamation of the students' ideas.
''Each student designed and painted one piece of cloth. Then three pieces of cloth were sewn together as one layer of the tree,'' Mr Cheng said.
''Joy to the World'' was the theme of the banner with three design focuses: Christmas, school, and religion.
Mr Cheng said co-operation was important in the creative process, in order to produce a harmonious picture.
Jenny Lee Mei-yee, Elaine Huen and Mary Cheung Wai-man said they were overjoyed when they saw the banner successfully hung up.
