To create a festive mood in the Learning Commons, Santa was seated near decorations painted by the National Art Honor Society and built by the Architecture Club. Overall, this took them about a month to make.

The decor included elaborate gingerbread houses and hand-painted lollipops to give the Learning Commons a holiday feel.

Mrs. Lisa Collins, Architecture, Engineering, and Design Club moderator was one of the teachers involved with the display. She said that initially Mr. Hollin asked them if they could create a display for the Festival of Lights.

“I took the project to my Architecture, Engineering, and Design Club and challenged them to design gingerbread structures as part of a design competition.”

Mrs. Collins revealed that “the National Art Honor Society built the landscape which was the Candyland game.”

Senior Ava Freeland shared that the club had to “make a model version of the gingerbread house first, and that’s where we worked out the design, how we had to shape things, and the best process for making the structure.”

She continued, “It was really rewarding when we were able to puzzle it all together for the finished product.”

According to Mrs. Collins, “all the gingerbread houses were built from recycled John Carroll Billboards.”

Senior Annabel Everett, one of the club members in charge of painting the lollipops and other decorations for the Candyland display, shared that the experience allowed her to “express my artistic abilities, and it was a great way to relax and hang out with my friends after school to help with NAHS.”

Annabel revealed that NAHS “decided to use painted broomsticks as the lollipop sticks and Styrofoam for the top of the lollipop. We painted them pink and orange and light and dark green in swirl patterns and organized them in a space in the Candyland.”

Mrs. Collins said that the best part of creating the display was “the excitement that came with having their creations come to life and watching their excitement as they shared them with their families and the community.”