CCHS student Nadine Hamilton, Kiylee Steenhart and Rileigh Ward with teacher Alana Paterson on May 25 promoting the Student Gala on June 1.
Nicholas L. M. Allen
May 31, 2023
“It’s rewarding to see the reaction of community members when they come in and see what the students are actually capable of doing.”
The students at Crowsnest Consolidated High School are getting ready for the school’s first annual Student Gala on June 1. At a booth during the farmers market on May 25 at Elks Hall, teacher Alana Paterson spoke about the gala and where the idea came from.
“The idea originally came from our current welding teacher. He mentioned he was running out of supplies for the welding class,” said Paterson, “The kids were coming up with some really cool stuff out of the fabrication class, even tiny, cowboy toothpicks.”
Along with the reusable toothpicks, she said some of the other work coming out of the welding shop is “really good”, so she thought why not display their work to the community while helping them as they run out of supplies.
“I was like, ‘Oh, we should have an art show,” said Paterson.
She said she pitched the idea to Barb Pollice and Rose Bellavance, the school’s administrative assistants, and found out they had always wanted to do something like this.
“They made it into this massive thing, and we got all kinds of classes involved. There’s the fabrication class which will have items for sale that have been welded. The art class has items that are for sale at silent auction and the foods class is going to be making appetizers and serving them,” said Paterson. “The music class is going to be playing, the drama class is going to be making performances and even the [cosmetics] class is going to be doing haircuts that night by donation.”
As the event “snowballed” into a big student showcase, she explained how she couldn’t have done it alone, commending Pollice’s and Bellavance’s contributions in the front office as they took on large parts of the work. There will also be raffle, added Paterson.
“We’ve got donations coming in from the community for our raffle, so people can buy tickets, and they can also bid on silent auction items that we post,” said Paterson.
She also thanked the other teachers for the help they have offered and extended thanks to the art gallery for lending stands to display the artwork on.
“It’s really feeling like a whole school effort, but also the community is really helping out a lot,” said Paterson.
She said seeing the community members come in and appreciate the students’ work will be her favourite part of the event, although her first instinct was to say food.
“It’s rewarding to see the reaction of community members when they come in and see what the students are actually capable of doing,” said Paterson.
All the money that is raised will go right back into the programming. This includes anything in an area where the kids want the class and need programs. It may even be used to support specific interests within the classrooms.
“I’m hoping this is just the first of many galas that we will have,” said Paterson.
The Student Gala will be upstairs in the gathering area and the learning commons. The event runs for two hours. They have 200 tickets printed but hope to print more.
The gala is June 1, 2023, at Crowsnest Consolidated High School from 6:30 until 8:30 pm. Tickets are five dollars at the door and cash only.