It kind of looks like chaos.
If you’ve wandered into Rosemont Elementary’s gymnasium recently, then you’ve seen the messy results of their large-scale penny arcade project.
“Our custodian has actually been super cool about all this, even though when you walk in it’s an absolute chaos of paint and glitter and glue everywhere,” Principal Tim Mushumanski told the Star.
“At first he was shocked, but everyone is so excited to see how the students are working together and what they’re creating.”
Mushumanski’s been overseeing a multi-week process in which students team up to create elaborate arcade-style games out of cardboard and other recycled material.
It was inspired by a viral video called Caine’s Arcade that teacher Mrs. Thibault saw online, and ultimately grew into what Superintendent Jeff Jones has praised as a “perfect example of the type of transformational education initiatives we’re trying to support.”
And the teachers, the parents, the students — they all love it.
“One part of our new curriculum is an applied design section. We’ve never had that before. With this project we were trying to get students from Kindergarten to Grade 5 designing and creating something together,” teacher Mr. Schnare said.
“It’s been really interesting to see how collaboration between kids of different ages works. It’s kind of like going back to the one-room schoolhouse, which we don’t see that often except at Wildflower. More and more we’re putting older kids into leadership roles and we’re drawing ideas from all different age groups.”
And it’s been super fun.
“This has been about creating and being proud of something. It’s been fun and challenging,” Mushumanski said.
“When you talk to the kids, they really want to show off their games and they really want to play each other’s games. They’ve put between 15 to 20 hours into this each, and a lot of them have gone home and done stuff at home too.”
Students have created a magnetic board game based on Pac-Man, a castle for visitors complete with a fortune teller, an air hockey table and stations where you can fish for treats or play Whack-a-Mole.
“The whole idea was to be ecologically sensitive, so we made sure we weren’t buying new plastic crap — everything is recyclable and we’re making sure not to frivolously waste material.”
So where did all the cardboard come from? Mostly from local businesses.
“Then we gathered them in the gym, gave the kids general guidelines on how not to fight, how to share and work together, and then we said ‘go’ and from there they were problem-solving and negotiating and decorating.”
But it’s a little more complicated than it sounds.
“This is more than just putting some boxes together, making some holes. The students have to figure out ‘where do people line up?’ and ‘what are the rules?’ and they really have to ask themselves ‘who is going to play this?”
They also have to name their game, set their price, and fill out a reflection sheet on what they’ve learned.
Three students who have thrown themselves into the endeavour are castle creators Mary Jane Coffey, Ally Nicholson and Tanner Jackson. The trio were decorating their Medieval-style attraction when the Star came to visit.
“It will cost two pennies, and then Tanner will lower the drawbridge. We’ll be able to fit about four kids inside, but if you’re an adult you will have to crawl,” Coffey said.
“We’re going to tell stories with our fortune teller, and there’s going to be a jail for people who get a bad fortune. But if you get a good fortune you get to go to our snack bar and explore.”
As they were constructing it, Nicholson suggested they start adding new elements.
“I knew we can’t make it a million dollar castle, so we wanted to give it a little twist,” she said.
“Now you can win cheese and crackers, fruit, stuff like that.”
Jackson said he was amazed by his partners’ creativity.
“It’s so cool to see everybody come together to build their creations.”
And now that they’re nearing completion, the school is preparing to welcome the public to the penny arcade during the evening of Tuesday, March 7 from 5 to 7 p.m. And mother Jennifer Halliday, who was working alongside her daughter Anora, can’t wait to hear what people think.
“You’ll be surprised what our kids can create.”
