Students at Ray Shepherd Elementary brought the spirit of the 2010 Winter Games back to the Peninsula last week during a ceremony that unveiled an Olympic mural they had a hand in creating.
The mural is made of eight panels mounted on the south side of the school, and was painted by local artist Elizabeth Hollick based on drawings she received from students.
Hollick, who asked the youth to submit illustrations of their Olympic memories, ended up with around 200 pages of drawings that she sorted into categories, including skiing, snowboarding, mascots and hockey.
The finished mural has space dedicated to each theme, and shows the children’s images represented in the scale they drew them in.
“I took the style you had done and put it up there,” Hollick told the students during an assembly. “Without you, this wouldn’t be so successful. I was amazed at the number of drawings I received.”
Mayor Catherine Ferguson was also on hand, and explained how she had a peek of the mural in progress.
“I got to see some of the work in Elizabeth’s home,” Ferguson said, noting Hollick’s grandson is a student at the school. “You guys did an awesome job.”
After the assembly, students gathered outside for photos and a ribbon-cutting to dedicate the mural, which received a $1,500 donation from White Rock’s Spirit of BC Committee and $2,000 from the school’s PAC.
Surrey school trustee Laurie Larsen said the students may not realize now that they are leaving a legacy, but they will appreciate it later in life, when they return to the school and look upon their artwork.
“The kids probably don’t know it today, but they will,” she said. “It’s such an honour for them. It’s a nice piece of history.”