Making their mark

BOLLARDS!
They’re everywhere at Keysborough’s Maralinga Primary School where grade six students are busy applying the final touches to their major art projects this year.
Maralinga Primary School visual art teacher Jenny Pritchard said bollards were wooden posts that the students were painting with environmental themes.
Like pavers and wall murals, the bollards were grade six students’ chance to leave their mark on the school before graduating this year.
Where they will be installed is yet to be determined by the school but so far there are 20 bollards in production, with 17 created by students and three by teachers.
“A number of schools are using bollards as a way of decorating the outside environment,” Ms Pritchard said.
“The grade six students have come up with designs from a variety of environmental themes.
“Some reflect the rainforest, some under the sea and some are doing Aboriginal-style art designs.”
The bollards are not just art projects. They are also teaching the students, who must work on bollards in pairs, the importance of good teamwork and cooperation, Ms Pritchard said.
Additional benefits to students include enhanced design skills and taking pride in work that will not just be handed in for grading but also placed on display in the school grounds.
Ms Pritchard said that as an extra challenge the students had to incorporate the school’s logo – a cloud with a lightning bolt – somewhere on the bollard so that younger students had to hunt for it.