PECI showcases student artists

About 300 friends, family members, students and staff attended PECI’s first Arts Night Thursday, Dec. 15 at the high school. They were treated to an evening of dramatic demonstrations, musical performances, artistic displays, photography and film – all generated and created by students of PECI.
Matthew Sheahan, the drama teacher and department head of the Arts and Native Studies at PECI, was th evening’s host.

“We have so many talented students at this school,” he said. “As a department we wanted to get as many students together as possible to showcase all of the amazing things young people are doing at PECI.”

Refreshments were served in the front foyer where several works of art were on display. The visual art work was created by students of Gail Henderson and Larry Keen. The photography was created by Hilary-Anne Clarke’s photography and Media Arts students.

“I was really glad to have a venue to display my students work,” said Clarke. “So much of our work is not able to be seen by parents, and it was nice to have the ability to share the amazing things the students are working on with family, friends and other community members.”

The performances featured several different musical and dramatic arts demonstrations – including students from Sheahan’s three drama classes; Jennifer Pigott’s music classes, along with the Glee club, Concert band, Strong Ensemble and Improv team all providing an idea of what they do as clubs, and for the school.

“The idea was to give the audience a sample of what we do,” said Sheahan. “There was no way we could show them everything that we do, there’s just not enough time.”

The evening came to a close with a sing-a-long led by the Glee club, Concert band and Grade 9 Music class, of Silent Night – a timely and fitting end to the festivities.

“By having a combined music, visual art, media art and drama night, we were able to have a night full of variety that showcased the talents of our students,” said Jennifer Pigott, PECI’s music teacher. “I continue to be impressed by the hard work and dedication of PECI students and look forward to future PECI arts nights.”