A recent school-wide project at the Charter School of Morgan Hill demonstrated the ingenuity, tenacity and creativity of its students as each grade level amassed as many cans as possible, designed a thematic sculpture out of them and then donated the cans to needy families.
From kindergartners to eighth graders, CSMH students collected more than 1,500 cans for their projects, which were then put on display at the school last week. The cans were delivered to the outreach emergency distribution center at St. Catherine s Parish in Morgan Hill.
 It took a lot of math skills, a lot of engineering skills and then just bringing in all those cans and stocking them in the right place to make their sculptures, said Diana Gill, CSMH s outreach coordinator.
Students built the sculptures in one day after carefully planning out their designs. They had to formulate just how many cans it would take to complete the structure, what size it should be and the colors necessary for it. This was the first year of the schoolwide project, Gill said.
Kindergartners built a Reduce the Use recycle sign with their cans, while first graders constructed a peace sign. Second graders designed a bee hive pollinator to go along with what they had been learning; third graders built an American flag; fourth graders formulated a regional map of California; fifth graders made their own American flag; sixth graders went with a grateful tree; and seventh and eighth graders joined forces to make a Ueuntu, a philosophy meaning work together, help each other and rely on one another.
