Monday, May 4, 2015

8th Grade Legacy Project: Life Size Chess Board Pieces

A Legacy Project is a collaborative art installment created by the oldest class on campus and gifted to the school at the end of the year. A Legacy project is student centered and can help maintain student connections to their school long after their gone. Students have an opportunity to demonstrate their leadership skills through their collaborative efforts that over time create a colorful and inviting place for others to enjoy. The amount of time and effort put into a Legacy Project reflects student investment in their school that sets an example for their younger peers and leaves a lasting visual mark!
This year the class of 2015 is collaborating on life-sized Chess Pieces that can be played on the Life-Sized Chess board created by PFAA Senior, Christopher Skinner. Why Chess? Chess is an integral part of the 6th grade culture. Students learn about the origin of Chess, learn to play the game and continue playing long after 6th grade in Chess Club. Chess is a "Thinker's Game" that is played globally so the ability to cultivate a culture of students that have the skills necessary to play the game is something to continue to promote and celebrate!


The Chess Board and pieces will help to keep the game vital within the LEA Program as it will not only serve as a public piece of art but will serve as a gathering place for NCS students and faculty. Each individual piece will be hand crafted and signed by a group of students for others to play and admire. Our goal is to have the Chess pieces finish and board operable by Open house! Pictures below highlight our progress so far.
Chris providing tips of forming chess pieces.

Lots of critical thinking and problem solving went into forming chess pieces!

Students sharing ideas and demonstrating how they formed their chess piece.

Student Chess Piece example