26 March 2015
How do you weave your school's core values into the daily fabric of school life? As part of their strategy to make values like persistence and resilience part of every day, principals are asking Danthonia to create larger-than-life visual reminders.
At first, one school asked us to create giant pencils promoting their school values. Another commissioned larger-than-life 'Keys to Success.' However, a completely fresh idea came from Peter Lund, principal of Blair State School.
A school down the road from Blair State School installed a set of Danthonia ‘school values’ pencils. The school was so thrilled with the effect, they sent photos of their distinctive pencils to all the neighbouring schools.
That’s when Peter picked up the phone and asked us to create ‘totems’ to articulate their school values. How about something that would honour our country’s indigenous heritage? After some discussion, we put forward a number of options, including giant boomerangs.
In the end, the executive team at Blair State School settled on the giant didgeridoo concept. Peter had the inspiration of inviting a local indigenous artist to paint the didgeridoos once they were in place at the school, so he asked us to paint the school values in a contemporary slab serif font against a plain brown background.Our artisans custom-moulded each didgeridoo, painted, and shipped them complete with a Do-It-Yourself Installation kit. The school groundsman installed all four didges with only a shovel, sledgehammer and a shifter.
Everybody was impressed, but that wasn’t all. As the guest artist began painting, the students couldn’t keep their eyes on their books. They watched from classroom windows as beautiful patterns emerged under the artist’s brush. Anti-graffiti coating was sprayed on for extra protection, but maybe that wasn’t necessary because now, nobody will forget to be responsible, safe and respectful.
We’ve just completed another set of didgeridoos, this time with a wood grain effect. The best ideas come from you – we just make them happen. Tell us your ideas.
