Spectacular: Measuring 63 metres by 31 metres, the artwork was held together by 93,000 bricks.
FOR three months, students and teachers at SMK Methodist (ACS) Ipoh, Perak, had a singular aim, and nothing – not the amount of work involved nor the hot Malaysian weather – was going to deter them from achieving it.
True to form, on Oct 7, all members of the school community saw the culmination of their blood, sweat and tears when their beloved school landed a spot in the Malaysia Book of Records (MBR) for creating the biggest mosaic art made of bricks.
Measuring 63 metres by 31 metres, the artwork was held together by 93,000 bricks and was designed bearing the slogan “ACS Ipoh Bersamamu Malaysia”, as well as images of the 127-year-old school’s building and primary icons of the nation, namely, the Jalur Gemilang, the hibiscus and the PETRONAS Twin Towers.
The massive project involving the school’s 1,050 students was spearheaded by Bahasa Melayu Excellent Teacher Dr D. Khatiresan with teachers S. Alageasan, S. Sivanandam and L. Kunasilan forming the backbone, under the leadership of principal John Seeni.
Leading the way: Kunasilan (far left) with some of the students during the brick-arranging process.
What made the occasion even more noteworthy was that this marked the fourth time the school had set a record in the MBR – in 2007, 2009 and 2013, it had gained recognition for creating the biggest artwork using grains, the biggest logo using recyclable cans and the biggest formation using plants, respectively.
According to Kunasilan, the feats achieved by the school thus far had been born from teachers inspired by the school motto “ACS leads the way”.
“The teachers at ACS are inspired to gain new achievements, hence they are always coming up with fruitful ideas for the students and the school’s growth,” the Physical Education teacher who served as the technical assistant for the project told StarEdu.
While the project took three months to complete, it had involved a year of discussion and laying of groundwork, he said.
The imminent retirement of Seeni this month was another motivating force for the school community to pour their heart and soul into the mosaic art project, with the MBR record serving as a parting gift for the principal.
On the behind-the-scenes work involved, Kunasilan said a committee had been formed to make sure the tasks were well distributed. Arranging the bricks according to the given measurements, he shared, was the toughest part of the project.
Since the project was carried out in the school field, weather factors caused the students to feel tired rather quickly, he said, adding that to curb the problem, classes took turns completing the mosaic.Another challenge for them was drawing the mosaic art according to the given scale.
“Our Form Six students did a marvellous job completing the artwork.
“Thankfully, we managed to complete the painting process within the given time, even though it had rained continuously for a few weeks,” he shared.
Projects such as this, Kunasilan added, benefit the students’ self-growth as they put values such as teamwork and persistence into practice.
“These attempts also help students gain experience handling big projects. At the same time, the school could raise funds to upgrade its infrastructure and so on,” he said.
As recognition for their participation in the feat, the students received an MBR certificate each.
The school also received a donation amounting to RM60,000 from parents, school alumni and well-wishers. The funds raised will be used to upgrade the school’s swimming pool and other facilities.
Meanwhile, the bricks used for the mosaic art had been repacked and sold to a contractor.
Nur Alia Irdina, 18, a student in Selangor, is a participant of the BRATs Young Journalist Programme run by The Star’s Newspaper-in-Education (Star-NiE) team. Applications for the BRATs 2023 programme are now open. For more information, go to facebook.com/niebrats.
