Volume 1 (1999/2000)
Issue 1 (March 1999)
Issue 2 (Nov. 1999)
Issue 3 (Dec. 1999)
Issue 4 (Feb. 2000)
Issue 5 (March 2000)
Issue 6 (April 2000)
Issue 7 (May 2000)

Volume 2 (2000/2001)
Issue 1 (Sept. 2000)
Issue 2 (Oct. 2000)
Issue 3 (Jan. 2001)
Issue 4 (March 2001)
Issue 5 (April 2001)
Issue 6 (May 2001)

Volume 3 (2001)
Issue 1 (Sept. 2001)
Issue 2 (Nov. 2001)

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Seeing into the next Millennium

Fayne Kelly & Colleen Hayes (6th year)
St. Paul's, Greenhills

Art classes in St. Paul's, Greenhills, design a Millennium window

In March 1999, the 5th year Art Students of St. Paul's in Greenhills began on a project that would need lots of imagination, co-operation and hard work. There is a large window beside the reception area in the school and it was decided to paint a new and modern design onto this window. There was already a design on the window, but it had been painted by the pupils of St. Paul's about 20 years ago. This stained glass design, which consisted of St. Paul on a horse, had begun to show its age, and it was very difficult to actually see the image that had been painted all those years ago.

The two fifth year Art classes (now sixth years) were ready for a challenge! We wanted to remove the old design and create our own, which would hopefully last years into the next millennium. We decided to concentrate on three different themes. We thought it would be interesting to include something on the life of St. Paul in the design - this would also tie in with the theme of the old window's design. The second theme was 'School Life in St. Paul's' and with the millennium being topical at the moment, our third theme was 'St. Paul's towards the millennium'.

Then the competition began! With great effort and thought, every student from the two fifth year art classes produced their own design based on the above themes. The 50 designs were judged by Ms. Daly, Ms. Ni Nuallain (Art teachers) and by Ms. Glacken (our principal). With extreme care and concentration, 4 designs in total were chosen. The window had a partition in the centre and it was decided to have a different design on either side of this. The four student's designs were analysed and discussed and finally two, which had similar colours and shapes, were chosen. Any adjustments or change in colour and shape to make the designs match better were decided by Ms. Daly, Ms. Ni Nuallain and the four students.

Having decided on the design for the window, the next stage was to raise money for the art supplies we would need. With everyone's suggestions put together, we firstly decided on a sponsored car wash. Teachers sponsored and trusted us to wash their cars! Taking our lives in our hands, equipped with our big sponges and buckets of water, we had to have all the cars washed within 40 minutes! It wasn't only great fun but it was a huge success and everyone really enjoyed it. We also ran a cake sale and organised a 'No Homework Night', where everyone paid a small amount of money to have freedom from homework for one evening! All the money made went towards the cost of supplies for the window. As soon as we had made enough money, we began working on the glass itself.

Taking the old design off was difficult. A lot of paint remover was used and our strength was put to the test when we had to scrape off stubborn parts of the old design.
With the two designs already decided on, the designers began sketching them on to the window. Over the summer a group of seven girls worked out the painting of the window. We used black leading and vitriol paint, which is designed especially for glass. It was a great challenge to try out new media.

It took a very long time to do the paintwork, but as we came closer to the end, we were excited at the thought of seeing the whole design coming together. Our Millennium design consisted of Millennium 2000 across the window with the symbols of school life in St. Paul's incorporated in the design. Our new school crest was also placed in the design and 'Omnibus Omnia' meaning 'All things to all', being our school theme, is also a feature of the design in the image of the design. The other design consisted of St. Paul on a boat in stormy weather making his journey to spread the word of God. A quote from the Bible is incorporated in the design in the image of waves beneath the boat. Celtic design is also included. A large strike of lightning through a cloud gives a strong image of what St. Paul was willing to go through so that people could hear the good news about God.

It was well worth all the hard work and effort and because of the window being so tall the challenge enabled us to get over our fears of heights! The colour of the windows gives St. Paul's character and the sunlight creates a warm atmosphere and makes the designs even more beautiful. Everyone is delighted to remark on how wonderful it looks and we are forever reminded of how it is a credit to St. Paul's and to all of us!

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