Story in stained-glass accomplished by students

During the past six years, 90 students from the gifted and talented program at the school designed and painted 15 windows totaling more than 120-square-feet.The panels start with the creation of a deep blue ocean teeming with sea life to a shark hovering near an island beach window.The designs continue on to the beach with a giant palm that progresses toward a deep green tropical rain forest and upward to the sky with birds floating effortlessly toward the sun.

Finally, the darkness of infinite space holding a cheesy crescent moon, planets, stars and comets appear in the three recently unveiled panels.

Students had to apply and be accepted in order to participate in the project, Joan Tajchman, science teacher and co-advisor for the project, said. It took two days for students to design, cut and solder the windows. She believes the students recognized that their greatest accomplishment was learning to work together at such an intense endeavor.

Tajchman is not sure where the theme will go from here. That will be up to the wishes and creativity of next year's artists, she said.

The students who participated in this year's project were: Kristy Archibald, Liz DiCicco, Jessica Falvo, April Frank, Stephen Hegeman, Kelsie Jensen, Lauren Johnson, Asiya Mahmud, Katrina Mertz, Samantha Morella, Sandy Moyer, Stephanie Rosado, Ashley Stephens, Heather Swain, Angellina VanderPoel, Jesse VanderPoel, Michael Zaydel and Andrew Walker.