Buzz Bus brings art and fun to Windsor Forest
Photos by Savannah Rake
Students of Windsor Forest High School walked across the breezeway unsuspectingly on the morning of Friday Jan. 30 as SCAD’s Buzz Bus unloaded a surprise donation of art supplies and other educational equipment just out of their sight.
Art the Bee and his beekeeper, Jonah Hudy, a second-year architecture major from Las Vegas, hid behind a parked school bus so they would not be seen.
Art the Bee peps up Windsor Forest students as volunteers wheel in the art and educational supplies.
“The whole idea behind the Buzz Bus is to inspire another generation of artists and designers, and to give back to the community,” said Erina Tandy, Director of External Relations at SCAD.
SCAD President Paula Wallace conceived the idea for the Buzz Bus back in October 2010. The program has since assisted 9,400 students and faculty directly, and so many more indirectly according to Tandy. At the end of every Spring Quarter, students are encouraged to donate their gently used and unused art supplies in the supply recycling bins that SCAD places around the dorms. SCAD then invites art teachers from across the country to come pick up the supplies so they do not go to waste.
“Last year I think we had about 41 teachers come and select supplies for their students,” said Tandy.
Laura Sperry, the art teacher at Windsor Forest for the last six years, was among the teachers who showed up this past summer.
SCAD’s Drum Line prepares to enter the Windsor Forest High School gymnasium.
Sperry and other faculty members lined the sides of the gymnasium as SCAD’s Drum Line filtered in, kicking off the assembly. A huge crowd of high school students filled the bleachers, overflowing into the steps. The students laughed and talked, and some even danced to the beat. The large room erupted in applause when the Drum Line finished and Tandy walked up to take the microphone.
Members from the SCAD Performance Ensemble sang “One Fine Day” and “Little Shop of Horrors” for the students. SCAD Furniture Design professor Sheila Edwards played a game of improvisation with volunteers in her presentation of the SCADpad microhousing concept. Windsor Forest will soon be home to a “Career Pathway” in construction.
This quarter, along with the art supplies, SCAD’s donation included media carts, choir risers, slide projectors and even a digital camera.
“We’ve got tons of projects coming up and I’m really excited to use [the supplies],” said Sperry. “We have an awesome AP Program and I’m just ready to use them to inspire the kids to make awesome art.”
Amelia Fleming presents Ja’Nautica Williams with art supplies and a Summer Seminar scholarship.
Most of the faculty was unaware of one of the surprises the Buzz Bus had in store.
Amelia Fleming, a SCAD Alumni and Coordinator of SCAD Summer Seminars and Pre-College: Rising Star, presented Windsor Forest High sophomore Ja’Nautica Williams with a Summer Seminar scholarship.
“That is amazing,” said Sperry. “Ja’Nautica’s a great student. She needs this opportunity to grow.”
Williams has taken multiple art classes at Windsor Forest, and, according to Sperry, recently did some amazing landscapes of Fort Pulaski. However, Williams said she is most interested in illustration and animation. She said she feels special and is grateful for the opportunity presented to her. “I can’t wait to go.”
The excitement did not end at the conclusion of the assembly. High schoolers lined up to take selfies with Art the Bee and SCAD’s student and faculty volunteers buzzed with enthusiasm as they returned to the bus.
“It’s so hard to come down from this high,” said Kristi Smith, Jen Library’s Cataloguing Librarian. “It’s so much fun. I can’t get enough of this.”
Any students interested in donating supplies can deposit them in a Buzz Bus bin during the last week of spring.
