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WATCH: Central Middle School students’ Christmas tree

A group of Central Middle School students are set to show off their Christmas spirit with a tree they created.
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Central Middle School student Emily Bettenson puts together and ornament as her brother Kessler Bettenson looks on. (Photo by Sean McIntosh/Advocate staff)

A group of Central Middle School students are set to show off their Christmas spirit with a tree they created.

About 15 students from Central Middle School’s Sawing for Schools program gathered at the school Thursday to decorate a tree they built through the year.

The tree is made of long pieces of wood, drilled in the middle, and placed on a metal pole. Students wrapped the tree in lights, covered it in decorations and placed a Santa Claus ornament on the top Thursday.

The tree used for the project is from Great Chief Park and was taken down for the construction for a skating oval, which will be used in the 2019 Canada Winter Games.

The wood was brought to the school to be milled with the students. During summer holidays, students planed the wood and have been sanding and cutting holes in it since.

On Tuesday, the tree will be brought to Westerner Park and displayed at the Festival of Trees.

Darrin DeMale, Central Middle School principal, said the tree will make a great addition to the event.

“The tree is absolutely gorgeous,” said DeMale. “People walking through the Festival of Trees are going to stop and take a second look at it.”

The students in the Sawing for Schools program had a ton of fun with this project, DeMale added.

“We have lots of programs and clubs that run in our school, but this club definitely stands out because of the genuine excitement the kids get from what they’re doing,” he said.

Emily Bettenson, 13, is in her second year with the program. She said making the tree and having it on display at the Festival of Trees is really neat.

“I was in this program last year and this isn’t like anything we’ve done before. It’s new, really cool and everything is really well set up,” she said.

Bettenson said she wanted to join the Sawing for Schools program last year because she enjoys woodshop class.

Shawn Moore, program founder and Trimmed Line Tree Services owner, said students decided to go with a nature theme with the tree’s decorations.

“There’s lumberjacks, owls and skates. It really represents winter,” he said. “The key to our program is to engage the kids in the design and build because great ideas always come out.”

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Students decorate a special Christmas tree at Central Middle School Thursday. The tree will be brought to Westerner Park next week for the Festival of Trees. (Photo by Sean McIntosh/Advocate staff)


Sean McIntosh

About the Author: Sean McIntosh

Sean joined the Red Deer Advocate team in the summer of 2017. Originally from Ontario, he worked in a small town of 2,000 in Saskatchewan for seven months before coming to Central Alberta.
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