By Florida Catholic staff - Florida Catholic
Photography: COURTESY
COCONUT GROVE | Students at St. Hugh School joined the Little Mermaid “Under the Sea” as they created art for their annual show, which this year focused on Florida conservation and coral reef restoration.
Under the guidance of Catherine Pennekamp, the school’s art teacher, all of the children from grade PreK3 to eighth contributed to the April 2 show, with parents and students also attending the evening exhibit.
“The students have been learning about the importance of understanding how delicate our ecosystems are and how important it is to protect our precious environment,” explained Pennekamp. “The students become socially aware for our fragile world as they create art to empower social consciousness.”
But their efforts did not stop with paintings and collages. The art show also raised funds for Coral Vita, a coral restoration program in the Bahamas.
The founders of Coral Vita, Gator Halpern and Sam Teicher, later made themselves available for a “Facetime” conversation with the students “to continue our relationship to restore and protect the coral reefs,” Pennekamp said.