Moama Anglican Grammar Visual Arts teacher Cindy-Lee Pedrana with Year 6 students Dusty Watson, Sophie Frazer and Evie Williams during the creation of the school’s Legacy Mural.
Sixty-three young artists. Ten metres of wall. One lasting legacy which began with a journey to Fiji and ended with something truly extraordinary.
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The Year 6 students have left their mark on Moama Anglican Grammar ― transforming a school wall into a vibrant underwater mural.
Working with primary visual arts teacher Cindy-Lee Pedrana, students created 34 individual underwater bubble designs before bringing them together as one large collaborative artwork.
The mural is the second Year 6 legacy wall created at the school, continuing an annual tradition to give students a lasting creative connection to their primary school years.
Cindy-Lee said the ocean theme was inspired by a two-week service learning and cultural immersion trip to Fiji with her year 9 to 12 students earlier in the year.
Immersing herself in Fiji’s rich culture, traditions, and art-making practices, Cindy-Lee found the experience so valuable, she was compelled to share it with her primary students.
This became the foundation for the school's Term 3 Visual Arts unit, Art of the South Pacific: Culture, Connection and Creation.
“The ocean provided a natural thread connecting many of these ideas, while giving students an opportunity to explore their own connections to water, place and the environment,” Cindy-Lee said.
Students worked together in rotating pairs across three days, each duo taking on their own section of the mural in focused 30-minute painting sessions.
Year 6 students Cleo Guinan, Tahlie Clydesdale and Willow Watson work on the Legacy Mural.
For Cindy-Lee, one of the most deeply rewarding moments was watching students realise their individual contributions had become part of something far greater than themselves.
“You can see the individuality of the students within the larger collaborative piece,” she said
The mural also gave students an opportunity to leave their mark as they prepare to finish primary school.
“I wanted them to have a tangible reminder of their final year,” Cindy-Lee said.
“They can come back in years to come and point to the mural and say, ‘I helped create this.’”
Cindy-Lee hopes the tradition will continue to flourish, gradually building a collection of murals across the school which celebrate each Year 6 cohort and the themes they explored in their final year of primary school.
“I would love for them to feel they genuinely made a contribution to the school,” she said.
“I hope they feel pride and belonging.”
Beyond the brushstrokes, the project gave students the chance to grow in ways which extended well beyond the art room — building skills in collaboration, communication, problem-solving, planning, and perseverance.
The finished mural now stands as a permanent part of the school's history — a colourful reminder for future students of what this Year 6 cohort created together.
“It's about creating a memory, and a legacy for the students,” Cindy-Lee said.
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