This year, the Art Club has started painting the polar bear outside in the RB courtyard. Art Club Advisor Suzanne Zimmerman started the project after planning since last year.

“That’s a solid fifteen years. It needed some love,” said Zimmerman.

Zimmerman thought the bear needed an update, having been originally painted by the art club in 2003. The Art Club Advisor at the time was Band Director James Baum.

“I hate to see it go,” said Baum. “It looks so good now, it really brings out the school.”

The Art Club has been working on the bear for a little longer than they have anticipated because of the dramatic weather changes.

“Everything got really complicated with Art Club wasn’t running, it started late. The weather was cold,” said Zimmerman.

There will be more drawings on the bear connected to the school, including blue and white, small drawings featuring the clubs and academics.

“The students choose what to paint and it’s supposed to represent all the facets of the school community,” said Zimmerman. “A lot of its academic, subject-based, and extracurricular, and now we’re getting into filling all the little spots.”

Every student contributed to this design and project, knowing that someone else might have to finish their unfinished work.

“The design layout was inspired by a design done by a student at NIU for their art school, and it just totally fit,” said Zimmerman. “I said [that] you have to be open-minded, somebody else might finish your drawing and everyone was totally cool with it.”

Zimmerman predicts the courtyard addition will be completed before holiday break.