On Monday, November 22, Assumption had its annual Canstruction. What is Canstruction you may be asking? Well, you came to the right place to find out!
Every year Assumption High School puts on a canned food drive. We ask students to bring in as many cans as they possibly can. When Canstruction is over, all the cans are donated to Dare to Care, a local food bank. The food bank helps hundreds of people who are struggling with food insecurity in our community. What makes Canstruction so special is that students still can have fun and compete against their friends in other homerooms, but we are also helping others in the process. On the actual day of Canstruction, students usually build themed sculptures with those cans. Every family agrees on what kind of sculpture to build and after Canstruction is over, students vote on which sculpture they like the best. This year’s construction however was a little different. Due to COVID-19, we were not able to build the sculptures this year. Students still brought in cans and donated them to Dare to Care, we just couldn’t build the sculptures like we usually do. Instead, we did something we have never done before. Students were placed into sister groups, which contained around 8 students from different grade levels. In the sister groups, students got to know one another better by answering questions and playing games, like two truths and a lie. Then, students took a picture with their sister group and came up with a creative caption. Family council will vote on the most creative caption, and the winner will receive family points.
As a school, Assumption donated 17,837 cans, which is the most cans we have ever donated. This is a huge deal, as it helps such a large number of people in our community. Cork was the top selling homeroom with 3362 cans.
While the event was going on, I talked to a number of students and teachers, asking them what their favorite part of Canstruction is, and why is it important. Junior Lily Burchett said “it helps the community in a time of need. We are celebrating Thanksgiving with family right now and helping those who can’t do that.” Mrs. Walsh, a counselor here at Assumption, said “my favorite part is that the whole community of Assumption is involved in something that helps the greater community.” Mrs. Schuhmann answered “I love seeing all the energy students bring the week leading up to it and seeing students work together to bring cans in. Also, seeing how much food we brought in and how many people we have helped is awesome.”
Canstryction is a yearly tradition that we will hopefully continue on forever. It is one of many ways Assumption High School students give back. Next year when Canstruction starts, remember we CAN do it!
By: Sydney Ott
