They commented casually on each others paintings, laughing, joking and nudging one another on the side as most Grade 6s and 7s do.
And as the clock ticked towards 10:45 a.m., the collective anticipation of morning recess had bonded the students, blurring any lines that had previously divided the groups.
Such has been the success of the Arts Connection program, it was difficult to tell which students were from a low income Downtown Eastside neighbourhood and which were from the affluent confines of Steveston.
The children who were either acting out role-playing improv or painting together are made up of students from Vancouvers Admiral Seymour and Richmonds Westwind elementaries.
The unlikely crossing of their paths was the brainchild of Arts Connection founder Linda Shirley, who was moved by a story that a Seymour teacher had to share her food with a student and whose father attended Seymour in his day.
Its been going really well, even better than we expected, said Lindsay McCarthy, visual and performing arts director at the Arts Connection in Steveston.
The kids have been very receptive and in the theatre group, theyve really put themselves out there.
We buddied them up, with each class half and half from each school. The interaction between the kids has been very good and theyre starting to get to know each other.
Last week was the third visit from the Vancouver school, explained McCarthy.
Each time they come, they have theatre and a day of class, sometimes even hip-hop, she added.
On their previous visit, the kids from both schools formed small groups and took pictures of a tree outside the facility, with each group taking pictures of different parts of the tree.
The pictures were printed out and last week they painted them.
While their creations were coming to life, the other half of the group was immersed downstairs in performing arts, doing improv to be precise.
Today the kids are re-connecting and there seems to be a little more integration between the two schools, theyre certainly a little friendlier, said Lael Sleep, an inner-city project teacher at Seymour, who lauded the benefits of the program for her students.
Theyre being exposed to different art forms that theyve never been exposed to before and its a chance to get out of the city and meet other kids from other schools.
Later this month, the students will come together one more time for a celebration, with all their artwork going on display and up for auction.
They might also do some skits, who knows, said McCarthy.
The Community Arts Council of Richmond also secured some grants for the program to help Seymour, which is in one of the poorest postal codes in the country.
During their visits, the students have been rotating through visual arts, dance, and drama.
