Oceanside’s Project Extra sixth graders are taking aim at hunger this season, using engineering, imagination and thousands of cans of food to support local families ahead of Thanksgiving.
The district’s annual Canstruction initiative — part of a global charity effort that turns unopened canned goods into elaborate sculptures — is again proving that student creativity can translate into meaningful community impact. After the temporary displays come down, all cans are donated to local pantries, helping address the United Nations’ Zero Hunger sustainability goal.
In Oceanside, Canstruction is a hallmark of the Project Extra curriculum, blending STEM concepts, design, teamwork and social responsibility across multiple schools.
School No. 2 sixth-graders staged a stunning show of creativity and strategy this year, launching a school-wide canned food drive to stock their build. The students typically collect 300 to 400 cans. This year, they used a new marketing plan that paid off spectacularly.
The incentive was a choice between a pizza or ice cream party for the class that donated the most.
“We bribed them,” sixth grader Silas joked.
Project Extra students then covered the school in posters, including one stark black-and-white design urging classmates to donate six or seven cans. Students responded with overwhelming enthusiasm, bringing in exactly that number — and sometimes more — until the collection topped a record-breaking 2,099 cans.
The haul was so large that teacher Michelle Gamache gave students an impromptu lesson in assembly lines to help move and sort cans, assisted by Ms. Sundeberg’s sixth grade class, which contributed 351 cans to win the contest.
The cans now form a detailed replica of School No. 2, displayed in the hallway. PTA parents Lorie Dawson, Rob Dawson and Ken Wolfrath volunteered to transport the donation to St. Anthony’s food pantry — one of the largest single donations the pantry has ever received.
At School No. 3, Project Extra students selected a bowling-alley concept for their construction, using the slogan “Let’s Strike Out Hunger.” The group has already raised the necessary funds but will build their display in May as they work simultaneously on the Limb Kind Foundation’s annual adaptive fashion show.
School No. 4 continued its tradition of choosing recognizable characters to draw attention to global issues. This year’s cheerful minion sculpture was paired with posters breaking down the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals and offering students simple ways to help fight hunger in their own community.
To honor World Food Day, School No. 5 raised $150 and headed to Stop & Shop to purchase the cans and water bottles needed for their lighthouse-themed structure.
Working without a template, students used the engineering design process to calculate layers, heights, supports and color patterns. Their art teacher provided handcrafted waves to complete the display, and one student event contributed a light from home to illuminate the lighthouse.
Their slogan, “Light the way to end World Hunger,” ties to the theme. All cans will be donated to Oceanside Community Service.
School No. 8’s Project Extra students developed roughly 20 ideas before narrowing them down through a Google Form vote. Final input came from classmates during a fundraising pretzel sale, where students chose a three-layer rainbow cake made from green, yellow and red cans. Their slogan: “Life isn’t always a piece of cake, but if we work together, we’ll be sure that everyone gets one.”
School No. 9E began its project in October, brainstorming and voting on both structure and slogan. They ultimately chose a dramatic lightning bolt striking planet Earth. Their message — “Shock the Hunger out of this World!” — accompanied the donation of more than 120 cans and $60 to St. Anthony’s Food Pantry for World Food Day.
Across Oceanside schools, students are learning that even small acts can spark meaningful change. Their creativity, teamwork and commitment to helping neighbors show that ending hunger is more than a classroom project; it’s a community promise.
