In the foyer of Union High School’s hall stands a piece that is more than just furniture – 𝗶𝘁’𝘀 𝗮 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗲𝗿, 𝗮 𝘀𝘆𝗺𝗯𝗼𝗹 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮 𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗮𝗹𝘆𝘀𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁. While many of our learners and visitors may pass it daily, few may realise just how remarkable this unique installation truly is.
The ‘𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗡𝗞 𝗧𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲’, a one-of-a-kind sculpture, was gifted to Union in 2020 by the Arnott family in celebration of the school’s Centenary.
𝘊𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘚𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘩 𝘈𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘴𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘱𝘵𝘰𝘳 𝘓𝘰𝘶𝘪𝘴 𝘖𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘳, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘶𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘛𝘏𝘐𝘕𝘒 𝘉𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘩 – 𝘢 10-𝘵𝘰𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘙𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘔𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘉𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘜𝘯𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘗𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘢 𝘵𝘰 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨.
At first glance, the bronze centrepiece of the ‘THINK Table’ appears to simply spell the word THINK. But, as any learner who pauses for a moment will discover, from another angle it reveals an entirely different image: human silhouettes in various reflective and intellectual poses. Some figures are seen teaching and learning, others are deep in discussion or thought, all contributing to an important message -𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀, 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗹𝘆 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝘄𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲.
This message, embedded in the very design of the sculpture, aligns perfectly with the values the Union Schools seek to instil in its learners. Inspired by the ethos of “𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥”, the table serves as a daily reminder of the power of thoughtful reflection and meaningful dialogue.
𝗜𝗻𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗯𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗮 𝗽𝗼𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗾𝘂𝗼𝘁𝗲 𝗯𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗯𝘆 𝗔𝗿𝗻𝗼𝘁𝘁:
“𝘐𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘺 𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘺𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘵, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘴𝘰𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘱𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘭𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥.”
Far more than a static work of art, the ‘THINK Table’ was designed to be used – a space where learners, staff and visitors alike can sit, connect, collaborate and, most importantly, think.
𝗔𝘁 𝗨𝗻𝗶𝗼𝗻, 𝘄𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗲𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄𝗹𝗲𝗱𝗴𝗲, 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗿𝗼𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝗱𝗲𝗲𝗽𝗹𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗱𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗹𝘆. The ‘THINK Table’ is not just symbolic of this belief – it is a physical manifestation of it. It represents our commitment to nurturing minds that question, challenge, innovate and ultimately, change the world.
𝗪𝗲 𝗵𝗼𝗽𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗱𝗮𝘆, 𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆’𝘃𝗲 𝗹𝗲𝗳𝘁 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀, 𝗮 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝗨𝗻𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗺𝗻𝗶 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 ‘𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗡𝗞 𝗧𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲’ – perhaps the moment an idea sparked, a perspective shifted, or a meaningful conversation planted the seed of something greater.
