Anyone driving by the Applebee’s on the corner of Route 33 and Whitehorse-Mercerville Road in Hamilton during the holiday season will see colorful scenes for Christmas, Kwanzaa and Chanukah that were planned and painted by middle school students from nearby Our Lady of Sorrows School.

For years, Kim Bowers, the school’s art teacher, has been arranging for students to paint the windows in Applebee’s as a community service project. Her goal is for the students to learn to work collaboratively on the window’s design, which involves them working during a 2 ½- hour time frame and making the transition from sketching the design on paper to painting on a large window.

“That is a whole new experience for them and quite challenging,” Bowers said.

Bowers said there are about five opportunities a year for students to paint the windows at the restaurant, one of which is for cancer research through Alex’s Lemonade Stand.

Bowers said her interest in pursuing the relationship between Our Lady of Sorrows School and Applebee’s began with her own experience in having been named the restaurant’s first “Hometown Hero” about 10 years ago for various volunteer work.

Bowers said she enjoys giving students the opportunity to share their talents with the community by having them involved with the window painting and, in turn, the students enjoy participating in a creative community service project.

“It was a great opportunity to do artwork as a service project,” said eighth-grader Mia Hartman. “I liked the experience of helping people.”