Leaving a Legacy

D
uring the summer of 2019, Newcastle High School seniors Markie Whitney, Shelby Davis, and Kaitlyn Wardle painted the Sources of Strength mural in the high school hallway. The program is directed by Kristi Lipp, with artwork overseen by NHS art teacher Jimmie Josephson. 
The idea behind the wall was to allow students to paint inspirational messages or images as their own legacies to adorn the Newcastle High School hallways for friends, families, and future generations to enjoy. 
I decided to incorporate the mural into my English classroom after the juniors completed ACT testing. I wanted to give them something different after the heavy ACT prep we had completed, the actual ACT test, and we were headed into a short school week with Spring Break coming up. 
We had just completed our nonfiction/memoir unit which incorporated the main theme of “Legacy.” Students wrote their own legacy chapter, presented on the main messages within the text we read, “The Last Lecture,” by Randy Pausch, and we completed the unit with the paintings.
I had only expected this to be a short assignment, but the students took it seriously, and we realized we had a lot more artists throughout the school than those who only take art classes. Students even came together to help each other paint their visions for those who think they are painting illiterate. 
My requirements were simple but heartfelt. I asked the students to create a rough draft of their painting on scratch paper before actually painting. I requested that the painting represent themselves, be positive and inspirational to stay true to the Sources of Strength messages, and that they were to think of it as their NHS legacy. 
Upon completion they needed to write an explanation about the meaning behind their painting and how it was their legacy. They also presented their bricks to their classmates as part of the speaking and listening standards. 
Choir teacher Jan Ellis witnessed one of the class presentations. She told me she was moved by how the students opened up enough to not only paint something meaningful, but also give a presentation about it to their classmates. It was fun to watch other grade levels become excited about painting their own bricks.
When I had my classes painting, there were many other students who also began to participate even though they weren’t in my class. Senior Emily Beastrom, also a Sources of Strength member, has become inspired by the mural and has ideas for future murals to incorporate school spirit, student participation, and the positivity of what Sources of Strength stands for.