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Hazelwood West High School senior Paige Komlose works on a section of a positivity mural at McNair Elementary School. Working with Komlose are senior Ariana Harris and junior Dsu Pham. As indicated by the template in the upper left corner, the students are creating a modified version of Vincent Van Gogh’s “The Starry Night.” McNair Elementary School students partnered with art students from the high school to work on the mural, which should be complete by mid-May.

(Posted May 19, 2011)

McNair Elementary School fifth-grade students in the Hazelwood School District work after school, transforming one section of a school wall into their own version of Vincent Van Gogh’s “Starry Night.”

Under the tutelage of art teacher Sue Farel, her students partner with high school art students from West High School, who are members of the Positivity Mural Club and its sponsor, art teacher Carla Tuetken.  Jennifer Roper, McNair’s principal, said the mural project is funded in part by the federal Safe Schools Healthy Students grant the District received in 2008.

“Part of the reason we received the grant was it was tied into our Wildcat Ways and positivity,” Roper said, referring to the school’s Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS) buzzwords that the McNair students learn on the first day of school and put into practice during the year.

“There is evidence pertaining to the importance and effect of positive attitudes on our children’s success and overall well-being,” Farel said. “We are using a very famous painting as the backdrop for a theme meant to advertise and instill positivity in our audience. McNair art students have stepped up efforts to spread positivity in our school.”

“Students are routinely discouraged from using the word ‘can’t’ in the art room and alternatives are posted as reminders,” she said. “Some examples of more positive language are ‘Will you help me?’ and ‘This is difficult.’ They are also often required to state one good thing (1.G.T.) at the beginning of class. Getting in the habit of reminding ourselves of ‘the good things’ is an excellent tool to create a positive mental attitude.”

The mural is a work in progress, with some sections just outlines while other areas have been filled and need touch-up work.

“We are adding some of our fun touches, such as figures,” Farel said, as the students set out the art supplies and began painting. “That way, the figures could be anybody,” Tuetken explained. “Then we will paint them in primary and secondary colors. We started in the computer lab, searching for as many positive quotes from famous people as we could find.”

Kara Brown, one of the McNair students, kneeled on the floor filling in the grass at the bottom of the mural. “I think it’s pretty good,” she said. “We are doing ‘Starry Night’ but we have to vary it a little so it’s not exactly the same.

Katie Masters also knelt on the floor, working on the same section, just above the baseboard. “I like painting a lot and making all the colors blend together and I like working with Kara,” she said.

Above them, classmate Jakob Wintjen painted the background hills blue.“I like mixing the colors,” he said. “My favorite parts of the project are the kids who appreciate us for doing this, for how it looks and they think it’s cool.”

The Hazelwood West students explained how they help their younger counterparts.

“I help them draw and paint,” said senior Paige Komlose. “It gives me great pleasure to do this painting here because this is where I went to elementary school.”

“She’s a big role model for them,” Tuetken interjected.

“At West, our mural is based on positivity and promoting a stronger desire to be the best you can be,” Tuetken added. “However, the theme in my school is approached a little differently to reach a different age level of students and West’s theme may not work in Farel’s school if she took the exact direction we did.”

(story courtesy of Hazelwood Communications Dept.)

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