Schools create works of art

Published 10:43 am Wednesday, August 8, 2018

Students throughout Lunenburg County will have an imaginative assortment of artwork and positive messages to welcome them back to school come Aug. 20.

Over the past few weeks, Lunenburg Middle School, Kenbridge Elementary School, Victoria Elementary School and Central High School have decorated the walls of the school with positive artwork, meant to give children and adolescence a boost both emotionally and mentally.

“The bland, functional bathrooms have been transformed by bright paint and positive messages for the students,” Lunenburg Middle School Principal Mary Crowder said about the Lunenburg Middle School project.

Crowder credits teacher and parent Cristyl Word for the project.

Word, inspired by other schools who have taken on similar projects, created a Facebook page inviting LMS parents and teachers to help.

“Why paint in the bathrooms?

These are traditionally dreary places in middle schools,” Word said on the Facebook page. “In movies, bathrooms have been cast as the premier places for bullying and self-loathing for teenage girls. We want our school’s bathrooms to be places where children are inspired to be comfortable in their own skin, realize that there’s power in simple acts of kindness towards others.”

Crowder said several teachers and students volunteered their time to paint uplifting messages and designs in each of the six student restrooms, such as “Try to be like the turtle; at ease in your own shell” and “Every accomplishment starts with the decision to try.”

People who could not volunteer by painting gave donations, Crowder said. She said Kenbridge Supply Co. also donated materials for the project at LMS.

“I am so appreciative of the efforts of Mrs. Word and all of the volunteers and donors to ‘paint positivity’ for our students,’ Crowder said. “ Middle school can be a tough phase for children; these messages serve as a reminder to be kind to yourself and to others. Who doesn’t need to be reminded of that each day? I am excited to see how the students react when they return to school and see the artwork.”