Tile Collaborated Murals in 150

January was the assigned month for art teachers in the 150 Building. All students in Ms. Stanton’s and Ms. Gaile’s art classes created tile collaborated murals. Ms. Gaile tied her part of the whole-school project into Black History Month by having her students color and assemble a mystery guest puzzle!

Students were first given a 6×6 paper tile and access to multiple mixed media supplies to complete the mystery guest puzzle. In groups, they colored in the squares to eventually reveal influential Black people like Vice President Kamala Harris, Michael Jordan, and Sojourner Truth to showcase throughout the 150 Building hallways.

4th Grade student Ava P. said, “My favorite part about our Black History project was getting to see all the Black History people and decorating our own card.”

Another 4th Grade student Julian M. said, “I like that the entire class worked together and then put the puzzle together. It was a team effort. I liked celebrating famous African American celebrities and making them stand out.”

This whole-school project has been in the works for months. “Since learning of this whole school integration project in August, I knew this is what I wanted to do.” Said Ms. Gaile. “With the help of Ms. Sullivan and the Culture, Climate, and Diversity Committee, I was able to use my content area to bring relevance and celebrate the positive impact many Black heroes have made to pave the way for equality for our youth.”

To take the whole-school project a step further, Ms. Gaile created a PowerPoint with information about the heroes revealed in the puzzle and lesser-known heroes who should also be celebrated due to their pursuit of equality. The PowerPoint served as a resource for teachers to offer content about the people in the mystery puzzle and those not depicted on the school’s walls.

2nd Grade student Amari W. said, “I liked that the project was about black superheroes that helped us change the world so that in the future we can all be equal.”

The whole-school integration project aligns with Collegium’s vision of equity and inclusion. It also provides a connection for students to celebrate and learn not only during Black History Month but all year round. Ms. Gaile explained, “I think it is so crucial that all students can learn, collaborate, and discuss people with similar backgrounds and cultural identities as their own.” She went on to say, “I have eagerly anticipated watching this project unfold for quite some time now. The excitement, conversations, and joy I observed while the students collaborated in this activity was worth all the work planning for our school. The connections and lightbulb moments when visiting the different homerooms were great for an educator to witness. I feel very fortunate that we had this opportunity to celebrate Black History Month in such a positive, joyous way!”