Eyestone Elementary School in Wellington is growing. One way to get more space was to convert a meeting and choir room into a space that can be used for presentations to groups of up to 20 students.
But there was a problem: The room has no window.
Instructional paraprofessional Carly Cooley decided to issue a request to the school’s volunteer coordinator to see if someone would be willing to paint a mural for the room. When parents Amanda Moore and Ashley Macdonald both offered to help, the transformation began. Cooley and paraprofessional Heather Cruickshank.
Macdonald picked up on what would have been the view to the west had there been a window there and replicated it in a mural framed by curtains. It appears much like a window to the outdoors.
Moore wanted to do something around reading and after a bit of research decided to reproduce favorite storybook characters. Her son Luke insisted on Jack in the Beanstalk. A speech therapist by training, now a stay-at-home mom with four small children, Moore said she has always loved to draw and paint.
The Moore family moved to Wellington last March and Amanda saw this project as a good way to become involved with her children’s school. She has been delighted by the friendships she has made.
“The kids are really enjoying the murals,” Cooley said. Students and teachers don’t miss windows as much as they would might being surrounded by blank walls.