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Kids of character
Mural painted near cafeteria
Before leaving West Putnam School last June, several then sixth-grade students left behind something that their younger classmates will enjoy and have as a teaching tool for years to come — a “Pillars of Character” mural.
“It’s a work in progress,” said Carla Taylor, third grade teacher and site coordinator for Character Counts. “It’s been over a year since we first started the planning stages. We started with an idea, got it approved and went from there.”
Though more than 50 students had a hand during the creation of the project, six students — Greg Gasco, Jeffrey Messer, Jose Baca, Jose Ceballos, Hermes Quinonez and Ivan Elias — were instrumental in seeing the mural to the end.
The mural, which was started during the last two weeks of the school year in June, was painted on six 4-by-8 boards — each one representing a different character. The final mural, measuring 24-by-8 feet was then mounted on a wall across from the school’s cafeteria.
The students painted Martin Luther King, Caesar Chavez, Mother Theresa, Albert Einstein and presidents Abraham Lincoln and Thomas Jefferson on the segments. Beneath the six figures, the words: West Putnam Eagles are kids of character” appear.
On Friday, Gasco, Messer and Baca spent the morning touching up the mural — going over the words that appear under each painting with a black permanent marker.
“We want it to be ready for when everyone comes back on Monday,” Gasco said. “After this we are going to paint it with a special seal.”
The seal is a clear, anti-graffiti paint that will seal in the colors and protect the final mural from the sun and graffiti.
“We’re very proud of them,” said fifth grade teacher Veronica Aldaco. “They did all of the facial expressions themselves.”
The mural can be seen every day as the children line up for lunch, and when they exit the cafeteria from their Character Counts assemblies, which are held every six weeks.
The mural was made possible through a Character Counts grant from the Tulare County Department of Education.
Contact Esther Avila at 784-5000, Ext. 1045, or eavila@portervillerecorder.com.
