Children ’ s literature comes to life Artist paints murals in Palisades Park Elementary media center
Harry Potter and his owl Hedwig fly high on the fiction wall of Palisades Park Elementary ’ s media center . Peter Pan hovers nearby and the Cat in the Hat juggles atop a ball . They are a few of the literary characters painted in murals by local artist Sharon Csiszer .
“ I love walking into my library every morning ,” said media specialist Marilyn Wilbanks . “ It looks so happy and fun and like an elementary school library .”
The idea for the murals came from the Parent-Teacher-Student Association ’ s Indoor Beautification Committee , which is a school committee new this year . The group wanted to dress up the media center ’ s walls and emphasize literacy for students .
“ We thought , ‘ What can we do to give them that little push ?’” said Carla Brazzell , PTSA vice president . “ Giving the kids an incentive to read was our main goal and they seem to be responding .”
Csiszer was hired to paint nine murals . Featured on the fiction wall are “ The Jungle Book ” and “ Alice in Wonderland ”; “ Harry Potter ”; “ Diary of a Wimpy Kid ,” “ Peter Pan ” and “ The Cat in the Hat ”; “ Pinkalicious ” and “ Pete the Cat ”; and “ Where the Wild Things Are .” Roald Dahl ’ s Matilda , from the book of the same name , is between the windows . On the nonfiction wall , the books present facts about North Carolina and children of different nationalities , as well as the ocean , science and space .
“ We tried to pull out things for each grade level so that all the kids can identify with something ,” PTSA member Christine Tuttle said .
Principal Gina O ’ Hare said she was hesitant about the idea at first but embraced the project when she saw examples of Csiszer ’ s work .
“ The media center really is the hub of our school and isn ’ t just for students ,” O ’ Hare said . “ Staff members meet here and we have people come here from all across the district , so we wanted to make it nice and inviting .”
Csiszer came up with ideas . The murals are painted high on the walls and she works on a scaffold . She has painted murals at schools in Rock Hill , S . C ., and said the cinder-block walls in schools are challenging , as designs can require three coats of paint . It takes about three days to finish each mural , although some are more detailed than others .
Csiszer works during the school day . Students are able to observe her at work and she can answer their questions .
“ It ’ s really special when kids see it evolve ,” she said .
Wilbanks , the media specialist , said student reaction has been positive about the murals and the books depicted . Third-grader Shlok Krishnan said he had wondered how the murals would be done and that he and his classmates always look to see what is new .
“ They are really interesting because they look like they are jumping out of the book ,” Shlok said . “ Every time I see a book on the walls , I think I ’ d like to go find it and read it .”
CMS celebrated National CTE Month Students show their career skills
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Atrium 4421 building was a hive of activity the morning of Feb . 23 . The Career and Technical Education ( CTE ) Student Expo filled the firstand second-floor lobbies , with tables featuring CTE students from several career academies showing off their work to celebrate National CTE Month . The tables included work from engineering , medical sciences , cosmetology , apparel and design , and business – and the culinary academies had Cupcake Wars , a staff favorite .
The participating high schools were Butler , Military & Global Leadership Academy , East Mecklenburg , Harding , Hawthorne , Hough , Independence , North Mecklenburg , Myers Park , Rocky River , Olympic , West Mecklenburg , West Charlotte and South Mecklenburg . The participating middle schools were Jay M . Robinson and Kennedy .
Parent Teacher Magazine • March / April 2017 • 9