Students commission new mascot

Meneley students decided it was time for a change so they engineered a project to go from being "Superstars" to "Mountain Lions."

Sixth-graders from Sherrie Jackson and Dana Barkley's Project-Based Learning Group were responsible for the school beautification project commissioning Mary Stoll to paint a new mascot on the entrance to the school building.

"It was a year-long discussion between the student council and staff about changing the mascot," said Principal Brian Frazier.

Frazier said every decision had to go through him, but after the choice of mascot was made, the students did the legwork to get the mural painted.

"They knew Mary did murals at Scarselli so the kids contacted her about painting a new mascot," he said. "Mary incorporated stars into the painting of the mountain lion- it's a blend of old and new."

Stoll, who will be the new art teacher for both Meneley and Scarselli schools in the fall, said the students were very business-like in their approach.

"They wanted to make sure I could draw before I was commissioned," said Stoll. "They were excited to see the black and white preliminary drawings. Everything was settled by e-mail."

Jackson said her students were in charge of doing the research, giving presentations to the Parent-Teacher group and contacting community members for price quotes.

"They even did research on how outside environment affects learning," she said.

Members of Meneley's beautification project are:

Sherrie Jackson's class:

Alejandro Torres

Tanner DiGiovanni

Akashdeep Dhaliwal

Kaitlyn Barger

Chani Frazier

Dana Barkley's class:

Sedona Schat

Brittnie Rogers

Zoe VanderByl

Audrey Hinds

Shannon Hubbard