May Sands Montessori Honors Local Flora and Fauna with Mural
A 6-panel mural created by the entire student body of May Sands Montessori was revealed in a special celebration on Friday, May 25th at the public charter school located on the corner of United and Leon Streets. The 420-square foot mural features local island fauna with varying island weather patterns and day times as a back drop and selected facts to represent the image painted. Supported by a grant from the Florida Keys Arts Council and led by the school’s arts enrichment instructor Bria Ansara, the mural project began with a field trip to Fort West Martello’s Garden Club, where each class selected a recognizable island plant to sketch and research. Over a period of ten sessions with each class, the mural took shape, becoming “vibrant and colorful, dreamlike and realistic all at the same time,” says Ansara.
“I am constantly inspired by the beauty around us on this island, and I know our students share those same feelings,” she says.
The mural project was a first for Ansara and the students, who carefully sketched and painted the traveler’s palm, croton, frangipani, bougainvillea, autograph tree, Poinciana, mangroves, and hibiscus plants both in group and individual sessions.
“What I am most proud of is the fact that our campus now has a beautiful aesthetic to be enjoyed during flag raising, and by students and faculty alike,” she says. “I am excited for our students to return years from now to view the painting and recall their contributions. It is a lasting imprint that they are making on their school and in their community.”
May Sands Montessori is a free, lottery-based public school that is open to all children and strives to reflect the diversity of our community while guiding students in the development of curiosity, self-motivation and respect. For more information or to schedule a time to observe the Montessori model at work in the classrooms, contact Principal Lynn Barras at 305. 293.1400 x 53418 or visit MaySandsMontessori.com.