A New Look is ‘Sprouting’ Up at Rushe

might be the Land O’ Lakes area’s newest middle school, but that doesn’t mean it can’t look homey and welcoming.

That’s the thought behind an ongoing effort to beautify the school while also giving students a chance to forge traditions.

So, why is the push on to add permanent artwork to the campus?

“Our new principal, he wanted to decorate the school,” explained Rushe art teacher Jilda Morera. “We have a blank canvas.”

Over summer vacation, Morera painted a three-story tree mural in the open atrium that serves as a crossroads for all of the school’s classroom corridors. The tree was selected to grace the atrium for a good reason, too.

“(Principal David Salerno) wanted a place for our mascot (a raven) to roost,” she said.

At Salerno’s request, Morera spent part of the summer creating the tree that sprouts on the first floor and rises up the atrium’s walls all the way to the school’s third level.

“The hardest part was the little ledge,” she said.

Work on the tree is mostly complete, but Morera said she’s left some work for students to do when they return to classes. The hope is to eventually have three-dimensional ravens roosting on the tree’s branches.

Another art project to beautify the school is also ongoing. Teams this year will be asked to create their own unique tiles that will be added to every year to create a giant mosaic on one of the atrium’s walls.

“We needed something to bright up this atrium,” Salerno said. “It was a little stark.”

Work on the mosaic started at the end of last school year. Salerno is even considering asking former students who have graduated and gone off to to contribute to the work to get the tradition really going.

Now, why would an art teacher report to school weeks early to paint a three-story tree?

For art tables to use in her classroom, of course!

“We don’t have money to pay someone to do it (paint the mural),” Salerno said. “We’re gladly helping her in her classroom.”