The Mycenaean

Everyone has seen the speckled ceiling tiles located around the entire school; they are plain, white and not very attractive.

Mrs. Sollie’s Spanish IV class is just one of the classrooms that is working toward a solution to this age-old problem: paint them.

Getting the idea from Mrs. Weber, Mrs. Sollie decided to change her Spanish class’s history project to involve these tiles.

“We had to get permission first,” said Sollie. There were a lot of aspects needing approval before the project could even begin; fire hazards were the main issue, but other things like school policies and rules needed to be checked out.

Once Dr. Muttillo OK’d the plan, Mrs. Sollie planned the project.

Each student was given a Spanish painting or form of architecture to research. They had to make a historical Facebook page based on their topic or artist and present their information. Then, they were to create a representation of the painting or architecture on their ceiling tile.

Using water-based, nonflammable paint, students painted a segment, or the entire picture, from their assigned topic.

The finished designs are located in Mrs. Sollie’s classroom. Not all the tiles in the room are filled yet, and Mrs. Sollie plans to continue this every year until all the tiles are used.

Thinking ahead, Sollie had her students write their name and email address on the back of their tile so, in a few years, she can send them their artwork.

In addition to Sollie’s class, Ms. Reathaford’s Marine Ecology class is also participating.

“We ordered some ceiling tiles like you see in every classroom and then we sanded them down,” said Sarah Noga, senior. “Then we primed them with a coat of white paint and painted marine animals on them.”

“It’s fun to express ourselves in a class where we wouldn’t usually get to,” said Noga. “Who knows, over the next few years, the entire school could be filled with artwork.