To the Editor:

We are ninth grade Girl Scout Seniors who recently completed our Silver Award Project. Over the summer, we painted a 48-foot wide x 7-foot tall outdoor mural to benefit Princeton Nursery School, a preschool that primarily serves families in need and provides a multicultural learning environment and a broad array of educational services.

The mural depicts a beach showing life above and below the sea. Because most of the students are bilingual, we labeled the objects on the mural in both Spanish and English. As a finishing touch, we had the preschoolers put their handprints on the mural in the shape of coral so that they could become part of the project and feel connected with the painting. In creating this mural, we believe the students can learn in a more immersive way and engage in more imaginative play.

A large amount of materials and labor were required due to the large scale of the mural and we would have never been able to execute this project alone. We learned the importance of teamwork and realize that both our friends and businesses in the Princeton community were very generous with their time and donation of supplies. We are grateful for the support we received from the following community members:

J.P. Maman and Chris Czekanski of Hopewell Builders transported, custom-fit and installed the mural; Katrina Nanney and Athena Boutros helped prime and paint the key components; Savannah Alizio, Skylar Peppard, and Jinmee Spagnoli helped prime the wood; Bruce Currie of Niece Lumber donated and delivered 12 large weather-resistant wood panels; Mike Smart of Sherwin-Williams Paint Store donated painting supplies; George Smith of Smith’s Ace donated all colors of paint for the main mural parts; Mark Goldman of The Paint Barn donated primer and surplus paint; and Cheryl Clemmer of The Home Depot provided generous coupons toward supplies.

With Sincere Thanks,

Lydia Griebell and Catherine Howard

Princeton Girl Scouts