CLARKS SUMMIT — Although Clarks Summit Elementary School’s emotional support class doesn’t have any windows, the students can now look at trees, flowers and animals — thanks to eighth-grade Abington Heights Middle School student Faith Bennett, who created a mural depicting a forest-like park. Emotional support teacher Emily Dillon wanted to brighten the classroom so her students will become more focused so she approached Faith, whose mother Denise works for the emotional support classroom, for this project.
“I wanted to take on the challenge for my silver award project for Girl Scouts,” Faith said. “I thought it would be a really great idea to combine my love of art with my passion to help others and create this for the emotional support classroom. So, I began with a sketch and I showed this to her (Dillon) and superintendent Dr. Mahon and they both approved.”
Faith revealed her completed masterpiece on June 11 during a mural dedication ceremony in Clarks Summit Elementary’s emotional support classroom. During the presentation, she explained the progress of the mural which she began in the fall of 2018 but had to restart due to issues with flooding in October.
“I had to create a brand new mural, plastering it and priming it with a new color,” she said. “From here, I restarted the sketch, adding a few more details.”
Faith began her mural with a green background for the grass. She mixed basic colors to make them brighter, including mixing blue and white to create a clear sky. She added details along the way such as the bark of trees, blades of grass and shades from trees onto a cobblestone path. One of the trees in the mural was inspired by a purple and white flower tree located near the school’s courtyard. She also included deer, rabbits, a chipmunk and butterflies and encouraged a few of the emotional support class students to add more butterflies to the mural.
The mural, already hung on the wall, was covered until Faith pulled the cover off to show the finished project to her parents and the faculty members.
“I’ve been seeing pictures but haven’t seen the finished product,” said Faith’s father Mark Bennett. “When I saw it, I was just floored.”
“I’m a proud mother watching this come to fruition over the past year,” added her mother Denise. “She put in over 80 hours for her silver award.
Dillon said the mural will stay in the classroom for a long time and each year a flower will be added to it for each student.
“The kids love it,” she said. “Everybody stops in to see the progress of it. Now that it’s done, everybody comes in to see it, including people from all over the school.”
Faith’s favorite part of being a Girl Scout is camping. In fact, she will be a counselor in training for two weeks at Camp Archbald.
“It’s been a dream of mine to be a camp counselor,” she said.
