As we enter the holiday season, 7th graders here at Wilmington Friends are bringing holiday cheer to the hallways in a very interesting and inspiring way. In their art classes over the last few weeks, students have been making powerpoints of inspiring messages that will soon be projected in the art gallery near the lobby. This project ties into work that the 7th grade has been doing in their English classes, while allowing them to expand on the photo and text editing skills that they have been learning in art. While this is significantly different from typical ‘holiday’ art projects, it is doing a lot to bring themes of gratitude, happiness, and motivation to the halls of our school in the next few weeks leading up to holiday break.

The messages displayed in this project cover many different themes, but all are meant to inspire fellow students and remind them of what is really important in life. Not only are these messages inspiring to all that read them, but they are also incredibly beautiful. Students edited the backgrounds and text of these messages in order to create a project that is artistic and thought-provoking. As these messages are displayed in the gallery, passing middle and high school students will be able to be motivated to push through these last weeks before winter break and support those around them, something that is extremely important to the overall feeling of community that we value so much here at Friends. Additionally, they remind students to stay thankful and cheerful, messages that are especially relevant as we enter the holiday season.

These messages are not only inspiring to those who pass and read them in the hallways, but also had a large impact on the students who created them. Students raved about the positivity surrounding this project, as did middle school art teacher, Paulo Machado. Kira Agne ’23 states, “This project was really good for the school as a whole, because people will see our quotes and the pictures and they will be inspired for the rest of their day.” This really exemplifies some of the core values of our school, especially as high school students enter their midterm exams, because these messages are lifting up others in the community and bringing us all closer in the process. Lily Rashkind ’23 had similar thoughts say about the project, “I finished the project feeling inspired, and I think that the school will feel uplifted after seeing it as well.” The positive response from the students foreshadows the response that the school as a whole will have to this project as well.

This art project might not feature reindeer, snowflakes, or other images typically associated with the holidays, but instead are brightening the halls with uplifting messages of gratitude, positivity, and love. These messages exemplify the true meaning of the holidays and truly are a clear portrayal of what this season is all about at WFS.