RICHMOND COUNTY – To finish out the Richmond Observer’s “Year in Review” series, we bring readers one of our most shared and liked stories of the year. In what may seem a bizarre place to inspire positivity for local students, the administration and visual arts teacher at Rockingham Middle school found a way to make it work.
Ashley Lupfer, who teaches all grades at Rockingham, led an effort to paint positive messages on bathroom walls. Geared toward lifting up students, this story concludes the RO’s top stories of 2017.
Below is the original story:
Monday, Oct. 23, 2017
Painting Positivity: Rockingham Middle School Aims to Inspire in the Unlikeliest of Places
ROCKINGHAM - Rockingham Middle School is up to some great things early this school year, and its latest project includes painting up the desire to better the school’s morale and inspire its students.
In a faculty meeting on Tuesday, October 17, Dr. Theresa Gardner, principal of Rockingham Middle, presented an idea to her staff that the school’s academic coach, Sandy Lane, came to her with.
“Traditionally bathrooms in schools are a place where negativity is spread,” Gardner explained. “As a gift to the students, it was decided that the staff could come together and paint positivity on the walls in the bathrooms as a team.”
Gardner had already mentioned this idea to the visual arts teacher, Ashley Lupfer, who thought the idea would help boost student behavior and attitude. By Friday morning, Lupfer had sketched out 12 positive sayings, two for each student bathroom in the school.
As Friday was a half day for students due to Richmond County School’s homecoming parade, it was a full day for faculty and staff. Over 20 faculty members and a half a dozen students stayed after school to paint positivity for the students to come back to on Monday morning.
“It was like sociable art, but on the wall,” Gardner said. “And everyone had a different part of the picture. Some of the staff members filled in the drawings, while others waited to complete the outline.
The end result of the project is a surprise to the Rocket student body, and Lupfer got the project started by sketching the murals on the wall, ready to be filled in with paint.
“We wanted to do something different to motivate our students,” Lupfer said. “The students were asking questions all week as they saw the sketches popping up on the walls. I couldn’t be more anxious to see their reactions Monday morning.”
“It was absolutely amazing to watch, and yet nothing was planned,” Gardner added. “Mrs. Lupfer just ran with an idea, and now it is amazing!”
It’s no secret that middle school is often a time where students are beginning to find themselves individually, and it’s RMS’ plan that a little positivity can go a long way. The murals were completed on the cusp of “Red Ribbon Week,” a national anti-drug campaign to make students aware of the harmful effects of drugs.
“We’re hoping for this project to have a really big impact on our students,” Lupfer concluded.
