Upper School Artists Make Murals for Gateway Center Recuperative Care at Gateway Center serves as a sanctuary for homeless men discharged from the hospital who would otherwise have no place to heal. Mrs. Rondeau’s art students recently partnered with art classes at Pinecrest Academy to brighten the facility with hand-painted murals and art pieces. “We worked on them after school and during lunch. It was designed to be a happy picture,” said artist Terrence Parker. They debuted the pieces for residents with a special premiere party. Students were able to meet and connect with patients, who surprised the students with their optimism. “I expected them to be in a bad mood because of their situation,” said Terrence. “One man I spoke to had been shot and couldn’t walk. But they were all smiling and singing.”
The students also delivered about $400 of medical and personal hygiene supplies for the center. The mural project was conceived after Fr. John was invited to visit the center to fellowship with its residents. As Margaret Huskey, a staffer for Mercy Care, tells it, “Fr. John accepted the invitation and brought a group of young men from Holy Spirit Prep and performed a concert for the men. The performance was amazing; the positive energy was contagious and touched everyone in the room. The group had the entire staff and men singing, clapping, smiling, and laughing.” It was after that performance that Mrs. Rondeau began working with her students to conceive the murals.
The Recuperative Center is operated by Mercy Care, a ministry of the Sisters of Mercy. Holy Spirit Prep regularly supports their operation, often through fundraisers by athletic teams, like the Pink Games.
Monster Mash-up One of the favorite projects of Mrs. Rondeau’s Studio 2 art class is their Kindergarten monster paintings. It starts when Kindergarten and Pre-1st students sketch scary monsters on a sheet of paper. Those doodles are delivered to the Upper School, where art students bring the monsters to life in their own paintings. “It’s so fun to imagine stuff like a child,” said Upper School artist Sean Dolan. “You have to interpret what the kindergartener was thinking when they drew it.” Once finished, the Upper Schoolers visit Kindergarten for a monster-themed party, reading books, playing games, and sharing their paintings. “It’s fun to see their reaction to the finished product,” Sean said. “After they see one kid get theirs, they are more excited. It’s different than a normal art project - the excitement you receive about the finished product is much higher.“
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| ministrāre • FALL 2019
