Wednesday, December 19, 2001
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Wednesday, December 19, 2001 |
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Students show rock solid patriotism There's no doubt about it, Spring Hill Elementary School's patriotic spirit is rock solid. After two months of painting, preparation and planning, a permanent American flag made from rocks greets visitors on the front lawn of the school. With the help of art teachers Marie Baughman and Victoria Perez, every student at Spring Hill, about 900, hand painted the rocks red, white or blue and arranged them by color to form the flag, which spans 15 X 17 feet. "I was thrilled to be able to get all of the children involved in a major project after Sept. 11. The children enjoyed doing it and the project helped them by giving them a way to express their patriotism," said Principal Michael Howell. Making the rock flag was no simple task. The rocks had to be cleaned and dried before painting could commence. Before the rocks could be placed in formation, the outdoor bed had to be dug, plastic lining installed and sand poured in and racked. Many parents and friends of Spring Hill helped to make the rock flag a reality. Virginia Bittinger, a parent, originally brought the idea to the school. Other parents helped with painting rocks and preparing the bed the flag occupies. Baughman's husband, Scott, built and installed a white frame around the bed to hold the rocks securely in place. Chris Dixon and Associates donated the hundreds of rocks that were needed to make the flag. "The children had a great time with this project. As we worked on it, we had a chance to talk about patriotism and how people have expressed themselves after wars," Perez said. Now that the flag is complete, students and the school's staff are hoping that someone from the community will volunteer to take some aerial photos so that they can see what their creation looks like from the sky.
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