IS 117X: Promoting Change in our World

Thrive Collective returned to IS 117X for our tenth after school program year since 2015, this adding another polytab installation to our visual arts collection.

For this interior mural sponsored by PIERINA ANA SANCHEZ, DCLA (AACC) and centered on JHS 117’s theme of “Change through Love and Respect,” ten enthusiastic sixth through eighth grade students spent 8 after-school sessions imagining and painting how love and respect can spark real change.

In the early sessions they brainstormed symbols of growth and community, mentioning kindness, inclusion and lifting each other up. In the final mural you find hands gently holding a bright butterfly to honor intrinsic worth, a stack of books labeled ”Community“, ”No Bullying”, “Everyone Deserves Love”, “Be Kind” and “Equality” with one figure helping another climb as a sign of compassionate leadership, our mascot cat with a paint-brush tail moving beneath the school’s “WILD” banner of Worth, Integrity, Leadership and Determination, two friends in wheelchairs passing a basketball to show inclusion and perseverance, and a student relaxing with headphones and a shirt saying ”Free to Be You” surrounded by symbols of science, flowing knowledge and lotus flowers to remind us that integrity in learning grows from respect and self-expression.

Now students, teachers, families and community members pause in the corridor to admire how this vibrant, collaborative work creates a positive space and highlights their belief that love and respect can really change the world. At the ribbon-cutting ceremony Principal Caron Martin said “We can’t wait to have you again next year. As soon as we get approved for our next grant!”