Artistic, cultural, practical addition to Ocean Shore Elementary School

Pacifica Tribune/Jean Bartlett/Features Correspondent, 6/9/16. "Dedicated work of parent volunteers completes teacher's field of dreams."

11 years later, the planter and
the mosaics are now wonderful.

"The semi-circular planter outside of teacher Katy Stearns’ classroom at Ocean Shore Elementary School is an artistic ribbon of mosaic and tile that has been a dream of the sixth grade math and social studies teacher since before the school’s modernization was completed in 2005.  “When we were remodeling this school, I was on the committee and I said, ‘I want papyrus growing outside my classroom,’” Stearns noted. “Finally in 2016 we have it.”

Previously an Ocean Shore parent, Stearns has taught at the school for 16 years. Her specialty subjects include: archeology, Mesopotamia, geography, and early humans – Australopithecus all the way up to Homo sapiens.  ....  Others joined Stearns in her dream to grow papyrus. The idea was to build a planter with cinder blocks. A family at the school began the project but then they moved and the project went dormant. Three years later, a dad from another family built the entire cinder block structure.  The curved planter is approximately 38 feet long, three feet wide and a foot and a half tall. 

.... ...  Along came Ocean Shore parent and Stearns’ volunteer art teacher Aprile Uhland. She found the mosaics, learned the scope of the project and dedicated her time learning how to attach them to the planter. ....  Once the mosaics were placed, Uhland designed and placed dedication tiles in the center of the planter and this year’s class of sixth graders made tiles to go around the planter’s edge where there is room to sit. ....  “I can’t say enough words of praise for Aprile. This has been years in the making by so many wonderful people and Aprile made the dream a reality. Next year my students will make paper.”  Read article.

Reference, K-8 Elementary School.. Ocean Shore School.  Parent/Teacher Organization.  Yelp reviews, 5 stars.   Note: the photograph is by Jean Bartlett from her article (above).

Posted by Kathy Meeh