As part of this year’s Middle Gate Madness event, murals that were created by the school’s community were unveiled in the school’s cafeteria on Friday, May 15.

The effort to create murals began in February, when Susan Rosano, an artist with Arts For Learning Connecticut who recently moved to Vermont, first worked to prepare students and parents to put paintbrush to paper to fill in the first of the nine murals.

Middle Gate PTA President Rebekah Harriman-Stites applied for a $6,000 grant through the Connecticut Office of the Arts to cover the project, and $3,000 of the PTA’s money from fundraisers was also used to support the project.

Ms Rosano designed the outline of each of the murals, and students and school community members worked to fill in the outlined designs with paint.

Before the May 15 unveiling, each of the nine murals were hung in the school’s cafetorium, then covered so they could be revealed at the start of Middle Gate Madness.

According to Ms Harriman-Stites more than 100 people participated in creating the murals.

Middle Gate Principal Chris Geissler noted that each mural was designed to feature character attributes, and added that he is excited to share the murals with “our Middle Gate community for years to come.”

Ms Rosano also spoke before the murals were unveiled.

“I really left a lot of room in each design for the students and their parents to be creative,” she said, before thanking the school community for involving her in the project.

According to Ms Harriman-Stites, invited guests who helped unveil the murals included First Selectman Pat Llodra, State Representative Mitch Bolinsky, State Representative J.P. Sredzinkski, State Senator Tony Hwang, Legislative Council member Neil Chaudhary, Superintendent of Schools Joseph V. Erardi, Jr, Town Clerk Debbie Aurelia Halstead, Board of Education member John Vouros, former Middle Gate math/science specialist Pam Fagan, Middle Gate art teacher Jean Walter, and current math/science specialist Jill Bracksieck.

From “citizenship” to “hope” each mural depicts a different character attribute and a different scene. The “Be A Friend” mural shows a row of people holding hands below a bright blue sky with cotton ball-like clouds.

More Middle Gate Madness

After the murals were unveiled, the activities for the annual Middle Gate Madness event continued outside the school.

According to Middle Gate PTA member Debbie DeBlasi, the event included a silent auction; a “touch a truck” activity with a Botsford Fire Rescue truck, Newtown Volunteer Ambulance Corps truck, and a Newtown Underwater Search and Rescue (NUSAR) truck available; activities provided by EverWonder Children’s Museum and Ben’s Bells Newtown; a bounce house and dunk tank provided by New England Bounce About; and Romy’s BBQ catered the event.

Other activity stations, according to Ms DeBlasi, included a treasure hunt station, “take a silly photo” station, and a tattoo station.

Other groups that participated in the event included local Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts groups, Extreme Fitness Martial Arts, Dance Etc, Newtown Juggling & Circus Arts Club members, and others, according to Ms DeBlasi.