I want to tell the behind the scenes story that very few people know about the
PIC Mural in the Multipurpose Room and an insight to an incredibly dedicated woman.
Mrs. Hiller brought the idea of a mural to the PTO for the multipurpose room that would encompass childhood fun and being active - "Healthy Choices". Her thought was to give a newly graduated college art student and the Green Garden Elementary students the opportunity to create a lasting piece of art together that would give joy to the room for generations to come.
The mural is 5 panels that students came together after school to paint as it was laid on the floor - artist Carla Swinke blended the 5 panels so they look seamless when it was positioned on the wall and took care of finishing touches. Over a weekend and into a Monday several parents came out to help Carla and Mrs. Hiller hang the mural, seal it and apply the hand print tiles to frame it.
During the time the mural was being painted, the district was making advances in the grade center decision. The decision had not been made on the grade centers yet, but the push the district was making for it was growing. In the mural, the little girl skipping rope in the middle had a Green Garden Elementary School shirt on. Mrs. Hiller made the decision to have it changed to a district shirt before the mural was hung on the wall because she felt very strongly that if the grade center decision was approved, she wanted those children from other schools to come into what is now PIC and feel welcome. She was already thinking of those new students and did not want them to feel like they were visitors. Even though she understood they would need time to get to know a new building, she was very considerate of their feelings in the smallest touches throughout the school that people don't even realize. Once the mural was sealed, it could not be changed. She could have left the shirt a Green Garden shirt as a tribute to what it used to be, but she chose to make the change as she wanted the children to know this was "their school" if the grade centers were approved. She asked Carla to change the shirt and redesign it to be a different color and to have the logo changed.
The hanging of the mural was a weekend process that went into a Monday. Mrs. Hiller had promised the students she would unveil the finished product on Tuesday morning when they settled in the gym when buses and drop off's were completed. Mrs. Hiller, Carla and parent Jeff Derkacy (yes my husband) were there sealing and hanging the hand print tiles until 4am Tuesday morning. Carla was new to this type of project and she wanted to make sure steps were followed so it was slow going. Carla also did not have the right products to hang the tiles. Jeff gave Mrs. Hiller a list of what products were needed and she ran to the 24 hour Walmart at 1:30am to get his list of items. She was determined that she kept her promise to the students to unveil the mural in the morning. Jeff told me how much his admiration grew for her as Mrs. Hiller ran up and down the scaffolding like a champ to get him the tiles and he insisted she hang the last tile herself.
Jeff left at 4am and Mrs. Hiller was still there getting things ready for the students. Mrs. Hiller was back in the office by 6:30am so she could be ready to welcome the students and unveil the mural as she promised to the children's delight. The students HOWLED and CHEERED when they saw their work come to life.
Mrs. Hiller backed many crazy fun things the PTO came up with to raise funds. She told the Staff she was going to let the kids throw pies at her for a pie fundraiser and most of the staff signed up to do it with her. She egged those kids on to throw those pies right in her face and it was fun to watch the staff and students enjoying the playful side of their leader. These are just a few examples of the joy Mrs. Hiller brought to us.
Mrs. Hiller is one of the smartest, hardest working, most dedicated,
and loving educators I have ever known.
Thank you Mrs. Hiller for ALWAYS putting education first!
