Congratulations to music teacher Mrs. Rachel Swank, art teacher Mrs. Lauren Michaud, artist-in-residence Melinda Steffy and all our Manheim Township Middle School students on the completion of the “Who We Are” mural, unveiled and dedicated on Saturday, May 13!
Steffy’s artistic process translates the musical principles of rhythm and pitch into color and shape. Mrs. Swank and Mrs. Michaud saw Steffy’s unique approach to artmaking as the perfect opportunity for cross-curricular collaboration and applied for grant funding from Manheim Township Educational Foundation to bring Steffy to the school as artist-in-residence.
During her visits each marking period, Steffy guided students in 7th grade music and 8th grade art classes as they planned, prepared and created a visual representation of the school song, “Who We Are,” composed by now-retired Manheim Township orchestra director Francis Caravella with lyrics written by former MTMS students.
This project engaged every Middle School student as they explored the elements of music and the principles of design, interacted with a working artist, and contributed to an installation that will be a lasting part of the Manheim Township student experience.