Any time one walks the halls of PAHS, he instantly sees the diverse, unique murals that define the school. The art department is heading up a new project to fix up class murals.

Mr. Brad Ross, head custodian, asked for any students interested in art to begin revamping chipped murals and repainting them. Each floor of the school will have a group look at the murals with cracks or vandalism and make sure the color is up to par.

“Over the years from people hanging things up, tape [on the wall] started pulling paint off the [murals]. Since so much work went into doing the murals, I thought it would be nice to have them touched up and keep the school tradition looking its best,” Ross said.

Ms. Lindsey Boncore, art teacher, is in charge of the mural restoration committee. She called for students to grant the request of Mr. Ross and work on revamping the murals throughout the school. These murals include past senior murals and the painting found in the cafeteria.

“There are a lot of talented students that can contribute their skills to the aesthetic condition of the school. I want their voices to be heard and their hard work to be recognized,” Ms. Boncore said. “Maintaining our murals is also about upholding a positive tradition and taking pride in the PAHS history of involvement in the arts.”

The project began October 11 and will run throughout the school year until all murals have been touched up. The committee meets every Tuesday and Wednesday from 2:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Senior Kaitlyn Sweigert fills a paint container while touching up the mural on the stage in the high school cafeteria. “Color matching is definitely the hardest part [of mural painting], but it’s so rewarding when you finally get the right shade,” Sweigert said. “The murals are a huge part of our school’s history. They represent every class that passed through here, and it’s important to take care of them and have them looking as if they were just painted yesterday as a salute to those classes.”

While working together, sophomore Skye Steele and senior Abigail Kohler sharpen up the only mural in the cafeteria. “I signed up to help re-paint the senior murals because I thought it would be nice to restore the beauty and dedication of the seniors’ work,” sophomore Skye Steele said. “So far we helped accomplish touching up some colors and the names on the murals, so that the names stand out and people can recognize those great seniors.”

Repainting a branch on a tree, senior Katelyn Borrell teams up with peers to re-touch chipped and faded spots on the murals. “I chose to join the mural restoration committee because I wanted the murals to continue to look their best. The murals make our school look unique, so keeping them up to date continues to keep them looking great. So much work goes into making them in the first place, so it only makes sense to preserve them to the best of our ability.”

Mixing paint on a pallette, senior Julia Conville touches up the 1984 mural on the first floor. “One mural that I worked on has really neat features. The 1984 mural has a really unique design that I liked working with. Also, it has cool colors,” Julia said.

As part of the mural restoration, senior Rachel Conville fills in a maroon square on the 1983 mural next to the Guidance Office. “Restoring the murals has helped with my [artistic] abilities. I have learned how to mix and blend lots of colors,” Rachel said. “Mural restoration is great practice for senior murals which are painted later in the year.”