Pinnacle Charter School

Pinnacle Charter School is in its third year of partnership with FR Earth Force, and has become one of the organization's strongest school sites for implementing high quality service-learning.

Pinnacle's Community Developement Coordinator Sharif Abdelhamid was eager to have Pinnacle students participate in the 10 for 10 Challenge - hoping that upon completion, their mural could be included in the school's outdoor classroom, which his Social Studies class started building as part of an Earth Force project in 2006.

Mr. Abdelhamid enlisted the skills and leadership of Pinnacle art teachers Jessica Conrad and Amy Marsh, who gathered a group of interested students to meet each Friday for several weeks throughout the summer to complete their mural. Though the group was small, their ambitions were great!

The students decided on a mural message of “Imagination Brings YOU to Life,” to show the power and strength of a child’s imagination. The participating youth muralists were excited to illustrate - each with their own distinct style and approach - how young people's "larger-than-life" way of thinking can change society.

“A strong imagination can propel anyone to do anything,” said Program Director Jessica Conrad. “Creating this mural provided students with the opportunity to learn how to organize their thoughts and reenact their feelings through the power of art.”

With some direction early on from artist Karen Deger McChesney, the students developed their mural vision: clouds of thoughts hovering in the center of the piece, ringed by students, lying in grassy fields, propelling their ideas and thoughts into the clouds. The mural was a mix of paint, marker, paper and glitter - with images in all directions!

The group is eager to have their mural placed on the grounds of the school in late October, as part of a special ribbon-cutting ceremony for the recently completed outdoor classroom.

Pinnacle Charter School Youth Muralists: Monrad Monsen, Edglett Rascon Vargas, Brenda Velasquez, Daniela Rascon Vargas.

To learn more about the Pinnacle Charter School, its academic programs and community service work, visit www.pinnaclecsi.org or call 303-450-3985.