Whiz Kid: Cottle Elementary School Graduating Class ‘11

Name: The Cottle Elementary School Graduating Class ‘11

School: William E. Cottle Elementary School, Tuckahoe

Accomplishment: The graduating class leaves a permanent mark on Tuckahoe’s school for all to see.

Key to Awesomeness:
Over the past 6 months, Cottle’s class of 2011 (81 students, 27 in each 5th grade class) have been hard at work creating a gift for their school that will leave a lasting impression for years to come. The students, along with help from their art teacher Ms. Kim Derbin and artist in residence Ms. Joanne Cannale, designed and put together a “Words For Life” mosaic as a class gift to the school, which was unveiled after their morning graduation on Wednesday.

“We’ve been working since September prepping with paper tiles and getting the students used to spacing. All 81 students worked collectively together.  I would meet with each class once a week and every week we built and built until the final installation,” said Derbin.

Students were involved in every stage of the creation process, including coming up with words they felt represented their lives and future ambitions as model citizens. Every word, color, and text style, even the location the mosaic will be displayed in the school, had a very specific purpose.

“We chose that space at the entrance of the school with the hope that the children will carry those qualities and feelings of love, joy, faith, peace, respect, courage with them everyday when they walk into the school...and live them as they travel through K-5,” said Cannale.

The installation process of Cottle’s newest work of art took two entire days to complete, as Derbin and Cannale worked tirelessly to ensure their students' hard work and artistic talents did not go unnoticed. The mosaic not only adds to the overall aesthetic value of the school building, but has also instilled a significant amount of pride in its students.

“Our school if (it were in a dictionary) you would see those words (love, joy, peace, hope) as the definition.  Now anyone who visits will know exactly what we are about before they even walk through the door,” said Daniel Belles, a member of Cottle's Class of ‘11.

Young Teun’ti Lee, a fellow graduating 5th grader, said the mosaic could go a long way in motivating and shaping future Cottle students.

“The mosaic is good because it teaches kids about art and encourages them to express themselves.  I am proud of the mosaic and looking at it makes me feel good because it is inspirational,” said Lee.