Beal School Opens with Mural by Peter H. Reynolds
“Reach for your own words. Tell the world who you are and how you will make it better.”
- Peter Hamilton Reynolds
Every day when students enter the new Beal Elementary School in Shrewsbury, MA, they are welcomed by the characters and messages of New York Times best-selling author/illustrator Peter H. Reynolds.
The colorful mural spans the lobby and two floors of the new school, and, thanks to digital capture and printing technology, includes an exact replica of the original mural created at the old Beal School.
Attending the new school dedication was educator Kathy Rivenburg who first “connected the dots” with Peter while she was teaching at the Floral Street School in Shrewsbury back in 2002 when the school was performing the Massachusetts-debut of The North Star Musical (based on Peter’s storybook The North Star).
Interestingly, Joe Sawyer, who now serves as. Superintendent of the Shrewsbury School District, was principal at the Floral Street School - and served as narrator for The North Star Musical performance, along with Assistant Principal Mary Beth Banios.
Thanks to their original “dot connecting” with Peter at FableVision, this extraordinary, school-length mural now adorns the brand new Beal School.
To create this massive and complex, multi-paneled mural, Peter and his studio manager Julia Young Cuffe worked with the extraordinarily talented team at Worcester-based Lamoureux Pagano Associates Architects, which included President and Lead Architect, Katie Crockett, along with Project Architects Sean Brennan and Natalie Gabrielle.
On Friday, Sept. 24, 2021, Peter H. Reynolds joined the school community for a dedication ceremony for the new school building. Several fourth grade students from Beal served as the program's presenters for the ceremony, that included Lieutenant Governor Karyn Polito; Beal Building Committee Chair and Vice Chair of the Board of Selectman John Lebeaux; Executive Director of the Massachusetts School Building Authority Jack McCarthy; Representative Hannah Kane; Senator Michael Moore; and Vice Chair of the School Committee, Beal Building Committee Member Sandra Fryc, Beal Principal Chris Girardi, Assistant Principal Shelley Hoey and Peter H. Reynolds.
The audience was also treated to two recorded student musical performances: the updated school song Cheer Cheer for 'New' Beal School and The Dot Song, which was co-written by Emily Arrow and Peter, based upon his famous book The Dot.
