FEATURED DISTRICT
Wells Ogunit Consolidated School District
Tyler Goodwin, Director
Maine School Nutrition Association
School Meals. . . Lighting the Way for Education
The idea for this mural came from my K-12 nutrition committee which I
chair on a monthly basis. It came about as a result of a need for some
way to add color to the very large white wall over our serving areas.
Jason Talevi is the artist who designed it, who sits on the committee,
he used to design toys for a California company years ago and is a
very talented artist, he had it turned into a giant wallpaper and
funded the installation/application as a donation from his family and
the business, just under $2,000.00 was the total cost, they own Sea
View West Campgrounds here in Wells. We held a naming contest with the
fourth grade at Wells Elementary, they had several versions to pick
from. The winner was WES Kids' Cafe` once we had the name, he and I
are both surfers and we are on the coast here, so the surf theme was a
great fit. It incorporates exercise, fruits and veggies as well as
reinforcing positive messages about good nutrition and being active
across the bottom. The reaction from the kids the day they returned to
school to find the new addition was incredible and was all each group
talked about, they also recognized the children on the surf boards as
students from our school, the likeness of the two Talevi children.
We held two assemblies to recognize the family for their donation
to our school and presented him with a plaque thanking them for the
gift.