This school was one of the most rewarding for 2 reasons:

1.) Every time I do a mural, I try to do a better job as a teacher. Nuuanu Elementary gave me that opportunity. I followed and defined Hawaii State Department of Education Standards and rewarded the children by giving them one of my posters that they chose after completing a sophisticated test that utilized Visual Arts, Language Arts, Math, and Science standards.

2.) The school taught these young students the importance of working towards a goal and expressing gratitude by making that goal a symbol of gratitude to say thank you for the privilege of attending Nuuanu Elementary.

The 6th graders earned more than $7,000 to fund this mural by doing fundraisers throughout the first half of the school year, executed the mural the second half, and gave it to Nuuanu Elementary as a Legacy Gift on May Day as they went on to another school. Their principal, Eleanor Fujioka, retired at the same time.

The popular response to the question, "What is special about Nuuanu Elementary?" was "Our Teachers", followed by the obvious beauty of the school grounds, nestled in the valley between lush tropical mountains, full of morning rainbows and the sounds of birds. One of the teachers told me that it reminded her of the movie, "The Sound of Music".

57- 6th graders painted this mural in 10 days at a cost of nearly $12,000. It reflects the student's love for their teachers, the beauty of Nuuanu and it's positive, safe and supportive learning environment.

Other feedback from the questionnaire yielded beautiful elements; the butterflies and their cocoons, the mango tree on the edge of the schoolyard and the new kukui nut tree growing under it all symbolize growing. The teacher in the foreground and the Nene bird (their mascot) symbolize learning. The teacher is showing the students the beauty of learning in Nuuanu and the children are expressing their gratitude by giving flowers. The lei is a symbol of a journey and the flowers represent love.