Every year when Upper School students return to campus, they’re greeted by warm, welcoming teachers and staff, campus updates, and a variety of bulletin boards designed to motivate, inspire, educate, and amuse. On top of lesson plans, project outlines, field trip arrangements, and classroom set-up, a few educators take on this additional responsibility, and their creativity and heart shine through.
Opposing Stairwells in Olson Hall
Upper School English Teacher Courtney Check has livened up the stairwells in Olson Hall for four years now. Her interest began in the fall of 2021, when students were returning to a school changed by a pandemic, and new policies and procedures designed to keep them safe. One of the updates was to make the north stairwell in Olson “up only,” and the south stairwell “down only.” Utilitarian signs instructed everyone where to go. Check saw an opportunity.
“We needed to provide clear guidance while being fun and inviting, and not scary,” she said. “‘Up and Down’ was that first theme, so we used pages from texts that had any words on them that had up or down, and covers that had rising or falling, or up or down.” She enlisted the help of her humanities colleagues, surveying other English and History teachers for their ideas around the theme. They came through, and now she asks them for help every year. “It’s tough because I’m sending those emails out before the start date of school,” said Check, recognizing that she’s asking colleagues to engage in her project when they’re already busy. “What’s really great is that they fire up and send me ideas!”
Book covers are works of art in their own right, and Check plays off that art to print and attach collateral designs, creating a cohesive whole that is functional and attractive. The stairwells were a hit, and Check was off and running. “That’s what set up the whole ‘the stairwells need to be opposites’ thing,” she laughed. “I live in my own constructed boundaries and insist that they still remain opposite.” Since that first theme, Check has rolled out creative new boards:
Fall 2021: First and Last
“I had run into a statement: Let this day be the first day,” Check explained. “It’s thinking how every day can be the beginning of something new. I wanted the students to feel that we’re beginning again and every day can be unique in that way.” For last, she honed in on leaving a lasting impression with the last lines from books, some well-known but many not. “Students were upset they weren’t super famous quotes—we didn’t use Gatsby, we didn’t use the first line of Moby Dick—but I wanted to inspire them to get interested in what’s on the board and then read a new book. It should not be immediately recognizable; it should perhaps propel community members into wondering what is that and thinking maybe I should check that out.”
Fall 2022: Future and Past
“Many authors have already envisioned a future, so I really wanted to focus that board on the people who were living lives that broke barriers. We featured the autobiographies and biographies of people who broke into a future that was previously unheard of. The past side was historical fiction. We used stories where the past is so resonant,” she said.
Fall 2023: Welcome and Farewell
“Welcome is simply the first time that people of major consequence have met in literature or history,” Check said. “Farewell is tricky because ‘farewell’ sometimes carries a bit of a negative aspect. I didn’t want to include just the goodbyes; I wanted the theme to be farewell in the way that something new is starting. It’s farewell to the familiar.”
Check’s primary hope is that students, teachers, and visitors feel welcomed into the space. “We have a lot of different people in our hallways,” she noted. Secondarily, she hopes that viewers see something they hope to read or for adults, something they themselves once explored in high school and can return to. “The ideal is to start conversations between the adults and incoming students,” she said.
Of the Moment in May Hall
Check isn’t the only person tackling these influential parts of our Upper School’s built environment. Nicole Trueman-Shaw, Director of Upper School Student Leadership and English Teacher, enjoys posting creative displays in May Hall. She captures the current zeitgeist to share information and create a sense of community. She likes that she often makes them smile, and sometimes they groan and shake their heads. Either way, they are engaging with their surroundings and talking with their friends about what they see.
Trueman-Shaw looks to Pinterest, Teacher Tok, what’s trending in pop culture and her “own demented head” for inspiration. She changes some boards monthly, while others receive annual updates. Last year, for instance, she created a display based on the latest season of Stranger Things, complete with red vines and a mirror. This year, she took a page from Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour. (Whether or not you’re a Swiftie, you can’t deny the power of her influence!)
“My target audience is the students, so I try to stay up to date about what’s trending on Instagram and TikTok and try to work on a school-relevant message or theme from there,” said Trueman-Shaw. “If I make people smile or giggle, that’s a bonus!”
A Pitch for the Humanities
Cathy Leitch, Upper School History Teacher, has been thoughtfully curating content for a new bulletin board in upstairs Olson Hall, designed to foster interest in studying the humanities. Her idea: showcase famous people who have degrees in the humanities, and show students the different paths that others have taken. More than a year ago, she approached Check with her idea, and the two have been collaborating and brainstorming ever since.
“We started with a list of names and degrees and then discussed various options for the visuals,” said Leitch. They decided an oak tree was the way to go, its branches a metaphor for the twisting journeys many have taken. “Knowing that people from a variety of different groups will view the bulletin board and because we also want to expand the knowledge base of our students, means that a lot of different people will appear on the board,” she said. Julia Child makes an appearance, as does Elon Musk. “Designing something for such a large age range is kind of like what was done in the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies of the 1930s through 1960s. There’s plenty of material there for the kids, but also things for the adults to enjoy,” she noted.
An Inspiring Lift in the Library
Aaron Elliott, Upper School Library Assistant, brings his creativity to McCullough Library, a popular space for students to gather. From Albert Einstein reinforcing the importance of libraries in general to promoting new and interesting books for readers, Elliott keeps the boards fresh and updated, giving students something to look forward to.
“There’s a lot of energy around bulletin boards now,” Check said, perhaps unaware of how her stairwell designs have inspired and motivated others to try a new medium for their creativity. “Courtney is becoming known amongst the history and English teachers as the bulletin board consultant extraordinaire,” said Leitch. We’re all the beneficiaries of these vibrant, informative, and fun displays.
