This year I was back at Rossi School in Vineland for another arts integration residency, this time with 5th grade students. The theme of this years mosaic was "Resiliency", something all students and teachers have had to demonstrate throughout this ongoing pandemic. I started by asking the question"what makes you strong" and "what does it mean to be resilient"? We also looked at the various symbols associated with the concept of resilience. Some of those symbols include the spiral, which occurs in nature in many forms, the bald eagle and grey wolf, which came back from the brink of extinction, the monarch butterfly. Each of the leaves of the fern were made by individual students and are inscribed with what makes them resilient and strong. It was a truly empowering experience for both the students and myself. I am very grateful to have had the opportunity to work at the school and create another beautiful mosaic.
