Scouts Give Magothy River Media Center a New Look

Despite the fact that books in libraries can ignite the imagination, some libraries tend not to aesthetically reflect the beauty and power of the books they house.

At Magothy River Middle School, the media center got a lot more colorful with a literary theme thanks to the Girl Scouts of Troop 741 and troop leader Daryl Cooke.

The sixth graders decided to earn their reading badges by sprucing up the place where most of them get their reading material – the school library. Wanting to keep the theme of reading in the project, the girls offered to paint some of the media center’s plain white ceiling tiles with scenes from their favorite books.

“I thought it was a great idea,” said MRMS Media Center Specialist Amanda McDowell who approved which books the girls chose before they began painting.  “I was glad to see these books meant a lot to these students.”

Working out of the MRMS art room and then the home of mom volunteer Cindy Fitzpatrick, the girls prepared their piece that would stay at the middle school long after they all move on to high school and beyond.

Nina Nudell chose “My Life in Pink” for her tile artwork. “The story is about a girl getting ready for a big night,” she explained. “I loved all of it, especially her makeover.”

Jessica Parker loves mysteries and chose to use the artwork on the Nancy Drew book series as her inspiration. Emily Morgan chose to focus on her favorite series, “The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants.”

After presenting the tiles to McDowell, the girls said they were eager to return to the area to see their talents on the ceiling.

“We hope to have it up by end of the school year,” McDowell said.