Vikings Strive for Excellence – A Mural for Egan Junior High

When I moved to Los Altos, and inquired with neighborhood families about the local middle school, Egan Junior High, the responses were oddly consistent: “Oh, it’s awesome.” Whether I was asking the child or the parent, the response was invariably positive.

For me, it was difficult to reconcile that “awesome” was even possible for a middle school experience.

When the principal, Brenda Dykman, announced she was ready to retire after 23 years of service, the PTA reached out to me with the idea of creating a mural on campus that would honor her legacy.

In our first mural planning meeting, Brenda shared with me the core of what is special about Egan. She emphasized how critical this age was in human development, and how misunderstood her brilliant, funny and precious students were. She didn’t mention the academic performance of the students, which was stellar. Ms. Dykman’s focus was how to strategically support each child right where they are at, with all of their “age appropriate” behavior. I suspect this is her excuse as to why Egan needs to be as much fun as summer camp: almost every week there is some sort of school-wide reason to have fun, whether it is a dance, or a pancake breakfast in pajamas, or a softball throw in PE where the teachers are in the dunk tank seat. Brenda emphasized that the safe, supportive environment they create is possible because of the support and shared vision among the staff. She talked about how Egan is like a family, and how kids in college come back and tell her their time at Egan was the highlight of their school career. It was a daunting task to compress pages of notes from 23 years of experience into a single compelling work of art. If wondered if it was even possible to create something that will resonate with both the students and the “grown-ups”: the district, the parents, and the retiring principal?

I returned a week later and presented Brenda with five unique potential designs for this painting project. Here are the ideas I presented:

Brenda selected the fifth concept because she felt it reflected the explosion of emotion in the early teen years. “It illustrates the volcanic energy that expresses the vitality of that age.” I took notes on her feedback, to make sure I captured what she hoped to see in the art. It spoke volumes of her approach as a principal that she chose a design based on what the students would resonate with first and foremost. I don’t think it crossed her mind to worry whether or not the district would approve, or what the parents would think.

I thought she would pick the sedate Viking ship on the lake, so I was both surprised and thrilled with my assignment…

My first day on the job, I put out an oversized pad of newsprint and challenged the students to write down words or doodles that characterized their experience at Egan. This school mural was transformed from their suggestions. They took a lot of pride in their diversity: Flags! Lots of country flags! Friends. Music. Ice cream. Disneyland. Soy guapo. Someone wrote down, “A seventh grader for a year, and eighth grader for a year, a Viking for a lifetime.” I painted their suggestions into the mural on the fly.

In learning about the school traditions, and also from seeing the campus in action, I realized why the kids love it: it’s fun. One Egan tradition works like a game show: volunteers are randomly selected and seated in a row on stage, each with a “mystery bucket” poised over their head. A snippet of a Disney song is played, and if they cannot finish the lyric, the content of the “mystery bucket” is dumped on their head. Brenda, who dresses for the occasion in a pink sparkly princess dress, gets dumped on every year. This is a woman who takes her job seriously! Think Nickelodeon green slime dump except a little more…organic: flour, chocolate sauce, orange juice, etc. The beloved mystery bucket tradition found it’s way into the Egan mural.

A few comments overheard from the kids:

“That looks dope.”

“Wow. Awesome. That’s incredible. Can I have a ride on your lift?”

“Will you put my name in the mural?

“How fast does that thing go?”

“Dude, I actually really like it.”

“Okay, honey buckets, get to class!” (overheard on the P.A.)

Brenda, thank you for your contributions to our community for the past 23 years. Enjoy your retirement. You will be deeply missed!

I hope you enjoy your summer!

Warm regards,

Morgan