Dos Pueblos High School Foundation to Build Tribute Mural to Honor Class of 2021
March 19, 2021 Goleta, California – As many seniors set foot on campus for the first time this week, the Dos Pueblos Foundation kicks off an effort to raise funds for a tribute project to honor what has been, for many, the most challenging school year they have ever faced.
“These students have had so many challenges this year,” stated Rechelle Ringer, President of the DPHS Foundation, “It’s more than missing out on sports and dances and college tours (though those things alone can be devastating to a teen) – they have been separated from their peers and teachers in a year that is crucial in preparing them for what comes next. It is heartbreaking.”
Much like the Class of 2020 Resiliency Wall, completed by the Foundation last August, the new tribute project will be a tile mural located on the outside of the gymnasium. It will be located around the corner from the 2020 mural and each senior will be given a 6”x6” tile to design. Those tiles will be used to spell out a popular school slogan, “We Are DP.”
The Class of 2020 Resiliency Wall, completed in August 2020.
Senior students were polled earlier this year to determine what type of project they would like to see and the results were overwhelmingly in favor of another tile mural. This year’s focus, however, is different:
“The vision of the wall from the Senior Class of 2021 is to allow the seniors who spent most, if not all, of their senior year off campus a place to leave their mark and their message to future Chargers. The “WE ARE DP” is intended to remind everyone that DP is an inclusive community full of opportunities no matter the distance between us”, said Kelly Choi, teacher and parent of a senior at Dos Pueblos High School.
Dos Pueblos High School seniors spell out LOVE on the gymnasium wall that will hold the new mural.
The group hopes to raise the funds needed for the project by the end of March so that students can begin designing their tiles after Spring Break, with an ultimate goal of finishing the project before graduation in June.
Principal Bill Woodard stated, “I am so grateful to the Dos Pueblos Foundation for supporting this effort to honor and recognize the Class of 2021 whose junior and senior year experience was significantly curtailed by the pandemic, and who missed out on so much of the magic of this school. This lasting tribute, in the spirit of the Foundation’s wonderful tribute to last year’s graduates, will be a beautiful, inclusive, and collective reminder of the school’s ‘We Are DP’ spirit.”
The DPHS Foundation has created a fundraising page at dphsfoundation.org where they hope to raise $10,000 to cover the material costs as well as installation. The DPHS Foundation is a 501(c)3 and all donations are tax deductible.
Dos Pueblos High School Foundation www.dphsfoundation.org
