Wantagh Elementary School mural a collective display of ambition

This year’s legacy mural at Wantagh Elementary School is complete, and every fifth grader contributed to the piece that will be admired for generations to come.

It’s a long-standing tradition at the school for the fifth grade class to leave its mark as they close out the first part of their Wantagh educational journey. This year’s mural, which was painted under the direction of art teacher Taylor Potish, features a large butterfly and the slogan, “Spread your wings and fly.” It is surrounded by several smaller butterflies.

Potish said that the piece symbolizes the fifth graders, who will soon be spreading their wings as they head to middle school in September.

The mural also showcases how the students have grown as artists over the past six years. It combines warm and cool colors, features shading techniques and shows an attention to detail. The spots in the butterfly are shades of pink, red, orange and yellow, while the background uses green, blue and purple.

Every fifth grader got to paint a section of the mural, whether it was part of the background, a spot on the large butterfly or one of the smaller butterflies. It was created on a blank section of wall in a first floor hallway, near the main office.