In keeping with the 2008-09 arts curriculum focus, Art Is . . . Shaping Memory, Rooftop families embarked on a year-long community memorial project. Thanks to a generous donation of hundreds of unfinished pine picture frames from Mosaic Mercantile (thank you!), every Rooftop student was given a frame to take home for a special family project.
With instructions in English, Spanish and Chinese, students were asked to sit down with their families and reminisce on a deceased loved one. Some families chose to honor people that their children had personally known, and others chose to tell the story of an ancestor whom the children had never met. A memorial frame was then created by each family, honoring the person they have lost. The frames were decorated in the manner of the family's choosing - and true to Rooftop's style, the results were as diverse as our community.
The frames were displayed on both campuses at Rooftop for the entire school year. In May, the frames were then re-assembled as part of a special display at Young At Art, the San Francisco Youth Arts Festival at the deYoung Museum. The memorial frames became a sturdy pillar base, on which telescoping frames depicting our Kindergarteners' stages of their young lives rested. The metaphor was heart-warming . . . our children grow and flourish when supported by the memories of generations who came before.
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