BY ANDY TAYLOR

COFFEYVILLE — A leadership-in-training program at Field Kindley High School is allowing FKHS students to perform a pair of spirit-oriented projects.

Students in the FKHS Leadership Academy, which is taught by USD 445 superintendent Robert Morton, are working on two projects that are intended to put a new face on several main hallways at the school.

One project involves the painting of a mural prominently featuring the FKHS Golden Nado logo. The mural is located in the main foyer connecting the FKHS Gymnasium with the concession stand area.

The Golden Nado mascot is sandwiched between a motivational saying: “Success is not what we have, it’s what we are.”

Another mural project is located in the north-south hallway of the school’s athletic wing. The corridor had been known for its spartan appearance (”institutional white walls,” as FKHS principal Ben Smith described it) but now glows with purple and gold paint. Leadership Academy students have been designing and painting a mural showing the progression of the FKHS Golden Nado mascot — from its earliest years to the current day.

“The goal of the athletic wing mural was to bring some life and excitement to this hallway,” said Smith. “We also have plans to hang our new FKHS Lettermen’s Hall of Fame in this hallway. Those hall of fame photos along with this mural should really do much to enhance the school spirit.”

Smith said the two mural projects were created to bolster school spirit . . . and also give future leaders a lesson in how to organize and follow through with projects.

Smith said the two mural projects were instigated by the Leadership Academy students, and the academy students were required to bring their own friends and peers into the process.

“This isn’t just a painting project,” the principal said. “This is about creating an idea, forcing the students to gather input and materials, and allowing them to follow through with the project.”

Photo caption:   Field Kindley High School student Emily Wright (on ladder) works with fellow students Abbie Kritz and Katey Crane to paint the letters on a mural in the FKHS foyer.   (Photo by Andy Taylor)