This summer, as work crews hammered out repairs in the Mansion and dug geothermal wells behind it, a quieter yet colorful change took place in the Middle School building.
When eighth grader Annarosa Zampaglione walked into the building on August 25th, she was shocked: “It was totally unexpected. I thought I would walk into the normal neutral colors, but the vibrant blue, green, yellow and orange completely shocked everyone. They are so bright.”
Over the summer, Natasha Bhalla decided to “spruce up” the Middle School. With the help of Dale Temple, the director of facilities, she came to the conclusion that a coat of paint would do the trick. So, Temple went to an architectural firm, which told him that using vibrant colors would liven up the building. Therefore, by the end of the summer, the white and grey walls transformed into an energetic array of royal blue, green, school bus yellow and bright orange.
However, the lively colors did not just produce positive reactions. For some people, the bright walls are just too much. Stephen Buckley, an eighth grader, exclaims, “It was like ‘Ahh!’ Someone must have picked up a highlighter and puked it all over the walls.”
Even though the coat of paint caused a great reaction amongst students, the paint did not just create an aesthetic change. According to Emily Smith, IB Biology and Psychology teacher, color also affects mood and behavior. She explains how “the Psychology side of [her] understands the importance of environmental influence and agrees that the surroundings in which we spend our time should be inviting and pleasing to either encourage activity or allow for de-stressing.”
The study, “Psychology of Color” from BBC UK backs up Smith’s claim. According to this investigation, orange is associated with warmth, yet it can cause too much activity. The restful green would level out that energy. Also, yellow provides liveliness, yet has the possibility of enhancing stress. The soothing blue would be the solution. In all, the combination of colors of the Middle School walls produces a perfect balance of promoting studies, energizing the students and at the same time, creating a peaceful environment.
Several Middle Schools are noticing the psychological difference. Eighth grader Pablo Peltier thinks that Bhalla decided to paint the building “to make it happier, and it certainly is more cheery.” Zampaglione agrees and says that “it definitely wakes you up in the morning”.
Nonetheless, colorful paint may not be the only change occurring in the Middle School. Bhalla hopes for the “Middle School students to have a space that it designated as theirs. [She] hope[s] that [they] can see a space that gives an identity but also keeps in mind the beauty of having shared spaces across division and age groups.”
By Eliza Pink
