My name is Matthew Richlen. I have been in Scouts since first grade, I am part of troop 894 out of Queen of Apostles Parish in Chicago. I am currently a Life Scout, working towards my Eagle Rank. Your donation will help buy supplies and materials needed to complete my project.

For my Eagle Project, I plan to put up a mural at my elementary school (Hawthorne Elementary School) using tiles that have been made by the eighth grade classes over the past several years. Each year, each eighth grader designs 4"x4" tiles to describe their time at Hawthorne Elementary School. The design usually includes things they loved about their time at Hawthorne. There are over 350 tiles and my plan is to put them on the walls in the second floor hallway. First, we will need to seal the tiles with Glaze Guard. This will protect the design on the tiles that each student created. I will work with the art teacher to create a down for the mural above the lockers near the math rooms.

The hallway walls where the tiles will be hung are plaster. The building engineer suggested that the tiles should be hung with Liquid Nails. We will separate the tiles by graduation year. Each graduation class will be labeled with a plaque so students can easily identify their tile. (Each tile has the student's name on it.) Prior to hanging the tiles we will work with the art teacher to create a design for the wall and paint the wall to make the white tiles stand out.

I attended Hawthorne Elementary School for nine years, kindergarten through 8th grade. The school is located in the Lakeview neighborhood on Clifton St. and School St. The school has approximately 660 students. It is a CPS magnet school with a focus on literacy. The second floor houses the classes for students fourth grade and above. These tiles will be hung on the south side of the second floor, where the middle school classes are located.

My hope is that these tiles will have a lasting impression on the students, staff, and community of Hawthorne. This project will be set up so that future 8th grade student tiles can be easily added.