GHS Lobby Medallion
Sometimes our designs need to weight under 16 ounces for mailing, then sometimes they end up eight feet in diameter and weigh over 1,000 lbs! Sarah Page Kyrcz, of the ShoreLine Times writes:
Entering the main doors of Guilford High School, students were welcomed back to a brand new $92 million dollar facility, with a very visible link to the rich and long history of the institution. A unique, new class shield, carved into the entrance foyer floor, greeted students arriving for the 2015-16 school year.
The Stony Creek pink granite medallion was created by Noemi Zelanski Kearns and her team at Ink&Pixel Agency. The local design firm drew inspiration from the Class of 1914 and 1915 shields, as well as a number of earlier shields, for the etched stone commemoration.
“When you walk into our building you are hit with the history of this high school,” said GHS Principal Rick Misenti. “They’ll be a plaque next to it that describes the history of the class shields. You’ll see the most current class shield, as well.”
Class shields are a local tradition first introduced by GHS graduate and impressionist painter Charles Hubbard in 1913. While the tradition stopped for many years, it was reinstituted in 1983, and since then every graduating class has designed a shield and presented it on graduation day.
“In 1913, Hubbard suggested that members of the graduating class make “original medallions” in the class colors, and he offered a prize for the best and second best, according to a ShoreLine Times article published in the same year,” according to the website guilfordps.org. Often the sheilds were made of metal or painted on plywood.
