CLIFTON PARK, N.Y. (NEWS10) — Clifton Park Town Court, along with the Shenendehowa High School Art Department have announced that students from the art department will be painting two murals on the walls of the courtroom. The Town Justice, Superintendent, students and teachers are all in support and look forward to the murals.

Clifton Park Town Justice Robert A. Rybak states, “One of the many duties of a Town Justice is to marry people. In many cases, these ceremonies take place in our courtroom. Unfortunately, the room is a very sterile environment which is not conducive for pictures of what is a very important event in the lives of these couples.” “Over the years, Judge Rybak and I have discussed the possibility of trying to make the courtroom a more welcoming environment for performing a wedding ceremony. The murals, which have been designed by the students, will accomplish this.”

Superintendent of the Shenendehowa School District, Dr. L. Oliver Robinson comments, “I am glad to hear that our students are taking their talents out into the community and making a positive difference. This project speaks to the impact we want the educational experience at Shen to have on our students, providing them with a real sense of accomplishment.” Lisa David, a teacher and student advisor for the Shen Art Department adds, “When Judge Rybak approached us with an idea for our students to design and paint a mural in the courtroom, the students were absolutely excited about doing this. Over the course of several meetings, the students created several designs and narrowed them down to four possibilities.” Robin McKenna, another teacher and student advisor, comments, “We believe that this is a great opportunity to show the residents of the Shenendehowa School District the quality of what are students can accomplish if given the opportunity and we are happy that Judge Rybak and Judge Hughes reached out to us.”

Shen students who will be working on this project are, Marlie Ziobrowski, Ashley Zhang, Charlotte Crummack, Cadence Zaremski, Xiomara Stevens and Jana Nayfeh. The murals are expected to be finished in March or April.