There are no smiles in Woodland Regional High School quite as contagious as those of seniors Stephen Rebo, Olivia Giametti, and Meghan McGuire. It is only fitting that their senior project is a vibrant and uplifting mural that will instill the same joy and admiration in its viewers that the students themselves receive. A project that would not have been possible without the management of Louisa Heeman, paraprofessional of Woodland Regional High School, who works daily with Rebo, Giametti, and McGuire. On April 22, 2025 a new “Be Kind” mural will brighten the halls of Woodland Regional High School.
The project derives from the Ben’s Bells program, a project founded by Jeaneette Maré as a way to cope with the sudden loss of her three-year-old son, Ben. The project began solely as wind chimes, the Maré family finding comfort in working with clay to create beautiful reminders of their angel. The program evolved from the delicate windchimes to captivating murals. The iconic flower symbol serves as a reminder of community and comfort, healing and kindness.
“If it were not for Mrs. Heeman, this would not have come to fruition,” said Melissa Dean, colleague of Heeman and supporter of the project.
Upon transitioning from working at Long River Middle school to now Woodland, Heeman sought-after a project that would assimilate her to her new environment. Inspired by the mural that lit up the halls of her former school, she immediately knew what had to be done.
“I walked up the stairs and saw the blank wall and thought, ‘Oh gosh, we need the Ben’s Bells mural,’” Heeman recalls.
She began throwing the idea around to others, discussing the possibility of taking this on. At this point Heeman realized Rebo, Giametti, and McGuire were seniors in need of a project. Everything clicked when she stumbled upon an old photo: the three seniors standing in front of the mural at Long River when they were only in sixth grade, the year the mural was installed the first time.
“They were there for the first one, and now their legacy will leave this mural forever,” said Heeman.
This beautiful full circle moment diminished any former doubts Heeman had about fulfilling the project, and she knew this was something that was destined to be done.
All great endeavors require hard work and persistence, which is something that Heeman was not afraid of. She knew this would require the time, the help of others, and realistically, a large sum of money.
“I bothered everybody under the sun, but Mrs. Vittone and Mrs. Dean were the ones that listened to me on a daily basis.” Heeman credits co-worker Tiffany Vittone and Dean for being diligent companions throughout this process.
While she was offered unconditional support, however the challenging aspect was raising enough money to set the project in motion. The installation required a downpayment of $2,000, so the gears in Heeman’s head of how to accumulate this money started turning. She worked summer school, and took notice of the condensation accumulating on the outside of her co-workers and her iced drinks. The idea of selling koozies was born. After months of creating, selling, and advertising the koozies, Heeman had raised a decent amount of money. She then turned to collecting bottles and cans from the school, and requesting donations from the Parent Teacher Organization, both the Beacon Falls and Prospect Fire Departments, and Kurt Ogren, principal of Woodland.
Ultimately, Heeman had successfully come up with her goal of $2,000 to set the project in motion.
Following the relentless fundraising efforts, the manual work finally began. Members of Woodland’s clubs–Hawkwings, Distributive Education Clubs of America (DECA), and Best Buddies–collaborated to begin shaping the clay tiles that will be used to create the mural.
“There are so many people involved now, but the fact that we got it started, and yes it was I who came up with the idea, but I could not have done it without any of their help,” Heeman claims, expressing her gratitude for all invested in the project.
There are still many steps to be taken in order to complete the project, but safe to say that the production is set in motion.
“It was just so special, I just wanted to make it happen,” said Heeman.
