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The Chesapeake Bay came to life as rows of students from kindergarten to sixth grade sang "Under the Sea" and gathered around a variety of sea creatures like clown fish, clams and dolphins fashioned out of tiny, glittering tiles outside the Berwyn Heights Elementary School on May 6.

The school's new mural, located on the outside of the building, was themed after the Chesapeake Bay. The school's first mural, completed in 2007, features a garden scene.

"We wanted to do some more because the kindergarteners didn't have a part in [the first one]," said Principal Karen Singer. "The children expressed the desire to leave a permanent reminder, something they could remember years from now."

The Chesapeake Bay Foundation has given grants to the school in the past, and students wanted to honor it by creating a Chesapeake Bay themed mural, Singer said.

Each student was encouraged to submit one drawing about what he or she thought lived in the Bay, said art teacher Liza Linder, who used a combination of drawings from all the grade levels to fashion the 154-square-foot mural.

"I didn't necessarily choose the most beautiful artwork, but I chose what worked best with the overall design," Linder said.

Fourth-grader Katherine Lopez, 10, of Berwyn Heights proudly pointed to her personal creation: a large pink and red crab adorning the mural.

"At first I didn't know what to make, so I asked my art teacher," Katherine said. "Then I got the idea of a crab, so I got a book and I said ‘Not all the kids will want to make that crab because it's hard work.'"

Sixth-grader Javon Floyd's artwork, a gold and blue eel, also made it onto the mural.

"I like electric stuff, so I had the idea of an eel," said Javon, 11. "The hardest part was getting the tiles on there because sometimes the tiles didn't fit."

Each student helped by adding at least one piece of tile to the mural. The students, teachers and volunteers' diligent efforts paid off as the mosaic took only two months to complete.

"It's almost like doing a puzzle," Singer said. "It's therapeutic."

The project was funded by a $500 grant from the National Parent Teacher Association, which the BHES PTA matched for a total of $1,000.

"It's a wonderful addition to the school and it shows the creativity of the students here," said Councilman Richard Ahrens, who represented the Town Council at the event along with Councilman Jeffrey Gourley. "It makes you proud of the school."

E-mail Jordan Attebury at jattebury@gazette.net.

Students whose artwork was chosen for the mural are:

-Kindergartners: Eric Aguirre, Michelle Garcia,Marcia Morales and Samantha Nuñez

-First-graders: Sean Brittan-Powell and Andrew Watson

-Second-graders: Aziza Ali, Jamal Anderson, Eli Pinkney and Navin Singh

-Third-grader: Juliana McConnell

-Fourth-graders: Tanya Jimenez, Tide Bello, Katherine Lopez and Treyvon Staten

-Fifth-graders: Benedicta Appiah, Jack Brittan-Powell, Megan Conover, Muhammadou Drammah, Tyra Draper, Oscar Martinez, Amber Randolph and Ante Rosales.

-Sixth-graders: Javon Floyd, Josue Hernandez-Mendoza, Nichole Magana, Abigail Moore and Dennis Rivera