No tile left behind

Gallery • 9 Photos

Sweredoski's room full of unique tiles

Garth Sweredoski and Barry Howell have taken the desire to spread joy throughout their community sky-high.  Students and staff at Wakefield High School only have to look up to see evidence of that.  

Garth Sweredoski, a history teacher at Wakefield High School, along with his friend, Barry Howell, paint Wakefield’s ceiling tiles and hang them up in different locations throughout the school.  The ceiling tiles have unique patterns, words, and logos featured on each tile to reflect the different interests, sports, and cultures that exist within Wakefield High School.  

Sweredoski and Howell started this “joy-bombing” project in Wakefield two years ago.  This is no small task;  they work all year and around the clock in order to paint as many ceiling tiles as they can.  Sweredoski paints the tiles on his own time, as he is a full-time history teacher at Wakefield High School. Howell, who paints scale models, also spends an enormous amount of time carefully painting these tiles.  

“We will paint typically from four to eight each day, and on the weekends; we usually work from about noon to nine or ten [at night], so really it’s an everyday thing,” Sweredoski said.

“I painted until two o’clock [in the morning] last night,” Howell said.  “I wanted to get them all done because we like to bring in [the tiles] in batches of twenty.  When you bring them in batches of twenty, now that makes a statement.”

The number of tiles certainly does make a statement, with dozens of painted ceiling tiles hanging throughout Wakefield.

“[We have painted] 200 ceiling tiles so far [at Wakefield], and in my room, it will be 85 [tiles],” Sweredoski said.  

Although Sweredoski and Howell enjoy the artistic aspect that comes with painting the tiles, it is the message the tiles bring that they want to spread.  They focus on each staff member individually; Sweredoski’s goal is to have at least one unique tile for every teacher at Wakefield.  For the biology teacher, Ms. Stiles, they painted a tile with DNA strands on it.  For math teacher (and huge Red Sox fan) Mr. Boudreau, they painted the Boston Red Sox logo.  For Mr. Holcomb the psychology teacher and Star Wars fan, a picture of Yoda.  For athletic director Coach Riggleman, they painted a set of Wolverine claws, representing Wakefield’s mascot.  For Ms. Bordt, the French teacher at Wakefield, they painted a special tile with the French flag within a fleur de lis, a traditional symbol that represents French royalty.   

“I think [the tiles] add a sense of camaraderie, and [the tiles represent] the important thing that we do here, and celebrate that,” Bordt said.     

It is not only the teachers who are impacted by the personalized ceiling tiles.  Jiselle Vellaringattu, a senior at Wakefield High School, notices the unique tiles on a daily basis and reflects upon the effect they have on the student body.

“I feel that the painted ceiling tiles add a sense of unity among the students by making us feel like our involvement in school clubs and athletics is an important part of this school,” Vellaringattu said.  

Because of the duo’s passion for the project, they spend hours adding detail to each and every tile.  

“Detail is a big factor, and with [some paints], you often have to have up to four coats,” Sweredoski said.  

Sweredoski, who has been working at Wakefield since 2002, wants the tiles to inspire those who spend time at Wakefield High School to get involved in their community and interact with each other.

“I like to see other people being involved, and just doing something nice for one another,” Sweredoski said.  “I wanted to show my gratitude towards the wonderful relationships that I have formed here and I’d like to see teachers kind of appreciating what one another does here.”    

The staff and students alike love the tiles, as each tile reflects interests of all kinds.  

“My favorite tile I’ve seen is the one in the 3300 hallway because it’s the Spanish Honor Society symbol, which is a club that I’ve been a part of for three years,” Vellaringattu said.  

The two partners love to see the effects of joy-bombing spread throughout Wakefield.  Sweredoski and Howell enjoy observing how the staff and students perceive the tiles.   

“This is just something that makes people smile,” Sweredoski said.  “We haven’t seen a frown yet.”