Death is not an easy thing to understand, especially for young students. Staff and volunteers at Point Defiance Elementary School decided to honor one of their own who passed away last year with a beautiful courtyard full of lady bugs, stink bugs and butterflies.

The ornamental clay insects â?? all created by members of the Pt. Defiance family â?? will be scattered throughout the courtyard, the favorite spot of Gail Matter.

Matter worked as a classroom assistant for Lin Riggio, a kindergarten teacher, and before that she was a para-educator and also a recess supervisor at one point. â??Sheâ??s been around the school for a long time,â?? Riggio commented, noting Matterâ??s daughter was in her kindergarten class more than 25 years ago.

â??Gail Matter was around here forever,â?? said parent Elaine Diaz. â??She always had a smile on â?? a wonderful, wonderful smile.â??

Riggio explained Matter just loved working with the children, even when she had cancer. â??(Gail) never wanted to stay home,â?? she recalled. â??She always wanted to be hereâ?? at Pt. Defiance.

As for the students, Riggio said they loved Matter like she was a teacher. â??She was really good with the kids,â?? she commented.

Children werenâ??t her only passion; gardening was another. Matter could often be found sprucing up the courtyard at Pt. Defiance - not just during the school year but over the summer as well.

Riggio said it would only be fitting for the school to make a tribute to Matter in the courtyard. This idea took off.

Oer the past few weeks, members of the Pt. Defiance family â?? students, parents and staff â?? could be found decorating their insects with guidance from local artist Ginger Kryger, who stepped in to help with the project.

Kryger, whose children attended Pt. Defiance, said originally the project was just going to be for the first grade, but the idea just snowballed. â??It kept going and changing,â?? she noted, â??and before you knew it, the whole school was involved.â??

Kryger helped students and staff members create their insects and is working on crafting a large butterfly of her own. She didnâ??t want all the credit though, and noted the volunteers have been â??making it happen.â??

Diaz, who helped with the project, said itâ??s been interesting seeing it come together. â??Everyoneâ??s decorated theirs a bit different; some students got really into it and others did not,â?? she observed. Nonetheless, she noted itâ??s been a â??real community project.â??

This project â??instills in them that you always leave something behind,â?? Diaz commented. â??Just like Gail left a part of herself at this school, the students will as well.â??

After a couple weeks of hard work decorating and glazing insects, more than 500 have been created, according to Pt. Defiance Principal Olga Lay. Many of the art pieces have special messages on the back to Matter. â??Itâ??s kind of a nice tribute to her,â?? Kryger said. Â

The plan now is to carefully install each of the insects, which will be placed on rebar in the courtyard along with a plaque and the large butterfly work created by Kryger. Lay said all this will be done during the remainder of the school year and over the summer with a formal dedication of the area to be made in Matterâ??s honor at the schoolâ??s open house in September.

As students go down the hall by the library next school year, theyâ??ll be able see their creations in the courtyard and remember that Matter really mattered to them and to Pt. Defiance.

â??Itâ??s a nice way to remember her,â?? Kryger said. â??She was a special part of the school.â??