To wrap up their Renaissance study, Mrs. Rayner’s 7th-grade Social Studies students tried their hands at "painting like Michelangelo." Challenged to paint completely overhead, students quickly discovered how physically demanding the task was. Many left the lesson wondering how the master artist endured the uncomfortable position for nearly four years. Though Michelangelo considered himself a sculptor first, the resulting ceiling became a masterpiece of High Renaissance art, seamlessly blending humanist philosophy with groundbreaking painting techniques.