Brewster Students To Appear On Good Morning America Thursday Morning

BREWSTER, NY — Brewster students are ready to take the national stage in celebration of a new tradition that's changing the way we look at the future.

From the Brewster Central School District.

When C.V. Starr art teacher Danielle Michielini was contacted by a producer from Good Morning America about a segment for International Dot Day, she was up for the challenge. In a matter of hours, with the help of her fellow art teacher Megan Naclerio, she had a vision that fit in with her theme: neon ripple effect.

In case you have not heard, International Dot Day is celebrated by millions of people worldwide. It is based upon a book written by Peter H. Reynolds, The Dot. The message of the book combines collaborative art with kindness, encouraging every person to "make their mark" on their community. The core idea is simple yet profound: one small act, like a single dot or a kind word, can create a powerful chain reaction that spreads and grows.

How did Good Morning America and Peter Reynolds pick BCSD to showcase Dot Day? A shout out goes to 2015 BHS grad Kiersten Hecht, who put GMA in touch with BCSD. Kiersten is a music teacher in Boston and is connected with Peter Reynolds through her work in children's media — she has a puppet show program for neurodivergent children called Lilypad Academy. When Peter and GMA were looking for a school district, she immediately thought of her alma mater.

Within two days, every student at C.V. Starr created their own dot using neon pastels, neon oil pencils and neon tempura cakes for the installation. Some dots were big, some were small, some swirled, others were in the shape of a flower, many looked like a vortex, one looked like an eye.

The great thing about a dot is its simplicity.

"A dot can be anything from a single point to a swirl of color or a collection of smaller marks. There is no right way to make a dot," explained Michielini to students. "The neon and fluorescent materials you will be using are going to create a spectacular visual effect for the final installation. In the black light your art work will glow! Remember the positive message of the book when you are working, try to think about a simple act of kindness–even a smile will cause someone else to feel good and smile back. Make your mark!"

Students also wrote out neon kindness strips that began, "I will make a ripple of kindness by…": helping my teacher clean up the classroom, holding the door for people, saying thank you, giving a compliment, including others on the playground, smiling in the hallway, among others.

The result was a total sensory immersion — a temporary hallway due to building renovations was transformed into a glow show. Students walked into the space lit up with black lights — one by one using a simple adhesive to add their creation to the collaborative mural — resulting in waves of dots and ribbons of kindness streaming from large scale pictures from the book. As students walked through, they used black light flashlights for added effect.

"It's so cool," said Sophia Galvez.

"I love the way my dot looks next to all the others," said Melany Santiago Portillo.

The GMA segment will be aired on Thursday, September 11, 2025, between 8:30 a.m. and 9:00 a.m. Thank you to art teachers Danielle Michielini and Megan Naclerio, and librarian Paul George for reading The Dot to C.V. Starr students. The glowing installation will be visited and experienced by each class as a way of becoming the art and experiencing the ripple effect and how collective creativity and kindness of the school community can make something beautiful.

This press release was produced by the Brewster Central School District. The views expressed here are the author’s own.