'EWA BEACH — The sixth-graders at Iroquois Point Elementary School yesterday enjoyed their parting gift to the school on the day of their graduation, as artist Thomas Deir unveiled a mural that students in grades four through six had worked on since early May.

Deir drew the outline and taught 300 students how to paint the mural, which graces an outside wall of the cafeteria.

The mural features a beach with an American flag spanning the sand. Three ships float in the ocean, and Diamond Head can be seen in the background. Silhouettes of students stand alongside King Kamehameha, and pieces of paper displaying Iroquois Point values flutter above their heads.

"I worked on the sand, with the pink," said Meaghan Gunderson, 9. "Mr. Deir showed us how to mix the colors and which brushes to use."

"I start out by having each child practice stroking and dabbing with a brush, while at the same time teaching them about the science of color," Deir said in a statement.

Deir based the mural's design on a student questionnaire asking them what Iroquois Point means to them.

Deir has helped students create murals at 15 schools. He's also created murals for homes in Hawai'i and elsewhere, as well as the mural at the entrance to Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve.

Heidi Armstrong, Iroquois Point principal, met him 10 years ago when he helped create a mural at Pohakea Elementary School in 'Ewa Beach, where she was the curriculum coordinator.

Deir hasn't done a mural since Kainalu Elementary School in 2004, but was able to work at Iroquois Point through funding from the Joint Venture Education Forum. Armstrong approached the forum, and between the grant it gave Iroquois Point and $500 raised by the school's Parent Teacher Association, the school was able to afford the materials.

After the graduation ceremony, students sat along the breezeway and listened as Deir talked about how patient and willing to learn the students were. Deir then pulled aside to unveil the mural to applause and shrieks of excitement.

"It's really pretty," said Olivia Bonilla, 10. "I think it expresses Iroquois Point really well."