Downtown Napa’s historical murals will soon have a younger sibling on the north side of the city. Students at Valley Oak Career and Arts Academy painted a group self-portrait on the once-drab side wall of their classroom building on Myrtle Street.

The theme of the mural, selected by teenagers studying art with Valley Oak teacher John Hannaford, is “Healthy Choices.” The Napa County Office of Education paid for the project with grant money from a federal program aimed at preventing teen alcohol abuse.

The acrylic paint is expected to last for 40 years or more, giving future generations a glimpse of how today’s teenagers spend their free time.

“They’ll see what we were like when we were here at school, and what we did. It’ll be a lot different then,” said 17-year-old Morgan Fish.

The mural is modeled directly on two dozen Valley Oak students and three teachers, who posed for photos showing their interest in wholesome activities including basketball, pets and reading.

Muralist Carole Toy, a NCOE employee on special assignment to Valley Oak, enlarged the photos and projected them on the wall one night, sketching a template for the students to complete.

Anyone who’s up-to-date on credits at Valley Oak can help paint the mural, and Hannaford said it’s not unusual to see 30 students working on it at the same time.

“It provides a real sense of community for the students at our school, and art is a great vehicle for that to happen,” Hannaford said.

The group worked, even the day of their prom, to make sure the mural was done in time for graduation.

Magali Mendoza and Martha Wheelan were among several students who posed for the mural with their pets. Mendoza, 16, said her big white cat Snowball represents a healthy choice because of the time she spends caring for him and playing with him. Wheelan, 17, appears in the mural walking her black Lab, Buzz.

Katie McLaughlin, 17, had paint in her hair and an eye on the future as she carefully blended white and blue to create a realistic-looking pair of weathered jeans.

“We can bring our kids here someday to see that we did this,” McLaughlin said. “It’s our whole class, our whole generation, frozen forever.”