This year, the Dee-Mack High School choir went to the Bloomington Center of Performing Arts at Wesleyan University for the Youth in Harmony Barbershop Festival to sing barbershop with peers from all over the state of Illinois. They spent all day learning songs in barbershop style so they could perform them later that night for an audience full of people. They had to put in hours of effort to learn a new form of music and singing altogether. After they performed, they got to sit back and relax while they watched other groups perform. One of these group performances included Bryan Shake singing with the Sound of Illinois Chorus. They also got to watch the performance of this year’s featured quartet. This particular quartet had traveled around the globe to compete with other groups and meet hundreds of people who shared the same interests as them. This is the choir's second year going since Bryan Shake recommended the event to his peers. When I asked a few of the students who attended what they thought of the Youth in Harmony experience, they all gave positive feedback about the trip. Some students mentioned that they enjoyed the different forms of music, while others stated they just liked spending time with people from other schools who had to compete for a spot in their choir. Overall, the field trip was a hit, and we can expect to hear about it again this time next year! 

Student art is the creativity and inner thoughts of students leaking out onto the paper in front of them. That specific art can symbolize many things and can be used to understand their thoughts. Sometimes this art is considered “strange” by many, but in the end, there will always be someone who appreciates its beauty. There are many talented artists who have attended Dee-Mack High School, some of whom have already graduated while others are still here. When interviewing the art teacher, Mr. Ingram, I asked him what some of his favorite pieces of student art were and why he liked them. He pointed across the room to answer my question. In a frame, there was a drawing of a brain. Inside of each part of the brain were individual characters; each part was different and unique.

Mr. Ingram said to me, “The reason why I like that drawing so much is because it's so unique. It would take you an hour before you could go through all of them. Each one was thought out and filled with the student’s own unique style and sense of comedy.” Mr. Ingram was definitely right. The image was chaotic in nature, with the many characters doing different things and conversing with each other. The art piece itself represents the disorganized nature of the human brain, each part being different from one another and each part having its own unique kind of beauty, giving people room to choose what part of it might be their favorite. My personal favorite piece of art is a drawing of a current senior student, Peyton McGuirk. The details of the art are almost like it was a photo and gave me a clear image of what the person looked like. I love the realism of the piece and recommend looking at it if you are ever passing by the Art Hall.

This week I went and interviewed some of the marching band members after last week's home game to get the behind-the-scenes picture. I asked Clair Trovillion: How does the band prepare for the halftime show and she responded, “The marching band prepares for the season by going to a week long band camp. This is the time where we learn our dots and get familiar with marching on the field again.” Bryan Shake also responded to the same question by stating, “Every week we have Tuesday practices from 6-9 p.m., this is where the band starts to work through rough patches of the show and mentally prepare for the upcoming game on Friday.” Next I asked Joshua Atkinson: Do you think the pep tunes that are performed during the game help boost the atmosphere? Atkinson replied with, “Yes, I think that the band boosts the atmosphere at the games because of the pep tunes although I wish we played more often in the stands.” My final question for our Marching Chiefs was: What is your favorite Friday night tradition before or after the game? This was directed towards Cadence Kost and she described, “My favorite tradition happens before the game and it is when we hang out with everyone in the band and eat our free pork chop sandwiches!" We were really impressed with the band’s performance and cannot wait to see what they do in the future. We wish you all the best this marching season. Go Marching Chiefs!