Community Focus
Editor: Matt Milsop
Show choir places at Nevada, finishes at Joplin, Carthage, & Webb City
By Grace Corey
This year, MVHS Vocal Motion is back and better than ever. As they enter the end of their competition season, the group has already placed first in Division 3A at all four competitions, earned best opener and sixth runner-up in finals at Joplin, as well as recognized for best soloist (sophomore Briton Szydloski), fifth runner-up in finals at Carthage, and brought home best ballad, best female soloist (senior Hallee Hazelton), best show design, and placed second runner-up in finals at Webb City. Although the group has made finals at other competitions many times, they had never before competed in finals at the Carthage competition.
The group is attending competitions normally as they have done prior to the 2020-21 school year. Last year, they would warm up, perform, and head home at most of the competitions they attended. This year, they will travel to the school hosting the competition, get ready there, warm up, perform and then watch other choirs until awards are announced. If they make it to the finals, they perform again, but if not, they go home.
Vocal Motion's final competition was Saturday, March 5. They will go on to do a tour for the other three schools in the district and the community place care center on Thursday, March 17.
Art Club expands avenues of creative interest
By Izzy Rutherford
MVHS's Art Club is a place that works to inspire the students working within it. Not only have they been able to continue their annual Christmas window paintings, they’ve also gotten the opportunity to explore other avenues of art that students in the art classes don’t have time to pursue. Led by Mr. Taylor Hopkins, the Art Club has been doing its best to make the most of their year.
They were given the opportunity to work with ScreenMasters when they created their shirts for the club. Students were able to watch as the shirts they designed were printed right in front of them and helped refine what was done. They also created backdrops based on books for the Intermediate school’s literacy night, later taking part in a book giveaway for the kids.
The Art Club hopes to expand upon the projects that they take on. Mr. Hopkins noted, “There are a couple of long-term projects that I’d like to get into with them, but I need to gauge interest with them on it.” He hopes to develop the skills of these artists and expose them to all mediums of art. “One would be like an outdoor classroom, another would be like a mosaic, or a mural, outside the drama room,” Hopkins continued.
As a whole, a majority of the projects that they do are group based, aside from the competitions, such as the Big 8 Conference competition that they’ll be hosting this year. While not all students are able to participate in these types of events due to conflicting school activities including sports and other extracurriculars, those that do compete have the full support of the club to back them up. Hopkins hopes to find more competitions that’ll showcase the talents that these students possess. Their goal, as of now, is to further expand the influence their club has within the district.
Many students already have said that they hope to pursue a career in art and that being in this club has shown them ways that they can work to do so. It also gives them a chance to help the community and gain the support that they need in return. Madison Cowles, a first year Art Club member, stated that, “Everything that we have done really gave me an insight into what a group of high school students can do to make a difference by spreading our art.”
