Bulldog Spotlight

Let's get to know our fellow bulldogs! We have so many interesting people at JHS 194!

Shooting for Her Dreams

By Emily Xiang

The JHS 194 Girls Basketball Team is undefeated. One student who has helped the team win the championships is 6th grader Aryanna, who has been committed to basketball since kindergarten. Inspired by the NBA , she was determined to play on a basketball team.

Aryana has played for Holy Cross, the Marksmen, and St Luke’s basketball teams. Aryana played in tournaments with the Holy Cross team and won the championships.

She also has games back to back for the Marksmen every weekend. To be the best, she recommends working hard and practicing every single day.

The JHS 194 team has practices at 7 a.m. on Thursdays and Fridays. Being on the basketball team has benefits, because it’s exciting and good exercise. Aryana loves basketball because she said, “It's fun and makes me active.”

She loves the Kobe Bryant quote “If you don’t believe in yourself no one will do it for you.” According to Aryana, if you don’t believe in yourself, then you won’t achieve anything.

Determination and perseverance helped Aryana to achieve her dreams.

Kicking Toward Greatness

There’s a student in our school who has won approximately 100 taekwondo awards, 15 of them being national medals.

By Effie Fillos

Evan Cai is an eighth-grade student at our school who has been dedicated to Taekwondo since he was four years old. With his older brother as inspiration, he decided to join a Taekwondo program.

He fell in love with the sport because he found it fun and the environment was very welcoming. He participated in recreational Taekwondo for two years and enjoyed it, so when he turned 6 years old, he dedicated himself to competitive Taekwondo. “I feel nervous during competitions, mostly when I see the other people there because they are all really good.”

Evan has been practicing his skills six days a week to prepare for competitions. He describes his experience as stressful, but with a rewarding outcome. “I think about the mistakes I made in class and how I can fix them.”

Evan trains to be successful by working on his punches, flexibility and kicks. He finds practice fun, but also painful.

Jack, a friend of Evan says, ”I think it's amazing that Evan competed in all these tournaments. There is a lot of pressure when you compete in a tournament, and I think that it is very impressive that Evan goes out there, whether it's winning or losing.”

Committing your life to a sport can be challenging as you balanace school and other responsibilities, but Evan continues to dedicate his time to Taekwondo.

Hard work and courage brought Evan to where he is today - winning medals upon medals.

Welcome, Ms. Galimidi

by Chloe Liao

From teaching history to music, Mrs. Galimidi has smoothly integrated right into the JHS 194 community. This is her first year at our school, and prior to joining us, she worked on Long Island, in Westchester, and the Bronx since 2006. Ms. Galimidi also teaches private vocal lessons on Long Island.

Ever since she was little, Mrs. Galimiidi has loved to sing and perform. Her parents often joke about her singing in her crib. Working with kids, along with her passion for singing, has led her to become a vocal teacher.

Many students know her as one of the supervisors of our school musical. In fact, she was the person who applied for the grant, and got us approved for the Broadway Jr. program. Convincing was not needed for this project; Mrs. Miller and the director team unanimously supported bringing this show to our 194 stage!

Another fun fact about Mrs. Galimidi is that she loves all kinds of music. Anything from musical theatre to jazz to pop to folk is up her alley. She took dance classes when she was a kid and has grown to love Peloton and Zumba classes. She hopes to incorporate some more movement and choreography into our future vocal performances.

Ms. Galimidi co-teaches history with Mr. Johnsen in room 121, and her chorus room is in B27. Mrs. Galimidi is driven to bring back music and vocal performance to JHS 194!

JHS 194's Piano Man

Our very own Piano Man, Vincent Zhang.

By Angelina Seuk

At JHS 194, hidden talents are waiting to be discovered. The student next to you in science class might be a gifted dancer, a young prodigy, or an accomplished musician. You’ll never know unless you look and listen. Meet Vincent Zhang, a skilled pianist. A 7th grader who has been playing for seven years, Vincent shares his challenges and triumphs at the piano.

Vincent’s piano journey began at his parents' request. Learning a new skill was daunting, requiring countless hours of practice. Starting a new hobby that he didn’t have any experience with was extremely difficult and strenuous in his perspective.

He had to spend a large part of his day to practice piano. As he began to improve his skills over the years, it was necessary for him to memorize all the musical pieces despite the strain. Daily practicing and using a metronome (an instrument that repeats a specific ticking that helps regularize the beat of the musician’s instrument) boosted his expertise on the piano. Over time, Vincent realized his commitment to the piano which has led to where he is today.

Last month, Vincent performed at Carnegie Hall, one of the world's most prestigious and illustrious venues. Undoubtedly, it is impressive that Vincent played piano at Carnegie Hall. Vincent expressed that he really looked forward to playing in front of a grand audience; there were also several Grammy award winners in the audience. Despite his nervousness, he was confident and his sheer adrenaline carried him through a perfect performance. It is a musician's dream to play in a concert hall like Carnegie Hall, and it will certainly be a day he'll never forget.

Through every challenge, Vincent credits his mother as his greatest inspiration, pushing him to continue to excel as a pianist.

Metronome

Carnegie Hall

Welcome, Ms. Halik

by Effie Fillos & Chloe Kim

From a young age, Ms. Halik wanted to become a teacher. Inspired by her aunt, who was also a teacher, she knew early on that teaching was her calling. Ms.Halik teaches 8th grade ELA, but if she couldn’t teach English, she would teach dance because that was a passion she loved while growing up.

Prior to teaching, Ms. Halik was a barista and worked at a bakery decorating cookies. This job helped her work with other people and also allowed her to be creative. When she became a teacher, Ms. Halik realized that one of the hardest things to do was to switch up her mood for certain students. She learned how to adapt to different situations and work through them.

Ms Halik noticed her strengths like being resilient and taking pride in her work. Additionally, she told us that she does not believe in giving a lot of homework, and that she prefers group work over tests because it is more of a hands-on activity. Ms. Halik also understands a student’s perspective that homework can be stressful, which is why she accepts late homework. “Sometimes students don’t have enough time, or they may not understand the material,” she says.

We were also able to learn some interesting fun facts about Ms. Halik. She is a great writer, and she can also understand both Korean and Spanish. She shared a quote she lives by which is, “The desire to reach for the stars is ambitious. The desire to touch a heart is wise.” - Maya Angelou. At the end of our interview, some advice she gave us was to invest in things we love. We think that’s excellent advice!

For the Love of Dancing

by Emily Xiang

It was 4:30 p.m., as Tiffany walked to the Sunnyside Ballet Studio, the cold wind rippled across her face. She opened the door to see her friends waiting for her. Her studio was getting ready to perform in front of a crowd at the Sunnyside Holiday Lighting Ceremony.

They started stretching. Fortunately, they had an hour to practice. They started to do pliés, tendus, pirouettes, ronde jambe, frappés, and fondus. After, they started to dance to “Sugar Plum Fairy," “Snow,” and “Marzipan" from “The Nutcracker.”

An hour later, they were ready. They zipped up their coats and held their bags as they walked out the front door. As Tiffany walked, she chatted and laughed with her friends, but suddenly became tense, quiet, and anxious about what they were about to do.

Finally, they came to a stop on 46th street. They worked together to set the music player, turn it on, and get ready for the big performance.

And they started.

People passed by watching and staring, holding tight to their coats to protect them against the cold. Tiffany and her friends continued, dancing and dancing. Finally, out of breath, their big day ended.

At 7:00 p.m., they packed their bags and together headed back to the studio, exhausted. Fortunately, they weren’t too tired to talk. They laughed and joked on the way back. Later they said their farewells, and finally, tired from that long day, headed back home sweet home.

Interview with Tiffany Lam, Class 621

How long have you been dancing?

"8 years."

How old were you when you started dancing?

"About 3 years old."

What inspired you to begin?

"I was in an opera house in France to watch a show, and I was 2, at that time, and I told my mom that I wanted to take dance classes."

What style of dance do you enjoy the most and why?

"I enjoy contemporary because it’s more freestyle and I feel more like myself and can express my feelings easier."

How often do you practice and what does a typical rehearsal look like to you?

"I go to the studio 5 times a week and have 7 classes a week. A typical rehearsal is about 2-3 hours. Sometimes 4. We do warmups like barre, then stretch. Afterwards, we rehearse our dances."

Who is your biggest inspiration in the dance world?

"I’d say George Balanchine."

Where do you see yourself in dance over the next few years?

"Maybe in a performing arts school."

Do you dream of pursuing dance in the future?

"Maybe."

What do you want to be when you grow up?

"I want to be like a Broadway dancer/performer."

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