The Arts

Why we need to Celebrate the Arts at Southington High School

At SHS the arts department gives students many opportunities such as music,drama and more these various clubs give students an opportunity to express themselves outside of school. Many of these clubs are beneficial for students to take because they allow for many new connections. One example is the music program which has been around since the opening of the school, but it has expanded since then. Another is the drama club which allows for many students interested in theater to take part in one or both of the two shows put on every year by this club.

We interviewed Mr Shaw, and these were his responses:

What was your favorite part about Southington High School as a whole?

I had the best students. I had administrators who were very supportive and parents that worked hard to provide for our program. Our community is very supportive especially if you were successful.

What do you think should be celebrated at Southington High School?

I don't think we celebrate the Arts enough in our district. The Band program has accomplished amazing things over the years. We can't take this for granted.

How much did the band change over the span of your career?

Here's some of the change.....I was director from 1990-2015. When I arrived in 1990, we were a 3 year school (grades 10-12). We had about 100 students total in the program (60 in Marching Band, 40 in Concert Band). We competed in the fall minimally - 3 competitions and finals. In order to compete with the better bands we gradually started adding to our rehearsal schedule from Wednesday nights and Saturdays to adding Monday sectionals and Friday afternoons. Once the school added grade 9 we moved to compete every weekend and hosting our own competition. With the additional rehearsal and contact time we were able to improve the quality of all our groups. Our Concert groups improved, our jazz ensemble improved just from playing more. The addition of the Assistant Director position was also key to the growth of the program. 

Awards Drama Club has won recently 

The drama club was lucky enough to win two awards at the Halos this year. This awards presentation is for all high schools in connecticut and the drama productions each put on this year. One of the showings of each show put on had a halo judge which gives each club incentive to put on the best show for the judge. The first award won as shown in the bottom picture was the award for "Most outstanding orchestra in a production" which is a huge honor as Mr. Stuppler was presented  with this award as the band director for the production of Cinderella. The second award as shown in the top picture was the bigger award as it is the award for "Best contemporary Musical" which is huge as this means that the drama production of Cinderella was one of the best in the state.