Arts

                     Drama / Set design. Aisha Sattar  

Drama is a club many students commit their days to. Drama rehearsals started at the end of October and continued until January 22nd .  Students spent days rehearsing at Amos Alonzo Stagg High School from early morning to evening. They dedicated most of their time to drama, not being able to do any other clubs; they practiced and practiced. It seems like it was all worth it because their performance was perfect!  The Frozen Jr. Rehearsals were great! Their singing was flawless and the acting was amazing!  

Another important part of the Drama Club is the Set design. Set design was a club people joined to help drama. People who joined Set design made props and sets for drama. They painted staircases, put together giant icicles, made giant snowflakes and many other props. Students made Olaf's snow cloud, painted Bargain Buke’s  sign, and paper-mached all the food. Most of the students in Set Design also helped out with the stage crew. They spent time practicing controlling the tech and lighting during rehearsals.  

Many students put their time and effort into drama, whether it was rehearsing lines, working backstage, or crafting props. People put a lot of time and dedication into helping drama and it showed on opening night. Those who had roles spent hours rehearsing and practicing their songs. Everyone who helped drama in any way put their time and effort into everything for their big moment on stage or behind the scenes. As you can see, a lot of time, love, and care went into perfecting Frozen Jr and it payed off! 

    Good Reads from a Student 

      By: Rebecca Augspurger 

  Whether it’s boiling hot, rainy, or snowing, it’s always a good idea to grab a good book and hunker down in a comfy place. So, here’s some recommendations from students and teachers around the school! 

Recommended by: Oliver Rusnak (7B, student) 

   Do you like dragons, fantasy, and adventure? Well, then, “Wings of Fire” by Tui T. Sutherland sounds perfect for you! Each book averages at about 300-400 pages each; Oliver says he likes this book series because the plot is cool and makes you feel like you need to read one more page. Also, the book almost makes the characters come to life. And the book series has over 30 books in total, so it can take a little while to read. The book series is set in a fantasy world, and it follows five dragonets - Clay, Tsunami, Glory, Starflight, and Sunny- who are raised in secrecy because they are thought to be part of a prophecy that promises to end the ongoing dragon war between dragon tribes. The book series starts with ‘The Dragon Prophecy’ and ends with ‘The Flames of Hope.’ If you’re looking for a new favorite book series, “Wings of Fire” may be the right book for you! 

Recommended by: Miss Teri (School library helper) 

  You must know or have at least heard of Miss Teri, the charismatic lady that checks out books at the school library. But did you know that she also reads quite a bit in her spare time? One of the books that Miss Teri likes - one of her favorites, actually - is “Wild Bird” by Wendelin Van Draanen. “Wild Bird” is about 300 pages, and it was so good that Miss Teri could barely put it down! The book is about a struggling girl named Wren Clemmen on a hiking journey to help figure herself out, and she thinks that some alone time will help her mentally – and she eventually does it! Wendelin Van Draanen has written over 50 books, including “Flipped,” which became a featured film and was named Top 100 Children’s Novel for the 21st Century. Also, readers of “Wild Bird” have been known to also enjoy “Away” by Megan E. Freeman. So, if you’ve read and liked “Flipped” or “Away,” or if you are just looking for something new, give “Wild Bird” a try! 

Recommended by: Mr. Berard (Spanish Teacher) 

  If you’ve ever been to Spanish class (which pretty much everyone has), you’ll know Mr. Berard, one of the Spanish teachers, along with Mrs. Lyons. But did you know that he loves reading, along with teaching? One of Mr. Berard’s favorite book series is the Harry Potter book series, but his favorite book from the series is “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.” Mr. Berard says he loves this book because he has a good imagination, so he can imagine how the magic and the characters from the book look. Mr. Berard also likes listening to political audiobooks because he likes to learn about the political leader’s past that he originally didn’t know. Another book that Mr. Berard enjoys is “Grapes of Wrath” by John Steinbeck, which is about a family during the Great Depression. Mr. Berard also loves “Pobre Ana” by Blain Ray, which you will get to read if you take eighth grade Spanish. If you like history, magic, or just going to Spanish, give these books a whirl! 

Recommended by: Rebecca Augspurger (7B, student) 

 This book is a personal favorite of mine, and I first read it in 5th grade. There are also two more books that came out fairly recently, so the books make up a trilogy. These books are called “Out of my Mind,” “Out of my Heart,” and “Out of my Dreams,” written and read in the exact order in which I listed them. The first book of the trilogy is about a girl named Melody Brooks, and she has cerebral palsy. The book is from her perspective, and she tells the reader about her life up until she starts fifth grade and the story of what happened during fifth grade that was so important. The second book of the trilogy is about how Melody goes to a camp for a week for specifically children with special needs. And seeing as how this is her first time away from home without her parents, she has more freedom than ever before. And the third book in the trilogy is about how she saves her neighbor from dying, leading her to be in the news and eventually getting to travel to London to represent the U.S. for a differently abled youth internation symposium. She makes friends and memories along the way throughout all of these books, and she’ll make you laugh once or twice (per book). Give reading “Out of my Mind” a shot, you’ll never know if you like it until you try! 

  Thank you so much for reading until the end of my article! It is greatly appreciated. If you skipped to the outro, which is this, GO BACK AND READ! I POURED MY BLOOD, SWEAT, AND TEARS, INTO THIS. THE LEAST YOU COULD DO IS READ A SINGLE ARTICLE! I loved making this and will write more for future articles. See you soon!