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Home > Blogs > Hamilton Schools News and Issues > Archives > 2009 > October > 23
Friday, October 23, 2009
600 Hamilton students to perform in Secondary Choral Festival
Hamilton City Schools Secondary Choral Festival, 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 27, Hamilton Freshman School Gymnasium, 2260 NW Washington Blvd., Hamilton. Free, canned good requested. (513) 887-4816.
Teaching students to sing is more than just making pretty music. It’s also good academics.
So when 600 of Hamilton Schools’ finest singers take to the stage Tuesday, Oct. 27, they’re enhancing their education as well as entertaining the audience.
“In a 2009 study commissioned by Chorus America, students who are involved in singing groups demonstrate increased social skills, increased engagement in school and increased academic success,” said Laurin Sprague, the high school’s director of fine arts. “In the Hamilton Schools, we have seen the impact on students as they come together to work as a team to sing in harmony with one another.
“Obviously, the benefits of singing for students are numerous,” he said.
The sixth Annual Secondary Choral Festival will feature students from all four secondary schools including the Garfield Middle School 8th Grade Concert Choir, under the direction of Kristin Anderson, the Wilson Middle School 8th Grade Chorale under the direction of David Anderson; Cutting Edge Showchoir under the direction of Kristin and David Anderson, Fascinating Showchoir under the direction of Melynda Caswell; and the Hamilton Freshman Voices, Hamilton High School Concert Chorale and Rhapsody in Blue Show Choir under the direction of Christina Fox.
Musical selections run the gamut from classical music from Handel to “Chicago” by contemporary singer/songwriter Sufjan Stevens, with a little bit of classic rock — a Journey medley — thrown in.
For the show choirs, this is also a first opportunity to present the programs they will perform in competitions throughout the school year.
“The arts should be for the arts’ sake, but we figure if we take all this time to work up a show, we should take it out and see how we compare to other schools,” said Kristen Anderson, who co-directs Cutting Edge, a choir made up of middle school students.
“The reason we compete is that it motivates the kids for a level of excellence they may not have otherwise,” she said. “We consider it a sport and treat it like a sport, plus it’s a format where we can pick music that we can have some fun with and put some dance moves to.”
“I am very proud of our choral music program,” Sprague said. “When people see our students singing and moving, you know that it brings them great satisfaction.” At the end of the evening, after each of the choirs have performed, all of the students join to sing one piece together, Sprague said.
“It is very impressive and moving when so many students sing at once,” he said.
Hamilton High School’s Rhapsody in Blue Show Choir rehearse “Chicago” by Sufjan Stevens
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment | Categories: Garfield Middle School, Hamilton Freshman School, Hamilton High School, Wilson Middle School
Badin chemistry students meet with alumnus about careers
A group of senior and sophomore chemistry students at Badin High School received some career advice today from Badin alumnus Kip Sturgill, class of 1990, who currently works as research and development engineer at W. L. Gore & Associates.
Sturgill said that 20 years he was sitting where they were now, trying to figure out where he was heading with an interest in both chemistry and chemical engineering, and how he discovered that research and development allowed him to combine his interests to create new products and new processes.
“One of the most engineered products of the 20th century is the diaper,” he said. “A lot of research and development went into how to make a diaper and how to do it in a very cheap way.
“There are a lot of problems out there yet to be solved and a background in both of these areas will help you solve these problems,” he said.
He told the students that chemistry and chemical engineering are both highly-paid entry-level fields, with starting salaries of around $65,000 a year for bachelor degree graduates and up to $75-80,000 a year for those with a Ph.D.
After giving Mrs. Heinrich a gift of a Gore-Tex jacket and scarf, Sturgill gave the students a hands-on demonstration of the breathing qualities of Gore-Tex fabric, which is derived from Teflon, by putting a mitten of Gore-Tex on one hand and a plastic mitten on the other.
He explained that Gore-Tex fabric was discovered by a researcher at DuPont, but his company passed on the idea, so he developed Gore-Tex in his basement and started his own company. Gore-Tex is now used in over 1,000 products, he said.
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment | Categories: Badin High School, Parochial/Private Schools
Hamilton High students visit Taft Museum of Art
This year’s Senior Portfolio art class at Hamilton High School has gotten off to a great start, according to art teacher Ellyn Whiteash, as students work to compile portfolios for college admission.
“This is also our fifth year participating in the outreach program with the Taft Museum of Art called ‘Artist’s Reaching Classrooms’,” Whiteash said.
On Oct. 16, the students went on the first of two trips to visit the Taft Museum and chose the piece of art work that they would like to research throughout the semester.
The program also provides for four guest visits from Cincinnati artists and finishes with a scholarship competition.
“Students have really enjoyed the class far and we look forward to seeing the artwork they produce throughout the semester,” Whiteash said.
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment | Categories: Hamilton City Schools, Hamilton High School
