May 23, 2014
Clayton Pioneer • www.claytonpioneer.com
Page 9
Hawaii trip hits the right notes for Concord High musicians ANDREA LEGAULT Concord High School
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote, "music is the universal language of mankind." The
instrumental music students at Concord High School speak this language well. Over spring break, students traveled to Honolulu in a cultural exchange with students from Kaiser High
CVCHS seniors stage amateur film festival for ArtsAcademy project
ROBBIE PARKER
TEENSPEAK Some say filmmaking is an art, but for Clayton Valley Charter High School seniors Alaina Campbell and Ashely Freeman, filmmaking is a passion, and an opportunity to unite and honor the most talented young amateur directors in the Bay Area. As dedicated ClaytonArts Academy students and theater enthusiasts, the two young women are producing the first ever East Bay Student Film Festival to display the artistic expression of aspiring and student-filmmakers from the entire region. The student films, from a variety of schools region-wide, will premiere on May 28. At 5:30 p.m., the doors at Brenden Theater in Concord will open, welcoming students and their families across the red carpet and toward the silver screen. The venue includes
entirely student-produced comedy shorts, dramatic shorts, and music videos — judged by both film industry professionals and ClaytonArts Academy teachers. There will be three categories for the films; comedic short, dramatic short, and music video. One video from each category will receive first place. Tickets are $8 and according to Alaina Campbell, “all the money raised the night of the event will be awarded to one film student who stands out among the rest, and to his or her respective school film class.” As a senior project, the entire event is fully student produced. “I have realized from firsthand experience how difficult it is for film classes within the high school to receive proper funding,” says Alaina, who will be attending a four-year university majoring in Theater Arts. “This event is a great way to offer that — as well as to allow high school students to showcase their hard work.” For film enthusiasts, Clayton Valley families, and even casual moviegoers, the East Bay Student Film Festival is a must-see event. Robbie Parker is a junior at Clayton Valley Charter High School. Send comments to Robbie@claytonpioneer.com
School. They performed in a concert together, sharing their musicality and admiring each other for their command of the language. By the end of the evening, the students were exchanging emails, numbers , social media contacts and promises to stay in touch across the ocean. At the Ala Moana, the largest open-air shopping center in the world, Concord students took center stage. The Symphonic Wind Band, Symphonic Orchestra, Jazz Super Band and Auxiliary performed to the delight of the shoppers. They were complimented on their playing ability and their well-mannered behavior, becoming true ambassadors. The music program, under
ALISON EWING
DVMS CORRESPONDENT constant grades. Many students have not had that pressure before. For Giselle Castaniada , the challenge was keeping her GPA at 3.0 or higher. “It took a lot of work to study and make sure everything got in on time well, and it really paid off.” It’s hard to believe, but we’ve
thinking, culture and tradition and community awareness. The trip was planned out with these goals in mind. In addition to opportunities to play with other students from a different cul-
ture, and perform at the Ala Moana, the students received an education about Hawaii. The students visited some
See Hawaii, page 13
Well-known writer inspires an escape into books CARLIE BEESON
PINE HOLLOW CORRESPONDENT Recently, Pine Hollow Middle School purchased class sets of author, Gary Soto’s, novels. To show his appreciation for the purchase, Gary Soto decided to personally deliver the books to Pine Hollow’s reading success class. He encouraged students to read more and to use reading for escape. Gary Soto has been writing for 38 years and enjoys every moment of it. Although he only began writing when he was in
Students meet middle school challenges with hard work Everybody knows Middle School comes with challenges. It could be a lot of small ones, and it also could be one constant one lingering over your head. I asked some of the students here at Diablo View what their biggest challenge of the year was and how they got past that. Sophia Andrews says “For me, my biggest middle school challenge was making new friends because I wasn’t from a feeder school so I didn’t even know ten people coming here,” says Sophia Andrews. “But I made a lot of friends here and they’re all very nice. I started by just talking to people in and in between classes and during lunch and then they would introduce me to new people. Now I can’t be happier.” A really big issue going into middle school is getting used to
the direction of Gary Coartney, stresses the importance of developing a program that focuses on life skills, education (both music and academic), progressive/creative and critical
survived a whole year of middle school. It wasn’t easy, though. As Giselle and Sophia said, middle school comes with new people and new grades and it’s hard to balance both of them. I completely relate to both accounts and I know it’s the same for others as well. With hard work and dedication, the students at Diablo View have proven to be capable of almost anything we put our minds to. As we Bobcats say “We’re all in this together.” Middle school is a journey that all of us are on and as we go, we know we will have the friends, and the intelligence, to finish our goals. Alison Ewing is a sixth-grader at DVMS. She loves to write and has a passion for “anything in the arts.” Email her at alison@claytonpioneer.com
community college, he developed a passion for it and strove to make it his career. He uses different methods and finds inspiration from his peers’ works and from close friends. He has written over two hundred books, articles, and poems. Mr. Soto has received many awards for his poetry and his novels. He has been very successful with his writings and has
inspired many people with his novels and poetry. In listening to Mr. Soto, students realized that reading isn’t something that you do “just because.” It can be an escape from reality and from everything going on around them. After talking with Gary Soto, I realize that it doesn’t matter if I’m not good at something now because later in
life I may develop a passion for it and I can perfect it. With these messages, Gary Soto left us with his inspiration and his wisdom. Carlie Beeson is an 8th grader at Pine Hollow Middle School. She enjoys reading, playing soccer, and singing. Questions or comments? Send her an Email at carlie@claytonpioneer.com
MDE hosts first Art Expo
NATALIE PURSCHE
MDES CORRESPONDENT Recently Katelyn Markham, a high school senior at Clayton Valley Charter High School, combined her two favorite interests, working with children and art, and organized an elementary school Art Expo as a senior project. The purpose of the project was to “create a service project that benefits and reaches out to the community,” as Katelyn said. The Art Expo took place at Mt. Diablo Elementary School on Thursday May 1, where elementary school kids from throughout the area displayed their best artwork for many people to enjoy and admire. Students from Mt. Diablo Elementary, Silverwood Elementary, and Mt. View Elemen-
tary participated, although many other teachers from other area schools helped organize the project as well. Some of these people and schools include Barbara Kerr, Jennifer DeAngelis, Jennifer Moore, Sara Strong, Renne Culp, Ireene Keenan, and the office secretaries of Mt. Diablo, Mt. View, Silverwood, Ayers, Westwood, Monte Gardens and Highlands elementary schools. People who attended the Art Expo voted for their favorite art pieces. Three students from each grade (K-5) won for their art. First place students won prizes such as art supplies and students in second and third place received certificates. Some of these first place winners include Morgan Perkins in fourth grade and Mychal
Dolan in fifth grade. Students that came in second and third place include Brandon Kelley in Kindergarten, Ryan Miller in first grade, and Lily Lindsey in second grade. All of their art was fabulous. As Katelyn says, “my goal is to inspire students to keep making art and expressing their talents” and we think she did that quite well. Irene Keenan, principal of Mt. Diablo Elementary School, says, “This is the first Expo, but I hope there are many more!” Natalie Pursche is a fifth grader at Mt. Diablo Elementary School who is an avid reader, enjoys writing, loves the outdoors, and is a member of the MDE school council. Send comments to natalie@claytonpioneer.com.
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Teen looks for clues, finds himself EMILY YORK
TEEN READS Teen years are hard on everyone. It’s a time of self-discovery, regretful mistakes and lessons learned. In “Paper Towns” by John Green (Speak, Reprint edition, September, 2009), Quentin
Jacobsen has never been much of a risk-taker. He’s spent most of his life watching everyone make mistakes and memories from afar. Especially Margo Roth Spiegelman, an adventurous ball of fun. He just laid back and watched her unravel her mischievous schemes on everyone for years, until the day she chooses to bring him along with her on an all-night chain of illegal revenge. By the end of the night, Margo and Quentin are closer and the memory of their adventure has been etched in their minds and will last forever.
But when Quentin shows up for school the next day, Margo isn’t there. Minutes turns into hours, hours turn into days, days turn into weeks before everyone at school has given up on Margo, but not Quentin. This isn’t the first time Margo has ran away. She has “disappeared” before but never for nearly this long. Little does Quentin know, Margo has left him clues with possible ties to where she could be hiding. Throughout the rest of the book, Quentin not only tries to find Margo, he eventual-
ly finds himself, who he is, and what he is capable of. Green has given us yet another truly inspiring novel about self-discovery and the power of friendship. The thing about John Green is that no matter which book of his you read, you will learn something meaningful from it, whether you’re like the audacious Margo Roth Spiegelman or the bashful Quentin Jacobsen. Emily York is a freshman at CVCHS.
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