ELEPHANTS AROUND THE WORLD RAFAEL ROBLES STORY BY MEG HICKS Rafael Robles, a junior at Gainesville High School and a member of the Big Red Machine, was accepted into the Honors Performance Series at the Sydney Opera House this summer. The Honors Performance Series is open for high school students around the world who are seeking a future career in music. During the week of July 31, 2023, Rafael attended classes led by Director Douglas Droste, learned four musical pieces, and was challenged to add onto one of the four pieces. On the fifth day of the camp, students performed what they had learned over the course of the week in the Sydney Opera House. Following the program, Rafael is now working on a mentorship program with Douglas Droste and has also been invited to apply to the Vienna, Austria program next summer. Rafael continues to show the talent of Gainesville High School everyday through his dedication to music.
LILLY KILEY STORY BY ANNA PARDUE Lilly Kiley, a freshman at Gainesville High School, became a Team USA athlete in Dragon Boating this spring. Team USA is a group of paddlers who compete in the World Dragon Boat Racing Championships, which are held every odd-numbered year. This year, the championships were held in Pattaya, Thailand. Dragon boating takes 22 driven, focused athletes who are all insync when paddling. If one person gets off-track, the whole boat could fall behind, and put their winning title at jeopardy. Lilly began dragon boating in January of 2023, and made the team in April. After many summer training camps, Lilly and her team went on to compete in Thailand the week of August 7-13, 2023. She traveled with her dad, who cheered her on during every race as she represented the USA on the water. Throughout the week, Lilly earned five gold medals and three silver medals. Team USA also came home with the title of 16th in the IDBF World Dragon Boat Championships.
