A Message from Head of School

pioneer NEWS BRIEFS Focused In Focused In CINEMA ARTS The Cinema Arts Focus Program students have been busy this year. Adriano Roy ‘22 and Gunnar Sizemore ‘23 wrote and directed a short film, “BLAKE,” which was awarded as the winner of the LA Channel 35 & Secret Movie Club Short Film Festival. The film was shot from script to screen in four days and was scored by Marc Mangabat ‘22. Cinematographer Shane Hurlbut and his wife Lydia Hurlbut, who also run an online film-making platform called Filmmakers Academy, donated $75,000 worth of film equipment to the program. In addition to the film equipment, the Cinema Arts lab has been equipped with brand new EVGA RTX FTW3 Ultra Graphic Cards. To wrap up the academic year, the program held a Cinema Arts Showcase on May 22 at AMC Burbank 16. It was a celebration of our Cinema Arts Focus Program student films as they were shared on the big screen. TECHNOLOGY The Technology Focus Program welcomed new TFP Director, Dr. Fatima Nicdao, this academic year. Dr. Nicdao has revamped the program by incorporating social justice and problem solving into the understanding of technology. The 9th grade Game Programming students learned about the fundamentals of JavaScript and coding. The 10th grade Robotics students were very active with the 3D Printers, Boss Laser, and X Carve. The 11th grade AP Computer Science Principles students prepared for their AP Exam and also worked on their Create Performance Task project. The 12th grade Marketing Foundations students earned their Google certificate for Digital Marketing. On April 25, Dr. Nicdao held a Learning Symposium where students from each grade level were able to showcase what they have learned throughout the year. Schuyler Henry ‘23 and Christofer Sanrow ‘23 designed a game called “Arden’s Signal”. This game was created on UNITY using C++ code. It is a “choose your adventure” decision based puzzle game that puts the player in control. MEDICAL

Even though the Medical Focus Program students have not been able to visit Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center, they have been very active in the classroom and community. Dr. Arjan Harjani incorporated Institute for Systems Biology teaching modules into his 12th grade level genetics curriculum. At the beginning of the year, the Medical Focus students represented Providence Health at the Mass for Healthcare Professionals at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels. In November, Madeline Fernandez ‘24, helped connect our Providence community to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation where she and 62 other Pioneers participated in a walk to raise awareness for JDRF. Sofia Estrada ‘25, became the first freshman to acquire a position at the Providence Tarzana Medical Center. Next year, Dr. Harjani hopes to connect the Medical Focus Program to the Nursing Program at St. Joseph’s. This will give students in the program direct experience in a hospital setting.

The Providence Performing Arts Department welcomed two new members to their team; Mr. Sebastian Johnson, Choreographer, and Ms. Annie Terry, Theatre Operations Specialist. In addition, Ms. Julianne Kusmierczyk was brought on as a fulltime performing arts faculty member. Mr. Johnson has helped choreograph multiple student performances in this year’s Broadway Revue and Choir Arts Finale. Ms. Terry took lead in forming the Blackout Brigade, a brand new club that is responsible for all of the technical aspects of productions, as well as setups for masses and other big events, such as Theme Night. Ms. Kusmierczyk has played an integral role in this year’s production season, directing As You Like, co-directing 1Take, and choreographing the sold-out production of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast. Performing Arts Department Chair & Choral Director, Ms. Marisa Bradfield, and Collaborative Pianist, Mr. Tracy Stroh, have led the Providence Singers, Providence’s advanced ensemble, to new heights. The Providence Singers competed in the Advanced Ensemble Classification at the Southern California Vocal Choral Association Festival where they received a perfect score. This past March, the Providence Singers were invited to perform at the Choirs of America, Top Nationals Convergence Concert held at Carnegie Hall. Not only did they perform with prestigious choral ensembles from around the country, but they also had the opportunity to have a spotlight performance on this worldfamous stage.

INDIVIDUAL HIGHLIGHTS:

Ava Tibbs ‘22 and Luke Simon ‘22 both had the honor of performing at the CAIS Honor Choir Festival. Sasha Camacho ‘23 made it to the Finalist Round of the Southern California Vocal Association 2022 Vocal Solo Competition. The Visual Arts department, led by Ms. Michelle Boucher, Ms. Joanie Fenstermaker, and Mr. Joshua Freeman, continuously strives to prepare students to become successful creative artists through an innovative and challenging curriculum. Every year, the Visual Arts department encourages students to showcase their work beyond the classroom. This year, 46 of our Providence artists were selected to exhibit their work at the Burbank Youth Art Expo at the Betsy Creative Arts Center. Five of our artists won awards; Olivia Sher ‘25 was awarded Best Ninth Grade Artist, Alexandra Spendlove ‘24 was awarded Best Tenth Grade Artist, Nicole Paja ‘23 was awarded Best Eleventh Grade Artist, Morea Manson ‘22 was awarded Best Twelfth Grade Artist, and Adriano Roy ‘22 was awarded Best Photography. Ryan Santia ‘23, Zoe Mandap ‘24, and Casey Michel ‘24 entered photos into the California Streaming Photo Contest and all three Providence photographers received Honorable Mention Awards.

Morea Manson ‘22

FUN FACT:

Alexandra Spendlove ‘24 is a published illustrator for the children’s book, How Much We Love You by Evie Jeang. Azucena Ortega’s ‘23 artwork, Reflection, was featured in the Mexican Consulate Exhibit that celebrated Latino Heritage.