June 5, 2008

Performing Art

Academics take center stage at Castillero

By Shana McLean Moore
Staff Writer

For a school best known for its performing arts program, Castillero Middle School proved there’s plenty of room for academics to share center stage at their 12th annual Academic Expedition day last Wednesday.

Castillero sixth graders show off the projects that awarded them Academic Expedition honors on May 28. From left (top): Sarah Chung, Kelsey Anderson, Holly Geranan (bottom): Ina Miskic and Dakota Calvert. Photo by Purveen Canteenwala

The event was underwritten and organized by members of Castillero’s Education Foundation, with the assistance of teachers, administrators and volunteers from the PTA. They all worked toward the goal of showcasing the bright and creative minds of Castillero students while also acknowledging the visiting guests who donated their time and talent.

To be selected for Academic Expedition, students must be nominated by a teacher for an assignment that goes above and beyond the teacher’s expectations. Then, the top 300, or the top quarter of the school population, is selected by the academic departments to present their award-winning project to a panel of community experts, as well as a classroom of their peers. After each presentation, the guest experts ask questions and provide feedback to the presenters, followed by questions and commentary from the student audience.

This year, the projects ranged from graphing complicated math problems to entertaining instructional videos about how to “ollie” on a skateboard; and from replicating the painted face of a Pharaoh on a mannequin to an assignment in which the students created a 4-inch by 4-inch paper tile representing a quote from literature visually.

Eighth grader Walter Zarnowitz amazed the expert panel with his simple creation of one literature tile made of construction paper that captured an evocative image of the “Diary of Anne Frank.” By creating a small silhouette of a girl is soft colors in the foreground and a bold display of red and black large figures behind her that represented the frightening images of the Nazis, Zarnowitz managed to capture not only the essence of a quote, but the essence of an entire book on a small square of paper with faceless figures.

Allison Hillsbery provided another example of using creative thought to demonstrate the understanding of literature. The seventh grader created a scrapbook around the story of “A Proud Taste for Scarlet and Miniver.” Through journal entries, simulated correspondence between the main characters and pictures, Hillsbery demonstrated a thorough understanding of the book and of a period of time in world history. Hillsbery was nervous in presenting to the experts, but was relieved to discover that their feedback was “flattering and unique to every presentation.”

Eric Noordam, a Castillero eighth grader, presented a math poster about finding the area of a regular polygon. He believes he was singled out for an award because he was one of just a few students who did all the work on the computer and displayed it professionally on poster board. Noordam said he enjoyed presenting to the adult visitors because: “They were experts in important fields like nuclear energy and they gave good feedback.”

Sixth grader Jeanine Noordam presented three art projects. The piece that received the most attention from the experts was a pencil drawing of her own hand, demonstrating her knowledge of shading, highlights and shadow. “The experts said my hand looked really realistic,” said Noordam. “It made me feel really proud because people who went to art school and [now] work as professional painters complimented my work.”

Based on the responses from the administrators, teachers, parents and students involved with the event, the day was a resounding success. Event chair Judi Armacost, a veteran coordinator of Academic Expedition, enjoys being involved with the program. “It's exciting for the students to be recognized for their outstanding work by professionals in the community and, in turn, it gives the community a special opportunity to see the wonderful things that are happening at Castillero,” she said.