San Francisco High School of the Arts Community Newsletter | March 10, 2023
FROM THE ADMINISTRATION
Important Dates Mar 14 Q3 Music and Musical Theatre Open Rehearsal Mar 15 Q3 Music and Musical Theatre Showcase
Remarks from our Head of School
Greetings everyone!
Many of our high school students are excited as they will embark on their first trip to Taiwan next week! It is an arts and cultural exchange with Niao Song, an arts middle and high school in Taiwan. This trip marks the beginning of a long journey that we will embark on together, bringing traditional arts and universal values to the world. I cannot wait to see the endless possibilities that will come out of our joint efforts to promote creativity and cultural understanding.
– Dr. Sherry Zhang Head of School San Francisco High School of the Arts
Our middle and high school dance conservatory students had another successful weekend at Starbound Talent Competition in Dublin, CA with 5 out of 5 entries receiving Elite Gold, three 1st Place Overalls, and three Judges’ Awards!
In addition, several of our students have committed to Nationals for KAR and Starbound competitions in the summer.
Full-time middle and high school dance conservatory students received Elite Gold, 1st Place Overall in division, a “Precision” Judges’ Award, and Best Costume for their group dance, “Calligraphy.”
Andy Ispas and Abigail Wong received Elite Gold, 1st Place Overall in division, and a “Dynamic Duo” Judges’ Award for their duet, “Chasing Light.”
Andy Ispas received Elite Gold, 4th Place Overall in the age 11-12 division, and a “Powerhouse” Judges’ Award for his solo, “Courage.”
John Wu and Daphne Ng received Elite Gold and Top Winner in their division for their duet, “Sounds of Snowfall.”
Full-time high school dance conservatory students received Elite Gold for their group dance, “Butterflies.”
More news and pictures of our Young Artists dancers at Starbound below!
ACADEMICS
Featured Academic News of the Week
Ms. Yoyo Zhang, Chinese Teacher
This week in our middle school Chinese Level II class, besides regular learning and reviewing, the students also watch an episode of the 3D cartoon show called Heaven Kid. Based on Confucianism theory, each episode tells a story to teach the students how to be a good kid. After watching the video, the students shared what they had learned from it, such as helping others when possible, encouraging and being happy for others’ progress, being nicer, not disturbing others when they are not feeling well, and working harder. Each student also shared what they wanted to improve on in the future, such as being less angry, helping others more, being nicer, avoiding jealousy, and working harder.
ARTS
Featured Arts News of the Week
Ms. Millie Hankinson, Fine Arts Teacher
The high schoolers in the visual arts program continue to expand their visual vocabulary while developing their core technical skills. Right now, they are putting the finishing touches on their third cast study this year and have learned to more capably measure proportions, render form, and interpret and simplify shapes. After their current drawings are completed, they will progress to quick sketches from life — both in the classroom and outdoors — in preparation for a multi-session portrait from a live model later this semester.
ADMISSIONS
Admissions News
HSArts will continue to provide private campus tours over the next several weeks giving all interested students and their families the opportunity to further explore our programs and offerings. Please RSVP here to schedule your tour. MSSONS
YOUNG ARTISTS
Young Artists News of the Week
Still Ms. Ginnie, with more to report!
Our young artists lit up the stage this weekend at Starbound Talent Competition in Dublin, CA! We took home five Elite Golds, three 1st Place Overalls, and two Judges’ Awards! In addition, all of our students qualified for Starbound Nationals in Tahoe, NV in July.
Abigail Wong (10) received Elite Gold, 1st Place Overall in age 9-10 division, and 1st in the Folkloric Dance category for her solo, “Ode to Lotus.” She was also one of two dancers at the awards ceremony to receive a Golden Ticket, which allows her to take part in the opening number at Starbound Nationals in Tahoe, NV!
Abbie Tanabe (13) and Kylie Tang (12) received Elite Gold and 1st Place Overall in the preteen division for their duet, “Together We Stand.”
Isabelle Tseng (9) received Elite Gold, 2nd Place Overall in age 9-10 division, and an “Engaging Performance” Judges’ Award for her solo, “Paper Route.” Kylie Tang (12) received Elite Gold, and 6th Place Overall in the age 11-12 division for her solo, “Remembrance.”
Madeleine Chan (9) received High Gold and 4th Place Overall in the age 9-10 division for her solo, “Teahouse Waiter.” Emilie Fu (13) received High Gold for her solo, “Dancing in the Rain.”
STUDENT LIFE
Spring Q3 Music and Musical Theatre ShowcasePlease join us on Wednesday, March 15th at 6 PM in Studio 2 for a night of vocal performances (featuring several solos and a group performance of Firework), musical selections from our instrumentalists, and a showing of All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten. Tickets are free, though there will be a goodwill offering basket at the door for anyone who is interested in donating to the Musical Theatre program. All funds raised will go towards our final performance of the 2022-23 school year, which will be announced very soon 🙂 Please RSVP using this link so that we have an accurate estimate of our audience and can prepare accordingly. We hope to see you all on March 15th!
Pi Day Celebrations: Monday 3/13What do you know about pi? Do you know that it is an irrational number, which means that the number never ever ever stops? Do you know that it is the ratio of the length around a circle to the length through a circle? Do you know that its applications are vast and robust: helping us to even estimate the volume of our entire universe? Well, whether you do or don’t, you are invited to celebrate one of the most exciting holidays with us this Monday! Our students will be competing in a school-wide endeavor to recite as many digits, in decreasing size order, of pi as possible. In case that is not exciting enough, we have sweetened the deal! The winner will be treated to boba, and anyone who can correctly list more than 31 digits of pi will receive 10 points of extra credit towards their next math test! Please encourage your child to set a goal of how many numbers they would like to memorize, and work on this endeavor this weekend. Some of our students are off to a head start and can already rattle off 50 digits! We are looking forward to sharing this giddiness around math on Monday, while feasting on pie, and celebrating our hard work.
Thank you! -Mrs. Leddy
UPCOMING EVENTS
Coming soon!
Mar 14
Quarter 3 Showcase Open Rehearsal
Mar 15
Quarter 3 Music and Musical Theatre Showcase
Mar 17-April 1
Taiwan Trip
Mar 22-24
Parent Teacher Conferences
Mar 27-31
Spring Break
May 19
Headliners Dance Competition
Communication is essential and we strive to connect with our students, parents, and families throughout the school year. We will continue reaching out to you with this weekly newsletter. We also encourage you to visit our website and follow our social pages including Facebook and Instagram for announcements, information, and celebrations.
3-10-2023
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