SJA News — May 17, 2023

SJA News - May 17, 2023

ANNOUNCEMENTS

SJA Theatre to Perform Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat

The stage is set. The backstage crew and the light techs have refined their cues and timing. The actors have memorized their lines and dances, and the band has rehearsed their songs to perfection. The costumes are, in a word, Amazing! As SJA theater director Ray Walker, Class of 1981, looks on from his seat in the house, the scenes unfold before him, as they did on Broadway when he first encountered Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat as the understudy for the lead role on Broadway in 1994.

Film Slam Award Winners

Ninth-graders (l-r) Wes Barlow, August Simakaski, and Will Barlow took first place this weekend in SOCAPA's Film Slam at Catamount Arts. Their award-winning film can be viewed here.

National Merit Scholarship Participants

Juniors Greer Kennedy (left) and Brooke White have been recognized for placing among the 50,000 highest-scoring participants on the 2022 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test. That number will be narrowed down to 16,000 semifinalists in the fall. An estimated 1.3 million students took the test last year.

MathCon Finalists

Sophomores Yusheng Yan (left) and Suyeon Kim traveled to Chicago last weekend to compete in the MathCon Finals. The event is a national grade-level math competition for 5th graders up to 12th graders. Both Yusheng and Suyeon finished in the top 6% of all 10th graders in the semifinals to earn their trip to Chicago.

SkillsUSA Recognition

SkillsUSA medal winners were recognized in Chapel last week for their success on the state level (l-r): Isabella Mazza '25 (Gold, Restaurant Service), Emily Greer '24 (Gold, Baking and Pastry Arts), Alyana Mass '25 (Silver, Team Works), Logan Burgess '23 (Gold, Cabinetmaking), Jack Lawson '23 (Silver, Welding Fabrication), Brody Gordon '23 (Silver, Welding Fabrication), Henry Roy (Silver, Welding Fabrication), Brody Olden '23 (Gold, Team Works) Vermont SkillsUSA President Aidan Kimball '23, Corbin Bedell '23 (Gold, Team Works), James Minot '24 (Silver, Team Works), Joe Scott '23 (Silver, Team Works), Connor Turner '23 (Gold, Team Works), Garett Demers '23 (Gold, Team Works), James Lunnie '23 (Silver, Cabinetmaking), Dominic Warren '24 (Silver, Team Works). The gold medalists will travel to Atlanta, Georgia in June for the national competition.

Playwrights Earn Distinction

Senior Norah Blankenship (center) earned first-place honors for her original one-act play, “Moving Day.” The play will be performed by professional actors in a public performance today at the Young Vermont Playwrights’ Festival at the Flynn Center in Burlington. “Aquiban Legend” by Jupiter McGregor '23 (left) earned second-place honors and will receive a cold reading by professional actors during the festival. Junior Hayden Stephenson’s play “Shirt Colors and Mini-Golf” received an honorable mention.

Math Recognition

Senior Nico Sipples was recognized in Chapel by Dr. Howell and presented with certificates for the Best in School Award and a Certificate of Merit for his efforts in the Sixty-Sixth Annual Vermont High School Prize in Mathematics competition presented by the University of Vermont's Department of Mathematics and Statistics.

All-State Music Attendees

Joining Mr. Rowe before heading to the All-State Music Festical in St. Albans are Liam Markey '23, Donley Johnson '26, Mary Fowler '23, Sophia Montague '26, Siri Joliffe '24, Nico Sipples '23, Aden Marcotte '23, Krane Davis '23, Maaike Dam '24, and Aniela Thompson '23. Also attending but not present for the photo was Greer Kennedy '24.

Language Proficiency Honored

The school's Language Department presented ten students with the Seal of Biliteracy this week. Front row: Mrs. Reed, Languages Department Chair, McKenna Crance '24, Esme Kimber '24, Selin Kilic '24, Maren Giese '23, Ms. Woods, Liam Markey '23. Back row: Mr. Callanan, Tyler Holm '23, Alejandro Orozco Kuri '23, Hannah MacDonald '23, Aniela Thompson '23. Missing from the photo is Maya Torres '23.

In Vermont, the seal is awarded by the Vermont Foreign Language Association under the authorization of the Vermont Agency of Education. The award recognizes students who will graduate from high school with an intermediate-high level of proficiency in at least two languages.

The students receiving this award pursued the study of a second or third language beyond the level of most high school students and proved their level of proficiency on a challenging national exam.

Registration is now open for Moving Minds and Muscles Middle School Summer Camp!

Campers will play, learn, and exercise as they explore local and regional communities by engaging in authentic place-based learning activities. Featuring field trips to local organizations, state parks, and outdoor recreational activity centers, campers are challenged to expand their mind, confidence, and physical abilities.

Moving Minds and Muscles is open to students entering grades six through eight in the fall. Camp operates Monday-Thursday. Drop-off starts at 8:00 a.m., and campers must be picked up by 4:00 p.m. Registration is a la carte, register for the weeks that work in your family’s summer schedule. Additional information can be found here.

Week 1, June 26-29: Park It! Vermont Edition

Week 2, July 10-13: Going Green

Week 3, July 17-20: Around the World in Four Days

Week 4, July 24-27: Park It! New Hampshire Edition

Contact Ilene Dickinson at idickinson@stjacademy.org with any questions.