CONFIDENCE
“Getting up in front of a large group of people is scary, obviously. Students who are involved in performing arts come to class everyday and they practice their craft. It’s the practice that they do every day that helps them gain confidence, so that when they go onstage they won’t crash and burn. They have the confidence and ability to go out there and nail their performance, regardless of whether people are staring at them from a crowd or not. We work hard in the performance arts to showcase our work, and the more they do it, the better they get. What the arts provide is a sense of confidence in yourself and your ability to create fantastic work.” -Choir director Brad Wright

CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM
“Constructive criticism and the ability to turn that criticism into correction is one of the huge tenants of arts, especially making failure your friend. We find that the sooner you fail, the quicker you can find your areas of weakness and grow from their failures. That is the kind of mindset students need to be successful. They have to understand that success grows out of failure. However, in other disciplines, people fear failure. Some people never fail at anything in their teenage years. They’re successful all throughout high school, and then they go to college and the entire world comes flying toward them at once. They freak out and they have absolutely no idea how to deal with failing for the first time. However, students who have been in an art class, a performing arts class especially, know how to take their failures and learn and grow from them. Arts courses gives students the ability to generate success from previous failures.” -Music director Andrew Perkins

INGENUITY
“Arts allow students to create something from nothing. To make something that is totally their own. For example, in drawing or painting, students start off with a blank canvas or a blank piece of paper and through the use of sketching and coloring, they create something wonderful and unique. Art, unlike most other courses offered in school, allows students to experiment with their creativity and ingenuity. Although there are classic techniques used in art, it is the ability of students to use these techniques to create something new and exciting that drives the creative process and the ability to make art that has never been seen before.” -Art teacher Kristen McDowell

ACCOUNTABILITY
“Students who produce work in print, photo or video are by nature held more accountable for the finished product. This work is seen by large numbers of readers and viewers that extend beyond the school community. In addition to these high expectations, members of publication staffs have a self-imposed pressure to create quality on work in a timely manner. They know they must work with everyone else on the publication staffs to collectively meet a goal. What they do or do not do has a domino effect on the other links in the chain. Results of a 2016 survey conducted by the National Association of Colleges and Employers found that nearly 80 percent of the responding employers said they looked for candidates who have the ability to work in a team. Students in publication courses definitely meet this benchmark.”

-Publications adviser Pam Bunka