Category: A&E

A&E, Announcements, Feature, News

Centennial Brightens Up Hallways with Inspire Murals [VIDEO]

Words: Maggie Ju/ Photos: Zach Grable/ Video: Julia Stitely

In the few days preceding spring break, clusters of New Forms art students could be seen painting colorful murals on the walls. Bearing inspiring messages, their work brightens the high-stress environment Centennial students are accustomed to.

The project had been scheduled to begin on March 22, but due to school cancellations, it was postponed until March 27.

For more breaking news and photos, follow The Wingspan on Instagram and Twitter @CHSWingspan.

A&E, Reviews

Centennial Theatre Department Takes the Stage With 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee

Words: Natalie Keane

During the weekend of March 23, the Centennial High School Theatre Department presented the 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee in Centennial’s auditorium.

The musical, packed with fast-paced wit and humor, follows six middle schoolers as they compete to become Putnam County’s next spelling bee champion. As they progress through each round, with each filled with words that sound suspiciously fake, they also come to address their own adolescent insecurities. While the mood of the show remains playful, some moments highlight more serious and heartfelt undertones of the students’ personal lives.

Speller Olive Ostrovsky wants nothing more than validation from her parents, who are too busy to attend the competition to watch her perform. Leaf Coneybear, clad in a bright red cape, is plagued with self-doubt. Despite the constant mockery he hears from his own family, he manages to develop some much-needed self confidence throughout the play.

Logainne Schwartzandgrubenierre has two overbearing moms, who are likely more invested in her own victory in the competition than she is. William Barfee is burdened with a chronic sinus condition and a last name that often provokes mispronunciation. Marcy Park describes the struggles of being simply too good at everything, and Chip Tolentino, a boy scout and last year’s spelling bee champion, is forced to come to terms with his own eventual failure in this year’s bee.

To the surprise of many, the show included audience participation. Four members from the audience were invited to be “guest spellers” in the bee, and did their best to spell through the competition on stage alongside the actors and actresses, contributing even more to the humor of the show. Audience participation highlights the uniqueness of the production, because no two performances can be exactly the same.

The true relatability of every character makes the show all the more wonderful to watch. It becomes easy to cheer on the six misfits as they navigate their way through the competition and their own personal struggles.

Altogether, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee,  featuring drastically different characters who light up the stage, truly highlights what makes each of us one of a kind. It teaches a much-needed lesson that little victories, even if not intended to be found, can sometimes be worth more than the ones for which we’re really looking.

For more breaking news and photos, follow The Wingspan on Instagram and Twitter @CHSWingspan.

A&E, The Lighter Side

New Forms Art Students Create Inspiring Murals

Words: Maggie Ju

Nineteen students in the New Forms art class will be participating in the Inspire Mural Project, scheduled for Thursday, March 22, but is postponed due to inclement weather closings.

Instructed by art teacher Mark Hanssen, these upperclassmen are creating murals based on Centennial’s values to display uplifting messages to students.

“Mr. Hanssen inspired us to reach within ourselves and create something beautiful while being meaningful,” senior Isabel Trojillo explained. She and other students are working on a design by senior Sophie Lovering, which features the words “Be Kind” in sign language.

“The most important aspect to me is allowing students to see the process so that they can fully appreciate the effort and the values we are reminded of on a daily basis,” Trojillo said, “I cannot wait for our murals to be finished!”

For more breaking news and photos, follow The Wingspan on Instagram and Twitter @CHSWingspan.

A&E, Entertainment, News

Blockbuster Black Panther Crushes Box Office Records

Words: Julia Stitely and Lien Hoang

        Before Avengers: Infinity War and Ant-Man and the Wasp, Black Panther is one of the Marvel movies premiering this year. Already gaining praise from its stunning visuals and the wonderful energy, Black Panther is already top of the box office. The movie showcases a rare representation for African Americans in the entertainment business with the majority of its cast being black.      

        Black Panther is easy to follow due to it being an origin story. With his introduction in Captain America: Civil War, we barely knew anything about the Panther himself, T’Challa, and where he came from. The story of Black Panther is set in the technologically advanced nation of Wakanda. In this hidden society, the future king, T’Challa, faces several challenges including a rising competitor for the throne. The strength backing up the community derives from an extraordinary metal called Vibranium, the material of Captain America’s shield.

        Now, what really makes Black Panther is the African-American cast and production team. The team includes director of Creed, Ryan Coogler, head of the beautiful costume design, Ruth E. Carter, and many others. Chadwick Boseman returns as T’Challa, giving him more background and passion. Although the villain usually acts as an evil character for the hero to defeat, the audience can sympathize with Killmonger, played by Michael B. Jordan, and the reasons behind his actions. The idea behind his cause is sensible, but his way of carrying out his plans is questionable. The new additions of Letitia Wright as his sister, Shuri, Lupita Nyong’o as the caring Nakia, and Okoye, played by Danai Gurira, are fresh displays of female empowerment. It is seen through amazing fight scenes and women holding high positions of power. In fact, the king’s right hand man, in this case woman, is the head general Okoye.

        Ryan Coogler’s Black Panther is a force to be reckoned with. The different outfits the people wear are so colorful and great to look at. In addition to that, the landscape is beautiful to view in the background. Black Panther depicts unimaginable technology and it stands out from other movies, hopefully inspiring many others to come.

For more breaking news and photos, follow The Wingspan on Instagram and Twitter @CHSWingspan.

A&E

Lady Bird Flies

Words: Julia Stitely

When Greta Gerwig’s Lady Bird was released last year, it captured the hearts of many. For a while, it was the best reviewed movie on Rotten Tomatoes ever. Why the positive feedback?

Lady Bird’s uniqueness comes from the essence of the real life in it. Young and old relate to the film’s characters and story, which makes it unique with other Best Motion Picture contenders. Even if the story focuses on a young female with the name of Lady Bird, growing up in the year of 2002, it makes many see themselves in the character.

Lady Bird, portrayed well by Saoirse Ronan, is going through the same issues many teens are going through today. She deals with college, friends, family, first love, and her acceptance in the world. These issues also remind many adults of what they dealt with during their teenage adolescence.

The mother character, played beautifully by Laurie Metcalf, also can relate to the parents and relate with the challenges of being an adult, including the challenges of finance and parenting.

Teen movies have been around since their popularity sprouted with John Hughes’s movies back in the 1980’s. What makes this film so special above the rest? With teen films, all they focus on is on the teens. They just focus on high school and focus on being young. Lady Bird focuses not just on her, but also how she may feel about adult problems. It isn’t a love story between her and a boy; it is a love story between a mother and daughter.

Teenagers and adults can relate to Lady Bird because it tells the meaningful and true story of life and growing up. With brilliant performances by the entire cast and dialogue that is both real and sobering, the movie stands on its own.

You can see Lady Bird at AMC, but if you’re under the age of 18, you will have to see it with an adult due to its R Rating.

For more breaking news and photos, follow The Wingspan on Instagram and Twitter @CHSWingspan.

A&E, News

Centennial Jazz Band’s Spectacular Eagle Time Performance

Words: Natalie Knight Griffin

Photos: Sarah Kruhm

On Wednesday, February 21, Centennial’s Jazz Band gave a superb and exciting performance in the auditorium during Eagle Time. Free tickets were distributed to students that were interested in attending.

The concert consisted of three pieces titled “Just Plain Meyer,” “Sophisticated Lady,” and “Granada Smoothie.” Solos were performed by several students, each one standing up before the crowd and playing an individual, challenging run of notes.

Soloists during the first and second pieces included: Colin Eng playing the tenor saxophone, Swadhin Nalubola on the alto saxophone, Rainer Hlibok on bass trombone, Henry Bar-O on trombone, and Sean Li on alto saxophone. Colin Homassel, playing the flugelhorn, and Jack Keane on the trombone paired up for an unaccompanied performance during the third piece.

The band played the music from their recent Berklee Jazz Festival national competition, in which the group won fourth place. The impressive placement against hundreds of schools from around the country was no surprise when listening to the passionate and immaculate performances from students. In preparation for the competition, jazz students have been attending daily before school rehearsals since the beginning of the school year.

Although this was the group’s only Eagle Time performance, they encourage students to attend their future events.

 


For more breaking news and photos, follow The Wingspan on Instagram and Twitter @CHSWingspan.

A&E

Who Will Win?

Words: Julia Stitely

An Oscar is one of the most prestigious awards someone in the film industry can earn. Every February, creators from all around celebrate the movies of the year that spark interest. 2017 was an astounding year in film which makes the competition more heated.

What most viewers focus on is the Best Picture award. Fifteen movies are in the running for the main prize. World War II dramas Dunkirk and The Darkest Hour are two nominated. Movies with female main characters like Lady Bird, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, and Shape of Water are up against others like Call Me by Your Name, Get Out, Phantom Thread and The Post.

This Oscar season is also groundbreaking in the director category. It is only the fifth time a woman (Greta Gerwig, Lady Bird) and an African American (Jordan Peele, Get Out) have been nominated for Best Director.

Unlike last year, which had obvious spotlight films like Moonlight and La La Land, the winner this year seems blurry. The Academy could go with the creative storytelling of Get Out, the performances of Three Billboards, the action of Dunkirk, or the passion of The Post.

But Sophomore Kruthi Mattupalli already has an idea for the winner. She has “high hopes” that Lady Bird will win the gold for Best Picture. “I’ve heard good things about the movie. It even won two Golden Globes for Best Motion Picture and Best Actress.”

It may be too early in the race to ultimately know who will win. What we know now is that all of these films are amazing enough to be nominated and marks a year of change in the film industry.

The opinions stated in this article do not necessarily reflect the views and beliefs of the Wingspan staff as a whole.

For more breaking news and photos, follow The Wingspan on Instagram and Twitter @CHSWingspan.