Tag: Minnie Gregorini

A&E

Centennial’s Hello Dolly!

Words: Zach Grossman

Centennial’s production of Hello Dolly! began on Thursday, March 23, and continued until Sunday, March 26.

In this year’s play, many returning faces were seen on stage, as well as many new actors and actresses. Hello Dolly! is about a matchmaker named Dolly Levi, played by senior Minnie Gregorini, who enjoys meddling in other people’s lives, which results in three couples being matched together. Among the three couples matched was Dolly herself. Some of the other characters were Ambrose, Horace, Emergrade, Corenelius, Barnaby, and Minnie Day were played by seniors Jun Lee, Jack Goodman, Mevie Henderson, Miguel Fernandez, sophomore Noah Katz, and junior Carolina Requejo, respectively. Irene was played by senior Emily Erle on the Thursday and Saturday performances and senior Ally Wilson on the Friday and Sunday performances.

As always, the theatre department put on a spectacular and entertaining performance every night.

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

News

Chinese Students Visit Centennial

Words: Minnie Gregorini

On February 2, 16 Students from Beijing #2 High School entered Centennial to experience the different culture.

Many of them had expectations and desires for the things they would do while in the United States such as seeing basketball games, going laser tagging, visiting specific colleges, eating a giant pizza, and playing football. The students hope to be able to take part in most of these activities as they travel to Orlando, Boston, and New York after their stay in Maryland.

A few students had been to the U.S. when they were younger, and expressed how different it seemed then from how it is now. The students also pointed out the biggest differences between their lives in Beijing and what they’ve seen from people their age in America.

Jiang Xue Ying said that the biggest difference to her is communication, “People [in America] are more open to communication than they are in China. They aren’t afraid to work together.” Another student, who goes by the English name Ted, said, “I liked seeing what the lives of American teenagers, who are the same age as us, are like.”

Next year, Centennial will be sending a group of students to Beijing for part of the Memorandum of Understanding.

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

Feature

Puerto Rican Band Visits Centennial

Words: Minnie Gregorini

Photos: Sabrina Han

On Monday, November 14, Los Pleneros de la 21, a musical group from New York, visited Centennial.

The group travels to different cities, promoting Puerto Rican culture and presenting the history of the nation’s music that includes influences from other musical cultures. They performed during first period in the cafeteria and many of Centennial’s Spanish classes attended.

Junior Francis Kim said, “I found it interesting how the drummers used the rhythm of the dancer to make the beats.”

Senior David Uribe said, “I learned that even if I’m not familiar with a culture’s traditions, I can still participate in them and have fun!”

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

Feature

Beijing Students Visit Centennial

Words: Minnie Gregorini

On Friday, September 30, around 60 students from Beijing High School #101 visited Centennial from 9-11:30 in the morning.

The students were a part of an orchestra program and came to observe the workings of our own orchestra class. The 60 students went to third period classes with many of our Eagle Ambassadors, and were amazed at some of the differences between our school and theirs. Some of the students from Beijing wanted to see a gym class more than anything else.

“All we do everyday in PE is run in circles,” said freshman Li Zhong Ming. “It isn’t fun. I imagine American PE classes having more fun.”

Other students, such as Sui Yi Yuan and Zheng Zhao Yi, stated that what they wanted to do most was eat local food. When asked what they thought local food was, Sui responded, “Hamburgers. I see Americans eating a lot of hamburgers.”

Overall, when asked about their time in America so far, there seemed to be a consensus of joy at being given the opportunity to come here and experience the way we live as Americans and as Centennial High School students.

Photos Provided by The Wingspan Staff
Photos Provided by The Wingspan Staff

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

A&E

The Drowsy Chaperone

Words: Diana Cagas

This weekend was a big moment for Centennial’s theatre program. On March 17-20, the school’s auditorium was illuminated with colorful beams of light and the stage was decorated with amazing set designs as the theatre department performed The Drowsy Chaperone.

Centennial theatre does an excellent job when it comes to engaging an audience with its best quality of work, especially when the cast and crew put in an endless amount of effort to rehearsals.

Not only did the show include live music from some of Centennial’s best musicians, but the musical also featured jaw-dropping choreography.

In the third musical number titled “Cold Feets”, Robert Martin, the male lead played by sophomore Steven Mitchell, sang about having the jitters on his wedding night. Moments later, Mitchell was joined onstage by senior Eddy Choe, who played George, Robert’s best man. Both actors sang and tap danced, but that was not the best part. What seemed to impress the audience was when both Mitchell and Choe started on the left side of the stage and took turns carrying each other in flips until they ended up on the other side. After this moment happened, the auditorium was filled with parents and children saying “Wow!”

It is always a great thing to see the actors having a grand time on stage. Throughout the show, the audience was in awe at how amazing the roles fit each actor.

The Drowsy Chaperone could not have portrayed itself as “a pu-pu platter of tunes” if it weren’t for senior Kevin Costello and junior Jack Goodman’s pastry puns, senior Grace Nardei’s hysterical spit-takes on freshman Colton Smith, junior Minnie Gregorini and sophomore Sydney Grossman’s vexing yet hilarious role as Kitty, junior Maddie Caldis’ fitting personality for playing the drowsy chaperone, sophomore Ethan Kinstler and senior Nina Parekh’s outstanding narration as the Man in Chair, the 50+ background singers as the staff and guests of the wedding, the pit band, the background producers, and of course Kathryn Carlsen, the show’s director.

The musical also featured some first time leads, including Mitchell playing the fiancé of senior Stephanie Crispell’s character, Janet Van De Graaff, and junior Jun Lee portraying his role as Feldzieg.

The show had a total of four productions, and a long-lasting applause was held at opening night on Thursday, March 17. It truly was a wonderful performance by all who contributed in Centennial’s spring musical.

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

Feature

Two Separate Languages, One Common Heart

Words: Minnie Gregorini

Photos: Izzie Chausse, Shalini Malhotra, and Minnie Gregorini

On Feb. 9, 16 Chinese students walked through the door to Centennial High School and set foot into a whole new world rich with very unique cultures.

25 students from Tianjin 25th Middle School came to America with one common goal: to experience the culture of American life. Of those 25 students, 16 came to CHS, while the other nine were sent to River Hill. CHS and River Hill welcomed these 25 students as a part of a Memorandum of Understanding that was signed by the Howard County Public School System and Tianjin 25th Middle School.

Those 25 weren’t just randomly picked. All the students in Tianjin 25th Middle School, whose first years are equivalent to an American sophomore, were given two tests. Once the results came out, the 25 students that scored the highest were given the opportunity to travel to America (in Chinese, America is pronounced Měiguó) and learn in American schools for three days. Because the test was administered to evaluate a broad range of subjects, many of the top students may excel at math or science but may not be as strong in English. It was a common struggle for the 16 students, and even harder if the CHS students they were shadowing didn’t speak fluent Chinese.

One student, Wang Xin Yu, said the hardest thing for him was “speaking. It was hard to communicate. But, I have learned more English already.”

Another boy, Li Rui, said that it was difficult ordering lunch. “The hardest thing was telling [the lunch ladies] what I wanted to eat. I couldn’t understand them. They couldn’t understand me.”

Many of the students especially liked the American school system. One of the students, Li Shang, said that she liked the dynamic between teachers and students. “The teachers and students are a lot closer in America than in China… It’s really nice.” First year, Li Hao (also known as Jack) echoed that observation.

Most of the students had many of the same feelings towards the common cultural practices here, though each of them seemed to have his or her own favorite part of America. One student, Li Xiao Zheng, stated that his favorite thing was the American people. “They’re really nice here,” he said.

“Computer Science. I really like Computer Science,” said student Liu Ming Yang.

“I really like the cafeteria,” said Gao Jin Sheng. “The food here is good!”

The CHS students being shadowed also got to experience a lot culturally. “I was really nervous at first because I was sure I would embarrass myself with my Chinese,” said junior Tess Hawkins. “But we ended up getting along really well,” she said about her and her shadow, Li Hao.

Brian Reed said, “It was nice showing [Jun Ran] around the school. It was fun learning more Chinese from him and I realized that the things that we take for granted sometimes they don’t have. So it’s really been interesting.”

There were also many students from CHS whose families were hosting a few of the students. Teresa Whittemore, Ryan Sorak, and Abby Pavuk were some of those students.

“I really like sharing a house with the girls I’m hosting. It’s funny, because I didn’t think I would be spending much time with them at all, but I’m spending a lot more time with them than I thought I’d be. I really like my shadow too,” Abby said.

She continued with, “I’d always wanted to be a host to an exchange student so when my mom got an email and asked if we wanted to host, I immediately said yes.”

All in all, this program has turned out to be a success for both CHS and Tianjin 25th Middle School. Hopefully, in the future, Centennial will be able to participate in more programs like it.

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