Theater

PAIGE WAGNER, Reporter

The Kaneland High School Fine Arts department is in full swing this fall. Students can sign up for Theater Appreciation class and Acting Workshop class, join the after school club This Is No Act or audition for an actual production.

This fall’s play is a new comedy called You Can’t Take it with You. It is about an eccentric family who live New York in the 1930s. The “normal” member of the family falls in love and her fiancée comes with his normal and uptight family to her family’s house for dinner on the wrong night. Many things go terribly wrong and the girl must try and fix everything.

Director April Rames oversees the production with 21 performers and crew. The crew does set painting and design, lighting, costumes and props. They work backstage on headsets helping actors, making sure things run smoothly and tell the stage manager if problems arise.

Rames said that she really likes it and it is one of her favorites.

“It will be a great production,” Rames said.

Set design manager and English 10 teacher Christina Montalto works along side the students.

“It’s a really funny play and it’s supposed to be a comedy. The students are really good at what they do,”

Montalto works on set painting and construction with the students while they practice.

“Students should take the classes because it is a lot of fun and if they are concerned about public speaking or speaking in front of a crowd it can help with that,” Rames said.

 Next semester Rames teaches Acting Workshop and Theater Appreciation. The theater classes teach students how to work in a group, think creatively, help with English by analyzing what you say and how you bring it to life.

“The classes can also help students for life with English in writing and analyzing, public speaking skills, teamwork, collaboration and make you a well-rounded individual and appreciate culture,” Rames said.

You Can’t Take it with You will be showing at Kaneland High School Nov. 16 through 18 in the auditorium.

Speech

CAITLYN STRASSER, Reporter

Speech Club gives students the opportunity to practice and perfect public speaking by allowing them to speak in front of a large audience.  Meetings take place after school on Wednesdays in room A205B.

 “[The club] is a competitive speaking organization, focused on drama, public speaking and personal speeches,” adviser James Horne said.

Each student writes his or her own speech.  During the club meetings, they practice their speeches for the competitions.

Curricular changes accompanying the schedule change have negatively affected Speech Club by making new members harder to find.

“Speech class is now a junior and senior class.  It has made it more difficult to recruit new members,” Horne said.

Now that Speech Club is a junior and senior class, few sophomores and freshmen will want to join.  Even if a junior were to join, they would only be able to be in Speech Club for two years.  There are only two members in Speech club currently, so new members are definitely hard to find.

Speech class is very similar to Speech Club.  The class isn’t required to join the club, however, it can help students become better prepared.  Speech class has a similar aspect of teaching students how to give public speeches. If students find that while in speech class they have a knack for public speaking, they may consider joining Speech Club.

“Basically, [the club] is about giving speeches, going to tournaments and rehearsing,” junior Christine Crews said.

Crews is one of the two members in Speech Club.  She practices her speeches and preps them for competitions.

“At practices we preform our speeches to the team and critique each other and give advice to help each other,” senior Jessica Smith said.

Smith is the captain of Speech Club.  She is one of the two members who practice speeches and compete.

Most students will have to make a speech at one point in their lives, and Speech Club can help them perfect speech giving.  It can also help them loose stage fright.  By competing and giving your speech in front of many people, it can teach students to speak with confidence.

New members are always welcome to join.  Students who enjoy competition and aren’t afraid to speak in public may enjoy the club.  It can also help cure a student’s fear of speaking in public.

Spanish Club

KATELYN LONG, Reporter

From salsa dancing to salsa making, from practicing Spanish skills to devouring Spanish delicacies, Spanish Club is packed with a variety of activities.

“Every meeting will be something different,” first year sponsor and Spanish teacher Jason Lim said.

Spanish club meets every two weeks on Wednesdays from three to six p.m, in room A215.  There is a $60 yearly fee.  Students who take Spanish are usually the only students who can join, but friends who want to learn the culture can also join.

“All the stuff we do is actually really fun and it is all Spanish related,” freshman Paige Hammond said.

Spanish Club, like other clubs, lets students hang out with upperclassman and also people who like Spanish.

“We only scratch the culture on the surface during class, and (Spanish club) further enhances the culture,” Lim said.

Spanish class teaches the language and some cultural elements.  Spanish club goes further into the culture and enhances activities that native Spanish people do.

“(In this club), you do a whole bunch of things you wouldn’t normally do,” freshman Allie Heinzer said.

Last year, the club went to a museum, restaurant and learned how to salsa dance.  “Mrs. Jurcenko did a great job, and I don’t want to do anything different, but I want to add my own stuff and let the students have fun,” Lim said.

Heinzer said that Spanish club sounded really fun to join with all the activities they described.

This club does not have positions, such as President or Secretary.

“It’s the students’ club, and I’m just the sponsor, if they have an idea on doing something, within reason, let me know and I can try (to set it up),” Lim said.

Chess

KYLE PLACH, Reporter

In Chess Club, students compete against other schools in a conference call the Farside Suburban Chess Conference. There are currently about 20 members in the club. The club’s sponsor is math teacher Ken Dentino.

“It’s fun, and I like to play chess against other students,” freshman Cole Hookham said “Our Chess team goes to tournaments. If we win, we go to state.”

When students join the club they will improve their chess skills.

“I like chess because of the strategy that’s involved.” Freshman Drew Doyle said

Kaneland has had a Chess Club for about 13 years. There is also room to join.

“Come out to A104 Wednesday and Thursday after school.” Head of the club Ken Dentino said.

According to Dentino, the only requirement is “a desire to play chess.”

Band

NOELLE ESPINO, Reporter

In the band room, students put together their instruments taking the last bit of time before rehearsal to talk with fellow band members. Part of the band year is pep band and the other part is concert band.  Each requires a lot of work and dedication that is rewarded with beautiful and passionate music.

Commitment is expected every day during class and after school on Mondays and Thursdays from 6:00p.m. to 8:30p.m.The class does a large amount of work playing music and marching.  Band members practice music, fix it, repeat it, and do it all again from the top, and don’t stop until it’s perfection. They’ve been working on their show since August.

In addition to playing and learning advance music and marching, band members develop close relationships with each other, bonded together like a big family.

“We all play our instruments, but there’s more to it than that.  We’re a community of people and artists, and we can all relate to each other through music,” senior Chris Farrell said.

This year’s routine is music from legendary jazz drummer Buddy Rich.  This music was chosen to highlight the strength of this years musicians. It contains technical passages for each instrument and has a “jailbreak” theme which is incorporated into the routine.

“Our only weakness is when it rains,” band director Aaron Puckett said.

In the midst of fun and excitement, there are serious competitions.  Judges critically look for uniformity of movement (the specific method to how the band marches), quality of sound, and general impact of what the routine looks like in terms of what forms are done on the field.

FEA

HALEY PENKALA, Reporter

The typical day for Future Educators of America (FEA) includes activities such as community service, reading at the elementary schools and decorating the teacher’s workroom.

FEA is a club that teaches students how to become better educators. Club members meet the second Tuesday of every month from five to six p.m. This year 21 members are involved in the club, but there’s always room for more. Many of the members join the club because teaching is their career of choice.

“We get the opportunity to understand what it’s like to be a teacher,” said three-year member Ashley Tennant of FEA.

Others join because of their friends.

Tennant, said “I would definitely encourage all students who are interested in joining FEA.”

Many teachers at Kaneland are happy to share advice and tips to students who are interested in becoming future teachers. “As a teacher, it is important for me to share my love of teaching,” said FEA club sponsor, Cindy Miller. Cindy Miller has been the sponsor for FEA for the last four years.

Scholarships are also available though FEA. Last year, Abby Bend and Sara Kitz, who were both involved in FEA, got the Golden Apple scholarship. The Golden Apple Scholarship is a full ride scholarship that provides aspiring teachers with a higher level of education. Another scholarship opportunity is available joining the FEA program at Aurora University. Just for being a part of the FEA at Aurora University, members automatically receive a $1,000 scholarship.

FEA also takes part in Kappa Delta Pi, an International Honor Society in education. Kappa Delta Pi is dedicated to helping mold students into the best educators they can be. It helps students receive scholarships.

FEA is a place for all students looking to become better teachers or just have a good time.

National Honor Society

AMY BURGOLZER, Reporter

To be in National Honor Society (NHS), certain criteria must be met. Students must have a GPA of 3.7 or higher by the end of first semester their junior year. Students must also be involved in many different activities through community, as well as school.

“It doesn’t matter if you’re involved in something at church or through school such as a sport or a club,” English teacher and sponsor of NHS, James Horne, said.

Senior Tucker DeBolt said that when he was inducted into National Honor Society, the ceremony was a cool experience.

When you get inducted, you must prepare a speech to NHS members and parents.

“It’s easier than it seems,” senior and vice president of NHS, Alec Kovach, said.

On Smart Start Thursdays, some NHS students tutor other students in the library, as well in libraries in the community on other days.

“Being able to tutor people is a cool experience,” DeBolt said.

Students may also volunteer and get community service hours, and show great leadership skills to be in NHS.

“It’s a lot of fun being with people that are as passionate for something as you are,” Kovach said about NHS.