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2 School School News News The Magnet Tribune May 11, 2007 Next year’s school calendar gives less time for holidays BY CLAUDIA RAMOS MT STAFF WRITER A variety of differences can be seen when comparing the 2006-2007 calendar with the 2007-2008 calendar. A bill passed by the state Legislature in a previous session moved the first day of classes back to the last week in August. Next school year classes will begin later and end earlier. For the ‘06-‘07 school year, classes began Monday, Aug. 21 and will end Thursday, May 31. For the ’07-’08 school year, classes will begin Monday, Aug. 27 and will end Wednesday, May 28. Teachers will return on Monday, Aug. 20. The general session at the LEC is scheduled for Wednesday, Aug. 22. Graduation will also be held on an earlier date, moving from May 31 this year to Thursday, May 29. Next year the district will not be observing Labor Day (Monday, Sept. 3), President’s Day (Friday, Feb. 15) and Art student explains what makes his paintings attractive BY ANNABEL GOMEZ MT STAFF WRITER LIFE Art Show best of show winner Luis Rodriguez, sophomore, describes the painting that he made which won the show, drawn with a graphite pencil. It was an angel walking towards light. “I tried to make everything even — the clouds, hair, and wings” he said. Rodriguez said his inspiration was fantasy and emotions. He shows his emotions through his work. “This painting represents ‘sadness and hope,’” he said. Rodriguez explained what makes a painting valuable. “When you show your emotions through your art, a person can let go of frustration and let go of bad surroundings,” Rodriguez said. The reactions of people towards his work is enjoyment. He said they like his art, even previous work. People tell him to follow what he likes and if it’s art then he should follow with it. His future in art will not be his major, but it will aid him in his planned area of study, fashion design. “It’s something I won’t let go of,” he said. His influences are art instructor Jorge Vasquez and his sister, Nidia Rodriguez. “It’s people that you love and support who inspire you,” he said. Rodriguez thanks VMT for the opportunity to be here. Without experience in this school he said he probably would not be as advanced due to the lack of resources. Vasquez said his students do not prepare for the show. Their paintings and other items come from regular schoolwork. He recalled seeing students participate at the LIFE fair from Cigarroa, Nixon, and United South. Students in Vasquez’s class also participate in other events such as the Senior Art Show, and shows at the Center for the Arts. VMT winners are as follow: Luis Rodriguez, best of show, Graphite Pencil, 1st place. Easter, which in 2008 falls on Sunday, March 23. The only recognized holidays will be Thanksgiving, Winter Break and Spring Break along with staff development days on Monday, Oct. 8, Monday, Jan. 21, and March 24, Easter Monday. Thanksgiving holidays will be Wednesday-Friday, Nov. 21-23, with three days as last year. Winter Break will begin after school on Friday, Dec. 21 and end on Wednesday, Jan. 9 when students Daniel Villarreal, Oil Pastels, 2nd Yesika Vasquez, Mixed Media, 1st Denize Solis, Printmaking, 1st Marco Sanchez, Printmaking, 2nd return. Teachers will return on Monday, Jan. 7. Spring Break is still the third week in March, from 17-21. Easter Monday, March 24, is a student holiday but a teacher staff development day. TAKS will also be pushed to a later time, scheduled for April 22 through the 25 instead of April 17 through the 20 this year. Academic calendars are available at the district’s Web site at www.laredoisd.org, then click on “Calendar.” MT photo by Ricky Soliz Sophomore Luis Rodriguez stands next to his charcoal drawing of an angel that won best of show at the LIFE Downs art show in February. Claudia Martinez, Printmaking, 3rd Angelica Siriaco, Acrylics, 3rd (MT staff writer Theresa Rocha contributed to this story.) Conference teaches different ways of presenting theatre BY THERESA M. ROCHA MT STAFF WRITER Theatre students enjoyed a two-day event dedicated to drama and theatre arts. Under the direction of Vernon Carroll, dean of Theatre, theatre students headed for Houston last winter for the annual TheatreFest hosted by the Texas Educational Theatre Association. Held in downtown Houston at the Hyatt Regency Hotel, the event consisted of several student-directed performances and presented countless workshops geared toward the theatrically inclined. “The convention,” Carroll said, “offered a number of workshops such as acting, play writing, directing, theatre business, drama, and UIL One Act coaching that were open to anybody, even those who were only interested in theatre.” The trip was a great experience for the students to gain exposure toward drama and theatre outside of Laredo. The convention proffered a student perspective towards theatre. “…A great opportunity for the students to meet fellow students out of the city, state and even from other countries. They also had the chance to talk to college recruiters and major show biz professionals” Carroll said. Students had the chance to interact with like-minded peers. Ages of scholars who attended ranged from middle school children to college students. “It was nice to be able to interact with students who have the same interests,” said Meagan Pavek, theatre student. Pavek was one of the five students that attended the conference in January. “[The convention] was a wonderful experience. We got to watch plays that students wrote, directed and even acted in,” she added. Next year the conference will be held in Dallas, Texas. TETA rotates conference sites every year from Dallas to Austin then Houston. The Theatre Department has offered this trip for eight years. It is made accessible by departmental funds and a small contribution on the students’ behalf.
The Magnet Tribune May 11, 2007 School School News News Seniors interpret epic Beowulf BY IRMA HERNANDEZ MT STAFF WRITER Diana Martinez’s fifth block AP English IV class had a fun project that included not only the epic poem-Beowulf, which they read in class, but also incorporated many of the seniors’ fine arts. Beowulf is from Anglo Saxon literature, the first piece of written English literature. Beowulf the name of the poem, is about a hero of a city that was attacked by a monster named Grendel. Students had to do a project explaining the poem but through their fine arts’ areas. They displayed art and wrote poetry and performed music, but it all related to Beowulf. While the seniors presented, their peers listened and watched. Many seemed really into the presentations. One could tell they admired their friends’ hard work. “I think my classmates did a good job. All the art work and the different poems were great, and we all worked really hard to make our presentations possible,” said senior Selina Garcia. Martinez was pleased with her students’ performances. “The student performances and projects were excellent; they incorporated their fine arts talents into the literature with creativity and style,” she said. English class gives tribute to poet BY ALYSSA GARZA MT STAFF WRITER Tasty food and good literature were a part of a tribute to the American Poet Maya Angelou. Diana Martinez’s third block freshmen Pre-AP English I class participated in the tribute. It was a part of their study of African-American Literature and International Woman’s Day Celebration. Students read Angelou’s autobiographical book entitled “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.” During this event students participated in different activities. Students read Maya Angelou’s poetry and discussed her life and accomplishments. The class enjoyed an African-American meal like the food mentioned in Angelou’s book. The meal consisted of chicken, collard greens, cornbread, sweet potato casserole and Dr. Pepper soda. Students say they were both moved and inspired by Angelou’s work. Priscilla Martinez said that it helped her value her life and that she thinks Angelou is a very strong person. “She’s strong because she suffered a lot when she was little like she got abused and she grew up and got over it; she survived and became a famous poet. It’s amazing how she can remember her childhood and describe it so well.” Students read different poems either by Angelou or relating to her. Connor Bernal, Priscilla Martinez, Jessica Gamez, and Jisel Sanchez read one famous poem by Angelou, “Phenomenal Woman.” Another student who participated by reading the poem “Invictus” was Eddie Rodriguez. He was assigned that poem because it was one of Angelou’s favorite poems when she was a child. Rodriguez also enjoyed reading the book “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.” “It was a really deep book and she writes about her past 3 MT photo by Irma Hernandez Senior Sacramento Palacios presents a shield as part of his Beowulf presentation. and she goes into great detail,” he said. Many of the students say they will read more of Angelou’s work in their spare time and that they were touched by her work. Seniors display art projects at show in courtyard, gazebo BY SHAULA ROCHA MT STAFF WRITER Thirteen art seniors displayed their collection of work from the four years they’ve been at magnet on April 12 at the art and communications gazebo. The pieces had an enormous variety to them; however, each artist had certain distinguishing characteristics that shone throughout their work. Some spectator favorites included the piece “Together” by Claudia Vasquez, and “Mother Nature” — a portrait of a semi-nude woman covered in ivy by David Hinojosa. Not all of the seniors work was displayed, though, as the students only picked the work that they really liked to be displayed. Art teacher Jorge Vasquez said the show was one of the few opportunities for the students to showcase their work from their stay at magnet. “The show is a collection of the four years they’ve been in art,” Vasquez said. ‘There are no freshmen, sophomores, or juniors. Only seniors.” “Some of these are pretty old,” Vasquez said, motioning to an artwork with a tag stating it had been done when the student was a junior. The seniors themselves did the majority of the work, including the planning and preparation. On the day of the show, they had been at VMT since eight in the morning in order to put up their work and finish up the details on time. “The art show is what every senior looks forward to, and we started planning this since the beginning of the year,” Elizabeth Massey said. Despite some minor problems that included the hot, windy weather knocking some of the paintings and drawings down, the seniors agreed the show ran rather smoothly. “It was great, it was a success. A lot of people enjoyed the show,” Senior Juan Carballo said. Some people, however, didn’t care to acknowledge all the hard work that went into the show. This didn’t bother the seniors. “A lot of people came only for cookies and punch,” Carballo said with a laugh. MT photo by Theresa Rocha A self-portrait by Juan Carballo was part of the senior art show in the courtyard on April 12.
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