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About Hermiston herald. (Hermiston, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 17, 2018)
A8 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2018 SCHOOLS Running, singing and dancing for the arts By JAYATI RAMAKRISHNAN STAFF WRITER Though it was near the end of the day, Rocky Heights Elementary School students showed no signs of slowing down. They spent the afternoon of Oct. 9 sing- ing, dancing and jumping to the reggae tunes of Aaron Nigel Smith, a musician who stopped by the Herm- iston elementary school as part of the Run for the Arts program. Each year, the school has a week dedicated to raising money for the arts, complete with an art and fitness night, a visiting musician, artist or theater performer, and a fun run where students collect pledge money from family and friends. All the money raised goes toward art and music programs, and events for the school. “We’ve brought in art- ists to do fused glass, had authors, theater perfor- mances,” said Erin Andrea- son, a fifth grade teacher at Rocky Heights. As he strummed the first few notes of a song, Smith told the kids that this wasn’t a concert where they had to be quiet. “All of my songs have instructions,” he said. As he Aaron Nigel Smith performs for students at Rocky Heights Elementary School last week. Below, art created by students adorns the walls of the school gymnasium. STAFF PHOTOS BY E.J. HARRIS Students and staff sing along with reggae singer Aaron Nigel Smith on his song “One” at Rocky Heights Elementary School last week in Hermiston. The concert was part of the school’s Run for the Arts fundraiser. sang a song about animals, students made the noises of each creature. Behind Smith and his band, the walls of the Rocky Heights gymnasium were adorned with banners that each class had made, featur- ing each student’s artwork. Rocky Heights has been doing Run for the Arts since 2010, and is the only school in the district that does the program, but it’s been done at schools around the Pacific Northwest. “It was something I did when I taught in Portland, so I brought it here,” Andrea- son said. She said the Run for the Arts program sends a per- former to schools every year. For the past several years, she said they also partnered with local artist Marty Beau- champ, who would do an art project with each class. Emilie Wyant, a fifth- grader in Andreason’s class, said she has enjoyed learn- ing about different types of art through the program. Her favorite medium is acting. “You get to show your creativity on stage and peo- ple watch you,” she said. “It’s a good feeling.” The school will have var- ious events throughout the week in honor of the arts. Smith returned to Rocky Heights Tuesday evening to perform for parents and community members. Stu- dents have dress-up days throughout the week, and on Thursday had the name- sake event, a 30-minute fun run during their music and physical education classes. Andreason said the top earner would receive tick- ets to the Academy of Chil- dren’s Theater in Richland. Andreason said in years past they’ve raised about $2,500. Marching band competition a study in multitasking By JAYATI RAMAKRISHNAN STAFF WRITER Marching band takes as much athletic focus as it does musical skill, with stu- dents spending hours on the field, memorizing compli- cated footwork as they play, and competing against other schools. The weekend of Oct. 6, the Hermiston High School marching band faced off against 22 other schools in the Cavalcade of Bands competition in Pasco, which featured schools from Ore- gon, Washington and Idaho. Hermiston finished 15th, STAFF PHOTO BY JAYATI RAMAKRISHNAN Members of the Hermiston High School marching band practice a performance routine on the baseball field last week. and placed fourth in its division. Hermiston also received an award for “best brass and woodwinds” in their division. “It was kind of exciting,” WE HEAR YOU! Director Sean McClanahan said. “It was the first time in a while that Hermiston has come home with an award. They’ve been working hard and made a lot of improve- ments in the last year or two.” McClanahan said the band participates in three or four competitions a year, as well as local performances, such as Homecoming. He said the band has long competed with schools from other states, and was not affected by the dis- trict’s decision to start com- peting against Washington schools. “It’s kind of its own thing,” he said. Each year, the band picks a performance theme, which includes a dance rou- tine. This year’s theme is “Wired: The Rise of Artifi- cial Intelligence.” They start preparing two weeks before school, put- ting in 12-hour days at band camp, before scaling back to two-hour nightly practices during the school year. McClanahan has a staff of about nine working with him — including teachers from around the district, and coaches from the Columbi- ans Drum and Bugle Corps, based in Pasco. Instructors from the Columbians help with cho- reography and visual design. “They’ve definitely upped the level — it’s pay- ing off,” said senior clarinet player Megan Baskins, who has been in marching band since she was a freshman. Baskins said she, and most other marching band students, devote all of their free time to music. “When we’re not here, we’re working, trying to memorize music,” she said. “All of us love music, and we put in all this hard work to get to show others.” MORE WINNERS. MORE OFTEN. Phonak Virto™ B Win A JEEP! 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