Arts Update

Radium Girls presented by the Theatre Guild

Arts Spotlight

Kudos and congrats to our arts students, teachers, and patrons! In response to the many restrictions from COVID-19, we all found new avenues to explore and new approaches to achieving success in the arts.

Our band, the Marching Bulldogs, under the direction of Mrs. Melissa Jokerst, marched every football game while the Middle School Band and Wind Ensemble played two fabulous concerts. Thirty students were awarded medals and the Wind Ensemble earned all Superior ratings for a third year in a row at the ABA State Music Assessment. Our chorus, led by Mrs. Michelle McCormick, sang at Bellingrath in December, performed two concerts, sent eight students to All-State, and earned all Superior ratings for a third consecutive year at the state contest.

The Theatre Guild, directed by Mrs. Margaret Delaney, performed Radium Girls in the fall, and Space Princess Wars in the spring, both fully masked. They enthusiastically competed in virtual events and learned how to effectively record audition monologues including attention to differences in lighting and sound when recording.

Lower School Music

The Middle School Drama Club under the direction of Mr. Bobby Miller faced down the pandemic with a production of Make It Happen, a show written by Mr. Miller and workshopped by the Middle School Drama Club. The live-streamed show was performed in January of 2021 and portrayed the life of a middle school student during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mrs. Jana Corley introduced a new class in seventh grade, Digital Design, that culminated in several projects the students exhibited in the library and hallways.

Mrs. Pier Hardin’s studio art students explored multi-media works in their main exhibits this year including Henry Moore inspired foam sculpture, 3-D sculptures with paper and tape, the Memory Project, and Greek vase drawings honoring frontline workers.

Lower School Art

Memory Project 2021

UMS-Wright has been creating Memory Project portraits since 2009. The Memory Project is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting intercultural understanding and kindness between children around the world through school-based art programs. Students in Studio II, III & IV Art created these realistic portraits by gridding the photographs that the Memory Project submitted. By comparing the lines, shapes and values within each box within the grid, students were able to replicate nearly exact proportions. Because each Afghani child included his or her favorite color, the student artists decided how to incorporate those colors into the background along with patterns that might be found in Afghan rugs or Islamic mosques.