Starting today Monday, May 16th, and running through Friday. May 27th, the Plaid Line will be selling $2 raffle tickets for the possibility to win 2 tickets to the Warped Tour.
Tickets will be available during both lunches, and in room 2205.
Check back for further info.
Minnesota is home to a lot of great music, and this summer you can experience music from both local and international artists. Don’t miss out on the opportunity to see some noteworthy artists!
Soundset (May 29th):
Soundset is an annual national hip hop festival that has hosted some amazing artists. This year, Soundset features popular artists like A$AP Rocky, Future, and Machine Gun Kelly. Soundset changed its location in Minnesota this year from Shakopee to the State Fair Grounds in St. Paul
Beyonce, the Formation World Tour (May 23rd)
After Beyonce’s critically acclaimed performance at the Superbowl this February, and her recent album Lemonade, that was originally exclusively on Tidal and Itunes, Beyonce has proved that she’s not only an amazing singer and dancer, but also can convey more important themes in her music. Lemonade centers around themes like race and infidelity.
Rock the Garden (June 18th):
Rock the Garden is sponsored by the Walker Art Museum and the Current. Rock the Garden is featuring Hippo Campus, a band from St. Paul, and all of the members have attended SPCPA in downtown. Chance the Rapper is from Chicago, has received a lot of national acclaim, and is becoming more of a national artist.
Drake (July 24th):
This tour is following the release of Drake’s new album Views from the 6. Since the Excl Energy Center is a little more pricey, the tickets are around $50-130. Future will also be a special guest. Drake has had several successful albums, including If you’re reading this it’s too late, What a time to be alive, and Nothing was the same.
Warped Tour (July 24th):
Warped Tour is an annual tour with a host of different bands sponsored by Vans. This year, bands include Against the Current, Real Friends, Bullet for My Valentine, and Waka Flocka Flame. The genres that are popular on this tour are rock and screamo.
The Highland Park Spring Musical: Luck Stiff is taking place this month. There are over 50 students involved in this year’s production. Lucky Stiff is a musical comedy that’s appropriate for all ages. I did some interviews with some of this year’s participants in order to gain more knowledge of it. Here are the questions and responses:
What is the Spring Musical?
Soren: Lucky Stiff.
Max: It’s called Lucky Stiff.
Who’s the director/ teacher?
Soren: Steven Houtz.
Max: Steven Houtz. Kate Mendenhall.
How is the spring musical different from being in a regular school play?
Soren: It’s full of dancing and singing, as well as acting.
Max: More commitment. It’s a lot harder since you get to collaborate with musicians and a lot of other people.
How do handle mistakes during performances?
Soren: I cry myself to sleep and binge watch Gossip Girl.
Max: If you forget you part you can call out for line. Stop and correct yourself. You just Improvise.
How often and for how long do you practice?
Soren: Every day after school until 4:30.
Max: Everyday 2:15-4:30 and this week we did 2:15-8:00.
Do you perform in public/ outside of school?
Soren: Yeah, in community theater but it doesn’t really count.
Max: I do solo singing. It’s been long since I did community theater.
What advice would you give to beginners that might be nervous?
Soren: Don’t worry about it. You have a lot of fun.
Max: Being nervous is good. It shows that you care.
Anything else you would like for us to know?
Soren: Come to the musical and support Highland theater! We need your money!
Max: Come see the show.
Lucky Stiff is being performed April 21st-April 23rd at 7:00pm in the Highland Park Senior High auditorium. Tickets are $6 for students and seniors and $8 for adults.
I recently saw the movie The 5th Wave at Regal Brooklyn Center Stadium 20.
The movie is about how the human race stands on the brink of extinction as a series of alien attacks decimate the planet, causing earthquakes, tsunamis and disease. Separated from her family, Ohio teenager Cassie Sullivan (Chloë Grace Moretz) will do whatever it takes to reunite with her brother Sam. Fate leads her to form an alliance with Evan Walker (Alex Roe), a mysterious young man who may be her last hope. Forced to trust each other, Cassie and Evan fight for survival during the fifth assault from the invaders.
Overall, the movie was good. On a scale from 1-10 I give it a 7.3 because it has slow parts and is sort of boring in some parts, and sometimes you don’t know what is happening in the film. There are sad parts too, but overall it’s a good film.
I recommend this film to people who like action movies.
Washington State is a great place to go and visit. Over spring break, I got a chance to see a lot of Washington, from Mount St. Helens to the University of Washington. There is a lot to see and do. You can usually find affordable tickets all year around ($300-$318).
When you are in Seattle you are in the land of the Starbucks. There is almost a Starbucks on every block. That is where the first Starbucks is and the head offices are.
I recommend going to the pier in downtown Seattle. There are lots of great shops along the pier. There is the ferris wheel, which I would recommend going on day or night.
Another great spot in Seattle I recommend going to is Pike Place Market. There are a bunch of cool shops underground. There are also a lot of good seafood places that have fresh seafood that they got from the Market that morning.
Another thing to do in Washington, if you like the Twilight movies or books, is to go to Forks. The town of Forks is based on the book and has nothing to do with the movie (they actually filmed the movie somewhere else). Some things you can do are: you can stay in a cute bed n’ breakfast, you can go to Port Angeles and eat at Bella Italia and have mushroom ravioli, you can always go to La Push where you can see the water and cliffs. The Forks town is all about Twilight. It is not a very pretty town, and there is not much to do, but I strongly recommend staying in the bed n’ breakfast if you do end up going there.
The one last thing I want to tell you about is going to see the Olympic National Park which is by Olympia. It is so pretty and super cool to walk through. The trees having a bunch of moss on them and they call the moss “The snow of Washington.” There is a part of the forest that is North America’s only rain forest. There are tall trees with moss covering them. It’s one of the coolest things I have ever seen.
So, if you want to take a nice trip, for not a lot of money, you may want to check out Washington State.
As we all know, summer is quickly approaching and that means road trip season. Road trips can either be very fun or very boring, it all depends on how you prepare for them. This list of tips and tricks will help you have the best summer road trip experiences possible!
This Spring Break, 22 students at 3 teachers from Highland Park Senior High went to a trip with EF (Educational Tours) tours to Amsterdam, Paris, and London.
EF is a company that organizes international trips for students to learn about different cultures. EF provides a large array of countries for possible trips, including trips to Costa Rica, that Highland Park also participated in this spring break, Rome and Athens, and South Africa. The trip cost approximately $3,700. It was a good deal because it included tour guides, hotel and airfare, and breakfast and dinner. However, you do have to bring spending money for lunch and souvenirs. EF has different plans to pay for the trip, including monthly payments and paying for the trip in thirds.
We saw many tourist attractions, including Notre Dame, the Anne Frank Museum, the Van Gogh Museum, the Eiffel Tour, the Eye of London, Keukenof Garden, Palace of Versailles, Buckingham Palace, and many more. One of my favorites was being able to see the view of from the Eye of London. Also, the Camdon markets in London have a lot of cool stuff that you can only get there such as hand crafted art. We also visited Delft, a city outside of Amsterdam that had many shops and canals.
Brussels, Belgium was originally supposed to be included in the trip, but because of the terrorist attacks in March, the stop was cancelled. However, we still had a lot of fun in the other locations, and we got to spend more time in Amsterdam and less time on the bus getting to Paris.
In the end, the Europe trip was worth the money, and is a life changing experience that I would recommend to anyone at Highland Park.
As you all might know, Nerf Wars has started here at Highland. Every year students organize it and it lasts for about a month. Some of you might not know what it is, so what does Nerf Wars consist of and how does it work?
Nerf Wars are very fun to play with friends and family. It is an activity using Nerf guns or other toy weapons. Nerf Wars include outdoor battles and shoot-outs, it can take place anywhere, any area with a good amount of space are good candidates. With a large range of participants, outdoor areas are great for Nerf War battles. Nerf guns are relatively safe and cheap.
Here at Highland, there’re about 30 teams, each team including 5 players on each team, and all grades can participate. It is not a school planned activity, usually a group of seniors set it up and are known as the commissioners. Everything takes place outside of school and is not associated with any SPPS extra curricular activities. The commissioners set up a bracket, the rankings are based off of how many seniors are on the team, athleticism, how many licensed drivers, and car access.
Nerf Wars can be an entertaining event for people who are not playing as well. Teams and Highland Nerf Wars have set up twitter pages where you can interact with each other, read funny updates on teams wins and loses, and see photos people post about it. Overall, Nerf Wars is an annual game that many enjoy participating in to end off the year with some fun.
Again, as previously mentioned, Nerf Wars are not a school sponsored event, and the school takes no responsibility for student conduct connected to Nerf Wars. Bring Nerf Wars to school at your own risk, as school discipline related to unacceptable behavior may apply.
In the world of sound and music, people want the best headphones and the best speakers. There are many really, really good speakers. The bad thing is that all the best speakers are huge, so you won’t be able to take them on the go. Beats and Bose both have found a way to get around that size obstacle: there’s the Beats Pill and Bose SoundLink.
Now, let’s talk about the Beats Pill. It does indeed look like an oversized pill, only with a flat foot on the bottom to keep it from rolling off the table. It’s sleek, slightly hip, and it’s available in a bunch of fun colors. A lot of people get the Beats Pill for its bass, which is totally understandable.
The Bose SoundLink isn’t exactly known for its bold design choices, opting for the more safe and reserved look in nearly every example. When the company does try to go for a more “fun” look, you end up with something like the company’s FreeStyle earbuds which sounded nice, but looked more like a pair of pants from the 1990s than something you wanted to wear on your head. Looking at the SoundLink Mini, let’s just be happy the company decided to keep it simple.
Beats and Bose both are very good, but now let’s talk about which one is better. Beats Pill has a decent bass, while on the other hand Bose SoundLink probably has a better bass then the Beats Pill. The Bose SoundLink mid-bass and the lower midrange is much better, and there is a nice depth to most of the lower range of frequencies. Highs are free of the rolloff that is so common on speakers in this size, but still, they never sound harsh or overbearing even as you push the volume higher. And that reminds me, the SoundLink Mini can get pretty loud; impressively so, considering the size.
So, in the end, if you’re looking for a speaker on the go I would go with Bose.
On March 23rd, at 6 pm, the celebration for our second annual Art Showcase was held in the lobby and auditorium of our school, with free admissions for all. The event was organized by Highland, in partnership with the Friends of Highland Arts (FHA), and a combined effort of arts, band, choir, and theater students. Highland’s Choir and Theater instructor, Kate Mendenhall, was the point person who organized the event this year, and is hoping to for this to become a tradition at HPSH.
Friends of Highland Arts (FHA) is a local non-profit group that works closely with the schools, and Highland community, to promote and further the arts in our community. They were also a tremendous help in organizing and promoting the show.
The afternoon was splendidly filled with the art of music. Stage performances in the auditorium began around 7 pm, featuring our Jazz Band, Honors Orchestra, Tremble Choir, Honors Choir, and Symphonic Band. Each of the groups performed works from their past and upcoming concerts. Some of the titles played by the Honors Band included “Adagio” by David R Holsinger and “Symphonic Dance No.3” by Clifton Williams.
Not only that, the cast of the musical, Lucky Stiff, also made an appearance at the showcase with a snippet of their upcoming spring musical which will be held on April 21-23. The Highland Theater Friends and Family were also fundraising in support for HPSH Theater. Other featured art included, Ramona White from our school’s Speech Team, who performed on stage with her creative piece.
“I feel like this event was a huge success,” said Ms. Mendenhall. “All of the groups performed really well and seemed like they were having a great time participating. Most of the times, performing groups do not get to listen to other performing groups, so it was nice that they could listen to their peers at an event like this.”
The showcase was the perfect opportunity for both our fellow peers and community to expose themselves to the talents and arts offered at Highland. During the night, students were able to present their works to the community and be appreciated for their efforts in the arts and freedom of expression. Not only was this event a wonderful source of entertainment for the open audience, but it was also a rewarding experience for our students and teachers who contributed to the show. “The most rewarding thing for me is to be able to let my students experience all different types of art,” said Ms. Mendenhall. “In choir, a lot of our focus goes into choral and vocal music. I really like that my students are able to see what other talent is here at HPSH.”
The overall Art Showcase was met with great praise from our community as well. This was evident in Ms. Mendenhall’s comment, “I noticed that community members and families really like that we provided a ‘one stop shop’ – meaning they could hear and see all of what Highland Park has to offer in our fine arts department in one night.”
Featured outside of the auditorium were the large white panels, collapsible doors, and tables filled with the collection of works from about 20 IB Visual art students. The majority of these student will use these collective pieces from both their junior and senior year to submit to IB later this month. Each of their works were linked with a cohesive theme, with their own unique sense of style. This part of the showcase itself is considered to be a huge new step for the art department, as this was Highland’s first year reserving an organized space for an art gallery of students’ masterpieces.
“The event was a huge success, despite the snowy afternoon,” said art teacher, Keri Schultz. “The gallery and audience was very full. People were excited about the wide variety of art styles that students shared.” The Saint Paul District arts coordinator, Jan Spencer Gutierrez, also showed up for the celebration.
The art gallery was a new component for IB Visual Art students, and provided students with an opportunity to first-hand experience a live art show. Mrs. Schultz also noted that the most rewarding aspect was allowing students to plan out their methods of visual presentation by finding desirable locations, lighting, and completing pre-hangings to create purpose for the organization of art collection.
“I also liked how students personalized the way they presented the titles for their work. Mazzy put her labels on rocks, which really made her environmental theme come through in a visual way. I also think that Highland complex and the Friends of Highland Arts were able to further develop our relationship, and that was very positive.”
A total of 15 under the sea watercolor paintings, from students of Highland Park Elementary, also contributed to the visual art gallery. As a group project, elementary student also created a sculpture made up of lights, plastic bottle caps, and paint, resembling a Dale Chihuly type sculpture. Along with that, there were 10 figure drawings from the middle school students. As for our high school students, they contributed 30 self-portrait paintings, 40 sculptures, and tiles from the ceramics students.
Some of Mrs. Schultz’s hopes and goals for the future of Highland’s Art Showcase is to incorporate more activity tables to engage the youth of our community, and have them share their art as a part of our community. “I think it might be fun to have high school students there to teach techniques or little projects to other people (young and old) from our communities.” The art department is also hoping to seek more grant money for permanent lighting solutions in the space of display.
Similarly, Ms. Mendenhall also has hopes for the future of the Arts Showcase to be an event that HPSH students look forward to attending, not just families and community members. “I think this is a great way to support your peers in their artistic endeavors, and maybe even become involved with a group yourself!”
“In terms of the art, I was just really proud of how nicely students were able to share their creative efforts,” Mrs. Schultz said. “I also wanted to thank Kate Mendenhall for being the liaison between Highland and FHA Friends of Highland. It went great!”
Plaid Line + PRIZM + Scottie News 