Month: June 2017

Centennial Artists Recognized by U.S. Congress

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Words: Kieran Senisi

Photos Contributed by: Nan Collins

The Congressional Art Awards Ceremony occurred on June 3, and Centennial did not fail to impress.  Five Centennial artists, including Maria Rodriguez Cardona, Abbigail Hong, Rachel Scheetz, Tricia Park, and Ye Sun Park, entered the competition under the district of U.S. Representative Elijah Cummings.  According to Rep. Cummings, over 650,000 high school students have contributed artwork in this nationwide competition in the past ten years; this year, three of the five Centennial students won top prizes.  

Senior Ye Sun Park took home first place with her painting “Woman in Blue Dress,” and her painting will be hung in the Congressional galleries for a year.  Senior Maria Rodriguez Cardona’s painting “Paper Doll” won a curator award from the Maryland Institute of Art.  Junior Tricia Park’s self-portrait also won a curator award from the Walter’s Art Museum.  Judges were not allowed to know anything about the participants, which allowed for an even playing field for the competition. These artists represented Centennial with pride, and those who did not graduate hope to do the same in future competitions.

*This article was updated on 9 June 2017 to reflect the number of years students have been submitting artwork in this competition.


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Centennial Says Goodbye: Whalen and Spaide Retire

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Words: Lisa Kerr Photos: Zach Grable

At the end of the 2016-2017 school year, Centennial will be losing two memorable staff members due to their retirement: Mrs. Spaide and Ms. Whalen. Although Centennial will miss them, we are thankful for all that they did in fueling students’ education.

 “I will miss the students and teachers the most,” said Whalen. One particular experience that she loved was watching her students start out in Algebra 1 in freshman year and graduate with a 5 on their Calculus AP exam in their senior year; seeing them excel made her experience as a teacher worthwhile.

When asked if there was any lasting lessons that she believed her students had taught her, she thought for a moment before saying, “Life isn’t as serious as you take it; be flexible.”

These two teachers have contributed to Centennial’s success by helping students learn and grow while developing their intellect and character. Centennial will miss them, and they will always be eagles!

 


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Centennial Underclassmen Review Their 2016-2017 School Year

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Words: Lien Hoang

For Centennial’s underclassmen, the 2016-2017 school year is coming to a close as summer break approaches. Seniors graduated a few weeks ago, so it is now time for the remaining students to leave high school and start their well-anticipated summer break.

Though many students have enjoyed the school year in general, most students are very glad to get out of school. Sophomore Stafford Smith says, “sophomore year was pretty easy for me. I loved my teachers and my classes, I will miss it.” On the other hand, freshman Kyria Windsor says, “I’m glad school is almost over because I’m tired of waking up early, but my year overall was fun because I got to hang out with my friends during school.”

Some students like Michelle Lin and Brook Anderson are already anticipating the 2017-2018 school year because of try-outs and team sports. “I’m so happy that the school year is almost over but I can’t wait for volleyball next year,” Lin said. Anderson is also very glad that school is coming to an end, saying, “It’s been a long year but playing basketball for the Varsity team made it better and more interesting.”

 

For more breaking news and photos, follow The Wingspan on Instagram and Twitter @CHSWingspan.