Fine Arts: A New Beginning (GHSA Literary)

This past Thursday some of our drama and chorus members competed in the GHSA Literary Meet at the Grace Fellowship Church in Bogart, GA on Feb 29th.​
​by Cameron Parker

This past Thursday some of our drama and chorus members competed in the GHSA Literary Meet. Hayden Crescionie, Jacob Oates, Natalia Pedraza, Samara McKnight, Brannon Johnson, Charlize Smith, Jazmyne Black, Ava Brooks, Destiny Brown, Makaiko Kafunda, and Alexander Clark faced against 10 other schools for the best literary arts. This event was held at the Grace Fellowship Church in Bogart, GA on Feb 29th.

Why is this so important?
This is the first time in over 10 years that Walnut Grove has entered in this competition, yet we plan to compete for more years to come. Mrs. Gibson says, “Since this was our first year (a trial year), we really just wanted to get the students used to what these judges will be looking for and what the competition is like.” This trial year proved to be an amazing skill booster and overall advancement to the students' skills.

Students were chosen to be representatives in each group based on their individual field of choice. Though anyone could become one of these representatives, you will also need the skill that comes with each of these events like public speaking, acting skills, choral skills, and writing.

How did we do?
Students who competed have practiced extensively for the chance to win this competition and hopefully get to state level. 

• 1st Place: Dramatic Interpretation - Charlize Smith (heading to State!!)
• 2nd Place: Duo Interpretation - Samara McKnight and Brannon Johnson
• 3rd Place: Girls Trio - Ava Brooks, Destiny Brown, and Natalie Pedraza
• 4th Place: International Extemporaneous Speaking - Jazmyne Black
                      Humorous Interpretation - Natalie Helms
                      Men's Quartet - Hayden Crescionie, Jacob Oates, Makaiko Kafunda, Alexander Clark
  

Students had to travel to the Grace Fellowship Church in Bogart which Natalia Pedraza says, “They did an amazing job, they got all the stuff ready and provided a bunch of snacks/drinks, which was very nice.” Some snacks after all that work must be super nice.

Walkthrough:
Mrs. Gibson walks us through the competition, “So when we arrived, we needed to make sure that the students were registered and in their areas. We went through and dropped off each student at their areas or wherever they need to be for prep.” Mrs. Gibson and Mr. Riedling worked to help the students prepare for their respective events and competitions.

Mrs. Gibson then states “We split our time to make sure that all of the kids were in the right area, in their warmups, and in their event locations, making sure they knew what they were doing. And towards the end, they brought us all to the same area and went over the awards”

For our first year doing this competition in ten plus years, it's safe to say we did pretty well. Yet next year, we could do even better, possibly getting more people to state.