4/28/10 Local Teen News

 Preview of CHHS ‘The Wiz” – 100 students are participating in Chapel Hill High School’s spring musical “The Wiz,” which will be be adapted from the musical and  not the movie. “They run every aspect of the show, for the most part,” Drago said. “This is educational theater. This is the best possible learning experience the students can have, actually doing the show themselves.” (Chapel Hill News)

 College select summer reading for frosh – UNC has selected Picking Cotton, Duke will be reading Everything Matters, Peace College will read The Blue Sweater and both NC State and Meredith will read Half The Sky by Nicholas Krisof and Sheryl WuDunn.  Half the Sky explores issues faced by women around the world, and it offers ways readers can help make a difference. The book’s title refers to a Chinese saying, “Women hold up half the sky.” “This is one of the hardest books I’ve had to read,” said Roger Callanan, an assistant undergraduate dean at NCSU. “This is not pleasurable. But it’s important. We’re talking about real brutality and grotesque abuse. But if you persist, at the end it is hopeful, and it is challenging. Now that you know, what are you going to do?” (N&O)

 Profile of student activist – Dismayed by a single piece of litter at age 6, Morehead scholar Adam Meyer has devoted himself to environmental education and activism, including the opening of HOPE Gardens, a community garden north of UNC that will offer transitional employment to homeless people.  “I always felt a connection to the environment and being outdoors,” he said. “My parents used to have to pull me inside, kicking and screaming.” (Daily Tar Heel)

 Durham Riverside no-hits Northern – Sophomore Dusty Tatum tossed a no-hitter as Riverside beat Northern 2-0 to remain undefeated in the Pac-6.  “He’s been getting better as the season has gone on,” Blowe said of Tatum’s performance. “He’s got great stuff. He’s got four pitches, and he had command of all four of them tonight. He did a great job with both sides of the plate and working from ahead for the most part.” (Herald-Sun)

4/02/10 Local teen news

Life in foster care - Riverside High School profile of a young man who lived in various foster homes during his teenage years.  “I went to six different places.  I started to keep my stuff in trash bags because I was tired of moving so much.  The systemʼs messed up; once you get in its hard to get out. You have no control. If you want a group of people to decide whats best for you, then foster care is for you.” (Pirate’s Hook)

Student review of Ipad Touch – ECHHS student offers lukewarm review of Ipad, saying that many of the features are already available on other Apple products and that other issues that still need to be worked-out.  However, the iPad was designed to target a specific audience: people who are not skilled with computers. In this regard, the iPad is a wonderful present for say, Grandma. Yet the device may actually encourage computer illiteracy, as people may settle for this tablet instead of gaining the basic skills necessary to use a laptop or desktop. (The ECHO)

Profile of KHS drum major – Student profile of multi-instrumentalist Tram Quach and her many responsibilities as the drum major of an award-winning high school band.  “They’ve become a close knit family,” says Quach. If one is in trouble the rest will come to their rescue. Quach discovered that it is the drum major’s job to take care of everyone in the band and watch over them all even if there is no beforehand knowledge of how to do the job. She explained, “Even if you come from no where and are totally lost, you’ve got to act like you know what you’re doing.” (Knight’s Scroll)

CHHS student raising funds for refugee youth – Profile of Maddy Kameny, who is trying to raise money to send local Thai and Burmese youth to summer camps. Kameny knew refugee children struggling to learn English in school could benefit from more interaction with English-speaking children their own age and thought summer camp would be a good opportunity. She then worked with Carolina Friends School to arrange for eight refugees, aged 7 to 13, to attend the school’s day camps. (Carrboro Citizen)

Interview with photographer Sarah Harrison

Sarah Harrison, a senior in Rita Rathbone’s photography program at Durham Riverside High School, recently earned a Gold Key Award from Barton Art Galleries for her well-conceived photography portfolio of students enrolled in the Special Education program at Riverside. What is your background in photography? Sarah Harrison: Ms. Rathbone has taught me photography at Riverside for the past three years. I took Photo One as a sophomore, Two and Three as a junior, and now, as a senior, I am in Portfolio. What do you enjoy about photography? I have always loved expressing myself artistically and photography is a perfect medium for me to do so. I tend to create a vision for what I want my art to look like and photography allows me to capture that vision. How would you describe your philosophy with regards to photography? Most of my work is planned, thought out, and has a specific goal. I am not the type of photographer who brings a camera with them and snaps what appears to be beautiful. I usually have an intended message that I attempt to convey, however I love different interpretations of my work. Where did you get the idea for this portfolio? My photography teacher at Riverside, Rita Rathbone, suggested this project to me. The teachers of the special needs class asked her if any of her students would take pictures for a class project. They wanted to hang up pictures of their students on the classroom wall. I had just shifted my style from formalism to portraits and Ms. Rathbone thought it would be an interesting project for me and challenge me to move away from my comfort zone.

What was the actual process in producing this work? I talked to the teachers of the class to get an idea of what they wanted to get from this project. They asked for very simple, black and white portraits of each student. I shot the photos in the special needs classroom. I set up black sheets and studio lighting next to a large window. I utilized natural light because the weather was perfect. It was overcast the entire week and soft lighting is exactly what I wanted. I normally work with a 35-mm camera, but for this project I wanted to work in digital so I could have an unlimited amount of shots. I used a Nikon D-90 on manual. My editing process was pretty minor. I converted to black and white in Photoshop and enhanced contrast where needed. How would you describe your experience in working with the students and what was their reaction to the final project? Learning the unique qualities of each student was an enlightening experience. I was nervous about photographing these students because I was worried I might disappoint their teachers or families, but everyone was very supportive and easy going. I spent time in the class with the teachers and peer helpers and they helped me get to know each student. For one photo shoot I sang Mary Had a Little Lamb the entire time because it was the girl’s favorite song. For another student, Pablo, I spoke Spanish because that is the language his family speaks to him in. I have a story like this for every person I photographed in the class and learning about them helped me to acknowledge them as unique individuals.

What do you hope that your photos achieve in this project, what do you hope viewers are able to take away from this series? I hope the viewers will gain insight into each of these beautiful people and learn, like I did, that each one of them is unique and beautiful. What are your future photography plans? Although photography was my first love, my future aspirations deal with motion pictures. Next year I will be studying filmmaking at Tisch School of the Arts at NYU.

H.S. Baseball: Riverside v. Pinecrest

(CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE – photos by wjzo.com)

Riverside High School baseball v. Pinecrest High School

Durham Riverside fans and celebration

To see photos of Riverside’s game against Millbrook, please see this gallery at highschoolot.com. (photos by wjzo.com)