Page 12 - Twice-Told April 2018

Page 12 Twice-Told Tale

…A Community of Bravery, cial Olym- field events, she spent a lot of time encouraging partici-
pics and
Continued From Page 1. had a pants on and off the field. “I genuinely had a great
time,” Bates affirmed. This was her first Special Olym-
Kennedy. With the White House behind her, Shriver great time pics, and she was a little hesitant to take on a leading
organized the first International Special Olympics showing role in her event. However, she said, “It wasn’t much
Games in 1968. Since its inaugural year, the associa- the ath- different from encouraging my close friends. Everyone
tion has become the world’s largest provider of fitness letes how had a really good attitude. The volunteers worked hard.
training and life management skills for children and to play. “I The athletes worked hard. Everyone just worked hard to
adults living with developmental or intellectual disabili- was one have a good time. It was a really fun place to be.”
ties. Special Olympics Florida was spearheaded in 1972 of the When Lake Highland opened up its gates to the
and takes pride in being the largest volunteer-driven only vol- Central Florida community, it received a surplus of help
athletic organization in the state. unteers from all across the city. One of these outside helpers
In previous years, the Orange County Special that had was Mrs. LaJaunese Johnson. Mrs. Johnson has been
Olympics Summer Games has relied on the substantial played helping with the Special Olympics since she moved to
turnout of Lake Highland students, and this year was no Bocee ball Florida in 2010, promoting it to her Zumba classes and
exception. Total student involvement resulted in ap- before, other social circles. Mrs. Johnson’s grandchildren attend
proximately 160 Upper School volunteers: a notable and I was Lake Highland, and she has used the experience to teach
number next to non-LHP assistance (estimated at more than them about the importance of giving back to society. “I
around 100 individuals). A common misconception happy to
about volunteering for this event is that all volunteers teach peo- strongly believe in fostering a strong community,” Mrs.
should be heavily involved with athletics. However, (Above) The track events were particularly ple every- Johnson said. “Volunteer opportunities like the Special
one simply has to look at the list of people signed up to competitive this year, with all the athletes thing they Olympics are very important in this regard. The turnout
notice that they come from an array of different back- finishing within seconds of each other. Photo needed to is always uplifting, and the joy on the athletes’ faces
grounds. Volunteers need nothing more than a desire to courtesy of Ahmed Bilal. know.” makes all the preparation worth it.” Mrs. Johnson, while
help others and a positive attitude to be valued mem- When not being able to, “Run around and coach like all teen-
bers of the event. asked about what the hardest part of volunteering at agers could,” says she greatly enjoyed handing out
One of these enthusiastic individuals is Rachel the Special Olympics was, she thoughtfully replied, “I awards at the end of each event. “It is a different kind of
Horvat, a junior at Lake Highland Prep. Horvat is a don’t think there’s necessarily a ‘difficult part’ of vol- joy the athletes experience when they get to wear a
veteran to working with special needs individuals. “I’m unteering. No matter what you do when you volunteer, medal for their hard work. [It’s] truly inspiring.”
a member of Best Buddies [a club that interacts closely you need to be patient and willing to adapt at a mo- Worldwide, the Special Olympics hosts 108,000
with special needs youth],” she said. Horvat added, ment’s notice. I get plenty of practice with that at Best local competitions. Central Florida is just one of many

“And when the option to sign up for the Special Olym- Buddies. Honestly, the hardest part of the event wasn’t communities to band together for the sake of helping
pics was available to me, I was really excited to join.” helping people. It was the heat!” others. The amount of love and respect this community
Horvat helped with the Bocee ball section of the Spe- Caroline Bates, grade 11, had similar things to fosters is astounding, and the fact that Lake Highland
say about the event. As a team leader for the track and students get to be in the heart of it is truly something.

… Do You Hear the People Sing?, several students in the musical are also a part of
other art programs such as drama and chorus.
Continued From Page 1. After interviewing Caroline Bates, grade 11, she

-ty much write down everything the director says while explained her favorite part of being in musical
the actors are practicing their choreography and learning theater. She confessed, “I love being apart of
new songs.” Often the cast will also set up certain theatre at Lake Highland because of the ability
scenes, and run through it several times in order to to express yourself through different characters.
memorize marks and make sure that everyone is pre- I love the feeling of stage lighting reflecting off
my face, the energy of the musical instruments
tapping their way into place, and the
excited chatter of the audience that
escalates as showtime approaches. Art
opens people’s hearts. Art changes
people’s minds. I love the ability to
become someone else at 3:15 every-
day.”
Clearly all of the students involved in
the play are extremely passionate about
their work. Many of the students are (Above) The stage model is made by Mr. John Paul Geurts. He is Lake
also interested in turning their passion Highland’s main scenic designer and is the creator of all the stage piec-
for musical theatre into their careers. es. After he designs the different set pieces, he sends it to a coloring
As Michael Stanney is close to graduat- company that colors each piece according to his drawings. The model is
ing he explained to me his plans for his used to set marks for the actors and to get a sense of what the musical
future, “I’ve currently applied to the will look like from an audience perspective.
top acting and musical theatre schools
so I can pursue acting as a career. As
to why?...I’m choosing acting because
of that family. I love meeting new
(Above) The show premieres this spring on April 12 and is showing on the people and getting to know them and
13, 14, and 15. During drama class the cast practices songs and scenes telling their stories, and acting is all
from Les Misérables. All photos by John Fung.
about people and stories.” Several cast
pared for the real thing. Although we only see the actors members all agree that the sense of family and
on stage, Micheal Stanney, explains that in reality, “It bonds through the arts is a huge factor as to
takes a village. There is a director, choreographer, light- why they continue to participate in the arts at
ing designer, set designer, sound designer, stagecraft Lake Highland. Many of the younger students
team, stage managers, spotlight operators, fly operators, even say that the seniors are their mentors and
etc.” He also explains how important behind the scenes inspiration for continuing in the arts.
crew members really are to the production of the musi- This spring, come see Les Misérables,
cal, “Without them there’s no way we could do a show. the French musical of love and loss based dur-
They are the backbone and the heart; they are the single ing a revolution to overthrow the monarchy.
most crucial parts to the creation of production. If it The cast and tech crew have worked extremely
wasn’t for them you’d be coming to see a bunch of kids hard to create the best theatrical experience
(Above) During the musical, several large pieces will “fly” into frame
sit on the ground in fluorescent light and read a book. both on and off the stage. Everyone working on often serving as a back drop or set pieces. These pieces are known as
We owe our crew more thanks than we could ever this massive project is rehearsing every day to
give.” express their passion in this performance. The “Fly-ins” and are controlled by a system of pulleys and counterweights.
All of the students involved are extremely pas- story of grace and law will be in the HCCA These pieces are extremely important to the play because of their abil-
ity to change the setting quickly. Having a model of the entire stage
sionate about theater and the arts at Lake Highland, and and will feature Michael Stanney as Jean
Valjean, the main protagonist. really helps when trying to envision the musical.