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PHS Music Department Preps for Nashville

by Anna Skubal

This spring the high school music students will be taking a trip to Nashville on April 9-13. On the trip the students will have a number opportunities unique to the “country music capital of the world.” They’ll get  the ins and outs of a recording studio, watch the operetta The Pirates of Penzance (the choirs are singing two pieces from this show later this month), tour the Country Music Hall of Fame. There’s even a chance for students to expand their musical knowledge by performing and getting some lessons at Belmont University.  

There have been four fundraisers over the past year: pasta sales last spring, Chip Shoppe sales at the beginning of this school year, Fiesta Fundraiser on November 4th, and cheesecake sales in November. The proceeds that each student raises in these fundraisers goes directly into his or her personal music fund account for him or her to use on either this Nashville trip or their senior class music trip. 

But even with Nashville preparation still on their minds, the music department has had a host of other events going on this winter. On December 11th there was an orchestra concert, and on December 23rd there was an in-school chamber group concert where the Woodwind Choir, Brass Choir, and Jazz Band, and Blue Notes performed holiday tunes for the student body and faculty. Staff members reported that this was the first in-school holiday concert in recent memory. 

If you missed those and still wanted to support the music students and their trip to Nashville, there was a choir and band concert on Tuesday, January 20th in the newly renovated auditorium.

Musicians Shine at Honors Concert

Front Row: (L-R) Nick Demaree, Tianna Gile; Back Row: McKenzie Scanlan, Emma Bryla, Danielle Dillon

by Beth Gardiner

Every year the best musicians in Wisconsin participate in the WSMA High School State Honors Music Project. Platteville High School was represented this year by Emma Bryla (‘16) and Nick Demaree (‘17) in the mixed choir, Tianna Gile (‘16) and McKenzie Scanlan (‘15) in the treble choir, and Danielle Dillon (‘16) in the orchestra.

“The audition process is very rigorous,” shares Bryla. For a vocal audition, one is required to prepare a classical solo and show skills in sight reading and aural recognition. Orchestra and band auditions are similar in nature.  

The auditions were in February, and the musicians found out if they were accepted in the spring. The students chosen then participated in an intensive four day camp in June leading up to a performance during the Wisconsin State Music Conference in late October. Tianna Gile said, “I had a great experience this year with Honors. It was unbelieveable to sing with so many other amazing women who share the same passion for singing and music! I learned so much through this incredible experience.”

The WSMA High School State Honors Music Project is nationally recognized as one of the best opportunities for young people. Scanlan reflects that this year she learned so much about being a performer. She says, “My conductor taught us that there is much more to performing than just singing the correct notes and rhythms. It’s so important to add your own meaning to the pieces.

So, who can audition for Honors? Students in ninth, tenth, and eleventh grade are eligible at Platteville High School. All of this year’s star-musicians highly suggest auditioning. “If you don’t audition, your chance of getting into the choir is zero percent. Your chances go up immensely when you audition,” states Scanlan.

Voyage to France: PHS Students' Journey Over the Pond

by Pauline Justal

     In the summer of 2014, an opportunity was offered to some students taking French at PHS, such as Matt Schaefer (‘15) who said about his experience, “It was awesome.” The trip to France was a chance for students to learn about French language, culture, and history up front and in person. In addition they got to see their friends from Spring. These students are from Lycée/High School Baudelaire  and came to visit Wisconsin in May. This time the French students hosted the PHS students during their French trip for six days to give everyone the full experience of living for a few days in a true French environment. Even if they did not all have the same experience since every family is different, they all enjoyed learning ways of life in France. They visited pleasant places such as the Monet garden, many churches and cathedrals, the beaches of D day and when they got to Paris they visited almost everything talked about in Mrs. Peters’s class.They climbed up the Eiffel Tower, had a boat ride on the Seine and did an awesome bike ride. They were lucky to have incredibly good weather in Paris compared to the weather Parisiens are used to. It allowed everyone to have a great trip.

Melanie Schaefer Makes Waves at State Meet

by Beth Gardiner

  The girls' swimming season lasted an extra week for one special competitor. Melanie Schaefer had a phenomenal sectional meet, qualifying her for the state competition. Freestyle being her main event, Schaefer placed second in the 100 free and fourth in the 200 free at the sectional meet. “I was really excited this year because I was going to compete at state level as an individual for the first time. This meant a lot to me because my hard work has finally paid off,” shared Schaefer.

  The State meet was held on November 15th at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Natatorium. The day started for Schaefer with a PHS pep rally, so that students could send her off in style. Schaefer and Captain Maddie Kieler headed off with Coach Peters and Coach Wunderlin for a relaxing day in Madison before the big meet.

  The big race on Friday night went very well for Schaefer. With many of her close friends cheering her on, Schaefer’s hard work paid off, as she placed 13th in the 200 and 9th in the 100 freestyle events. Schaefer reflected on the trip by describing the feeling of representing her school at the state level. “Being on the opposite side of the pool and seeing all the fans representing their school by their state shirts was an incredible picture to see.”

Alumni Runners

by Allie Serres

  Platteville Cross Country has always had a legacy for greatness, but some of Platteville High School’s runners go on to be even greater. Laura Donovan (‘13 graduate) and Tricia Serres (‘12 graduate) are now all competing at the college level.

  When Laura Donovan first went to UW-Stout, she wasn’t really sure what to expect. As if trying to make the cross country team as a freshman wasn’t scary enough, Laura was coming off a torn ACL injury. But that didn’t stop her. Not only did Laura make the team, she ran on varsity. On Saturday, November 16th, she competed in the Regional, National Qualifiers meet in Rock Island, Illinois, where she ran 6 kilometers in 23 minutes and 53 seconds.

  Tricia Serres went to Luther, where she is in her second year of collegiate running and loving it. Tricia had an amazing season. She led her team to the Regional, National Qualifiers meet in Northfield, Minnesota, which was also on Saturday, November 16th. Her 6k time was a 21:42, putting her in 3rd overall, which made her an automatic qualifier for the National meet. At Nationals she placed 32nd with a time of 21:57, earning her another All-American title (The top 35 receive All-American honors).

  In order to qualify for Nationals, you must either be a part of one the top two teams from each regional meet or be one of the top five individuals that are not part of the qualifying teams. Luther Girls placed 4th as a team in their regional, but coaches got together and picked several “At-Large” teams (teams that, once compared to other teams that have qualified in other regionals, deserve a spot at Nationals). Luther was one of the teams chosen to make make the trip to Hanover, Indiana on Saturday, November 23rd for the NCAA Division 3 National Cross Country meet. There they placed 27th out 42 teams.

PHS Student Goes to Korea

In case you hadn’t been informed, this year a Platteville High School student is studying abroad. Anna Whisenant (‘15) is spending a year in Uiwang, South Korea, through the Rotary Youth Exchange. Staffer Adam Roberts had the opportunity to ask Anna a few questions about her experience.

What are some differences you’ve noticed about Korean life?

AW: Life in Korea on a day to day basis isn’t really that different than life in America.  There are some differences.  School is harder, and people generally work harder at what they do.  Sometimes my host parents don’t come home from work before 11 at night, and never before 7.

Has learning a new language been a challenge?

AW: The Korean language is really hard.  The language barrier has sucked.

What has been your favorite part of the experience so far?

AW: I love the culture and how beautiful it is.  I love the landscape as well.

What do you miss about Platteville?

AW: I really miss my friends and American fast food.  

How has your experience with the Rotary program been?

AW: It’s so rewarding. We help in the community and try to give back.  I love my host family so much.

Do you have any advice for others who want to travel to a foreign country?

AW: I think everyone should be able to live outside of the country at some point.  If you think that America is the best place out there, it’s time for a reality check.

Interested in reading more about Anna’s experience?  You can follow her blog for updates:  http://anna-all-over.blogspot.com/

Jesus Fontan

Spanish Foreign Exchange Student

Story by Anna Musarra

   There’s five minutes left in the first half of the game, and the Platteville-Lancaster boys’ soccer team is on the attack. In the lead is a new face: Jesús Fontán, fifteen year-old foreign exchange student from Madrid, Spain. Fontán, who also plays recreational tennis, isn’t the only one from Madrid on the team; coincidentally, one of his friends from his team back in Spain, Aurelio Fernandez, is also playing for the Hillmen this season. The two live only five minutes away from each other back home in Madrid, which is especially cool considering the population of Madrid is over 3 million people, and they both just happened to end up in rural Platteville, Wisconsin. 
   The two friends and teammates don’t live quite as close to each other in Platteville--Fernandez lives several minutes out of town, and Fontán is staying in town with the Custers. They do still spend a lot of time together, however, since they’re both in many classes together, although only Fontán is registered as a sophomore, and both are avid fans of the Spanish club team, Real Madrid.
   America isn’t the only place that Fontán has travelled to. He’s also been to France, and once visited Norway for about a week. He says the best part of his current extended stay, however, is getting to meet all the new people, especially the others in the foreign exchange program and his new friends on the soccer team.
   Although the soccer season is now over, Fontán’s stay in Platteville is only just beginning. Make sure to say hello to our new friend in the hallway!

Aurelio Fernandez

Spanish Foreign Exchange Student

by Rachel Lueder

Fifteen year-old Aurelio Fernandez, a student from Madrid, recently decided to venture across seas to experience American culture and to better his English language skills.  Fernandez, who is staying with the Kielers, is currently registered as a junior, but is in mostly sophomore classes. Of all the foreign exchange students, Fernandez has been in Platteville for the shortest time. He was originally placed in a school in Chicago, but 75% of the students in the school spoke Spanish, which defeated the entire purpose of Fernandez’s trip. After about a month in Chicago, he was moved here, but has adjusted well to life here at PHS and made a number of new friends, especially the other boys on the school soccer team. Surprisingly, he’s already familiar with one of his teammates: he and Jesús Fontán, another foreign exchange student, live only five minutes away from each other back in Madrid and even play for the same club soccer team at home. Fernandez explained that his school doesn’t actually have a soccer team--all of the sports people play in his school are at the club level, independent of the school.

The structure of sports teams isn’t the only difference between his school in Madrid and PHS. Fernandez was also required to learn English (he speaks a little French as well), and had to learn how to play an instrument. Fernandez played the flute for eight years before picking up guitar last year. Fernandez noted that one of the biggest differences between life in Spain and America is the education system. Primary and secondary education in Spain can more or less be separated into four different stages: pre-school, primary school, secondary school, and finally, college prep. In Spain, Fernandez reported that you start off with pre-school, which isn’t mandatory, but most parents have their children attend it. Next is primary school. Primary school, which lasts six years, is structured in three, two-year cycles. Primary school would approximately be first grade to sixth grade in America. After that, you’re off to secondary school, which is four years long. This stage lasts until the student is sixteen, at which point in time the student is no longer required by law to stay in school. Most tend to stay in school though. The last step in secondary education in Spain is referred to as the Bachillerato level, and is generally a college preparatory stage lasting from age sixteen to eighteen. What’s different about this level is that classes vary depending on the student’s interest.   

As for now, Fernandez says he likes his classes here at PHS more than at his school in Madrid as the subjects are spread out, as opposed to having core sciences (chemistry and physics, for example) combined. However, PHS’s schedule doesn’t allow for as many breaks as he would have at home, and is considerably smaller as a student body: his school has a population of roughly 1,500--and they all have lunch at once. Fernandez is here all year, so make sure to get to know our new friend!

Ben Bahr

PHS Student Becomes Eagle Scout

Story by Max Frommelt

 On August 19th, 2013, Benjamin Raphael Bahr became an Eagle Scout at St. Mary’s Church, Platteville, WI. The Eagle Scout Award is the highest possible award to be earned in Boy Scouts. Here is a fun fact: for every 100 scouts, only two will receive the Eagle Scout Award. Why are there so few? To earn the Eagle Scout Award, you must earn 21 merit badges, you must lead and create a service project that is over 180 hours, and you must have a leadership position within your Troop for six Months. This is more than a small achievement. Ben made map and trail signs at Badger Camp to help out the campers. Well known Eagle Scouts include John W. Creighton, Jr., CEO of Weyerhaeuser and United Airlines, Chuck Smith, President and CEO of AT&T West; Sam Walton, Founder of Wal-Mart and Sam's Club; and Garrett Jones, Platteville High School’s very own social studies teacher.

Arianna Day

Day Receives National Recognition
Story by Beth Gardiner

  Summer is a great time to relax with friends and create memories, but can also be a chance to experience amazing opportunities. This summer Arianna Day ('14) was accepted into the Kids from Wisconsin ensemble and the Open Jar Institute in the heart of New York City.
   Kids from Wisconsin is the music ambassadors that performs about fifty shows a summer throughout Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Michigan. Day auditioned in February and later found out that she was given the camp alternate position. Right after school got out, Day headed to a seventeen day camp where she had four hour sessions of singing, dancing, and combined rehearsals, along with extra practices. Day’s job was to learn the show and be prepared if she was needed to replace one of the twenty singers and dancers. Day shared, “I loved how everyone was so supportive. You worked together like a family which was awesome to be around.” Impressed by her time with the Kids from Wisconsin, Day is planning on auditioning again next year. 
   After Kids, Day continued her summer of experiences in July through an institute in New York. The Open Jar Institute is a competitive actor intensive training that one thousand high school students audition for each year. From those auditions, sixty students are chosen. Day had the opportunity to work with people from Broadway, attend acting and singing classes with casting agents and Broadway royalties, and experience life in New York City. Along with the training, Day went to four Broadway productions, showcased her skills, and attended a pent house party on the eightieth floor right by Central Park. 
   Day worked extremely hard to qualify for these opportunities and shared some wisdom she gained. “The biggest thing I was told was you should always try your hardest because the worse thing anyone can say is no.”