JMS Strings Program Takes Field Trip

By Maya Viswanathan and Annika Blackburn

Recently, all of the students in the JMS Strings Program were invited to come on a field trip to attend a concert at the Krannert Center. Every grade, sixth through eighth, were allowed to come for just a small fee of two dollars. It was an enjoyable, learning experience for everyone who went.

After being driven to the Krannert Center by a couple of wonderful, kind, bus drivers who work for the Unit 4 School District and being seated by an amazing volunteer usher, it was finally almost time to start the show. Imagine sitting in a big, cushioned chair, watching professional musicians setting up and getting ready to perform. The anticipation was intense, everyone was really eager to hear what the performers were going to play. No student knew which pieces were about to be performed, it was a surprise. The orchestra performed many beautiful songs for us that everyone in the audience loved. A man also read lovely poems that went along with each piece that was played. A student from the University Laboratory High School (Uni) even came to perform a piece called “The Flight of the Bumblebee” on her violin. The music was both beneficial and inspiring for every strings student who went.

There was a lot to learn from the concert. Going to concerts is important because listening to the music will help us be better musicians. “When you are a child, you learn how to speak by listening to your parents speak. When you listen to a concert, you hear a very rich tone and a mature sound and you can try to imitate the good quality music. You also have a goal in mind of what you are trying to do.” said Mr. Santana, the strings teacher. In strings class, we often listen to the recording of the piece we are trying to play. It helps us know what the piece is supposed to sound like so that we can mimic it when we play. At the concert, the orchestra had a very beautiful sound. I learned a lot from it. I was able to watch how they held their bows and listen to the music. Maybe, thanks to the concert, I will be able to play with a nicer sound next time I play.

One thing that I thought was really nice about the concert was that they taught us about the songs they played. The second piece they played was Carnival of the Animals by Saint Saens. Before they played the piece, the conductor talked about it. The piece is made up of many short pieces that each represent one animal. The conductor asked the orchestra to play a short part of five of the sections and then asked us to guess which animal it was. Through this we got to think about what the different styles of music represented.

Later, they pointed out other things about the different parts. The tortoise part was the same tune as Can Can by Jacques Offenbach, which is a well-known piece. However, it was played very slowly. The piece is traditionally played fast but because tortoises move slowly, it was played slowly. Also, they talked about how in the cuckoo part, there are two notes that repeat over and over that sound like a cuckoo clock. To make it fun for us, he suggested that we count the chimes. He also said that the beginning sounds like a train starting to take you around the carnival and show you all the animals. Because they told us about the piece, we got to think about why the composer wrote the music the way he did and we could also understand it better.

When they played Carnival of the Animals, they also read a poem by Jack Prelutsky that had a short poem for each of the animals. Before the orchestra played each section, the matching poem was read. The poems told us a little bit about each animal and because of them, we knew what to expect when we heard the next section of the piece. For example, after we heard about the graceful swan we were prepared for slow and lyrical music. When they taught us about the piece, there wasn’t enough time to talk about very single section of the piece. When they read the poems, it was like a quick introduction to each of the sections of the piece. Also, I really like poetry, so I enjoyed listening to the poems. It added another interesting element to the performance. The poetry was another thing to learn from and enjoy, in addition to the music.

A seventeen-year-old student from Uni High came to perform a beautiful piece called “Flight of the Bumblebee” on her violin. The song was written by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov and was written for an opera called The Tale of Tsar Saltan. The piece is very short and it is played at an extremely fast pace. When it is played, it sounds just like the buzzing of the bumblebee. The Uni Student played this piece as a solo on stage while the other instruments provided background music. She did amazing.

Before she was to play, the conductor asked her some questions about herself. One of the questions was “How many years have you been playing the violin?”. She had been playing since she was four years old! No wonder, she performed the piece so beautifully without any mistakes. Everyone really enjoyed the student’s solo. It was very inspiring, how hard she worked and how much she had to practice to get to that point. The concert just wouldn’t have been as special without her performance.

In conclusion, the concert that we went to was fun, beneficial for our musical education, and very inspiring. Every aspect was simply terrific; the teaching, the learning, the song “Carnival of the Animals”, the poetry, and of course, getting to listen to “The Flight of the Bumblebee” being performed by a Uni Student. I believe that every student should get the opportunity to go to concerts like this one, not just students in Strings or Band. I think that music is important for everyone, whether they themselves are musicians or not. The concert was so much fun, I wish that everyone could enjoy it with me.

Overall, the field trip was amazing, Jefferson’s Strings Teacher, Mr. Santana made an excellent choice. He is one of the many people that I would like to thank for making the Strings Field Trip possible. I would also like to thank: the Unit 4 District Bus Drivers, the parent chaperones who accompanied us on the trip, the ushers who volunteered their time to assist us, all of the wonderful people who helped to coordinate the event, the man who read the lovely poetry, the conductor, the student who took time out of their day to perform an amazing solo for us, and of course, all of the lovely musicians who were able to play such lovely music. The Strings Field Trip was a fun, enriching experience, that strengthened everyone’s musical education.

Solo-Ensemble Event Offers Opportunities for Musicians

By Annika Blackburn

How would you feel if you were about to perform a piece that you had been practicing for weeks in front of both a judge and an audience? If you are in either band, strings, or choir you have the opportunity to do just that. Next year, you could participate in the annual Solo-Ensemble event for just a small fee, fun rehearsals with friends, and an overall good experience. In the event, you are allowed to participate in up to two ensembles and solo for each instrument that you play (voices count as an instrument!).

Being in next year’s Solo-Ensemble event may be easier than you might think; all you have to do is ask your music (band, strings, choir, etc.) teacher for a permission slip, have a parent or guardian sign it, and bring it back to your teacher with eight dollars. If you decided to do a solo, then you may have to pay additional fees for an accompanist, also your teacher will probably help you find the right music for your performance.

After you have joined the event, it’s pretty simple, schedule rehearsal times with our friends (lunch would be a good time) and then just show up half an hour early to play in the event, a day or two later you will your score sheet. Solo-Ensemble is overall, a fun event that gives you good musical experience. I would personally recommend it for anyone in band, strings, choir, or if you play in instrument at home. You could also just come to support your friends and listen to some great music.  

For the Solo Ensemble event I played the viola in quartet with three violin players. I had a very memorable, enjoyable, experience. We performed a Trepak, a dance movement from the Nutcracker Ballet. I learned a lot from both preparing and the actual performance of the piece. We practiced together with the assistance of our strings teacher, Mr. Santana almost everyday during our lunch period. We had troubles in the beginning, the rhythms were especially tricky for me, but we worked through it and got better everyday.  Our teacher was very helpful and supportive, we could not have done it without him. Like I said earlier, rehearsing with friends was so much fun, a truly unforgettable experience for me.

On the evening of the actual event, we all started to get pretty nervous. Our song, and all of the hard work that we put into it was about to be judged by an expert musician. I can still remember my heart beating so hard and nearly escaping my chest. When we entered the room, I was very surprised to see what a large audience we had; families, peers, other performers, and of course Mr. Santana.

After our friend finished a beautiful piano piece, it was our turn to step up to the plate. I can still remember the burning lights and the anticipation coming from the audience. I just couldn’t believe what I was doing. After the longest moment of silence, we played our piece. What were happy to learn not only learn what we had done well, but also some constructive criticism. We had needed to be more animated and faster, we needed to play like there were actual ballerinas dancing to our music. I guess we were really nervous, but overall I was very happy with the score that I received the next day. There were some rough spots in the process, but overall we really enjoyed our experience all the way from the beginning to the end.

If you are thinking about doing Solo Ensemble next year, keep these things in mind. You get a lot better at your instrument by getting individual comments. When we are in strings class, we are in a big class. We are all playing at the same time, and so Mr. Santana doesn’t get a chance to give each one of us individual comments. We all get general comments, but each one of us doesn’t get to fix everything that we do wrong. In Solo Ensemble, we got a chance to practice in smaller groups. We got more comments, both from Mr. Santana when we practiced, and from the judge at the performance. For example, we were able to work on making each note on tune. We also worked on making the music louder and softer, in the right places.

Another thing to keep in mind is that you can also improve as a musician by learning from your friends. Your friends can help you fix mistakes and understand what the teacher says. They also make sure you laugh along the way, have fun, and enjoy yourself and they can inspire you with something that they play. When you practice on your own, it is fun but it can sometimes get boring or frustrating, but not when you practice with friends.

I learned a lot at Solo Ensemble and I know I’ll learn just as much next year. I am already looking forward to practicing with my friends at lunch and talking to them and of course to the performance itself. I’ll try to keep all the comments I got this year, in mind next year so that I can play better. I loved Solo Ensemble, the excitement of the performance, the practicing with friends, and improving as a musician. Already, I can’t wait until next year.

Video Game Review: The Estranged Series

By Ramsey Treadway

“My name is Jonathan Derril, and I need help… Those things… They’ve taken over the island. Anyone, please, I have supplies, but… They’re out there.”

―John Derril’s Distress Signal

The Estranged Series is a little known game series in two parts; “Estranged: Act One” and “Estranged: Act Two Demo.” So far, I consider the Estranged series, especially act one, as one of the best first-person shooter mods out there. It first started out as a small series of maps using VALVe’s Source engine from Half-Life Two: Episode One and Half-Life Two: Episode Two.

I love Act One very dearly, as it was the first, to me at least, game to be sold free on VALVe’s own game launcher, Steam. Well, second, but it was a complete overhaul and reskin. The second act, unlike the fist, looks like it either uses the C++ Unreal engine or the Unity engine, most likely the ladder as my computer doesn’t tank when I run it.

Both of these games are, in fact, free, which is pretty cool. Act One is what I’d consider at least a 9.1/10, due to its graphical improvements, story, cost and voice acting. Act Two… Act Two is different. It runs on an entirely different engine, meaning that there are some graphical downgrades from source. The first graphical downgrade is the motion blur. I absolutely hate motion blur, because my eyes hurt from it and it effects the shooting. However, there is some good, but the engine that their running either had no physics engine in it or a really bad one, because the physics also stink. It’s like picking up a pencil holding it eraser to paper and then needing to write with it, keeping it the way you picked it up.

There’s also interactable computers, which I liked in the Act One, but I dislike in Act Two. Act One’s computers are easier to control, as you press E on them and you open up a menu for the computer, having some applications on it. In Act Two… This might just be me, but my mouse sensitivity is way too high, and I don’t know how to turn it down, so the computers in Act Two stink to me. They are world objects that, combined with the motion blur, is almost impossible to use as their a world object now with no menu, meaning I have to painstakingly move my mouse slowing, inch by inch, and then a zombie comes out of nowhere and I have to both kill it and start all over again.

Another thing, the world design stinks. Half the time the place is so exploratory, I get lost and I have to spend way too many minutes looking for wherever I have to go. This is fine, though, as it is free. If it was not; Steam Refund Policy comes into play. The only way to get the game is from Steam, and one of the things in the SRP is that you cannot play for over two hours or you won’t get your full money back, and owning it for a year makes it ineligible, too. But it’s free, so that’s good. I’d give Act Two a 4.5 out of ten, due to its graphics and some others. There’s also new enemies, so that’s why it’s a 4.5 and not a 3.5.

Overall Rating: 68% (6.8/10) -“A great game by most means, but the weight of Act Two still weighs on it. It could also do better on the physics engine for Act Two.”

-Your Resident Game Reviewer, Ramsey Treadway.  If you would like Ramsey to review a particular video game, email your suggestion to treadwra2025@gmail.com.

The Importance of Earth Day

By Annika Blackburn

What do you think when you hear the words, Earth Day? Do you think about Climate Change? Or, perhaps the new fitness craze, “plogging”?  Climate Change is the process of more carbon dioxide getting into the earth’s atmosphere, it generally occurs because of all the pollution that humans create. The term “pollution” can range from oil spills to engine exhaust to someone littering in the park.

Climate change usually causes the world to heat up, but it also can create unusual storms and other odd weather patterns. “Plogging” is something that everyday citizens do to help out the planet, it may be only a small act of kindness, but it makes a big difference. “Plogging” is jogging and picking up trash at the same time, it is an important step that gets us closer to our goal of a cleaner Earth.

Climate Change and “plogging” both have to do with an important day that comes annually on April 22 – Earth Day. Even though we are supposed to take care of the planet every single day, it is very important to give the planet a little extra recognition on this day. We celebrate the Earth so that we don’t forget how important it is and that we need to address important issues such as Climate Change.

Earth Day is celebrated internationally so it is a day for the entire world to come together and to address these problems as one big community. You don’t have to anything that big though, there are many things that you can do in your own home, if we all do something little then we could make a big difference.

Earth Day originated in the year 1970 and originally referred to as “Mother Earth Day” It was founded by a man named Gaylord Nelson, a Senator from Wisconsin. He believed that the Earth and Climate Change were not recognized enough in the media or in politics. He also thought that Earth Day should take place because a big oil spill had just taken place in Barbara, California, a great deal of wildlife had been destroyed. If Nelson never founded Earth Day than our planet would probably be in worse shape today.

Earth Day is both a reminder and a warning to take care of the world, because the world doesn’t last forever. It also reminds people that is your not part of the solution, then you are a part of the problem.

Even though you are supposed to take care of the planet every day, there are some extra special things that you can do to show your support, specifically on Earth Day. You could do things like planting flowers and trees that will remind you love nature, they will also benefit the Earth’s atmosphere at the same time. You could also ride a bike or take the bus to places, you can show your support while you cut down on engine exhaust.

Making posters and participating in a local Environmental Rally would also be nice idea. Attending events with other people about Earth Day makes you feel like you are not the only one, other people also care about the planet and they are going to help you make the world a much better place. Even though you are supposed to take care of the world every day, doing these special activities help to remind both the community and yourself how important the Earth really is.

There are many things that you can do to help support the Earth everyday such as, cutting down on how much garbage that you create, recycling everything that you can, going “plogging” or just pick up other people’s litter, taking shorter showers, using public transportation, and just something as basic as turning off the lights when you leave a room. Creating less waste is really important because our landfills are already taking up too much space and polluting our planet, recycling and reusing things has the same effect. “Plogging” helps to not only make our world a cleaner place, but certain types of litter can harm, or even kill helpless animals.

It is also important to conserve water because, transporting water from place to place takes up a lot of energy that can be put to other uses, such as helping to save the environment, the same thing for turning off the lights when you leave a room. Using public transportation such as a bus instead of your own individual car means less engine exhaust entering the environment.

For example, if fifty people decide to take the bus instead of each driving to work in their own car, then only one engine is emitting fossil fuels instead of fifty. Doing all of these little things may not seem like a lot, but if every single person did at least one of these things every day, then the world would be a much better place. If everyone does their individual part then we can all change the world together, one small step at a time.

In conclusion, we humans are the ones who hurt the planet, so we have to do our part to make it right again. You are always supposed to leave a place better than how you found it. It is important to save the planet by everyone doing their part, but it is important for people to elect leaders and politicians who believe in Climate Change, and will do everything in their power to help the world fix it. Sometimes we even need to protest and rally to save the world from greedy corporations and blind politicians, but it is worth it, just like it is worth it to conserve water and use public transportation.

Overall, we need to each do our part to save the planet every day, but it is also important to do extra special things on Earth Day. The Earth needs recognition, we need to remember how its danger and that we need to save it. Gaylord Nelson was right, we need to give the earth more attention in politics and in the media. An injured environment and Climate Change two of the biggest problems in the world right now. Remember, if you are not part of the solution, then you are a part of the problem. That means, even if you personally did not wreck the environment, humanity did, we are all on the same team so we need to fix each other’s mistakes. If each do even a small part every day, then we can make a difference for the Earth that really means something.

Lit Festival Offers Enriching Experience

By Annika Blackburn

Have you ever heard of a free, educational event that only comes to Champaign every two years?  The Youth Literary (Lit) Festival just doesn’t get that much publicity in our community. This year’s amazing festival took place on Saturday, March 30 at the iHotel and Conference Center in Champaign.

The Lit Festival is a fun day for children, families, teens, and adults that includes musical performances, crafts, a bookstore, book-signings from famous authors, and educational lectures from popular writers. The people that you meet there aren’t just all strangers; Sharon Flake who recently visited Jefferson Middle School gave a book talk there. The Edison Band also gave a lovely performance at the Festival.

The Youth Lit Festival also positively impacts our community. It teaches young children the importance of reading, teens on how to become better writers, adults on how to get their works published, and it teaches families on how to incorporate learning into their daily lives. I feel as though the festival also brings everyone together as community to share their ideas and to learn from one another.

Attending also makes feel like you are a part of something big, a movement that really emphasizes the importance of literature among young people. The festival is also free and inclusive, anyone who wants to come can come. It is also a way for people to come and show off their talents to others. I also believe that it makes the community better-educated and it is a fun way to meet others in Champaign.  

I went to a total of four book talks/ lectures from famous authors at the festival, and I got a lot of good writing and publishing advice. I especially liked what Greg Neri said about writing nonfiction books and what Ted Sanders said about which ways work best for getting your writing published. One of Mr. Neri’s most popular books is Ghetto Cowboy but he is currently writing a non-fiction book about both his experiences and the science aspects of Antarctica. His biggest tip for writing nonfiction for kids is to imagine yourself as a translator, you are taking the actual science and then breaking it down into something simpler that everyone is able to understand.

Ted Sanders is the author of The Keeper’s quartet.  One piece of advice from Mr. Sanders on how to get your book published is to keep trying to get your work out there, until a certain point. After that point, you should go back and edit your work before trying to put it back out there.  Other writers gave a lot of good advice also, but these two really stood out to me.  

In conclusion, the Youth Lit Festival was a really enriching experience for me. I got to meet authors, listen to book talks, learn from educational lectures, and even participate in a writing assignment of my own. The festival also includes other activities such as social time, crafts, games, raffles, book-signings, and live bands. Also, the festival is very beneficial for the community, you get free write’s advice and people are encouraged to always continue to read and educate themselves.  I would encourage all Jefferson students to come check it out in two years.