Club Profile: NAHS
With a new school year came new changes to the National Art Honor Society (NAHS) at Presentation. In the past, NAHS has been a club for students who love and excel in their art classes at Pres. If students actively participated in the club and met its requirements for membership, they were rewarded with a rainbow tassel at graduation.
However, this rainbow tassel is no longer available to just anyone, as the requirements have been expanded this year.One of the biggest changes to NAHS is a new GPA standard. All members must maintain a 3.0 overall GPA. They also must have a 3.3 GPA or higher in their art class. Mrs. Ford, NAHS moderator, said, “We made the GPA changes so they are in line with other honors classes on campus.”
Members must fulfill a five-hour service requirement each semester. This semester’s hours must come from helping on the set design for the fall musical, The Phantom of the Opera instead of the usual Black and White decorations. “The idea was to work on something different, something that if you are interested in pursuing a career in art (college) you can actually get a Bachelor of Fine Arts and/or a Master’s of Fine Arts in theater/set design,” said Mrs. Ford.
The officers are on board with these changes, too. NAHS officer Jackie Nguyen said, “Black and White decorations did include some elements of design, but we’re trying for projects that can really utilize our artistic talents Anyone can paint a star on a piece of poster paper, but how many people can say they’ve worked with set design, attended workshops with real, working artists in the community, and have contributed to a mural on display? We are an art club, so creativity and new, unique ideas are always a good thing.”
Participation is important to be in NAHS. You must visit one museum per year and attend at least one workshop and/or presentation of a visting artist per semester. You also must be present at every meeting with only two unexcused absences. Another attendance requirement is to help hang art for the art show.
“I think the changes we’re making are great. It’s not that the club was bad before, but this year, with our new moderator Mrs. Ford, we’re really aiming to make it worthy of being called a National Arts Honors Society,” said Nguyen. If you love art, and want that rainbow tassel for your graduation, you should consider taking the next opportunity to join the National Art Honors Society.
NAHS club profile
NAHS, the National Art Honors Society, is an art club with a variety of fun objectives including: recognizing students who have shown outstanding ability in art, increasing art awareness to our school and larger community, and furthering creative abilities and talents of the Society’s members, as well as students enrolled in an art class. NAHS art club gives club members a great opportunity to learn and appreciate art as Nicole Bejar (Class of 2011) says, “I have gained appreciation for how much effort is put into these projects as well as the precision of each art piece. Many members are far more artistically talented than me and I appreciate their skills.” The NAHS club is open to students who have taken one semester of art with at least a B. Senior club members can earn a rainbow tassel by participating in 12 hours of specific volunteer opportunities from decorating for Black and White to ushering for the play. The Art Club is for those students who take an art classes in their junior or senior year but want to still want to participate in an art club earlier on. NAHS participates in activities such as Black and White Decorations, Christmas in the Park, Spring Art Show, helping making play decorations, and much more.
NAHS Co-President, Kathleen Nguyen (Class of 2011) says of her experience with NAHS, “Being a NAHS officer has been very time consuming but also very rewarding. I enjoy seeing the end results of our projects and the efforts of all our members. I am co-president so I plan officer meetings and club meetings. I create agendas to talk about for the officers and remind everyone of their duties. I am present at all workdays for NAHS/Art club projects and design the projects with the other officers. I also create the power points for the meetings and finalize any decisions made by the club. Lastly, I am also in charge of decorating the NAHS boards and informing the members of scholarships, meetings, and requirements.”
Look forward to seeing NAHS’ big upcoming project: decorating a tree display in Christmas in the Park. NAHS officer Annie Vu (Class of 2011) gives us a sneak peek, “The theme for our tree is The Nightmare Before Christmas. We are mainly using recycled and reused items in order to make decorations. We are making bat and witch ornaments from soda cans, presents from cardboard boxes, and jack-o’-lanterns from plastic milk gallons. We are also including Jack Skellington, of course.” Be sure to check out the finished product in downtown San Jose starting November 26th!
A Collection of Thoughts from Black and White
By Tanya Padgaonkar, Special Sections Editor
A Perspective from a Chaperone…
Hey everyone, Mr. Mumper here. I’ve dreaded it for all of October, and now it’s finally here. Black and White. Someone please rescue me? Actually, no, it’s alright. I can do this, with this handy-dandy checklist in hand. Okay, so…
Flashlight: check.
Detention slips: check.
Protective gear…? Er, check?
I think…I think I’m ready.
But the moment I walk into the Hollywood themed gym, I know I’m in for a long night filled with sweaty teenagers, but (hopefully?) maybe a little bit of fun for myself too. I’d have to say though, the coolest thing I’ve seen all night was the crowd of boys and girls jerking and break dancing to the song “You’re a Jerk.”
Well, I guess people seem to be having fun. Standing atop a large ladder with a flashlight isn’t exactly my ideal Saturday night… I wish there was some Hawaiian music on. But at least the kids seem to like the DJ since they are singing along with almost every song. I’m not sure why the majority of the people seem to be in the middle of the gym though, since the foyer has spiffy looking card tables and there are refreshments outside. CI and NAHS really managed to incorporate the Hollywood theme into everything, from the decorations to the movie of old Hollywood films in the background, they thought of everything.
But apart from that, the whole experience is making me a little bit sad. I’m not in high school anymore! I can’t dance or even go to these things without a legitimate alibi. You know, I’m actually pretty impressed with all of these girls though. I’m supposed to be checking for drugs, alcohol, etc. and I haven’t found anything! Hey, these are actually some pretty good quotes. I’ll have to be sure to keep these and other positive Pres-related thoughts in mind in case one of those yearbook or newspaper students comes to interview me. Mr. Case warned me about them before I left. Now, where’s that checklist of mine?
By Angelia Tran, Business Manager
A Perspective from a Pres girl’s date…
Name: Jonathon Stutchman
High school: Saratoga High School
Grade: 12
Mission: Black and White Charity Ball at Presentation High School
Thoughts: Presentation is a typical private school, small, only females, and not too exciting. The dance will be kind of boring, not many people will be dancing, and there will be chaperones patrolling. But I told Ivy Nguyen I would go since she’s a senior and it’ll be her last Black and White.
October 24th 2009: It begins…
Preparation: 30 minutes to get ready and dressed. I must remember to wear something that matches lots of things to be safe since Ivy isn’t sure which dress to wear.
Mission begins: We are meeting at one of Ivy’s friend’s house for pictures and such. Perhaps I will meet other dates. I have a feeling I’ll be with them for the rest of the night. Then time for dinner! Ivy says we’re splitting the bill at Pasta Pamadora.
7:45 PM: Dinner is done and now at Presentation. The beginning of this dance is awkward since no one is dancing. This is typical of dances though, so, hopefully, things will improve. For now there are other things to do, like take professional pictures and play blackjack. How nice.
9 PM: For the most part, the music is pretty good. The DJ isn’t too amazing, but I’ve been to dances with much worse. Actually, this dance isn’t too bad and not too different from the ones I have gone to before. The only difference is, typically at schools like mine, there aren’t so many cops…and the chaperones usually aren’t so strict about the dancing.
11 PM: Time to leave. Wow, they really want us off campus fast. That’s different.
Notes: I didn’t think that the gym would be so big, and didn’t know that the school was really nice looking. Also there was a lot more sports awards in the gym than I thought would be at a private girls school. I really like the people though; they weren’t at all how I pictured. They seem a lot more real and fun than previously thought. Also there were more of them than I had thought.
A Perspective from a Police Officer…
Matt Christian and his brother are police officers, but their high school alma mater is Mitty. Still they came to Presentation, teenage stereotypes put aside, to chaperone the Black and White Charity Ball, the first for Matt who has only chaperoned other Presentation events such as the Mother-Daughter Breakfast. Unlike his experiences at Mitty, Matt found the Bellarmine boys to more well-behaved than he had thought and the Pres girls pretty decent. He was even further impressed with the charity aspect of Black and White as the proceeds of the night are given to Sacred Heart. Also, there were no incidents as he checked the parking lots and the rest of the campus for any criminal activity, critical or minor, to keep those on campus that night safe. The only safety breach came when some local neighborhoods kids hiding out at St. Chris managed to soak some students with water balloons as they were leaving the dance. While he and the other officers had rushed over, there was no one there. So, sadly, while the night had gone well otherwise, there was a casualty that night – a girl’s chic dress.
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