Sunday, January 31, 2016

Southwest Alum Michael Peter part of Grease Live



Tonight's, "Grease Live" on Fox is being overseen by a SW Class of 2000 alum. Michael Peter was heavily involved in theater and the arts while at SW (despite the program's significant lack of attention compared to now).

He is the "Executive Production Supervisor" for tonight's show (yea, I don't know what that actually means but it's cool nonetheless).

If nothing else, know that our Laker reach is VERY vast :-)

Adam Barrett, Southwest Alumni
Southwest Foundation Board Member

Southwest Speech Opens Now



The Speech Season kicked off this weekend at the Eden Prairie tournament. I will gracefully dodge the topic of results, but instead focus on the fact that our team is incredibly diverse (far more than any other team at the tournaments) and are largely new to Speech and to many extra-curricular activities. 

I am enormously proud of this and the scholars that brave, what is considered the most terrifying feat (even eclipsing death related exploits) that can be faced by mere mortals, the act of speaking in front of people. 

The team did so with grace and an amazing positive attitude considering we were up against some of the best teams in the state. The following is a list of those who participated on Saturday. 

Please congratulate them on representing our school so well. 

Dan Ferris 
SW Speech Coach

Ahmed Yusef
Emily Van Ryn
Maisy Martin
Shira Rabkin
Sophia Morrissette
Qalid Hussien
Jillian Kirk
Olivia Custus
Faisa Omar
Mark Pekala

Yasmin Aden

Thursday, January 28, 2016

One Acts - Almost Maine & Push -- Thursday and Friday - Curtain at 7:00 pm

Come see these performances on Thursday or Friday, and wish the "PUSH" cast well as they compete this afternoon in the state's One Acts competition!

Cast of "Push"

Cast of " Almost, Maine"

Jan. 28, 29,  2016 One Acts
Southwest High School presents: 2016 One Acts
Thurs., Jan. 28 and Fri., Jan.29 at 7 pm in the SWHS Auditorium
Tickets sold at the door, Adults $10, Students $5.

"ALMOST, MAINE" by John Cariani, directed by Alison Thvedt
Almost, Maine, is a play comprising of nine short plays that explore love and loss in a small town that's so far north, it's almost Canada. One cold, clear Friday night in the middle of winter, while the northern lights hover in the sky above, Almost’s residents find themselves falling in and out of love in the strangest ways. Knees are bruised. Hearts are broken. Love is lost, found, and confounded. And life for the people of Almost, Maine will never be the same.

"PUSH" by George Cameran Grant, directed by Tor Johnson
What would it take to push your child over the edge? Eve, a 16 year-old girl, has fallen asleep in the darkened, dingy corner of a deserted subway station, not far from the platform edge where Billy, her 18 year-old brother, chose to leave this world, and where she’ll soon struggle to find the reasons NOT to follow him. ONE BULLIED CHILD IS ONE TOO MANY!

And then, for Saturday night the big Performing Arts fundraiser HOT NOTES! Get your tickets! Bidding is already open!

Jan. 30, HOT NOTES on a COLD NIGHT!
Performing Arts Fundraiser
Don't miss the best party of the year!

Online bidding has started! http://tinyurl.com/qbpt7rs


Visit SWHS Theatre website:  southwesttheatre.org

Wednesday, January 27, 2016

Class of 2020 High School Request Site is Open

English:

Online school request site is open. Requests due by March 5th!

For elementary and middle school requests http://schoolrequest.mpls.k12.mn.us
And for high school requests please visit http://highschoolrequest.mpls.k12.mn.us

For the 2016-17 school year, please use the school request site to request:

o   A school for an incoming kindergartner
o   A new school for a current K-11th grade student
o   A middle school (only if your 5th grader wants to request a school other then the middle school pathway)
o   A high school for all incoming 9th graders

The site is easy to use and requires your address with zip code to learn more about your school options.

MPS School Showcase
Saturday, February 6th, 9:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Minneapolis Convention Center

One-stop opportunity to meet school principals, staff and parents to help inform your school search. Free parking and child care available. Spanish, Somali, Hmong & Oromo interpreters on-site to assist families.

Questions? Please call 612.668.1840 or 612.668.3700


Spanish:

¡El sitio en línea para solicitud de escuela se encuentra abierto, y la fecha límite para la solicitud es el 5 de marzo! 

Para escuela primaria e intermedia visite  http://schoolrequest.mpls.k12.mn.us
Para solicitar escuela secundaria visite http://highschoolrequest.mpls.k12.mn.us

 Para el año escolar 2016-17, por favor utilice el sitio web de solicitud de escuela para pedir:

o   Una escuela para un niño que va a ingresar al kindergarten.
o   Una nueva escuela para un estudiante en los grados K-11.  
o   Una escuela intermedia (solamente si su estudiante de 5° grado quiere una escuela distinta a la que se le ha asignado en su ruta a la escuela intermedia/ middle school pathway).
o   Una escuela secundaria para todos los estudiantes que ingresan al 9° grado.

El sitio web es fácil de usar y requiere solamente su dirección con el código postal.  Por favor visite el sitio para informarse más sobre sus opciones de escuela.

Feria de Exposición Escolar de MPS
Sábado 6 de febrero,  9:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Minneapolis Convention Center

Es su oportunidad de conocer en un solo lugar a los directores de las escuelas, personal y padres, para ayudarle a informarse sobre su búsqueda de escuela.  Parqueo gratuito y cuidado de niños a su disposición. Intérpretes de español, somalí, hmong  y oromo en el lugar para ayudar a las familias. 

 ¿Preguntas? Por favor llame al 612-668-1840 o 612-668-3700 


Somali:

2016-17 Codsiga Onlinka dugsiga ee goobta wuu furan furan yahay. Codsiyada waxay ku egyihiin March 5th!

 codsiyada dugsiga hoose iyo dhexe http://schoolrequest.mpls.k12.mn.us
iyo codsiyada dugsiga sare fadlan booqo http://highschoolrequest.mpls.k12.mn.us

Fadlan isticmaal codsiga goobta ee dugsiga 2016-17 si aad u codsato:

o   Dugsiga xanaanadda galaya
o   Dugsiga cusub ee arday fasalka K-11 ee hadda jira
o   Dugsiga  dhexe (kaliya haddii uu fasalka 5-aad uu doonaya in uu ka codsan dugsi kale ka aan ahayn wadada dugsiga dhexe)
o   Dugsiga sare ee dhammaan fasalada 9aad ka galaya

Goobta waa ay fudud dahay in la isticmaalo ama laga codsado  waxaad u baahan tahay cinwaankaaga iyo zip code kaaga lasocdo  si aad u barato wax badan oo ku saabsan fursadaha dugsigaaga.

Bandhiga  Dugsiyada Dadweynaha Minneapolis
Sabti, Febraayo 6th, 9:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Minneapolis Convention Center

Waa fursad hal-kulan ah  in ay kukulmaan maamulayaasha dugsiga, shaqaalaha iyo waalidiinta si looga caawiyo loona ogaysiiyo  raadinta dugsiga. Baarkin bilaash ah iyo daryeelka caruurta waa ay jiraan. Turjubaano Isbaanish, Soomaali, Hmong iyo Oromoway joogaan goobta  si ay u caawiyaan qoysaska.

Wixii Su'aalo ah? Fadlan wac 612.668.1840 ama 612.668.3700


Hmong:

Qhib xaiv tsev kawm ntawv hauv Online, Hnub kawg yog lub 3 hli tim 5, 2016!

Rau cov kawm qib qis-elementary thiab middle school: http://schoolrequest.mpls.k12.mn.us
Rau cov kawm qib-high school: http://highschoolrequest.mpls.k12.mn.us

Rau xyoo kawm 2016-17, yuav tsum tau xaiv tsev kawm ntawv:
o   Ib lub tsev kawm ntawv rau cov yuav mus pib kawm qib-kindergartner
o   Ib lub tsev kawm ntawv tshiab rau cov kawm qib K-11th
o   Ib lub tsev kawm ntawv rau cov yuav mus kawm qib nrab-middle school
o   (yog koj tsis xav tso koj tus menyuam mus lub peb tso nws mus-pathway)
o   Ib lub tsev kawm ntawv high school rau cov yuav mus kawm qib 9th

Mus xaiv tsev kawm ntawv hauv no yooj yim xwb, yuav tau koj qhov chaw nyob nrog rau tus zip code. Mus xyuas thiaj li paub zoo ntxiv.
     
MPS School Fair Showcase
Saturday, February 6th, 9:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Minneapolis Convention Center

Qhov no nej tuaj pom tag nrho cov tsev kawm ntawv, tuaj nrog cov neeg ua hauj lwm thiab cov thawj coj sib tham xaiv lub tsev kawm ntawv kom haum rau nej. Muaj chaw nres tsheb dawb thiab muaj neeg pab zov menyuam. Muaj neeg pab txhais lus Mev, Somali, Hmoob & Oromo pub rau cov tsev neeg tsis paub lus Askiv.


Muaj lus nug? Thov hu rau 612.668.1840 or 612.668.3700

Southwest Students in Japan Exchange Program


Copper Nesmith is heading to Hokkaido, Japan as an exchange student with American Field Service.  She is going to leave Southwest on March 20th.


Korrina Chantland is going to Japan as a Rotary exchange student .  She is going to leave during the coming summer break.

Congratulations!

Southwest Art Exhibit Winning Work at John B. Davis Center Gallery

Good Afternoon,

The following students from Southwest High School have work on display at the John B. Davis Gallery from now until March 4th.  

Next time you are at the Davis Center make sure to stop and check it out.  

Thank you to your wonderful Visual Arts teachers, Cecily Spano and Ben Zhao, for submitting such high quality student artwork to represent Southwest.

In addition, Lucia Sullivan Possehl and Naomi Klaila have also won a Tracy Award for their work.  Lucia won a $1500 scholarship and Naomi won a $1000 scholarship that can be used at any post secondary institution.  

Student Artwork Featured:
Henry Kent
Naomi Klaila
Linnea Maertens
Milles Michlitsch
Lucia Sullivan Possehl
Andrea Seiler
Talia Smith

Geevie Wood

Southwest One-Acts Jan. 28 & 29 - Curtain at 7:00 pm

Come see these performances on Thursday or Friday, and wish the "PUSH" cast well as they compete this afternoon in the state's One Acts competition!

Cast of "Push"

Cast of " Almost, Maine"

Jan. 28, 29,  2016 One Acts
Southwest High School presents: 2016 One Acts
Thurs., Jan. 28 and Fri., Jan.29 at 7 pm in the SWHS Auditorium
Tickets sold at the door, Adults $10, Students $5.

"ALMOST, MAINE" by John Cariani, directed by Alison Thvedt
Almost, Maine, is a play comprising of nine short plays that explore love and loss in a small town that's so far north, it's almost Canada. One cold, clear Friday night in the middle of winter, while the northern lights hover in the sky above, Almost’s residents find themselves falling in and out of love in the strangest ways. Knees are bruised. Hearts are broken. Love is lost, found, and confounded. And life for the people of Almost, Maine will never be the same.

"PUSH" by George Cameran Grant, directed by Tor Johnson
What would it take to push your child over the edge? Eve, a 16 year-old girl, has fallen asleep in the darkened, dingy corner of a deserted subway station, not far from the platform edge where Billy, her 18 year-old brother, chose to leave this world, and where she’ll soon struggle to find the reasons NOT to follow him. ONE BULLIED CHILD IS ONE TOO MANY!

And then, for Saturday night the big Performing Arts fundraiser HOT NOTES! Get your tickets! Bidding is already open!

Jan. 30, HOT NOTES on a COLD NIGHT!
Performing Arts Fundraiser
Don't miss the best party of the year!

Online bidding has started! http://tinyurl.com/qbpt7rs


Visit SWHS Theatre website:  southwesttheatre.org


Penumbra Theatre & Southwest Students Celebrate Differences

Penumbra Theatre invites students to celebrate difference


January 18, 2016
By: Margie O'Loughlin, REPRINT - Southwest Journal







































































Penumbra Theatre teaching artist Eric Sharp leads Southwest High School students in a race dialogue workshop. Penumbra’s workshops are designed to increase awareness, and to give young people the tools to talk about race respectfully.
Photo by Margie O'Loughlin


Margie O'Loughlin
Two classes of science students gathered in the wrestling gym at Southwest High School. They had recently seen an exhibit called "Race: Are We So Different?" at the Science Museum of Minnesota with their teacher Sharon Meierhofer. The students left their shoes at the door, took a seat on the wrestling mats and waited for the morning's workshop to begin.

Any class that visits the race exhibit can participate in a follow-up experience like Meierhofer arranged for her students. It's made possible by a partnership with Penumbra Theatre and the Science Museum, with generous funding from the Knight Foundation.

Actor and teaching artist Eric Sharp opened the workshop by explaining the work of Penumbra Theatre. A corner stone of the Rondo neighborhood in St. Paul, the theatre has been producing plays and musicals that illuminate the human condition through the lens of the African American experience for nearly 40 years.

In addition to performances, a big part of Penumbra's mission is education in the community. The actors and educators approach the issue of racism with the fundamental belief that everyone sees racial differences. Seeing isn't the problem, in fact, it's a big part of the solution. At Penumbra, they call this differentiation the first of the “Four D’s.”

To underscore this, Sharp asked his students to describe what they had seen at the race exhibit. One student volunteered: "I remember listening to one-minute recordings of voices, and then being asked to choose from four pictures of people from different ethnicities. Whom did I think the voices belonged to? I was hardly ever right."

Another student said: "I liked the part where we compared our fingerprints to pictures of hundreds of others people's fingerprints. There was no way to predict fingerprint patterns based on race."
Sharp agreed and said that using race as a tool to separate us from one another is “fabricated.”
“It's very important to understand that we all came from the same place: the African continent, and that our genetic differences are quite superficial. This is where the other three “D’s” come in," he said. "If difference is perceived negatively, the person with the negative perception devalues, dehumanizes and can ultimately destroy the person over whom power is exerted."
He said at Penumbra, the goal is to have people celebrate difference and get out of their comfort zones.

The next exercise created plenty of discomfort for students, but it got them talking afterward.
Sharp asked them to pair up, stand about 3 feet apart and engage in uninterrupted eye contact for 60 seconds. Sharp’s point was that we need to learn to see each other, and to be accountable for our reactions.

As historian Robin D.G. Kelley was quoted as saying in the race exhibit: “Racism isn’t about the way you look, it’s about the meaning other people assign to the way you look.”
The workshop ended with Sharp challenging students to become, in his words, “up-standers, not just bystanders.”

He encouraged them to look into to people’s eyes in order to have meaningful conservations about race and difference.
Stephanie Walseth, director of inquiry at Penumbra Theatre, said the race dialogue workshops are intended to get the ball rolling for participants to start thinking differently about how to approach interactions with people different from them.

“No one expects to end the destructiveness of racism in a class period, but our teaching artists can get kids to start seeing and hearing each other differently,” she said. “These workshops are a way for participants to use theatre to problem solve and to model new behavior. The process recognizes each person as they are, and invites everyone to be part of the dialogue.”

FYI …
For more information about Penumbra Theatre’s race workshops, go to www.penumbratheatre.org or contact Stephanie Walseth at Stephanie.walseth@penumbrathreatre.org.

Southwest Math Team Results


The Southwest Math Team is on the cusp of their 10th consecutive division title, but we have some work to do.

Our next competition is on February 8th. Three teams are nearly tied for the division lead, effectively setting up a “winner take all” situation for the final meet of the year.

Yesterday afternoon, forty-eight of our students represented Southwest as eight teams gathered at Patrick Henry High School. The Varsity team earned 68 points, finishing in second place at the meet. Washburn came from behind, scoring a perfect final event to take the lead in the closing seconds. It was very exciting – a lot like a game winning basket as time expired.

While the Southwest team isn’t as dominate this year, I’m still proud of the way the kids have held themselves. When you see a math team kid, pat them on the back.

David McMayer and Mikal Nelson

Math Team coaches – Southwest High School

Men Nordic Win City, Woman racing now.

Results for Mpls Conf Skate Pursuit on 1/26/2016

PRELIMINARY RESULTS...UNOFFICIAL...SUBJECT TO CHANGE. Please report any issues to bob.schneider@gopherstateevents.com.
  [Skate \/] [Get Results]
Total Finishers: 31 
Race Finishers: 31 
Distance: 5 kms 
Site/Location: Theodore Wirth Park

Prelim Meet: Mpls Conf Classic

Team Results: Top 4 Per Team

Pl
Team
Score
R1
R2
R3
R4
R5
R6
R7
1
Mpls Southwest
231
1
3
4
5
6
11
15
2
Mpls Washburn
212
2
8
9
13
14
18
19
3
Mpls South
187
7
12
17
21
25
26
27
4
Patrick Henry
123
10
22
28
5

Individual Results

Place
Bib-Name
Gr
Team
Comb Time
Classic
Skate
Rank
Time
Rank
Time
1)
5-William Kerker
11
Mpls Southwest
34:28.56
3
19:20.66
1
15:07.91
2)
105-Andrew Sell
12
Mpls Washburn
34:49.64
1
18:47.20
2
16:02.44
3)
6-Torsten Brinkema
10
Mpls Southwest
35:22.60
2
19:19.64
3
16:02.97
4)
8-Adlai Sinkler
11
Mpls Southwest
35:47.44
4
19:34.45
4
16:12.99
5)
4-Conlon Olson
12
Mpls Southwest
36:11.36
5
19:48.20
5
16:23.16
6)
2-Henry Hall
9
Mpls Southwest
37:22.90
6
20:19.42
6
17:03.48
7)
171-SAM KLEVEN
10
Mpls South
37:24.53
7
20:19.59
7
17:04.95
8)
97-Martin Donovan
12
Mpls Washburn
38:39.33
8
21:06.70
8
17:32.64
9)
104-Luke Peterson
11
Mpls Washburn
38:49.46
9
21:11.67
9
17:37.80
10)
158-Andrew Clifton
12
Patrick Henry
39:28.11
11
21:40.20
11
17:47.91
11)
9-William Munnich
9
Mpls Southwest
40:00.21
10
21:28.70
15
18:31.51
12)
172-Oscar Leinbach
12
Mpls South
40:06.47
13
21:47.84
12
18:18.64
13)
94-Ethan Brookner
12
Mpls Washburn
40:06.45
12
21:40.20
14
18:26.25
14)
99-Ben Perry
10
Mpls Washburn
40:39.63
15
22:05.70
16
18:33.93
15)
3-Joey doyle
11
Mpls Southwest
40:47.36
20
23:08.95
10
17:38.42
16)
1-Will Tieleman
11
Mpls Southwest
40:56.12
14
21:54.91
18
19:01.22
17)
173-Sam Maret
11
Mpls South
41:25.02
19
23:00.47
13
18:24.56
18)
98-Elijah Markworth
11
Mpls Washburn
41:58.36
17
22:32.70
20
19:25.66
19)
91-Cullen Bode
12
Mpls Washburn
42:00.93
18
23:00.45
17
19:00.49
20)
10-Elan Rochelle-Share
9
Mpls Southwest
42:19.86
16
22:25.95
23
19:53.92
21)
176-Emilio DelCarmen
12
Mpls South
43:13.86
21
23:28.16
22
19:45.70
22)
159-Quinlan Brogdon
9
Patrick Henry
43:26.50
24
24:10.64
19
19:15.86
23)
96-William Steiner
9
Mpls Washburn
43:43.20
23
24:09.70
21
19:33.51
24)
11-Avinash Patel
11
Mpls Southwest
44:30.21
25
24:19.70
25
20:10.51
25)
174-Patric Carlsen
11
Mpls South
44:43.28
22
23:30.93
29
21:12.36
26)
175-Ethan Peterson
8
Mpls South
44:44.42
26
24:49.67
24
19:54.76
27)
180-ETHAN DAVENPORT
11
Mpls South
45:22.30
28
25:09.20
26
20:13.11
28)
161-Teagan Brogdon
12
Patrick Henry
45:49.40
27
25:04.70
28
20:44.70
29)
177-NOAH ADRIANY
10
Mpls South
46:06.47
29
25:31.97
27
20:34.51
30)
182-JOHN GALLE
10
Mpls South
51:46.31
31
28:38.97
30
23:07.34
31)
181-Finn Makila
11
Mpls South
53:04.89
30
27:40.47
31
25:24.42