Gabriela Szewczyk Receives First Place Honorable Mention in Association of Texas Photography Instructors Fall 2021 Show! #207Now #artsed #studentartexhibits @mainewestart @lahartanddesign2

We just learned that Gabriela Szewczyk received First Place Honorable Mention in the category “Advanced Black and White Photography” in the Association of Texas Photography Instructors Fall 2021 Show!

This is a nationwide show and huge honor! WELL DONE, Gabriela! We are all so proud of you! Congratulations to her photography teacher, Ms. Lloyd, too!

Three Maine West Filmmakers' Films Selected for SCREEN TEST STUDENT FEST & Brooke Capper's Film Places Third! #207Now #studentfilmmakers #mediaarts #mediaartsed @wmth_mainewest

This past Friday, April 8th at 7:00 p.m. the Schaumburg Prairie Arts Center hosted Screen Test Student Fest, a film festival featuring work by student filmmakers from around Chicagoland. Over 50 films were submitted to this festival and only ten were selected to be part of the festival. Among those ten are THREE films by Maine West film students!

Aydin Khan (junior) presented his short film, Garage Door. 

Brooke Capper (sophomore) presented her documentary, From Pain to Hope. 

Avery Rizzi (sophomore) presented her documentary, Diane Erwin's Ghost Story. 

Films were played on the big screen and then students participated in a Q&A about their films. After presenting, students received a gift basket with t-shirts, popcorn, candy, and a slate filled out with the name of their film. 

Awards were given to the top 3 films as well as an audience choice award. Sophomore, Brooke Capper, won $100 and took 3rd place for her film, From Pain to Hope. She gave an acceptance speech following her win!  

Congratulations to Avery, Brooke and Aydin on this tremendous achievement! A huge thank you to Ms. Rebecca Orr for making this opportunity happen for these students, and for her tremendous mentorship and teaching of these young filmmakers!

More pictures from Screen Test Student Fest can be found HERE.

Taka Matsunaga Visits Orchestra Classes at West #207Now #guestartists #guestconductor @mworchestras @mainewestfab

Maine West Orchestra students had the pleasure of working with Mr. Matsunaga, Director of Orchestras at Elmhurst University and the recipient of the 2021 Conductor of the Year granted by the Illinois Council of Orchestras. 

Mr. Matsunaga offered valuable performance strategies for the repertoire students are preparing for the Masterworks Orchestra concert on Tuesday, April 26 at 7:00 p.m.

Thank you to Mr. Matsunaga for visiting Maine West and for your work with the orchestra students! Thank you to Ms. Valdez for making Mr. Matsunaga's visit happen!

More pictures from Mr. Matsunaga's visit can be found HERE.

45 Maine West Student Artists Featured in CSL Art Show #207Now #CSLArtShow #art #studentartists @lahartanddesign2 @mainewestart @mainewestfab

45 Maine West student artists have works on exhibit at the Central Suburban League (CSL) Art Show. This non-competitive student art show features extraordinary works by student artists from around suburban Chicagoland. The culmination is an exhibit of some of the best student artwork from the area.

The show is at The Art Center of Highland Park (1957 Sheridan Road, Highland Park, IL 60035) and runs from April 14-23, 2022. 

The opening reception is on Thursday, April 14th from 5:30-7:30 p.m.

Congratulations to the following Maine West student artists on their tremendous work!

Ore Adesayo, Colored Pencil 
Lexi Avila, Photography
Nora Brown, Mosaic
Mya Caceres, Acyrlic Painting
Mya Caceres, Digital
Daelynn Campos, Photography
Ash Carmichael, Digital
Anna Cengel, Painting
Kimberly Cervantes, Watercolor
Madelyn Chiakas, Watercolor
Joanna Contreras, Acyrlic Painting
Destiny Coss, Digital
Mafis Demirovski, Digital
Alexia Diaz, Mixed Media
Jack Dinse, Digital
Alex Dusold, Acrylic Painting
Gisselle Gomez, Photography
Naomi Gonzalez, Ceramics
Naomi Gonzalez, Ceramics
Laura Grahn, Mixed Media
Kayle Griffin, Photography
Kyra Harrington, Mixed Media
Joshua Henderson, Painting
Georgia Herman, Mosaic
Weronija Kmiec, Watercolor
Izzy Lopez, Acyrlic Painting
Linzey Lucas, Mixed Media
Elaine Mari Paunilian, Mixed Media
Emma McGreevy, Photography
Emma Mueller, Photography
Abgail Nicolay, Photography
Abigail Nicolay, Marker on Paper
Charmi Patel, Watercolor
Jaclyn Riedl, Watercolor
Donovan Rowland, Digital
Soran Rubio, Magazine Collage
Yasmine Saini, Mosaic
Kyle San Diego, Photography
Belkacem Smail, Digital
Gabriela Szewczyk, Photography
Gabriela Szewczyk, Photography
Sammael Torres-Vicencio, Marker on Paper
Lena Vukasin, Photography
Bruktawit Yigzaw, Photography
Preslava Zhekova, Painting

A huge thanks to the art teachers - Mr. Cammarata, Ms. Kljajic, Ms. Lahart and Ms. Lloyd - for everything you did to make this opportunity available to the students at Maine West!

The IMPROV WARRIORS Present a Hilarious Night of Improvisational Comedy! #207Now #improv #improvwarriors @mainewestdrama @mainewestfab

The audience at tonight's IMPROV WARRIORS performance were treated to an hour of hilarious improvised scenes inspired by audience suggestion. Congratulations to the IMPROV WARRIORS in Maine West's Drama Club on a belly-busting night of improvisational comedy! You had the audience roaring with laughter!

Thank you to all of the students in Drama Club, and especially the five student leaders - Andrew Stutheit, Ciara Paluck, Lindsey Kulesza, Amelia Foy (not pictured) and Gabi Febus (not pictured) - who trained the troupe of IMPROV WARRIORS for tonight's performance! Thank you to Mr. Harmon for making tonight's performance happen!

More photos from tonight's performance may be found HERE. 

West Side Dance Company is Heading to the Illinois High School Dance Festival State Competition! #207Now #dance #studentchoreography #IHSDF @westsidedanceco @mainewestfab

Congratulations to Mikayla Allen, West Side Dance Company, and their coach, Ms. Lisa Jacob, for being chosen to perform in the Illinois High School Dance Festival's State Student Choreography Showcase!

Makayla Allen's piece "Burn" set to music from Hamilton was chosen out of close to 40 dances submitted by high school dance programs from all over Chicagoland.  Only 12 exceptional pieces were selected to be performed in the showcase. 

The showcase is this Friday April 8th at 7:00 p.m. at Riverside Brookfield High School. Tickets are $5 at the door.  

Enjoy Mikayla's piece, "Burn," below:

Choreographer: Makayla Allen

Dancers: Katie Delaney, Ashlinn DeMonte, Adriana Lee, 

Bianca Noonan, Kiley White

Read more about Mikayla's incredible achievement in the Daily Herald. 

Five Maine West Student Filmmakers Nominated for National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Crystal Pillar Awards #207Now #studentfilmmaking #studentemmys @wmth_west @mainewestfab

Five Maine West student filmmakers had works nominated by the Midwest Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS) for Crystal Pillar Awards in four categories of filmmaking. This distinguishes these students' projects among the top 3 or 4 films in each category in the region.

The NATAS organization sponsors the Emmy Awards, and similar to the Emmy Awards, after being nominated, the next step will be for the NATAS to announce winners in each category. Winners are invited to attend the Silver Circle Dinner on May 13th to receive the Crystal Pillar Award. Winners will be announced at the Midwest Media Educators Association (MMEA) Festival on April 29th.

Enjoy the films nominated this year below!

News Report- Light News: Brooke Capper for The Hope Wall

Short Form Non Fiction: Ben Pluta for Libraries of the Past: Terry Blue's Honor Flight

Sports Program: Nitya Nair and Lindsey Kulesza for Girls Talk Sports

Commercial: Abby Wilson for Goldfish Cheeze-It® War

Congratulations to these students for their excellent work and for earning this recognition! A huge thanks to Ms. Orr for making this opportunity available to the students at Maine West!