T H E S C O O P
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HAVE A LOVELY VALENTINE`S MONTH
We are a community
UCA Cheerleading Championship
Ma. Camila Calderon 10B
Our dear school has been working extremely hard to give their students a strong education in every aspect of their lives. They want to educate Pachas who are considered a whole: not only mind, but also body. For this, the school has given us different opportunities to carry out our abilities. One of them is the opportunity to be a member of a team, and one of the teams at school is the cheerleading team. This group of girls is made up by students between forth and eleventh grade, and it is coached by Eduardo Ardila. This year, the team decided to test itself by going to the UCA Cheerleading Championship, from the 5th to the 11th of February, in Orlando, Florida. The Scoop spoke to one of the team’s captain, Liliana Giovannetti, to learn about this wonderful experience, this is what she told us.
First of all, since UCA is home to some of the best cheerleading teams from all around the world, Pachas’ team had to give it all throughout various months before the tournament. They had to practice for endless hours every day (including weekends), in order to own a presentation that would shock the audience and the judges. Obviously, it wasn’t always smiles and laughter; they also had to overcome difficult times full of stress and tiredness. As some people say, with great power comes great responsibility, but it was all absolutely worth it. At last, when everything was prepared, the 31 students flew to the USA to start the experience of a lifetime.
The first day abroad, all our cheerleaders arrived at a hotel in Orlando (the All Star Sports Resort), where many teams were also staying. Everywhere you turned you could see a squat of girls working at their best and pushing all gravitational and physical limits to perform some of the best stunts ever. You could feel the love towards the sport even in the air. It was full of colorful bows and shirts, smiling faces, and proud coaches. This spirit was contagious, and though our girls started working as if there were no tomorrow. If you have ever seen Bring it On, you might understand what we are talking about.
That same day, they went to ESPN and arrived at a huge blue mat: the blue mat of every cheerleader’s dream. However, being as close to perfect jumps and stunts as they were, was the trigger necessary to initiate the biggest fears within themselves. They were stressed, intimidated, nervous, etc. Because of this, they understood that to regain their confidence they had to train as much as they could. Then, they found a spot to train, and so they did until everything was alright again. In fact, people started to clap and cheer when they finished practice.
The next day, they went to practice with their gorgeous uniforms on. Even though they only had 30 minutes to get ready, they all ended up looking as the real cheerleaders that they are. This helped the team’s unity and awareness: it wasn’t you and I, it was WE. They were one. And what is even more, the saying “once a cheerleader, always a cheerleader” got proven by an ex-Pacha (Melissa Payeras), who went to UCA to help our school’s team. Feeling like this, and with all the energy and support, they entered the mat to give their best. They even entered as the best teams do, not in a boring line, but jumping and shouting and waving. Although they had a little problem with the routine’s music, they all gave their 101% and had one of the most memorable experiences of their lives.
Finally, on Sunday, all the cheers were worried before the announcement of the results; but, as you have probably heard, THEY DID PASS. Their second performance was as good as their first, and despite the fact that they did not win their desired White Jacket, they did win first place at the Nations competitions (all Colombian teams competing) and ended up at exceptional places within the international rankings. After this, they all went to MGM (which was opened only for the cheerleaders at the tournaments) and had the time of their lives: they partied, played, danced, and obviously cheered. The next days, they went to Animal Kingdom, Epcot, shopping etc. At the end, they arrived in Colombia, late at night on the 11th.
The team was incredibly supported by the girl’s families, their coach, and the school’s directors. As their head cheerleader said: they did not only have an amazing experience, they learned how to be a real team, how to work through the difficulties, and how to love each other. They left Colombia as a team, they returned as a family. We are all proud of their performance and their hard work. Congratulations to each and every one of you. You did great by representing our country and our school!
Art and education;
A new way to understand the world.
Leorando Pinzon
The education has changed as world is changing. A new thinking about pedagogical process is appearing in a lot of schools around the world, linking the artistic practice and creative ability with the learning process.
In order to approach all the knowledge possibilities and brain skills; a group of teachers and researchers of Harvard University has discovered a new learning method to be applied in children and young people. This process is about learning based on personal experiences and artistic activities suitable for new learning.
As a result, the student is not scared if he doesn’t understand a specific concept at first sight, in fact, it is part of the creative process of discovering his own way of learning, as well as, the teacher is not going to punish or reprobate the student for a "strange" or creative behavior.
In summary, new teaching - learning methods are opening minds, looking for a positive transformation of brain abilities from students to interact with the world.
The artistic YOU!
Daniela Pinzon 10B
Most of the students in a school think that the important stuff is always related to basic sciences such as: physics, chemistry, mathematics, etc. However, what they don't notice is that through arts and humanities, the soul is able to express freely itself. When you study math or trigonometry, you have to get results depending on the established. In contrast, when you study art, photography, or philosophy, you can break the rules and create your own thoughts and ideas for the rest of the people to value them, because of their innovation and creativity. As an example of this freedom of expression, we have a really important event that is coming soon in our community: the "Artistic Festival". It is such an important occasion, that mostly every student and worker of the school, puts his or her greatest effort for it to be amazing.
The most important issue of the "Artistic Festival” is that all the community works together on it. For example, some students make a dance performance, while others make a choir one. It doesn't matter in which aesthetic class you are in; there is always a lot of work to do. Furthermore, the students are not the only ones who show themselves to the audience, there are even some teachers and people from general services that also perform something for the special event. A clear example of this, is the theatre teacher Adriana Medina, who has always been one of the most important and essential people for the "Artistic Festival" to take place in the SFR. In addition, people of general services like Pilar Cala, Juan Manuel (the coordinator of maintenance) or even the guys of audiovisuals, also help us for everything to go as it is supposed to go. In fact, the "Artistic Festival" is something that requires a lot of commitment and responsibility, because it is a process in which every person has to collaborate. It also needs a lot of preparation and previous rehearsals, that's why the practices will start on the 27th of April, in order to be ready to perform on the 6th to the 8th of May.
Moreover, it is an event of such importance, that even the parents and some other siblings of the students go to the presentation at the school, because they are willing to see their children performing anything at the Festival. They even bring cameras and video recorders, to capture the moment in which their "girl" takes part of this amazing and artistic experience.
For not leaving you with the intrigue, this year's theme for the "Artistic Festival" is a combination between two incredible movies called: "Footloose" and "Fame". For the ones who haven't watched them yet, it is the perfect opportunity to get into them and enjoy the music and all the art and visual effects they have for you. We hope you enjoy them, and that you are ready for the next edition of the "Artistic Festival" 2015 at the school Santa Francisca Romana.
