February 5, 2018
Congratulations to the CA band students who participated in the All-District Bands at UNC January 26-27
Click for recordings and details
Ian Fan ('24) – clarinet
Rishi Goswami ('20) – clarinet
Aarav Gupta ('22) – trumpet
Abby Li ('22) – flute
Max Li ('23) – clarinet
Emily Wang ('22) – flute
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January 22, 2018
Congratulations to the eight students were named to the All-District Band or All-Region Jazz Band, a tie for best in Cary Academy history. Auditions were held on January 13, 2018 in Greensboro.
All-District Bands 2018
Ian Fan (’24) – clarinet
Rishi Goswami (’20) – clarinet
Aarav Gupta (’22) – trumpet
Abby Li (’22) – flute
Max Li (’23) – clarinet
Emily Wang (’22) – flute
All-Region Jazz Band 2018
Luke Ramee (’24) – trombone
Charlie Zoetrmulder (’23) – trombone
Learn more about the process here.
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October 17, 2017
Congratulations to the 18 students named to the NCAIS Honor Band. The large concert band is comprised of the most talented 6th-12th grade concert band musicians from the NC Association of Independent Schools. Students are nominated by their band director and selected by a committee of participating directors.
The 2017 NCAIS Honor Bands include over 170 students from 24 independent schools, conducted by Dr. Evan Feldman and Dr. Arris Golden from UNC-CH.
|
Chris |
Butulis |
8th |
MS |
Trumpet |
|
Will |
Capps |
7th |
MS |
Clarinet |
|
Ethan |
Chou |
8th |
MS |
Trombone |
|
JR |
Cobb |
8th |
MS |
Euphonium (BC) |
|
Aarav |
Gupta |
8th |
MS |
Trumpet |
|
Max |
Li |
7th |
MS |
Clarinet |
|
Abby |
Li |
8th |
MS |
Flute |
|
Rohin |
Patel |
8th |
MS |
French Horn |
|
Luke |
Ramee |
6th |
MS |
Trombone |
|
Charlie |
Zoetmulder |
7th |
MS |
Trombone |
|
Griffin |
Baird |
9th |
US |
Trombone |
|
Ryan |
Erickson |
10th |
US |
Euphonium (BC) |
|
Rishi |
Goswami |
10th |
US |
Clarinet |
|
Uri |
Joseph |
10th |
US |
Alto Saxophone |
|
Jay |
Sagrolikar |
9th |
US |
Alto Saxophone |
|
Will |
Snider |
12th |
US |
Percussion |
|
Harrison |
Truscott |
9th |
US |
Trumpet |
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The beginning of a new school year is always exciting at Cary Academy, and this year brings new initiatives that will surely lead to enhanced student growth and achievement in the arts.
First, we welcome Aaron Yontz who joined our team on September 1 as Technical Director for Berger Hall. Aaron comes to us from UNC-CH where he has for many years been Technical Services Manager at Carolina Performing Arts. Aaron brings a wealth of knowledge and experience in lighting, audio, multimedia, stagecraft and many other aspects of tech theater operations. We are excited to bring him up to speed. Please give him a warm welcome!
Trimester 1 classes are in full swing. The 6th graders are currently in their minors rotation; in November they’ll be asked to choose their top choices for their art classes the rest of the year. Our 7th and 8th graders will continue in their majors, with an interdisciplinary unit one day per week in T1 called “The Lion King Experience.” This curricular project coincides with our production of the Lion King Jr, planned for February 8, 9, and 10, and is open for students Grade 6-9.
Changes in the daily schedule have created new opportunities and choices in US arts classes. Art and Design, formerly a 2 year rotation, is now taken by 9th graders for 1 year. Students will rotate each trimester for 2-D, 3-D and Makerspace design projects. New multi trimester Visual Art offerings include Drawing and Painting, Mixed Media, 3D Art and Design, Fiber Art, Glass, Screen Printing, 3-D Modeling for Printing, Animation and Game Design, and Video Projects. We are excited to see what students can create in these new courses.
Ensembles in chorus, band, jazz band, orchestra, dance and theater are coming together and are enjoying having a double (90 min) block for rehearsal.
US students have auditioned for and are cast in an upcoming production of “Dracula”, planned for October 26, 28 and 28. Look for updates for tickets for both of our shows.
This year, the arts faculty will have three full day retreats as a part of our curriculum review cycle. We are excited about this opportunity to reflect upon and discover opportunities to enhance students’ creativity, skill, talent for the coming years.
Written by Michael Hayes, Fine & Performing Arts Director
May 9, 2017
Two CA Middle School orchestra students, Grace Chow (’21) and ThucUyen Dzu (’21), participated in the Junior Eastern Regional All State Orchestra on May 6 at White Oak High School in Jacksonville.
The Philharmonia Orchestra has 75 distinguished young musicians, and the conductor is Scott Laird, an orchestra director in NCSSM.
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April 10, 2017
The varsity robotics team is going to the FIRST Championships in Houston taking place April 19-22.
The team narrowly missed qualifying at the state tournament (by one spot) and ended ranked 15th out of 59 teams in NC. However, the team was able to secure an invitation due to openings that occur when teams are unable to attend.
CA will join 17 other NC teams competing at the FRC (FIRST Robotics Competition) level. The championships include all four levels of FIRST Robotics: FRC, FTC (FIRST Tech Challenge – CA’s JV teams), FLL (FIRST Lego League – CA’s MS teams), and FLL Jr. (grades 2-5), and is a true STEM festival, attracting and hosting teams from all over the world.
The students attending are:
Liam Carriker (’17) is going to the championships with his non-CA team, the Tundrabots, that competes at the FTC (our JV) level.
The Cary Academy Fund and specific robotics fundraising helps support great opportunities like this for our students. If you’d like to contribute, please see the Advancement Department.
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March 6, 2017
The varsity robotics team made it to the finals as part of an alliance at a FIRST NC district event in Winterville over the past weekend. The team finished in second. This is the first time that a CA FRC team has reached the final in a tournament.
CA began the quarterfinals captaining the #6 seed and had to play against the #3 seed. The alliance partners chosen were Cortechs and Green Hope. All playoff matches are best 2 out of 3 games. The alliance won and moved on to the semis against the #7 seed, whom they beat to move into the finals.
Despite losing the finals, CA won two awards: the Judges Award and Hard Hat Award (a type of safety award). CA also got silver medals for everyone in its alliance. Best of all, CA’s performance in this tournament ranks them 3rd in the state.
CA’s next tournament is March 24-25 at SE Raleigh Magnet High School, 2600 Rock Quarry Road, Raleigh. Matches run from about 10am-6pm each day.
Team members at this latest event:
Members unable to attend:
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January 30, 2017
This past weekend the JV robotics teams completed their regular season competitions. The team competes in the FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC). FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) is the international organization that runs robotics competitions.
CA’s teams Q (gold) and ChargerBots (blue) competed at the Trinity School of Durham and Chapel Hill. Team Q ended the qualifying rounds with a record of 1-4, and was not selected by one of the top four alliances to participate in the playoff rounds. The ChargerBots raced to a record of 4-1. This performance meant the team ended the qualifying round as the third-seeded team, and the right to captain an alliance going into the playoffs. Their alliance fought hard against the second-seeded alliance, both winning a match to force the round into a tie-breaking third match, which they lost.
During the awards ceremony, Team Q was named as finalists for the Connect Award, in addition to the Control Award (mastering robot intelligence), and the Motivate Award (sparking others to embrace the culture of FIRST). The ChargerBots were named as second runner-up for the Inspire Award, the highest achievement awarded at FTC tournaments, which recognizes teams that fully embody the challenge of the program. The ChargerBots earned a spot in the state tournament to be held at North Carolina A&T on Feb. 18.
Two weeks ago, CA’s teams Q ChargerBots participated in the Cardinal Gibbons Qualifying tournament, where both teams struggled throughout the day with technical problems. The day ended with the ChargerBots unable to earn a spot in the playoff rounds, while Team Q was selected to join an alliance and play in the semi-finals. They were knocked out in that round by the eventual winners of the tournament. Team Q was named as the runner-up for the Connect Award, which recognizes a team’s outreach in sharing STEM in the community.
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