Capturing the Magic

EA Choir J-Term Takes New Orleans by Storm

The EA students who participated in the New Orleans J-Term arrived back in Philadelphia a few days ago after their astounding visit to the charter schools that were affected by Hurricane Katrina. During their trip, they performed eight concerts over the span of six days, a marvellous feat. They learned what it’s like to be musicians on the road; always moving, waking up early, eating hotel food, and performing in front of hundreds of people at least once a day. Also, they performed daily for various charter schools that were damaged by uncontrollable effects of Hurricane Katrina. In addition, they visited the French Quarter, the oldest neighborhood in New Orleans, to learn about the culture of the magnificent city and to sing for the public. On their way home, they sang in the airport and even on the plane ride for the enjoyment of the other passengers. The New Orleans J-Term truly gave back to a damaged community and provided much needed inspiration for Music City.

Yesterday, the Making the Magic Jterm wowed their audience by performing their final projects. Working in 4 groups, the students put their knowledge of physics and theatre to the test by creating their own illusions from different movies.”Making our illusion was really fun… we had a lot of physics lessons, and then we had to learn how to use all of the different tools in the workshop in order to make our design, and of course we had to test it lots of times to make sure it actually worked,” says Eleanor Campbell, III Form. The different performances included the mirror scene from Phantom of the Opera, Mary Poppin’s magic bag, "Drewdini’s Magic Box of Wonder," and a breathtaking chandelier drop from Phantom of the Opera.

The J-Term Sacred Spaces was required to complete what seemed to be an impossible task of constructing memorial chapels. They started with nothing and over the two-week period all of the sixteen students were able to build their own chapel. The first week the students were gathering the “ingredients needed for their recipe.” They visited many churches, including the old Episcopal campus, to observe the different types of architecture. The ideas of all the churches were then used to make the site plan and the plan of the buildings. Each step the students took led them closer to completing their final project. Sophomore Ashani Williams stated, “I never thought that I was going to be able to make my own building, but with the help of the teachers and each of the little steps we took, I was able to create a building that I am really proud of and it gave me a sense of accomplishment.”

Digital Storytelling was offered in J-Term again this year. They began J-Term by interviewing lower schoolers, and creating a story based off their answers. They continued creating stories throughout their J-Term about various topics including their trips to New York City, and Washington D.C. Digital Storytelling’s final project consisted of groups creating a video story about themes they learned about throughout the past two weeks. I focused on one group in particular that made a video about relationships and friendships. “Through this J-Term, I’ve learned that relationships are circumstantial. You don’t necessarily get to choose who you meet however you do get to choose how you treat them.” Another quote that covers J-Term and the importance of friendship is, “My J-Term taught me the ins and outs of the digital media. Through picture, video, audio, and story telling you can portray any message. This J-term is a great way to learn about the media and the direction journalism is heading.” Relationships play a major role in our J-Term and our life.

Forensics: CSI at EA is an immersive course that gives students an opportunity to step out of their comfort zone and experience what it’s like to be a forensic scientist and investigate crime scenes. Immediately after entering the classroom for the first time, the students were all surprised with a crime scene and the task to solve it. After learning how to properly record and analyze fingerprints to creating fake blood and measuring splatter radius, they were able to experience what they previously witnessed on TV. When asked to summarize the course, Simon Smerconish, a freshman in Forensics stated that he has “learned so much over this short two-week period and…[it has] sparked a new interest” for him. All this was in preparation for their final JTerm project: designing their own elaborate crime scenes for their classmates to solve. From collecting DNA samples to investigating suspect alibis, students were able to showcase how far they had progressed in their knowledge of forensics through solving the crime and submitting a professional report. This amazing experience was perfectly described by freshman Robbie Copit, “By far creating a crime scene was my favorite activity of the course as it challenged us and allowed us to apply the principles and techniques we learned throughout the course.”