by Jarlyn Landeros and Lucille Gradillas
Almost two years since they commenced the construction of a new “A building”, fine arts classes and journalism have moved into their new home on campus. Where the rat-infested, cramped, sticky old building once stood, now stands a colossal monument to the art programs. Students and teachers alike are filling in to get a look at the interior of our new fine arts building, and most are not disappointed.
The teachers and students in band, choir, mariachi, orchestra, theatre arts, technical theatre, art, and journalism are unpacking their gear and getting comfortable in their new spaces, even as final construction on exterior elements around the building and some internal areas continue.
Mariachi Director Aaron Rios is particularly happy about his new room, after not having a space and operating out of an ensemble practice room in the old building. Now mariachi has their own space, along with access to soundproof practice rooms that they share with the other fine arts performance programs.
“We finally have our own room, and no one else in the district has a mariachi room,” Rios said. “My students have a home, a place to be, and they feel the love shown to them, and that our program is something. It shows that northside cares.”
Practice Room: Sophomore mariachi student Antonio Moreno takes advantage of one of the new soundproof practice rooms in the Fine Arts Building, practicing his trumpet.
Mariachi on Stage: Junior Abraham Loera and senior Rameses Rangel play on the new stage, enjoying the acoustics of the new space.
Choir also has a new outlook on their program and more fulfillment in what they do, hoping to continue to grow the program into their new space.
“The new room is definitely a morale booster,” Choir Director Vanessa Alvarado said. “It feels good to be in a new home. The facilities are brand new and they’re clean, and it gives us more pride in what we do.”
Choir Studio: Choir Director Vanessa Alvarado works one-on-one with senior choir student Tino Alvarado as he perfects his piece for competition in the new choir room.
The art program is d enjoying the extra space according to art teacher Michael Goodwyn. They have two new expansive art rooms, including plenty of storage for projects and a kiln room where they can fire pottery pieces.
Our new classroom is three to four times bigger than our old one,” Goodwyn said. “The students seem to be more willing to work in our new classroom. Right now we’re making kites from different countries so the space helps keep things organized.”
Art Classes: Senior Dominic Mansah begins work on his kite project during his Art I class with teacher Michael Goodwyn in their new classroom in A002.
Band, despite operating out of a portable like the rest of fine arts during construction, has maintained their level of excellence in their contests, and is hopeful to see what their hidden potential is with much-improved facilities. Their part of the building features two large band halls and access to practice rooms.
“We love having two separate band halls as opposed to sharing one with orchestra,” Band Director Daniel Lugo said. “It allows us to move our stuff freely and leave it there, especially for percussion. We had a good season. we had one kid a couple of chairs from making it to All State and are doing the parade this year, even though we still have scars from the portables that we’re trying to work on.”
Band Hall: Band Percussion Director Rod Herrera directs the band in one of the two new band halls as uniforms are organized for the new storage space in the background.
Theater arts classes of twenty-plus students each are no longer stuck and cramped in a small academic portable and are able to fully perform in both the new auditorium, as well as their updated “Black Box” little theatre, both with new, state-of-the-art lighting and sound systems.
“The auditorium has to be the best feature,” sophomore theatre student Derek Laird said. “It gave us more space to interact with each other. We’re not all cramped up in the portable now. Having to do shows in a cramped room wasn’t fun, so the building affects me and my peers because our acting can be better.”
In New Light: Junior Katelyn Lopez and senior Madalyn Baylor perform a lip synch during varsity theatre, as their peers work on learning new lighting techniques in the black box little theatre.
Although there has been many struggles with not having their own room in the old building, orchestra has pulled through all of it and has been successful in all they’ve done this year. While enjoying their new room, one of the most impressive features of the new auditorium includes an orchestra pit on the front portion of the stage that can be raised or lowered hydraulically depending on the performance.
“Before, we were sharing with space and we were all on top of each other,” Orchestra Director Klaus Weinelt said. “Now I can call a rehearsal and not have to check with three other people. Even though we were in a trailer park for a year and a half, we still made straights ones on stage and sight reading. The kids made the best of the situation we were in.”
In the Pit: Orchestra Director Klaus Weinelt leads his orchestra students in their first practice performance in the new hydraulic orchestra pit in the auditorium.
Though not officially a fine arts class, journalism was housed in the old A building, and after moving first to the B building and then to the F building, they finally have a facility to match their work as Columbia Scholastic Press Association Gold Crown winners. The new facility includes a computer lab, classroom, broadcast studio, and office which is doubling as an interview and podcast studio for a new Holmes-themed podcast that will begin later this school year.
“We have so many people in and out of our facility for interviews or even photo shoots, it’s nice to have the space to not have to do that work elsewhere, like in the library study rooms,” Journalism Advisor Matthew Singleton said. “This is the facility that all of our programs absolutely deserve. Our students in journalism and fine arts always perform at the highest levels, and it’s nice to see our students and community rewarded with such a fantastic facility.”
On Deadline: Senior yearbook staff member Jackie Rocha works on yearbook pages using Adobe InDesign in the new journalism computer lab.