The Column

Tickets are now on sale for Lionel Bart’s Oliver! directed by Ms. Sophie Gore! Consider yourself at home with this classic musical based on the Charles Dickens novel, Oliver Twist. The Tony and Oliver Award-winning show is one of the few musicals to win an Academy Award for Best Picture and is widely hailed as a true theatrical masterpiece by actors and audience members alike.

The streets of Victorian England come to life as Oliver, a malnourished orphan in a workhouse, becomes the neglected apprentice of an undertaker. Oliver escapes to London and finds acceptance amongst a group of petty thieves and pickpockets led by the elderly Fagin. When Oliver is captured for a theft that he did not commit, the benevolent victim, Mr. Brownlow takes him in. Fearing the safety of his hideout, Fagin employs the sinister Bill Sikes and the sympathetic Nancy to kidnap him back, threatening Oliver’s chances of discovering the true love of a family.

Performances are Wednesday, December 8 - Sunday, December 12. Tickets will sell out fast!

For tickets CLICK HERE

For volunteer opportunities CLICK HERE

For all links and available production information CLICK HERE

*Poster design by Sage Pohlhaus

The CPFA Winter Vocal Music Concert is almost upon us! In order to mitigate the risk of airborne transmission of the COVID-19 virus, the CPFA Music Department is limiting the audience for our Winter Vocal Music Concert on Thursday, December 16 to two immediate family members per performer. But don’t worry, you won’t miss out! The concert will also be live streamed for friends and family to enjoy from the comfort of their very own home. To register your family members to attend in person, please read all of the information on THIS PAGE on the CPFA Homepage and be sure to fill out the audience registration form. If you have questions or concerns about the concert, please contact either vocal music teacher Mr. Harmantzis or music department chairperson Mr. West. We will follow the same procedure for the Winter Instrumental Music Concert later in December.

Kelly's Kandy will be hosting a CPFA fundraiser on Saturday, December 18 from 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. at their store front located at 11 N. Five Points Rd., West Chester, PA 19380. *Santa* will be there from 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. Come join us to support CPFA and celebrate the holiday season together!

After twelve weeks of learning, creating, and growing, the PALCS community finally enjoyed a well-earned long holiday weekend that is exactly what we all needed to finish off the year strong! We are elated to be back at CPFA this week, kicking things off with the annual PALCS Virtual Scholastic Book Fair. The book fair is open to all grades and ages, available for browsing at the Smore linked HERE, until Sunday, December 12.

On the last day of CPFA before we head into the winter break, we have a winter celebration for our students on Thursday, December 16 for High School and Monday, December 20 for Middle School. Students will bring their lunch as usual. HOWEVER, during their lunch period, we'd like to have some parent helpers on site to hand out holiday treats. High School lunch will be at 12:30 p.m. and performances will begin at 1:15 p.m. Middle School lunch will be at 12:45 p.m. and performances will begin at 1:30 p.m. Students will be gathering in the Atrium to share performances with their classmates. We will be livestreaming the event so parents can enjoy the performances as well! Please sign up here to provide snacks, desserts and holiday treats!

PALCS Marking Period 2 Progress Check 2 is on Tuesday, December 21, right before Winter Break. Be sure to check out Ms. Mazzio’s Canvas page for great studying tips and tools for relaxation that will help you make this the best semester yet!

Speaking of the new year, the last day of CPFA classes will be on Thursday, December 16 for High School, and Monday, December 20 for Middle School. *PALCS classes remain in session through Thursday, December 23. PALCS and CPFA classes with both resume on Tuesday, January 4, 2022!

Our next Pillars meeting will be held virtually at 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, January 4 in Mr. Allen's Zoom room.

Please make sure you have downloaded the Remind app on your phones and any other mobile device you may have. This the platform we use to best communicate with our students in families in case of inclement weather.

Once you have downloaded the app you will be prompted to enter your email address, enter an emailed verification code, and select your school and role. We are identified as Pennsylvania Leadership Cs. If you have any questions, please reach-out to Ms. Sophia Severson (sseverson@palcs.org)

• There have been an unprecedented number of requests for extensions from CPFA high school students for Progress Check 1 of the second marking period. In fact, CPFA requests accounted for 40 percent of all high school requests schoolwide! Students need to understand that they should not expect additional extensions to be granted.

• There has been an uptick in the number of absences reported for CPFA students who are forgetting to log in to PALCSchool on days they attend CPFA. Please remember it is important to log in to PALCSchool every school day, including the days they attend CPFA or they will be marked absent.

Get ready for a performance of Hamlet like you have never seen before... Set in the 21st-century social media-obsessed world, Prince Hamlet, a popular YouTube influencer, deals with the scrutiny of celebrity as his family tears itself apart. Forced to avenge his father’s death, but paralyzed by the task ahead, Hamlet rages against the impossibility of his predicament, threatening both his sanity and the security of the state.

General auditions for the CPFA Spring High School Play HAMLET, by William Shakespeare and directed by Jason Greenfield, are Tuesday, December 14, 2021 from 3 p.m. - 5:30 p.m. **Callback auditions will immediately follow from 5:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. Audition and Production information will be available on the CPFA Homepage > Theatre Department > HAMLET folder.

The time has come for the CPFA Theatre department to begin preparations for the Winter Middle School Play! Under the direction of our very own Pillars member and CPFA accompanist, Brigitte Rottman, the Middle School will be performing Sandbag, Stage Left, or One Dead Dolly. This colorful and dynamic murder mystery comedy takes place in a court room where the members of the Mill City Players are beside themselves over the mysterious death of their leading lady, Amelia Meddle, who during a performance, was cruelly squashed by a flying sandbag. All fingers point to her husband, undertaker Arnold Meddle, who was seen wandering around backstage just before the sailing sandbag hit pay dirt. It's mud-slinging galore between Defense lawyer Philip Static and Prosecutor Emily Cling. It is the case of the century, or at least this week!

Auditions will be held on Wednesday, December 15, 2021 from 2:45 p.m. - 5:30 p.m. Audition/Production information will be available on the CPFA Homepage > Theatre Department > Sandbag, Stage Left folder.

You heard it here first folks!!! (We may have announced it once or twice before…) The Tri-M Shoe Drive has been extended!!! KEEP BRINGIN' THOSE SHOES IN!! Tri-M is collecting new and gently used shoe donations in the lobby until December 31. The goal is to collect hundreds of pairs of shoes per week, so PLEASE BRING IN SHOES and help us reach our goal!!!

Calling all Central-Pennsylvanians… Get your tickets now for the American Music Theatre’s Holiday Performance: Winter Wonderland!! Two of our very own CPFA students will be performing in the holiday spectacular, set to run through the end of December in the heart of Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Abbey Stickley and Amanda Mason will each perform in 40+ shows throughout the season. For more information on tickets and show dates, check out the AMT website HERE.

Congratulations to Cappie Critics Nola Dowd and Rachel Lewiski for having their reviews of Friends Select’s production of Twelfth Night selected for publication! Nola’s review is published on the Cappies webpage and Rachel’s is on the Cappies webpage and WordPress.

Congratulations to CPFA high school vocalists Steven Barnes, Michael Meck, Isabella Rottman, Katherine Horoho, Emily Rau, and Rachel Lewiski for successfully auditioning and being selected to represent PA Leadership Charter School and CPFA in the Pennsylvania Music Educators Association (PMEA) District 12 Choral Festival, which will take place on Friday, February 4, 2022 at Unionville High School. All six of CPFA's auditioning students were accepted out of an auditioning pool of over 600 vocal and instrumental students from public and parochial high schools in Chester, Delaware, and Philadelphia Counties. The students will have an opportunity at the festival to audition and be selected to progress to the PMEA Region 6 Choral Festival in March, which includes the top vocal students from five counties in Southeast PA. Congratulations to these students and to CPFA Vocal Teacher Mr. Nicholas Harmantzis for this outstanding accomplishment.

For those of you who have been around for a while, you know that CPFA kids go on to do some incredible things. While not all CPFA students pursue a career in the arts, many of them do, using the skills and experience that they gained while a part of this community! This month, we are so proud to share that CPFA alumnus Josh Kearney, Class of 2016, performed as a guitarist on stage at the 2021 Country Music Awards in Nashville, Tennessee, backing up none other than country music star Keith Urban.

Check out the performance of “Wild Hearts” by Keith Urban HERE. Josh is on the backline, stage left in this video. CPFA is extremely proud of our talented alumni who are making their way in the professional performing arts industry.

Thank you to our National Honor Society of Dance Arts (NHSDA) members for organizing Love Your Body Week that was celebrated the week of November 15. Members created and distributed goodie bags with a special note to each student at CPFA:

Happy Face Sticker - to remember to SMILE

Rubber Band - to remember to stay FLEXIBLE

Starburst - for when you need a BURST of energy

Hugs and Kisses - because you're LOVED

Mint - for encourageMINT

"Love Your Body Week means to me that everyone should be happy with themselves in their own body. It is to show how unique and different each and every one of us are. It is to create a body-positive environment for everyone. Love Your Body Week is to encourage everyone to be happy with themselves; I would hope that everyone will be able to see that. I hope the impact of Love Your Body Week was that everyone felt confident in their own body in their own unique and special way." - Sierra Saul, Student Director NHSDA

Congratulations to our new National Honor Society for Dance Arts™ (NHSDA) members who were inducted into the National Honor Society of Dance Arts on Thursday, November 18 before the High School Showcase (Isabella Carl, Logan Flanagan, Lili Freeberg, Amai Graham, Gianna Henley, Bobby Macrina, Amaya Pollock, Skylar Saul). The NHSDA is a program of the National Dance Education Organization (NDEO), created to recognize outstanding artistic merit, leadership, and academic achievement in students studying dance in public and private schools in K-12 education, dance studios, cultural/community centers, performing arts organizations, and post-secondary education.

The next NHSDA meeting will be held on Tuesday, December 7 during lunch.

In Marking Period 1 the AP Photography class collaborated with the Honors Advanced Ballet Technique class to create a body of photographs entitled, Dance and the Human Form.

This collaboration is something Mrs. Okcuoglu and Mrs. Carey have been wanting to do for years and this year we felt compelled to bring the students back together after some time away from the CPFA building due to the pandemic. In two class periods, dancers were photographed outdoors in the unique industrial and natural landscape that surrounds CPFA. The dancers and photographers shared their ideas and visions for this project by planning compositions, poses, camera technique and feelings to be conveyed in the images before the photographs were taken - the results of this collaboration are breathtaking!

CPFA recently purchased the ETC ColorSource 40 lighting console for the Atrium Theatre. From patching to performance, ColorSource consoles enable you to navigate and program quickly with state of the art technology. M. Cramer & Associates, a professional Philadelphia lighting company, sent over a lighting designer to re-configure our lighting plot. We now have maximum coverage of the stage with our current lighting instruments. He also taught our tech-savvy students how to hang/clean lights and use the console.

Directions on how to view and order photos can be found here: CPFA CLASS PIC DAY JEFF REEDER 21- 22.psd. A make-up/retake Class Pic day will be scheduled - date TBA.

The Space Between Us

This is a yearbook from a year you do NOT want to miss! Did you already order one? Amazing! Books ordered ahead will be given to students during lunch end of Sept/early Oct. No problem! Bring $60 cash or check payable to “Balfour Publishing” to Ms. Severson at the CPFA front desk. (Ms. Severson will also have Venmo information.)

Remote Access students should reach out to Ms. Severson (sseverson@palcs.org) with their shipping address in order to receive a yearbook in the mail.

After school events and activities at CPFA are only made possible by our student, parent and family volunteers! You can always find volunteer opportunities HERE.

If you want to get involved, but aren't sure how or for what, we encourage you to touch base with CPFA Administrative Assistant Ms. Sophia Severson (sseverson@palcs.org).

Mr. West will be scheduling some special rehearsals during the school day during the month of December to combine classes and give Remote Access students a chance to Zoom in to live rehearsals in preparation for the Winter Instrumental Music Concert on January 11. This calendar of combined rehearsals is posted on the Digital Studio Instrumental Music Canvas page as well as the CPFA Homepage HERE.

Congratulations to all the middle and high school dancers who participated in the Dance Showcase! We were thrilled to offer a LIVE showcase as well as have a virtual live stream this year. It was a wonderful afternoon filled with exciting dance demonstrations in the studios. The Dance faculty is so proud of the students’ hard work and professionalism. A special Thank You to all the parent Pillars volunteers who helped to make the showcase so wonderful! We appreciate your support and donations.

Here at CPFA it is our mission to explore, learn about, and gain experience of the creative and professional world of the Arts, not only from in front of the easel but also behind the scenes of a gallery! If you have ever wondered how professional artists and conservators matt, frame, and prepare artwork for a show then you will not want to miss the upcoming NAHS & Fine Arts Department Matting and Framing Demo. The NAHS students, and Department of Fine Arts teachers will meet with any student or parent that wants to be trained on how to matt and frame artwork. This demonstration will take place in the 3D studio on Friday, December 17 from 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. and will focus on the “art” of professional fine art presentation for gallery walls. It will be a hands-on demo, so come dressed in comfy shoes and clothes that are suitable in an art room environment. We look forward to teaching you framing tricks and appreciate your help prepping student work for the Winter Art Exhibition coming up on January 27, 2022.

Oliver! rehearsals are in full swing and our cast and crew, under the direction of Ms. Sophie Gore, is working hard to put on an incredible show! In order to best support our Theatre program and this production, we are still looking for some parent/family/student volunteer support. You can view all of our volunteer needs by visiting our Volunteer Central Website. We particularly need assistance with front of house tasks for each of our shows (box office sales, ushering, and concession sales). *Even if you are attending a show, you can still help out with one or more of these tasks. Please review the Front of House Sign Up Genius to join us.

Questions about tickets and/or volunteering can be addressed to CPFA Theatre Parent Liaison Dawn Pfeifer Reitz by emailing dawn.p.reitz@gmail.com or texting (610) 207-3090.

November was National Career Development Month! Each week, students had a different aspect of career development to explore via Ms. Mazzio’s Canvas page. The month began with a personality assessment and an interests assessment to help students identify a career that they may be well-suited for. Next, we explored financial awareness through an interactive quiz that assigned students to a career and allowed them to practice budgeting with a month’s worth of purchases. Last, students took a career type test that matched them with a “type” (artistic, technical, etc.) and linked them to colleges and programs that prepare them for careers in this category. Career development is an important topic that will be continued throughout the school year!

December’s counseling theme will be Respect. Keep an eye on Ms. Mazzio’s Canvas page for activities and resources!

The PALCS Pantry is in need of supplies this holiday season! Check out this link for information on needed items, how to donate, and how to request items through the pantry.

Marking Period 2 Progress Check 2 is Tuesday, December 21. If you need support, to request an extension, or have any questions, please email Ms. Mazzio (lmazzio@palcs.org).

Winter is coming and that means it’s cold and flu season. Please remember to wash and sanitize your hands frequently, cover your coughs and sneezes, and don’t come to school if you are feeling unwell. Health services would like to wish you and your family a happy and healthy holiday season!

Check out the November edition of The Column here for more information on Career Awareness Month, a snapshot of our Fall Festivals, and more!