THE EPHRATA REVIEW

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 29, 2012 B3

Winter writing winners

Keren Luecke: Passionate about painting

by Deb Martin A&E Editor When Mr. Huck announced to his Art Concentration class that they were going to begin working on a new painting, Keren Luecke was ecstatic. Painting is Kerens absolute favorite form of expression. She said,There is just so much you can do with it. You can add texture or it can be smooth. You can use dots or strokes. It is just so versatile, and it really lets you get rid of some of those pent up emotions. The current painting that Art Concentration class is working on is a still life from a set up in Mr. Hucks room. K e r e n usually paints abstract art, but she enjoys the challenge of painting a still life. Of the current project she said, It is my first time doing a still life painting, so it seems a bit odd. I have always done these things with drawing. Kerens biggest inspiration for her art work is the French impressionist painter Claude Monet, famous for his beautiful depictions of nature. Monets studies in color and light paved the way for Pointillism, a painting technique in which dots of two unmixed colors optically form a new color when viewed from a distance. Keren said, I have always loved the Pointillism style due to the massive amount of work the artists have to put into their paintings. Keren may seem shy at first glance, but once you get to know her she will open up very easily. Besides painting, Keren loves to play video games in her spare time. Her favorite video games are Japanese role-playing games such as the Final Fantasy series. She is also fascinated with music that is sung in other languages. Right now Keren says that she is obsessed with Swedish pop. Keren also finds a creative outlet in writing. She participated for the third time in National Novel Writing Month in November, a month dedicated to getting at least 50,000 words written in 30 short days. Her novel is about a boy named Seth who is searching for his lost sister in the midst of the zombie apocalypse. He joins a group of teens whose goal is to help the survivors. In doing so, he learns valuable lessons and discovers something he lost long before the disaster. Kerens final word count is 50,127 words; definitely no small feat. After high school, Miss Luecke will continue to focus on art. She will be attending Hofstra University next fall, which is conveniently located in Kerens former hometown in Long Island, New York. Keren aspires to become an art teacher so that she can transfer her love of all things creative to young students in elementary school.

A fond farewell and a final bow

This year's Scholastic Writing Award winners: (front row, left to right) Julia Freidly, Ginger Hershberger, Allison Smith, Andrew Burkholder, Grace Chon and Emily Epler; (second row, l-r) Anna Martin, Moriah Pfautz, Kimberlee Roberts, Arielle Roth, Hannah Smith, Sarah Dover and Katie Hammaker; (third, l-r) Annie Wise, Ashley Fry, Rhiannon Jacobs, Sarah Martin, Lauren Overly and Ryan Schwark; (fourth, l-r) Lue Vang, Erica Voigt, Andrew Putt, Evan Weaver, Loran Kachel, Michaela Werner, Paige Hammaker and Tucker Keefer. Missing from photo is Sean Lammer. by Hannah Matangos News Co-Editor
The Scholastic Writing Awards were announced in late January. Sponsored by the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers, this long-running, prestigious competition annually awards 7-12th grade students for their creative achievement. Nationally, over 50,000 students are recognized every year in their communities for winning regional awards. Students arent just being recognized by their teachers, said Cheryl Fritz, whose Creative Writing class had several winners. Theyre also being recognized by an elite group of officials. Students in Creative Writing were able to enter whichever piece they felt was worthy of recognition, continued Fritz. So when they were recognized, it meant they had done well with something they themselves had written and chosen. T h i s y e a r, E p h r a t a h a d s e v eral gold key winners. Gold keys, which represent the highest level of achievement on the regional level and are given to less than 10% of all submissions, were presented to Julia Freidly, Ginger Hershberger, Allison Smith, Andrew Burkholder, Grace Chon, Emily Epler, Anna Martin, Moriah Pfautz, Kimberlee Roberts, and Arielle Roth. Their pieces will all go on to the national level of the competition, with the chance to be honored in Carnegie Hall and have their pieces presented in various New York City museums. Silver keys, typically given to 10-15% of all writing submissions, were awarded to Hannah Smith, Sarah Dover, Katie Hammaker, Annie Wise, Ashley Fry, Rhiannon Jacobs, Sara Martin, Lauren Overly, Ryan Schwark and Lue Vang. Honorable mentions for artistic potential were given to Sean Lammer, Erica Voigt, Andrew Putt, Evan Weaver, Loran Kachel, Michaela Werner, Paige Hammaker and Tucker Keefer. Recognized Ephrata students were honored at Hempfield High Schools Performing Arts Center on February 3. Winning a gold or silver key or an honorable mention in the Scholastic Writing Awards is a big honor, said Cheryl Fritz. Its a nationally-recognized contest, so students should feel a sense of pride and accomplishment with their writing.

Photo by Preston Whitcraft

Photo by Karly Soldner

Seen here in between rehearsals, Dierwechter greets the camera demonstrating the same animation he works to instill in his productions.
by Hannah Mantangos News Co-Editor

Photos by Karly Soldner

Mini -Thon Assembly

Photos by Joel Bischoff

Keren Luecke takes a break from painting to smile for the camera. She also displays one of her favorite pieces so far, an abstract self-portrait.

This year the theatre department will experience a tragic loss at the end of their spring production of Little Women: David Dierwechter will be retiring after many years of directing Ephrata's productions. Dierwechter graduated from Millersville University with a degree in elementary education with his master thesis emphasizing the role theatre may play in education. "Theatre is a learning experience. Kids are able to experience life from the perspective of another person. [Something] they can then learn from," said Dierwechter He first taught at Bergstrauss Elementary, directing the fifth grade play. He then taught sixth grade math and language arts at Ephrata Middle School. All the while, he was directing school performances and shows at Sharadin Bigler Theatre, formerly known as Ephrata Performing Art Center. He was also the head of the board at Sharadin Bigler for a time. The main reason Dierwechter has stuck with the theatre program for so

long is because he loves helping high school students develop their characters and learn from rehearsals and performances. "The best way for students to learn is by expanding their horizons and challenging themselves. Also, participation is key," he said. Understandably, Dierwechter is a huge advocate for the arts, and he feels it's a shame that, in recent years, the number of patrons has dwindled. "I have full respect for all extracurricular activities, but you can still participate in theatre when you're 70, whether you're an actor or an audience member. It's a life-long experience." Regardless, he won't be bored during his retirement, however, as he is actively involved at the Sharadin Bigler Theatre as a special events and fundraising coordinator. "I'm really going to miss working with the high school students though. [After all], you guys keep me young! he said. And, the Ephrata Theatre Department will miss him as it will forever try to preserve the memory of Dierwechters dedication to the students and the theatre.

To the right, math teacher Bret Marzock demonstrates his dance moves in preparation for the dance marathon, March 10th.

Pictured above, the Smith family tells of their daughters battle with childhood cancer. To the right, iconic superheros know that anyone can help the cause against childhood cancer.

Pictured above, Ke$ha pays a visit to show her support for the 4 Diamonds Fund. The Kardashian family, pictured left, hosted the show with lots of laughter.

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