April 2022

IN THIS ISSUE: Georgia High School Musical Theatre Awards - Shuler Hensely Awards LaMurl Morris, Director of Fine Arts A Successful Year for Prince Athletics Richard Ricketts, Director of Athletics

Georgia High School Musical Theatre Awards -Shuler Hensley Awards LaMurl Morris, Director of Fine Arts

Since 2016, the performing arts department has participated in the Shuler Hensley Awards which celebrate excellence in high school musical theatre in the state of Georgia. The Shuler Awards are not connected to the Georgia High School Association, Georgia Independent Schools Association, or any other educational organization. The awards are named after Shuler Hensley, a Broadway star and Marietta native, who has given his time and resources to establish this program. The ArtsBridge Foundation, which is the educational component of the Cobb Energy Center, oversees the Shuler Awards.

To participate in the Shuler adjudication process, schools must register. The registration process is very competitive, and only 50 schools were accepted this year. Pre-pandemic, a total of 75 schools were allowed to register. Each musical is evaluated and scored against itself by a panel of adjudicators who evaluate how each school meets or exceeds its potential in 17 categories utilizing their available resources. Both public and private schools of all classifications participate in the Shuler adjudication process; therefore, we compete against schools such as Buford City Schools, Greater Atlanta Christian, Davidson Fine Arts School, Lambert, Lakeview, Heritage High School in Conyers, and the Wesleyan School. Prior to the adjudication of our show, The Sound of Music, we completed a very thorough application that included questions about our fine arts budget, why we chose The Sound of Music, rehearsal process, challenges, school size and demographics, and the total number of people involved in the show including actors, tech crew, musicians, volunteers, professionals, and paid faculty/staff. The Sound of Music was our biggest show ever with 101 people involved in the production. As part of the application process, we must submit a copy of our show poster and program book.

In addition to the application, we are required to submit a “Process to Performance” video that is created by a high school student in our department. Rinne Furlow created the video which included Hannah Hunt, director, speaking about her vision for the overall production; Kaylor Jones, choreographer, discussing how she created choreography; interviews with other people involved in the show, and rehearsal footage. Both the leading actress, Claire Gann (Maria), and leading actor, Cooper Capps (Captain Von Trapp), were required to submit a package that included a headshot, resume, video about their process of building their character, and recording of themselves singing two contrasting songs. Headshots and resumes had to be submitted for students that were considered for Supporting Performers and Featured Performers. The Artsbridge Foundation scheduled our adjudication of The Sound of Music on Friday, March 4th. Our parent liaison hosted the adjudicators while they were on campus. Our director, Hannah Hunt, was on standby for any questions the judges may have had about the production.

On Thursday, March 24th, the nominations for the Shuler Awards were announced on gpbtv.org. We received nominations in the following categories: Direction-Hannah Hunt, Music Direction-LaMurl Morris, Sound-Matthew Smock, and Choreography-Kaylor Jones. We received Honorable Mentions in the following categories: Leading Actress-Claire Gann, Overall Production, and Technical Execution-Hannah Hunt and Gracie Cochran. The winners of each category were announced on Thursday, April 21st at the Shuler Awards Ceremony which was broadcast on Georgia Public Television. The awards ceremony is held each year at the Cobb Energy Center with over 2,700 students and parents attending the event. Rinne Furlow and Kaylor Jones represented our school in the Shuler Ensemble who presented the opening and closing numbers. Grayson Casto was a member of the STAR Council which handled the technical elements of the production. The Shuler Awards participation requires a great deal of work before the adjudication of the production; however, the feedback we receive from the adjudicators is very encouraging and provides guidance on how to move our program forward with excellence. We are grateful to Shuler Hensley and the ArtsBridge Foundation for providing this opportunity to schools across our state.

A Successful Year for Prince Athletics Richard Ricketts, Director of Athletics

The 2021-2022 school year is winding down. Our athletic program continued to show growth and success on the fields and courts highlighted by six Region/Area championships by our football, boys basketball, baseball, and boys golf teams. Our softball, volleyball, girls cross country, football, boys basketball, girls basketball, boys soccer, girls soccer, boys tennis, girls tennis, baseball, girls golf, boys golf, and track teams all qualified and participated in the state playoffs. Our baseball, boys golf, girls golf, and track teams are still completing their state competitions with our boys golf team looking to repeat as state champions.

Success does not happen by accident. Success requires hard work, planning, talent, and great leadership. Prince is blessed to have talented and hard-working kids and coaches that are knowledgeable and passionate about bringing out the best in their student-athletes. Quality coaching will continue to be a priority for our athletic program. We are continuing to plan for upgrades to our facilities, but quality coaching will continue to be our number one priority.

Prince had the most multi-sport athletes in our history this year including the most three-sport athletes as well. I have heard many people say it is difficult to have multiple, state championship-level programs in one school. I completely disagree. For example, look at football, boys basketball, baseball, boys golf, and boys soccer. Four Region/Area champions and a region runner-up are clear evidence that it can be done. It takes kids who are willing to sacrifice and work hard and coaches that are willing to work together. Prince has both!

Finally, there have been many changes in our athletic association, the GHSA. PACS landed in the Single-A, Upper Division and will compete in region play for the next two years against Jasper County, Oglethorpe County, Social Circle, and Stillwell Arts. Beginning in 2024-2025, the GHSA will reduce the total number of classifications to six with hopes of making regions larger which will result in less travel and make it easier to complete schedules. Just before the close of the 2022 Georgia Legislative Session, House Bill 1084 passed both houses. The new law will require that the GHSA create rules to either allow or prohibit athletes to participate on girls or boys teams based on their gender at birth. This rule will be discussed and voted on during the fall GHSA Executive Committee Meeting. There are no grey areas on this with me, and I will vote to protect the integrity of our sports and students.

Thank you, students, coaches, and supporters for a great 2021-2022 athletic year. I’m pulling for our baseball, track, and golf teams as they begin post-season play. Summer is a time to reset and rest, but it is also a time to train and prepare for next year. I am excited to see even more success 2022-2023! Go Wolverines!

Prince Avenue Christian School's mission is to partner with Christian families to provide scripturally based discipleship while pursuing excellence in academics, fine arts, and athletics from a biblical worldview.