Posts by siyer:
Crocker Art Museum Expansion
November 15th, 2010
For over a century, the Crocker Art Museum in Sacramento has entertained the public with its array of art exhibitions.
In 1885, the museum was created with the hope of promoting a widespread enthusiasm for art among Sacramento citizens.
About a decade ago, a large-scale expansion was planned in order to fulfill this hope. In October, the Crocker Art Museum expansion was finally unveiled.
The extension involves tripling the museum’s size, which allows for several benefits – the most significant being a larger display of art. The permanent art collection display has increased by over 16 percent, and several other types of art collections have been added onto as well.
Granite Bay High School senior and member of the Crocker Art Museum, Anne Barton, attended the Member Preview on Oct. 9 to check out the new art exhibitions.
“I really liked it because they added (a lot) more modern art, and that’s my favorite type,” Barton said. “They also (now) have more recent and symbolic (art).”
In addition to the expanded visual art display, the Crocker Art Museum has built a new auditorium for the performing arts.
At the member preview and on grand opening day, various styles of dances were performed in the auditorium.
“There were performances going on all day,” Barton said. “When I was there, they had interpretive dance, (which) was cool.”
Performances at the grand opening included modern dance, hip hop, and several cultural dance forms. The variety of shows was meant to expose the public to many different ideas and interests, which is what the museum wants to achieve with its art as well.
Cindy Chih, Manager of Facility Use at the Crocker Art Museum, explained that the auditorium was built to attract the community with its lectures and small performances.
“We’ve never had an auditorium created acoustically for small performances and shows,” Chih said. “It’s another space that people can enjoy.”
Another unique feature of the Crocker Art Museum’s expansion is the design of the new construction.
In sharp contrast to the historical, Victorian style of the original building, the new construction features 21st century architecture.
The architects wanted to morph the old with the new, without losing the historic feel of the original building.
“They really took into consideration the angles and windows during construction,” Chih said. “Anywhere you look from the new building, you can see the old, historic building through a window.”
The museum expansion also features an education center to make art more approachable to the public.
“We (wanted) an area where students, children, and adults could learn about and take part in the arts,” Chih said. “We’re always trying to broaden peoples’ minds in any way.”
The classes offered in the new four-studio classrooms are for all age groups, ranging from toddler lessons to adult lessons and from beginning art to master art.
To improve the experience for museum visitors, there is also additional space in and around the buildings, and a new café.
“The first floor is completely open to the public,” Chih said. “You get to sit at the café, have free Wi-Fi, and relax. We want people to feel welcome here.”
Overall, the expansion of the Crocker Art Museum has proven to be successful and exciting.
“The reaction from the public has been overwhelming,” Chih said. “We had 18,000 people come through the museum on opening day and it was amazing to see everybody’s enthusiasm.”
Most of all, the staff takes pride in how well the expansion opening brought together the community as a whole.
“We had so many cultures and types of people come in and it showcased the community of Sacramento very well,” Chih said. “The fact that all these different people came made our work that much more important.”
After seeing the results of the Grand Opening, staff of the Crocker Art Museum hopes that the expansion will continue to incite enthusiasm for art in the Sacramento area.
“The second people walk in here,” Chih said, “we want them to expand their knowledge, surprise themselves and take an unexpected interest in art.”
Lollicup
September 14th, 2010Typically, caffeine isn’t in my diet. I’ll always choose Sprite over Coke, decaf at Starbucks, and herbal, caffeine-less tea.
Lollicup just might be the one place that can change that.
At about a mile from the Galleria mall, this unique café is worth the drive for the famous tea offered there.
At Lollicup, you are always greeted with a smile. When ordering, you have thousands of possibilities. You get to decide between type of drink – from milk tea to slush – flavor of specified drink choice, ranging from chocolate to avocado, and what special treat you get to put at the bottom of your drink, whether it’s mango jelly or tapioca.
In my opinion, the classic Boba Tea drink is the best. The subtle milk tea drink perfectly balances liquid with Boba, another name for the chewy, semi-sweet tapioca balls you get in every sip.
With the number of possible combinations, you’re sure to find at least one drink that fits your fancy.
Despite the cheaper alternative of Boba tea offered at one of the mall’s food court eateries, the quality and consistently friendly service at Lollicup make it the better option than its former.
However, even the best of places must have its fault. In Lollicup’s case, it’s the non-beverages. I ordered a side of fries at the same time as I ordered my drink and received them about 20 minutes after my drink.
When they finally arrived, I asked for ketchup, and this took about another five minutes. After tasting them, McDonald’s definitely seemed like the better option – and it’s at a fraction of the price, too.
This isn’t too surprising, considering Lollicup is known for its beverages, but food… not so much.
Nevertheless, Lollicup has made its way to the top of my list for quick beverages and will always be a favorite.
Students lending an educational hand to students
September 14th, 2010With education becoming more and more important to an individual’s success, students are turning to paid tutors now more than ever.
What many students don’t know, however, is that there is an on-campus program, Students Teaching Students, where they can get one-on-one help for free.
Students Teaching Students is a class at Granite Bay High School dedicated to helping improve the academic skills of students.
“It’s a great resource for students here because there’s a tutor that can help in any subject in Students Teaching Students,” GBHS Students Teaching Students teacher Jason Sitterud said.
One unique aspect of the program is that students are taught by their peers, making the learning process more relatable and relaxed for the kids.
“These tutors are typically AP or Honors students that are well-versed in subject matter and want to help out,” Sitterud said. “Students feel comfortable studying with their peers because they’re not nervous or pressured.”
In addition to being a relaxed setting for learning, the program is easily accessible to the students.
Instead of taking up time after school, students can come in during lunch time to get the help they need.
The center is open during first lunch on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and second lunch on Mondays and Wednesdays.
“There’s a lot of advantage for students to get help during lunch because it’s during school hours, so there’s no conflict with sports or band practices,” Sitterud said.
When tutors are not helping students that come in during lunch, they are busy helping students in specific courses on campus.
During third period, they go to Academic Literacy 1, a class that focuses on helping students improve reading comprehension. They also go to Academic Literacy 2, which focuses on writing skills, and a general math class to aid the students while teachers are teaching.
GBHS senior and second-year tutor in the program, Kristi Shinfuku, explained that helping the students in these classes is a slow process, but makes a huge difference.
“At first, sometimes you have to get past their resistance (to being helped),” Shinfuku said. “But once they start trying, it’s nice because you see them slowly improve.”
Watching the students improve is one benefit for tutors, as well as the bond they develop with their students overtime.
“As a tutor, you get to bond with underclassmen, which is cool because you don’t normally see them (as an upperclassman),” said Shinfuku. “After a while, they start to look up to you.”
According to Sitterud, the improvement in the students’ skills is the most rewarding part of being a tutor.
“It’s nice to see someone you’ve been working with improve their skills over time,” Sitterud said.
The improvement also acts as a measurement of the program’s effectiveness.
Last year, Students Teaching Students helped the students in Academic Literacy 1 raise their reading level by three grade levels.
Shinfuku said, “A lot of students that were in Academic Literacy last year are not in the class this year, which shows how much we’ve helped.”
The program is one that very few high school campuses have, which is one reason for students to take advantage of it, both for helping and learning.
Students Teaching Students is one program on campus that’s making a big impact on the learning process of students.
This year’s goal is to meet, or even go beyond the amount of help given by the program last year.
“Last year, we helped over 2,000 students,” said Sitterud. “We hope to do that again this year.”
Granite Bay Varsity Soccer Team defeats Whitney Wildcats in the season’s second game
September 1st, 2010The GBHS Varsity Soccer Team crushed the second game of the year with a 6-0 final score.
The game took place on the football field on Wednesday, September 1st at 7:00 PM and was a great start for this season.
With the event of the Youth Soccer Night occurring the same evening, there was a large crowd of fans and younger soccer players cheering for them as they took on the Whitney High School Wildcats for the first time this year.
Before the start of the game, the players were escorted onto the field by Eureka Youth Soccer players, a tradition of Youth Soccer Night.
The first half of the game was slow, with a few strikes from both teams. The Grizzlies had two very nice strikes in the first 20 minutes, one by Kendall Modiste (#10) and one by Connor Puhala (#22).
The Grizzlies played mostly on the offense, keeping the ball close to Whitney’s goal box. Lucas Schorer (#4) was a key member in defense, making sure the Wildcats could never get too close to Granite Bay’s goal. Kevin Hollingshead (#12) also did well as goalie, blocking any attempt at the goal by Whitney players.
Both Connor Puhala and Connor Hallisey (#7) were key players on offense, making several strikes and attacks.
The first half ended 0-0, but with great attempts from both teams.
After the half-time 10-minute game between the U-11 Boys Select Soccer teams, the second half of the game began and the Grizzlies took charge of the game from the very moment it started.
A few seconds into the second half, Tanner Thompson (#16) scored a swift goal.
10 minutes later, Tyler Thompson (#23) scored the second goal for the Grizzlies with Cody Giddings (#18) on assist.
Tyler Thompson also scored the third goal for Granite Bay as a result of the ball hitting the side pole of the goal box and bouncing in, making it his second goal of the game.
A few minutes later, Tanner Thompson made a penalty kick into the goal, making it his second goal of the game as well.
The fifth goal for Granite Bay was brought in by Kendall Modiste with Cody Giddings on assist.
Ben Steinher made the final goal of the game for the Grizzlies in the last two minutes, bringing the final score to 6-0 and defeating the Whitney High School Wildcats.
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