I’m Sterling and I’m a freshman. I go to this pretty cool and sweet school called A3. Yep, this school all around is really awesome. I especially like the music comp class. I have learned so much in this class. Jim Olsen, the teacher, has opened my eyes to some amazing insight into the music scene by teaching us chords and showing us old artists that made the music you hear or made major advancements in the music culture. Thanks to Jim’s dedication to our understanding of music, I, as a drummer, have had a total change in my drumming for the better. He has taught me to think simple and helped me understand that you can overuse your instrument.

We’ve had many opportunities to write music for different classes, such as video tech, dance class, and creative writing. At A3, we connect our arts interests with all our subject so it’s a ton easier to get excited about your school work. A3 should be the high school you choose if you want to develop deeper insights into music, theatre, video stuff, or writing for that matter AND use your skills in your every day life.

My name is Lisa and I’m a sophomore at A3. A3 is pretty fly. I’m loving the Music Program. Composition and Performing is something I’ve thought about potentially majoring in, in college.

I have been playing piano for 8 years; I’ve been composing for 2 years and I just started ensemble this year. Jim Olsen is the most Dank music teacher you could ever meet. He has real-world music experience, as well as an endless supply of helpful criticism to make your music education as dynamic and as real as possible.

Now just because this is an art school does not mean that we are wishy washy and deadlines are the enemy. We work hard. This school is serious for those of us who are looking to make what we love into a successful career. With our extensive group projects, abnormally long days, and ever changing schedules, you will get real life training and a sense of flexibility. This is experience you won’t get from a text book.
Recently, I participated in performing in our annual Art-A-Bration. This is a scheduled all-school program that happens once every trimester. All of the arts get time to demonstrate their accomplishments within in the term. In music ensemble I performed the specially arranged musical piece, Pavane, with my classmates; it was incredible.

I am really looking forward to next year with plans of a new building and a more expansive schedule. With so many wonderful plans I really think A3 can only continue to achieve great things.

My name is Sophie and I am a sophomore at the Academy of Arts and Academics, or A3. All in all, I am a pretty normal teenage girl. I love hanging out with my friends and playing late night games of Apples to Apples and singing at the top of our lungs with my family. I love listening to music. Some of my favorite bands/ artists are The Beatles, The Beach Boys, Franz Ferdinand, Jack Johnson, Led Zeppelin, The Kooks, Michael Jackson, The Shins, and Jimi Hendrix. I mostly listen to classic rock, however there are some new bands and other genres that I listen to. I also like watching movies. I have come to the conclusion that you can tell a lot about a person by the movies they like. My three top favorite movies are Crooklyn, Faris Buller’s Day Off, and Little Miss Sunshine. I love my friends, but surprisingly, I don’t like to talk on the phone all that much.

I love theater. That is the reason I came to A3. I am what you might call a theater geek. I love it all. The thrill of being on stage in the spotlight, the joy of having all my lines memorized, and the feeling of being dressed in the amazing costumes and makeup. I have always been interested in theater, ever since I was cast as the lead in my first grade class play, which was just a short, twenty minute fairy tale. My favorite characters that I have played are Puck, or Robin Goodfellow, in A Midsummer Night’s Dream in eighth grade and Ruth Condomine in Blithe Spirit. As well as being a theater geek, I also love to dance. I have been trained in ballet, modern, jazz, and african. I also go to a summer musical theater camp every summer, where I dance musical style! I have also taken a gymnastics/dance class at the EDGE.

I love A3. It has made me a much better actor, dancer and student. The teachers are great, and I love how the students are on a first name basis with them. I also enjoy how there are two classes combined into one block. For the freshmen and sophomores, in Humanities, which is a mix of history and literature, we have been learning about The Russian Revolution. While Josh gives us the facts and history of it, Scott gives us chapters of Animal Farm to read. In Inquiries, which is a mix of math and science, we have learned about the Universe, drugs and the science of drugs, and gravity. Danny and Aaron switch off teaching science and they both teach math. The juniors have been learning about chocolate in Humanities and they made a pin hole camera in Inquiries.

I am so happy that my parents found out about A3. The beginning of my freshmen year was spent at Marist High School, where I was the outcast. Once I heard about A3, I was wary to try it out in the middle of the year because everyone already had friends and I thought they would ignore me. I was wrong. Everyone accepted me into the school and the teachers helped me to catch up with work. Art has helped me to be who I am and I am glad that there is a school that can help nourish the art in my life.