Humanities Symposium: A showcase of student thought and creativity

The second annual High School Humanities Symposium, created and organized by Mr. Boldt and a team of teachers, successfully took place on the 26th of May. The event, which occurs on International Day, has since gone through several changes and improvements. The Symposium was still a half day event, but teachers (Mr. Costello, Ms. Krauth, Mrs. Ma, Mr. Sanders, Mr. Hutt, Mrs. Hooi, Ms. Edwards, Ms. Hayes, Mr. McCann, and Ms. Amy Chen) and students had begun preparing since the beginning of the year. The event took a huge amount of preparation and dedication, including collaborating with multiple departments, making the certificates, ordering the decorations, planning the event, rehearsing lines, and working with vendors.

The event itself started out in the auditorium, with a few welcoming words from Mr. Boldt and some musical performances of original works from Yiyun Wu and Thomas Choi. Students were then given time to walk around the first-floor lobby and locker area to appreciate artwork while delicious food and snacks were served and music was played.

Thirty minutes later, the first session commenced and students went to their chosen sessions. There were three sessions that day, all of them relating to the humanities – from Drama to Film to Music to Art to English and History. There were a variety of presentations: dramatic monologues, NHD presentations, English projects and Psychology presentations as well. The event ended at the school gym, with the presentation of certificates, a few words from Mr. Boldt and a dance performance. The dance performance, choreographed and performed by Cathelina Xu and Tomoko Hasegawa, was a mix of modern hip-hop and ballet.

Scheduling was smoother this year, and the event itself was well planned. “It was well organized and really fun, and I saw a lot of amazing work from all different subjects,” said Angela Tan (10A). Many students enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere, the performances and the good food presented at the event this year. Students also loved that they were able to showcase the assignments they had worked on throughout the year.  Aimee Chang (11C) said, “I really enjoyed the Humanities Symposium activities because we got to go around to various topics of works that are created by the students. For me, I liked the part that I was able to present my AP Studio Artwork to show what I’ve made throughout the year.” Even though many complained that it was set on a Saturday, all students had a ton of fun either presenting or listening to their peers present. 

Featured Image – Yiyun Wu, Karin Tan, and Esther Tak perform in the locker area Photo courtesy of Max Fu