This trip will include an educational adventure all over China. The group will be led by a tour guide to some of China’s hottest spot such as The Forbidden City and The Great Wall.

“We will get to learn about the Terracotta Warriors as well as go river rafting,” history teacher and trip sponsor Juli Warner said.

Students, as well as adults and even families, can sign up until December 2012. Enrollment doesn’t require being in a certain club or a class; all you need to do is go see Warner to get instructions on how to enroll online. It costs about $3,000 for a student to go and that includes all tours and airfares.

“I’ve always been interested in going to China,” Warner said. “I think it’s important for students to be introduced to different cultures. From everything we know about China in today’s world, it will be good for them to experience it firsthand.”

“I love acting in Black Box most,” sophomore Karon Chapa said. “It has such a different feel from just acting in a play or in the musical.”

Written, produced and directed by Martin students themselves, the Black Box 2011 Series was a four-part production which grasped the emotions.

“I was in the Black Box last year as well,” senior Jake Rowe said. “It’s fun because it’s a time you get to learn under your fellow peers and you learn more respect from it. People may think that because you’re working with your friends you probably goof off, but you actually learn a lot of respect because you learn about a person in ways you never had before.”

Students write their plays months in advance and present them to the theater teachers to be picked for this year’s series.

“I wanted to write something original that would grab people’s attention,” junior Cooper Thompson said. “And I figured a story about a zombie was just the way to do it.

The production was not only quirky and fun, but also serious. Each part of the play was written by a different student.

“You know when you wake up but you’re still kind of half asleep?” Thompson said. “Well that’s exactly what happened. I woke up and thought, ‘You know what would be a good idea for a play? Zombies!’”

On Dec. 17, Black Box players performed their final show for the year. The small, dark room was illuminated by a single light which lit up the faces of the excited audience.

“We practiced from 3 to 6 p.m. everyday after school for about a month,” junior Melody Asgari said. “I really liked getting close with people I never knew I would become close with. Just remember to clap when a student says ‘muledog.’”

With a great script and good actors, some may think that’s all that is required in a play, but props really bring the play to life.

“Because there were four individual plays, we had four boxes, one for each play,” sophomore Madison Haynes said. “When one of the plays was starting, we would get all those props ready and set them on stage. It was really fast-paced.”

The hard work was shown through to the audience with not an empty seat in the room. An old television set was positioned in the center of the room awaiting the first scene of the night.

“It was very interesting and fun,” senior Austin Taylor said about working in a play written and directed by students. “It’s great because it’s some of your peers that will support you on the stuff that you do well, and find positive ways to criticize.”

“Last year, I got to be in my first show,” senior Jake Rowe said. “This year, I get to star in a play I wrote myself.”

Four short plays were shown. The plays, in order, were written by junior Justin Balderas, Rowe and senior Kevin Bain, junior Cooper Thomson, and senior Courtney Balke.

“This is different because it’s a more personal environment,” Rowe said. “We’re being directed by friends and all of the work is done by students. There is one play with zombies, our play has puppets in them, another has romance, and then one is even about death. There is a lot of variety.”

The jazz band conducted its concert Thursday, Dec. 1. They started off the concert with a song called “Groovin’ Hard.”

“I had a very good time playing at the concert,” junior guitarist Lilabeth Martchenke said. “I think our hard work paid off and it went well.”

Then they moved on to more seasonal music with “And the Angels Swing!” and “Christmas Visions.”

“The holiday songs were a lot of fun,” junior saxophonist Katherine Smith said. “It put everyone in a good mood and it was a good atmosphere.”

The jazz band ended the night with “Stevie Wonder Medley”.

“I think the concert overall was a success,” senior pianist Jacy Pedersen said. “Everyone did very well.”

Monday Dec. 19 – B day exams
Tuesday Dec. 20 – A day exams

1st/5th: 7:35-8:30
2nd/6th: 8:36-9:31
3rd/7th: 9:37-10:32
4th/8th: 10:40-11:35

“Preparing for the winter concert was a hard challenge because of how short of a time we had,” senior Garrett Breaux said. “In the end, the results were really good and I think we put on a really fun and entertaining concert.”

With the short times and lack of rehearsals, students definitely felt the pressure. More stress and individual, at-home practicing were required to successfully pull it off.

“We prepared a lot and had a lot of practices,” junior Jesus Venzor said. “Even though we had shorter time, I think it turned out really well.”

“It was pretty different from when I preformed in it last, in eighth grade,” junior Mackenzie Mehlmann said. “It was fun.”

The choirs sang a variety of songs from classic carols to new, modern songs. Chorale sang a piece that they will be singing when they go to New York in January, but the show choirs were in the spotlight for the evening.

“Singing Calypso Carol really brought Varsity together,” junior Katie Kellett said. “The junior high show choirs did a great job.”

After adding a third show for the first time ever, the concerts, Dec. 1, 2 and 3, entertained three full houses.

“The atmosphere was jolly and celebratory,” Mehlmann said. “It was really nice.”