True Creativity at Windham High Arts Festival

On Saturday, May 19, the community of Windham was shown that the arts are alive and well in their schools. Windham High School hosted the third annual Arts Festival. Art from Golden Brook, Center School, Middle School, and Windham High School bedecked the atrium and continued down the hallways. People from all around the community came to see the Festival, including grandparents, parents, children, peers, and lovers of the arts.

The Festival was put together through the efforts of high school teachers Mrs. Cole, Mrs. Gaudette, Mrs. Shoubash, Mrs. Robbinsons, Mrs. Sayward-Tasho, and Mr. Cassedy. The other art teachers in the district, Mrs. Mercier, Mrs. Middleton, Ms. Murphy, and Mrs. Crimmin also helped make the festival a great event. These teachers are responsible for the art programs at the schools and every day teach young minds how to express themselves and create beautiful things. “The arts show so much creativity and expression and I think it’s important for students to be able to outwardly express themselves personally,” said Mr. Cassedy, the high school’s band director. Mrs. Cole, an art teacher at the high school, added, “this is the opportunity to see just how dedicated and talented our students are.”

The dedication of the students was apparent to everyone who attended. Mrs. Shoubash, the culinary arts teacher, asked Eugenia Schipelliti, a junior at WHS, to cater the event. Eugenia became interested in the culinary arts when she took Mrs. Shoubash’s class. She now has a job at Culinary Capers in Windham. Lindsay Miller and Rachael Silva are two sophomores at WHS who have been in the culinary arts class since their freshman year; they were also volunteering at the event. The culinary students as well as many other student volunteers made the event possible.

At the festival there were displays of many forms of art. The fashion classes displayed their textiles with photos from the fashion show. There were sculptures and pottery showcased from the ceramics class as well as paintings and drawings from students ranging from grades 1-12. 

Many high school student musicians showcased their talents at the festival, in both solo and group performances. The WHS jazz band opened the event, followed by Adam DiPersio (senior) performing on the marimba. Melanie Fenton (junior) performed on flute, as did Christine Carpenter (junior). A band of seniors by the name of Stage Presents (Alex Lisowski, Adam DiPersio, and Stephen Dennison) took center stage next, stunning the audience with their vast musical variety. Next came Jessica MacKimm (junior) followed by Marissa Yost (freshman), both singers who have been involved in prestigious festivals throughout the year. Natalya Tausanovitch (senior) performed a solo on flute, followed by Jillian DiPersio (freshman) singing and accompanying herself on piano. Jake Simard (senior) sang a solo next before the Soulfege A Capella group gave their final performance of the year. Eugenia Schipelliti (junior) finished up the festival with a passionate vocal performance. All the student musicians gave phenomenal performances, showing the community that, as Mr. Cassedy had said, “there’s emotional and intrinsic connection between a student and their art. It’s awesome for them to be able to express it at this age.”

The Arts Festival has grown tremendously over the past three years. Musicians Jake Simard, Jessica MacKimm and Adam DiPersio have seen the event grow, performing all three years. “There has been an increase in musicianship and the arts. It’s become more of a community event,” remarked Jessica. Jessica, Adam and Jake are all looking to advance further in the arts and turn their passions for music into careers. These students are just a few out of many in the school that aspire to create a career based on what they love.

The sheer artistic talent of these students astonished the community. The arts are an important part of Windham students’ education, giving them a way to share with the world a perspective all their own.