Victory Outreach Antioch presents Unleashed, A Community and Family Event on Saturday, June 22, 2024. Enjoy a custom car show, free haircuts, live hip hop music concert featuring artist EGR and a food giveaway. The event will be held at Antioch City Park on the corner of A and W. 10th Streets from 1:00-5:00 p.m.
Come see scholars from the city of Antioch shine in this amazing production for three shows only!
Set during the last years of New York City’s celebrated High School for the Performing Arts in the early 1980s, Fame JR. is the bittersweet, but ultimately inspiring, story of a diverse group of students who commit to four years of grueling artistic and academic work.
In the theater at the Nick Rodriguez Community Center, 213 F Street in Antioch’s historic downtown Rivertown. Presented by Aspire Youth Programs in partnership with the City of Antioch. Follow Aspire Youth Programs on Facebook.
The Antioch High School Marching Band during a performance. Photo courtesy of Courtney Emery.
By Courtney Emery (Trantham), Music Department Lead, Antioch USD, Music Teacher, Antioch High School and Antioch Middle School
The Antioch High School Marching Band and Choir are planning an educational trip to New Orleans, LA in March 2025. We chose New Orleans because of its rich musical history and culture, especially as New Orleans is the birthplace of jazz.
The trip will be five days and four nights and will include a performance in Jackson Square, a clinic at Loyola University, viewing a private jazz performance at the historic Preservation Hall, a visit to the New Orleans Jazz Museum, a steamboat dinner jazz cruise and more.
The students will be traveling from Antioch to New Orleans via airplane. Many of our students have not been out of the state before, let alone on an airplane. This is sure to be an experience they will remember for life.
As many of our students are unable to afford the cost of the trip, we are holding several fundraisers to help raise money. They include:
Car Wash on 5/25/24 from 9:30am-2:00pm at Les Schwab Tire (89 Carol Lane, Oakley) (Weather permitting – will cancel if it rains).
Walkathon at AHS on 6/1/24, more details TBA
Any person wishing to sponsor a student in need through a financial donation is welcome to email me at CourtneyEmery@antiochschools.net.
Get free passes for donatingto Maya Community Foundation
By Greg Heckman, Director of Marketing, Maya Cinemas
Maya Cinemas, known for developing movie theatres in underserved communities with state-of-the-art presentation, first-class amenities and community involvement, is offering free movies passes for donations to the Maya Community Foundation. Beginning on April 1st and running through April 15th, movie-goers can make a donation at any Maya Cinema and receive 1 free movie passes (valid 4/1/24 – 5/15/24) for every $10 they donate and 3 passes for every $25. One hundred percent of donations will be granted as college scholarships to members of the communities surrounding the theaters. Scholarship applications are live at wearemaya.org/scholarship-applications.html and will be open until May 30th.
The Maya Community Foundation is dedicated to the development and enrichment of the lives of people in the community in which Maya Cinemas’ theatres serve. The foundation is dedicated to fostering and supporting under-served, low-income communities through a variety of programs.
Donations can be made in-theatre at any of Maya’s six locations:
Pittsburg, CA – 4085 Century Boulevard
Salinas, CA – 153 Main Street
Bakersfield – 1000 California Avenue
Delano, CA – 401 Woollomes Avenue
Fresno, CA – 3090 East Campus Pointe Drive
North Las Vegas, NV – 2195 North Las Vegas Blvd.
“Support of higher education is an important building block. The Maya Community Foundation and Maya Cinemas endeavors to enrich the community through several efforts with education being a primary focus.” said Heidi Garcia, Maya Community Foundation.
ABOUT MAYA CINEMAS
Maya Cinemas was chartered in 2000 with a mission to develop, build, own and operate modern, first-run, multi-plex movie theaters in underserved, family oriented, Latino-dominant communities. Maya Cinemas offers first-run Hollywood movies and unique content through its Canal Maya program in high-end theaters focused on quality of design, state-of-the-art film presentation technology, and providing first-rate entertainment with superior customer service. The Maya Community Foundation is dedicated to the development and enrichment of the lives of people in the community in which Maya Cinemas serve.
In a post on Facebook on Tuesday, March 19, 2024, Antioch High School offered “Congrats to the winners of the Annual AHS Poetry Contest. They’re poets and now they know it!”
The AHS Poetry Contest was open to all AHS students, and there was no set theme. Of course, the poems had to be unique and original, but beyond that, the students were encouraged to let their creative juices flow and write about whatever stirred their souls and moved their hearts. The results were fascinating.
The top three entries from each grade level were awarded beautiful rosette ribbons, certificates and goody bags with gift cards to Starbucks, In-N-Out Burger, and lots of Easter candies.
Freshman Class
First: Navayah Thompson
Sophomore Class
First: Shadrack Gitan Nganga
Second: Mckeyla Feliciano
Third: Sydney Hill and Julianna Fraser (tie)
Junior Class
First: Jamall Burks
Second: Eimy Garcia
Third: Samantha Gonzalez-Guzman
Senior Class
First: Alex Valladares
Second: Mariah Worrell-Osborne and Zora Musawwir (tie)
Third: Tianna Kemokai
Pam Swicegood, Antioch High School English & Creative Writing Teacher, Coordinator of the AHS Poetry Contest and Advisor for The Pantheon, AHS’s Literary Magazine, provided the following information about the contest and winners:
The winning poem from the senior class was entitled Hateful Prometheus, by Alex Valladares. In Greek Mythology, Prometheus was one of the Titans, birthed from clay and given the strengths and abilities of the gods. Prometheus loved mankind, and when he saw they were struggling on earth, he stole fire from the Gods and gave it to man. This angered Zeus, who punished Prometheus and took his revenge on humans, giving them all the negative aspects of life. In Alex’s poem, Zeus’ punishment presents itself in the form of critical, manipulative parents who lack compassion, bark orders to their children, and fail to be a guiding light or nurture their children’s joys or success. Thus, making Prometheus hateful toward his creator.
The winning poem from the junior class was entitled The Unknown, by Jamall Burks. This poem is a beautiful, poignant ballad dedicated to the late Malik El-Ameen, a former AHS student who was shot last year by his father. Jamall was Malik’s best friend.
The winning poem from the sophomore class was entitled Navigating High School, from Shadrack Nganga, a new student who recently moved to Antioch from Kenya. In his poem, Shadrack writes about the struggles of feeling out of place in a new country surrounded by strangers and trying to fit in. Though at first he felt judged and criticized, wanting to hide and keep himself small, he eventually found new friends who showed him kindness and acceptance. His poem encourages others to embrace their uniqueness and face their fears, because in time, they’ll “find their song.”
The winning poem from the freshman class was entitled Happy Black History!, by Navayah Thompson. In her poem, Navayah acknowledges the history of pain and injustice from slavery’s chains to civil rights, celebrating the triumphs and struggles of those who came before her and honoring their journey.
The subjects of other winning poems were varied and beautiful; about dewdrops and disco balls, romance and unrequited love, friendship and betrayal, and wanting to have it all. One was written from the point of view of a character in a book she read in her junior English class. Another celebrated the experience of dancing the “Mama Candelaria” at a street carnival with all the beautiful costumes, the “Morenos”, and the lively rhythms and upbeat music in her home country of Peru.
All in all, the annual AHS Poetry Contest was a huge success and showcased some of the many outstanding students we are fortunate to have at Antioch High School.
2022 District CA-11 Congressional Art Competition winner, “Growing Up” by Menglin Cai of Danville. Source: Office of Congressman Mark DeSaulnier (when he represented the 11th District)
Deadline for submittals is April 5th
Walnut Creek, CA – Today, Congressman Mark DeSaulnier (D, CA-10) announced he will participate in the nationwide 2024 Congressional Art Competition. High school artists living in California’s 10th Congressional District may begin submitting original artwork to his office virtually from now through Friday, April 5th. The winning piece will be selected by a panel of local judges who will view all artwork electronically and announced at a reception to celebrate all participants following the submission deadline.
Participants may submit one photograph or scan of their artwork, taken in the highest possible resolution, to kaylee.deland@mail.house.gov. Submissions must include the Student Release Form. Artwork entered in the contest may be up to 26 inches by 26 inches, may be up to 4 inches in depth, and not weigh more than 15 pounds. If your artwork is selected as the winning piece, it must arrive framed and must still measure no larger than the above maximum dimensions.
Paintings – including oil, acrylics, and watercolor
Drawings – including pastels, colored pencil, pencil, charcoal, ink, and markers (It is recommended that charcoal and pastel drawings be fixed.)
Collages – must be two dimensional
Prints – including lithographs, silkscreen, and block prints
Mixed Media – use of more than two mediums such as pencil, ink, watercolor, etc.
Computer-generated art
Photography
All entries must be original in concept, design and execution and may not violate any U.S. copyright laws. Any entry that has been copied from an existing photo or image (including a painting, graphic, or advertisement) that was created by someone other than the student is a violation of the competition rules and will not be accepted. Work entered must be in the original medium (that is, not a scanned reproduction of a painting or drawing).
The rules for the 2024 competition are available here or on House.gov.
“Every year I am so impressed by the talent of the students in our district who participate in the Congressional Art Competition,” said DeSaulnier. “I am pleased to again host this event as an opportunity for young artists to showcase and be recognized for their creativity.”
The competition is open to all high school students living in California’s 10th Congressional District. The winning piece will be displayed in the U.S. Capitol and the winner will be invited to Washington D.C. to attend a national reception honoring winners from around the country. All submissions must be emailed to Kaylee.deland@mail.house.gov no later than 5:00 p.m. PT on April 5, 2024.
The Congressional Art Competition is a nationwide high school visual art competition to recognize and encourage artistic talent in the nation and in each congressional district. Since the Competition began in 1982, more than 650,000 high school students have participated. Complete contest guidelines and submissions forms are available on the Congressman’s website here. For more information or help submitting artwork, please contact DeSaulnier’s office at 925-933-2660.
