PARISHarts Update for the Beginning of 2019-2020

Drill Team Leadership Camp was June 6-June 8. This is the camp where the new leadership team for 2019-2020 trains in all things leadership and dance. This year’s officers and sergeants are:

Lauren Chappell ’20 – Captain

Emma Denheyer ’21 – First Lieutenant

Abbey Swartzwelder ’21- Lieutenant|

Toni Buskin ’21 – Lieutenant

Eumin Lee ’21 -Lieutenant

Carla Hoefken ’20- Head Sergeant

Vivi Verges ’20- Sergeant

Emory Meler ’21- Sergeant

Frances Collins ’21- Sergeant

Grace Moundas ’22- Sergeant

I want to be sure and recognize Parish Summer and specifically David Fisher, Director of Parish Summer, for all the wonderful things they did with camps while most of us were at home. In particular I want to give a shout out to those faculty who gave of their time and talents to enhance the experience of those students who participated in Parish Summer:

Ingrid Geisler, Middle and Upper School Ceramics Teacher, did several 3D camps at the beginning of the summer.

Shastan Kuschke, Upper School Photography and Yearbook Teacher, held a Parish virtual class for photo.

Juan Hernandez Jr., Middle School Visual Arts Teacher, did a street art camp. You probably all seen the fruits of his labor on the front of the school! Kudos to Juan for making a huge splash as he enters his first year as Parish faculty.

Riley King, Hillcrest Lower School Music Teacher, served as music specialist for Day Camps at the beginning of the summer. I know the kids loved this because my own kids were there and they told me so!

Jeff Crouse, Middle School Music Teacher, came in and worked with Stephanie Wolfe on a production of School House Rock.

Jessica Robinson, Middle and Upper School Dance Teacher and EXTEND Dance Director, came in and facilitated a couple of the dance camps as well as oversaw the Dance Intensive held in the last part of the summer.

There were countless arts offerings this summer so we are grateful that our auxiliary programs are intentional about including the arts in their programming. Here are a few pics from the summer arts:

Drumline Camp was held the week of July 29. These kids are the best. They, along with Chris Burns, Drumline Director, and Melissa Camp, Assistant Drumline Director, work so hard all week. It’s also a week of really getting a feel for the new line and doing some bonding.

The very next week, Drill Team had their week long line member camp. This is an intense yet fun week for the girls full of choreography and team building. They ended the week with a “show off” in the Gene E. Phillips Activity Center.

Lastly, I want to be sure and introduce our new PARISHarts faculty and staff members. We have 4!

Samantha Cooper, 3^rd and 4^th Grade Visual Art Teacher:

Samantha Cooper is a fiber sculpture artist currently showing in galleries in the DFW area. She graduated from the University of North Texas with a BFA and has been working with children professionally for the past five years. Having grown up in the Dallas private school scene, Samantha is very excited to be a part of the Parish community. 

Scott Kirkham, Tech Theatre/AV Specilaist:

Scott Kirkham (Technical Theatre/AV Specialist) is excited to be joining the Parish Episcopal School community. Prior to arriving at Parish, he worked at Rockwall High School as their technical Theatre teacher and taught stage craft for Brookhaven College. Scott also serves as Production Designer and Stage Manager, and as Executive Producer for Our Productions Theatre Co. He holds an M.F.A. in Scenic Design from Florida State University’s School of Theatre, and a B.A. in Theatre Arts from Texas A&M, and has worked at various theatres across the country and many here in DFW. Scott is father of two (Slade and Sophie Rose), husband of one (Stephanie) and human to four dogs, six hens and one cat.

Juan Hernandez, Middle School Visual Art Teacher:

Juan Hernandez, Jr. is new to the Parish Faculty but not new to Parish. He is an alum and graduated in 2009. After graduation Juan recived his Bachelors Degree of Fine Arts from the Arts Institute of Dallas. Juan has taught art in Dallas ISD and most recently he was the art teacher at St. Phillips School and Community Center for grades PreK-6. He is looking forward to getting back to Parish where he will be the Middle School Visual Art Teacher.

Taylor Gray, Drill Team Assistant Director:

Taylor Gray is from Mount Pleasant, Texas, where she danced competitively with Barnard Company Dance. She attended Oklahoma City University, graduating with a Bachelor of Science in American Dance Pedagogy. Taylor has studied ballet, tap, and jazz pedagogy, as well as anatomy, kinesiology, and movement theory. Taylor is also a National Dance Alliance certified instructor and has worked with several drill and dance teams across the nation. Her performance credits include commercial industry work with Mary Kay, Fright Fest at Six Flags Over Texas, and Winterfest with RWS Entertainment Group.