42 MAY 2021 By Cliff Summerhill After months of planning, staging, producing and pivoting to a virtual platform, the Arcadia High theater program took to the stage with both virtual and in-person performances of their spring production, “And We Will Share the Sky.” “Scottsdale Unified School District allowed us a small live audience carefully spaced out, so we had a mix of live and virtual,” Richard Fairchild, the head of Arcadia’s theater department, said. “While we’ve missed live audiences all year, it’s been a good challenge exploring new acting techniques.” The play explores the myths about the relationship between the moon and the sun. Fairchild chose the play because he wanted something his students could modify to a live- streaming performance. The play’s publisher was able to change the license to make it easier for schools to stream their shows. Although the virtual performances helped increase the student’s adaptability, the move wasn’t easy. The performances have been a blend of live and virtual all year, so in-person students had the challenge of rehearsing lines and staging scenes with other students that were working from home and projected on a screen. Fairchild said, “It hasn’t been ideal, but it’s given them a unique challenge in theater and forced them to solve problems new to the performing world.” The technical theater students also had to adjust to these changes. Some of the biggest challenges they faced were learning how to transition lighting, audio, set construction and the rest of the foundational elements of a live theater performance to a virtual one. While the theater students and Fairchild look forward to their performances returning to normal, their willingness to learn, experiment and adapt has its benefits. “It’s been a challenge, but honestly, the students have shown a huge effort this year,” Fairchild said. “Some of my hardest working performers are joining via Zoom, and I’m working hard to keep our theater family together. We have had a few students drop because they weren’t interested in the virtual format, but also plenty of new and enthusiastic members.” Arcadia High has a long tradition of theatrical performances that keeps the department thriving through even through the worst of times. “I’ve been here for 17 years, and we’ve done a variety of performances,” Fairchild said. “We’ve had a great history of experimentation, including several student-written musicals and participation in community events like the Rock n’ Roll Marathon.” For the rest of the school year, the department will focus on student-written short plays, streamed virtually and available to a limited in-person audience. Arcadia High’s theater program goes virtual Alya Elhassan (on-screen) was the narrator for the spring production. Below, Mary McManus (left) played the Sun and Avery Durbin (right) played the moon. PHOTOS COURTESY OF RICHARD FAIRCHILD Providing Arcadia with professional & personalized service for over 25 years. STORYBOOK ARCADIA Warm & charming 4 bed + office, 4 bath, 4250 s.f. home with a stunning cook’s kitchen nestled on a lush 3/4 acre cul-de-sac lot. Offered at $1,750,000 5112 N. 41ST ST. Anna McDowell-Isaacson 602-526-1213 AnnaMcDowellRealEstate@gmail.com www.AnnaMcDowell.com ABR, CRS, GRI Providing Arcadia with professional & personalized service for over 25 years. Anna McDowell-Isaacson 602-526-1213 AnnaMcDowellRealEstate@gmail.com www.AnnaMcDowell.com ABR, CRS, GRI Providing Arcadia with professional & personalized service for over 25 years. Anna McDowell-Isaacson AnnaMcDowellRealEstate@gmail.com AnnaMcDowellRealEstate@gmail.com www.AnnaMcDowell.com

43 MAY 2021 Director Shonna James said that conjoining the parcels will allow the creation of a Shemer campus with two educational buildings, an extended lawn and defined hardscape areas for events. RENDERING COURTESY OF THE SHEMER ART CENTER By Mallory Gleich The Shemer Art Center’s Expansion & Legacy Campaign is an ongoing effort by the nonprofit to raise funds to expand and improve its existing grounds and facility. The campaign began in March 2020 when Shemer entered into a real estate purchase contract to obtain the property to its south, which is already surrounded on three sides by Shemer’s land. The nonprofit art center was closed from March-May 2020. During this time, a majority of donations were used to battle issues due to the pandemic. “During the last quarter of 2020 and first quarter of 2021, thankfully, we have seen an increase in donations for organizations like ours that continue to serve the community and the arts,” Shemer Director Shonna James said. The campaign’s goal is to raise $2 million to buy the property, remodel it and then landscape the site to improve the grounds. James explained that the property will eventually be donated to the City of Phoenix, which owns the land and home where the Shemer is located. “This will be something given to the community that will forever serve the community,” James said. “We only need a few more donors to help us complete the acquisition of the property next door. We encourage anyone interested to call or take a tour of our current facility, housed in the very first home built in Arcadia, and see why the legacy of the Shemer Art Center is important – to the neighborhood, city and state of Arizona.” The center is hoping to raise the remaining funds needed to complete the property purchase as soon as possible and then continue to raise funds for the remodeling and re-landscaping efforts through the remainder of 2021. James said that donation levels will offer name recognition if they are between $250-$750,000. A GoFundMe account has also been set up. shemerartcenter.org Shemer Legacy Campaign update PHOTO COURTESY OF ELLEN YOUNG Paul Kaveinga and Calli Jeffrey with the incubator. By Jennifer Marshall For over a decade, kindergarten students at Tavan Elementary School have had an opportunity to answer the age-old question: Which comes first – the chicken or the egg? During their science unit on farm animals, kindergartners watch the hatching process of fertilized chicken eggs, thanks to Tolmachoff Farms in Glendale. “The owner of Tolmachoff Farms invites our curious young students out for field trips every year to see their chickens, and while there, they also get to pick produce,” Support Coordinator Ellen Young said. “Tolmachoff has been wonderful to us, and we have a terrific partnership with them.” The kindergartners bring fertilized eggs back to Tavan, where they’re placed inside an incubator at the school and remain for up to 21 days before hatching. “Seeing them hatch is the most wonderful sight,” Young said. “Last year, the students had to watch online, so it’s so nice to have them back on campus this year to watch them in person.” While the eggs will often hatch at night, Young said there had been many daytime hatchings where the kids are mesmerized by the sight of the baby chicks pecking their way out of their shells. Young said that the children love this fun moment in time and described the lifecycle as “one of the coolest things to see.” The new chicks are then placed into Tavan’s temporary coop, which staff can move around the kindergarten yard. Because the enclosure is tiny, it cannot house full-fledged chickens inside it, Young said. When the chicks reach a specific size, which usually takes about a month, they are returned to Tolmachoff Farms, where they continue to develop into chickens. “Our long-term goal is to have the necessary means to raise the chicks into full egg-producing adult chickens,” Young said. She’s hoping that maybe a local Boy Scout troop will help build them a bigger chicken coop. Having a larger permanent coop in place will allow them to then receive fresh eggs. “While we don’t think that we would be able to sell these eggs because we’re a school, we would love to develop a nice, working partnership with a neighborhood co-op, which will allow our community to also benefit from our bounty,” Young said. So, while the chicken-egg question remains unanswered, Tavan students will continue to learn and may find an answer yet! Tavan’s science unit is egg-cellent, thanks to baby chicks