New York, New York
Como Park Concert Choir students traveled to New York City May 25- 30 and performed at Carnegie Hall on May 28.
The choir sang the music of Mark Hayes, directed by Hayes, and the Rutter Gloria, conducted by Z. Randall Stroope with other singers from around the country accompanied by the New England Symphonic Ensemble. They also participated in the world premiere of The Field, by Hayes, in this performance.
Como choir director Carole Whitney and assistant principal and Como parent Patrick Coyne led the students on a sightseeing tour that netted more than 85,000 steps according to pedometers. The group stayed at a hotel in centrally located Times Square, took the subway and walked miles every day on visits to the Statue of Liberty, Ground Zero 9-11 Memorial, Empire State Building, Metropolitan Museum of Art and American Museum of Natural History.
BEASTbot were beasts
Como Park Robotics (aka BEASTbot Team 2855) had a strong debut in the state robotics tournament at the U of M on May 21. Como placed 13th out of 30 in the competition. The team participated in eight matches, with different combinations of alliances, which required all teams to do advance scouting and create strategies with their rotating playing partners.
Teams earned points from both match results and their own individual robot’s performance. Coaches Mike Fischer and Donna Norberg are proud of their team’s showing and thankful for the community support that included a school pep fest two days prior to the competition.
The team is already excited for next year and is poised to build a new robot for the yet-to-be-revealed 2017 challenge. Six of the team’s members just graduated, but there is expected to be 18 returning members plus new freshmen from Como’s new class of 2020.
Link Crew is ready for September
Ninety sophomores and juniors spent several hours training during the last week of May to become Link Crew leaders for the 2016-2017 school year. Link Crew will lead a freshmen orientation on Thursday, Sept. 1, to welcome new Como students and connect them with mentors before school begins next fall on Tuesday, Sept. 6.
Positively positive
Como Park Future Educators hosted “Positivity Week” from May 23-27 to put a spotlight on the importance of good mental health. The week was filled with affirmative messages on lockers, announcements and posters, a guest speaker from the National Alliance of Mental Illness, a raffle with prizes and fundraising for a nonprofit.
Prom, graduation end school year
The Como Junior-Senior Prom was held at the Science Museum in downtown St. Paul on May 21. The Science Museum served as a wonderful venue for the dance and the well-dressed Como crowd.
A grand march was held at school beforehand, and photos and dinners out on the town were especially enjoyed in the beautiful, warm, sunny weather before the dance which commenced at 7 p.m.
Como’s graduation was held at Roy Wilkins Auditorium in the RiverCentre downtown on Thursday, June 9. The Como Park Booster Club sponsored the annual Senior All-Night Party at school after the graduation ceremony. Congratulations to the Como Park graduating class of 2016!
