Friday evening May 9, the drama classes presented “An Evening of Fun with Shakespeare” under the direction of drama coach Judith Gates.  The Prince George Auditorium was packed with family and friends as the curtain went up and Shakespeare himself welcomed the crowd.  The actors presented Acts I-IV as a series of comic vignettes.  After intermission, the tone turned tragic as Act V was played in its entirety.  Finally, Shakespeare reappeared to give his opinion of their performance and the curtain came down.

“I was nervous but it was fun,” says Elizabeth Exum, who played the role of Prince Escalas. She added, “I was so quiet before I got into my costume, then I was able to get LOUD!”  Lizzy Culliton (Capulet) said, “Being on stage was nerve-wracking at first, but then everything came naturally.”   Mrs. Gates has been emphasizing the importance of commitment to the ensemble all year.  “The greatest joy for me was to see the kids fulfill their commitment to each other,” she says, “It wasn’t always easy but they have learned a truly valuable lesson.”

Thank you, “Momma” Gates for a great year!  We know how hard you worked and everything turned out fabulous.  Almost everyone in the whole school participated in the drama program and began to understand the challenges and joys of theater.  Special thanks go to Senora Yorky and Mrs. Anna Skerman for their support in costuming and blocking and to Prince George, Winyah, for loaning us the Bourne Building stage.  Just remember, all the world’s a stage!

Dan Machowski is known as “the knot man” because he is an expert at it who enjoys teaching the skill to others.  Dan is recently retired from DNR and now spends time coaching the sailing team of Bishop England.  Our journalism classes at TGS invited Dan to visit on Wednesday, March 7th.  We interviewed him about his long-time involvement in the Wooden Boat Show.  The interview will appear in the book we are producing to celebrate the show’s 25th anniversary.

Dan has been to almost every Wooden Boat Show, teaching adults and kids alike to tie interesting and useful knots.  He taught us a few while we ate our lunch during his visit, including the knot for handcuffs, which we immediately put to use for Romeo and Juliet!  Dan invited the students to help out at his booth this October during the 2014 Wooden Boat Show and we look forward to seeing him again.

By Top Lee

On Tuesday, April 22, several students took a break from spring break and joined Dr. Neubauer and Mrs. Sweitzer at an environmental talk and a documentary to celebrate Earth Day.  The event began at 3:00 with an award-winning film entitled “Plastic Paradise,” a documentary on the Pacific Garbage Patch and the harmful effects it’s having on islands, the coastline, and the ocean.  Angela Sun, the producer of “Plastic Paradise,” travels to Midway Atoll to discover for herself the Pacific Garbage Patch, and goes on to examine how plastic is hurting our health and our oceans.  

After the screening, several people went up to the stage and gave talks on plastic and the environment.  Kelly Thorvalson, Sea Turtle Rescue Program Director, drove up from the South Carolina Aquarium in Charleston to talk about the turtle rehabilitation.  She told everyone that the program is expanding, and so far has been very successful, releasing more than 130 turtles back into the wild, many of them injured from plastic debris.  

After the official part of the event was over, most of the people stayed in the lobby for trash-free/plastic-free snacks and to discuss the talks.  Overall the event was a success with about 70 people coming out to support the Earth Day talks.