Allie JacksonSemester One

Yearbook Portfolio2015

It is no easy feat to create a morning show every day that students and teachers love to watch. Not only do they have to create the morning show, but they also supply hilarious videos throughout the year and create the infamous senior video. Students work hard to provide the school with im-portant and accurate updates going on around the school and outside the school. TV Productions takes time and dedication. “[To make the morning show] it takes blood, sweat, yelling, tears, and brain cells.” Said Will Ben-nett (12), “We have to plan, research local news stories, then we all take a quick break to meditate and do some yoga, and then we go out there and do it!” Students in TV Productions learn how to edit, anchor, and work news equipment such as the tri-caster and sound to prepare for possible future jobs in the news industry. With it being Ms. Mcurleys first year teaching TV Productions, the students are more excited and ready to work than ever. “[Without Ms. Mcurley this class] would be like a cage of monkeys that have been starved for a couple of hours” said Rex Wilson (12). Each student contributed to the vast success of TV Productions.

This was the first copy I’d ever written for the 2015 yearbook. It was really fun because all the boys of TV 4 showed me what it was like to produce the morning show and made it really easy for me to write about it.

morning show copy

This was a really fun and eye opening event that I got to attend. Being able to see how bullying has effected people in school. Stand up gave me lots of information on how they planned to help peo-ple that’ve experienced bullying and how they planned to stop it in the school.

sertoma captions

Miller Jordan (12) helps a young boy fighting cancer with arts and crafts. It was sertoma’s first time at the Faces of Courage Camp. “My favorite part was being able to allow kids to escape their sometimes harsh realities even if it’s only for a weekend,” Jordan said.

Ryan Ellis (12) participates in cookie making with the kids at the Faces of Courage Camp. Sertoma boys helped make a memorable weekend for sick children. “Volunteering made me realize that you should be happy with what you have,” Ellis said.

These captions were somewhat difficult for me because it took a while to get ahold of the people. It helped me, however, learn how to not be afraid when interviewing people I didn’t know or people I found intimidating.

This was the second cut out I’ve ever done this year. It really challenged me because I was very inexperienced with photo-shop and how to do cut outs. The photo also had a time stamp on it and learned how to erase it without ruining the photo.

Before the student body joined together to worship and praise, President Tyler Heath(12) took student speaker, Michael Rivera(12), aside to pray. They held small classroom bible studies every Thursday throughout the year during all three lunches, and hosted a pizza lunch at the stadium. “I wanted to speak at the stadium lunch because I thought that a bunch of people could relate to my story,” Rivera said, “I have a true passion for sharing the gospel and I felt like it was some-thing God was telling me to do.” It was the first stadium lunch of the year and they had a turnout of over 300 kids. “I had talked in front of a semi-big group before but never a group that big,” Rivera said, “I was really nervous during first lunch, but once I got started, the nerves went away and it just kinda flowed.” “I feel like changing the name of First Priority makes us more con-nected as one as a nationwide Christian group,” Erce Verdel Phillips IV(11) said. First Priority, formally known as Beta Chi, is a nationwide organization that is in schools around Tampa and also around the country. “First Priority means so much to me. They didn’t have it at Bloomingdale when I went there, so we’re really lucky,” Rivera said, “It’s surrounded me other awesome Christians, and really gave me a great group of friends to support me in my walk with Christ.”

First Priority Copy

I enjoyed writing this copy a lot. I got to interview Michael Rivera, the student speaker of the lunch, and see how dedicated and passionate he was about sharing his testimony to the entire school.

This was photo I edited for my yearbook application. As I said be-fore, I was inexperienced with photoshop. I researched what to do and spent an hour making the stunt group in the photo stand out from the background by making the background black and white, and the stunt group in color.

drama copy

As the house lights dimmed, Romeo, played by Trevor Barksdale (11), bent down on one knee and begged Juliet, played by Elizabeth Doney (10), to be with him. The drama department worked tirelessly for two months to insure that The Complete Works of William Shakespeare would be a hit. “It was my first time directing on a grand scale,” Assis-tant director Mary-Olive Gauthier (11) said, “It really let me apply ev-erything I learned as an actor, and taught me how to handle stress and responsibility.” Drama participates in three state competitions and hosts two performances at Plant. “TCWOWS was so much fun because the material had so much hu-mor in it,” said Barksdale, “It was so fun to play Romeo because he’s such a serious character and I liked being able to make him my own.” The entire cast of TCWOWS agreed that it was the best play they’ve out on because of all aspects, including acting, makeup, technology, stage props, dedication, and directing, which brought multiple people back each night for the three days the play was in theaters. “I abso-lutely fell in love with the people in the drama program last year, so I’ve done every show since,” said Doney, “Being a part of drama has given me some of my best friends, and you really feel like your dra-ma friends are family. We love each other so much, and I can rely on them for anything, whether it’s personal or performance related.”

This is one of my favorite copies I’ve ever written. I went to all three showings of the play to take pictures and gather information for this copy. It was really fun to see how passionate the perform-ers were, which made me passionate about making sure the copy reflected their attitude towards drama.

sertoma copy

This was a really difficult copy for me to write. Having not gone to the event, I was unaware of what the event was, what activites they participated in, and who went. I had to research what the camp was and interview a lot of people who attended.

“It’s great to see the impact that we have on the kids at the Faces of Courage Camp. It makes them happy knowing that older kids care about them and want to play with them,” Connor Welsh (12) said. Sertoma volunteered for the first time on Dec. 6 at the Faces of Courage Camp in Tampa. The camp was dedicated to children with cancer and blood illnesses. “We chose to volunteer there instead of somewhere else because the kids are really special and fun to be around. It was a really great experience,” President Carter Leslie (12) said. The Sertoma boys arrived early in the morning and were paired up with bud-dies for the entire day who had cancer in the past or were somehow affected by cancer. “It was a memorable experience because we worked so closely with a kid who had been unlucky in contracting the disease and seeing how he didn’t let it affect his life at all was eye-opening,” Alex Weinstein (12) said. They spent the whole day participating in different activities such as canoeing, archery, tie-dying, cookie-making and various sports. Justin Brooks (12) said, “It was such a great experience because you really get to take a step back and see how much fun those kids can have despite the situations they are in. It made me realize how lucky I am and I loved how happy they were to be hang-ing out with all of us.” The children loved escaping outdoors for a little bit and spending time with such great role models. “Volunteering made me want to go back and get more involved with kids that are going through such a hard time,” Welsh said, “It made me want to get more involved in Sertoma.”

Drumline Copy

Being a part of one of the best drumlines in the county is no easy job. Plant’s drumline is a part of the marching band and is responsible for pumping up the student section during the third quarter of the foot-ball games. “It’s so much fun performing for the student section be-cause the drumline feeds off the crowds energy which makes us really get into what we’re playing,” said Anne Themides (10). Being a member comes with a rigorous practice schedule. “Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays are our biggest days because we have percussion sectionals after school from 3-4 and then marching rehearsal with the full ensem-ble after that from 5:30-9,” said Peter Kieffer (11), “I usually don’t get home until about 9 on those days.” With it being Mr. Dells first year as the band director, the drumline is more than excited to see what he can bring to them. “Mr. Dell is exactly what we needed. He’s very strict but in the best way,” said Kieffer, (11). “He knows exactly what needs to get done and does not overlook any-thing.” Gracie Johnson (11) made drumline history as one of the first girls to be on the marching snare line. “It’s really cool to be one of the first girls on the marching snare line,” Johnson said.

It was interesting to see how dedicated everyone was in drum-line. I liked writing this copy because it gave me a look into what drumline did besides performing on the feild.

Drama Captions

Marissa Sandler (11) and Julia Cagno (12) pose for a quick photo opt. Sandler and Cagno were narrators and made sure the audi-ence was involved throughout the show. “I loved being a narrator because it gave me a chance to interact with the audience and everybody in the show,” Cagno said.

Having seen the play multiple times, I was excited to write captions for all the photos. I enjoyed learning more about how much the per-formers loved being on stage and how dedicated they were to mak-ing the play the best it could be.