Minarets has always strived for the goal of being different and better. High schools everywhere have back to school nights- but High Schools everywhere certainly don’t have Showcase Nights. Minarets, as they strive to be, was different and better.
On Tuesday, October 23rd, Minarets hosted their annual Showcase Night, but this year with a massive twist. In previous years, this event had always been optional for students; something they were encouraged to go to, but it wasn’t part of the required curriculum. This year, it was. All students were given a grade in every class dependent on their attendance and participation in this event. As such, the student and parent turnout was vastly higher than previous years.
In a recent interview, Principal Daniel Ching professed his satisfaction with the event, speaking about the positive impact it brings to students: “Showcase shows why it’s important to not only get A’s and B’s, but to perform to the best of your ability. It causes students to raise the level of professionalism. This is when the project you create really matters.” In essence - Showcase is Minarets pursuing its goal to be different and better.
Dr. Ching also addressed the controversy that had been circulating around the mandatory status of the event. Many students had issues with this, complaining that they would be unable to make it to the event, or that they were forced to stay until 8:00 p.m because they were reliant on the busses. In response to this, the Principal said, “When I was in school, I never had to publicly demonstrate my learning, and I could get by doing that. But in real life, no matter what industry your in, your going to have to show off what you’ve done.” This represents another common theme of Minarets teaching- the project based professional atmosphere.
Showcase in the coming years is going to follow those same goals. Different, better, professional, and preparatory for the student’s future careers. Showcase will most likely continue to be mandatory, and Principal Ching spoke about the possibility of including a specific Showcase project that each student would create as the first major project of the year.
In the end, the future of Showcase is uncertain- but what is certain is the reality of Showcase as a returning, large part of the Minarets community as the school strives constantly to be better than it already is. This year revived the idea of Showcase in the mind of students, teachers, and parents alike, and the plan is to continue building and improving upon this successful idea.