Three inducted into NHS Fine Arts Hall of Fame

           The Newton High School Fine Arts Booster Club inducted three new members to the Newton High School Fine Arts Hall of Fame at the annual Music Awards Monday, April 30. Named as new inductees were Brad Sneed, 1985 NHS graduate; Sam Nance, 1965 NHS graduate, and John Banman, 1937 NHS graduate.
             Brad Sneed has been a freelance illustrator since graduating from the University of Kansas in 1989. Sneed's focus has been children's books creating unusual compositions by bending and stretching forms. Sneed works in watercolor, oil, acrylic, and mixed media. He paints from his imagination, relying on photographic reference only when necessary. Sneed believes that the illustrations in a book are an integral part of story telling. According to Sneed, the pictures enhance the written word by boosting our imagination. Sneed has received many honors for his work including Thumbelina, The Society of Illustrators The Original Art 2004; Aesop's Fables, The Dollywood Foundation Imagination Library selection; When Wishes Were Horses, Council of Wisconsin Writers Picture Book Award honorable mention; Picture a Letter Book of the Month Club selection; Sorry, Junior Library Guild selection and Young Hoosier Book Award Nominee. Brad currently lives in Prairie Village, KS with his wife and daughter, a dog, two rats, and a gecko.
            Sam Nance earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Bethel College and a Master of Fine Arts degree from Trinity University. He founded the Newton Community Theatre in 1965 and has over 35 years of professional experience as a designer of scenery and lighting and occasionally as an actor.  He has designed scenery and lighting for corporate meetings, parties and special events ranging from weddings to awards shows, and has designed hundreds of fashion shows.  He has also lit architecture and exhibits and has designed lighting systems for churches, schools and theaters.  At the Dallas Theater Center he lit such shows as A Midsummer Nights Dream, Manny, Endgame, and The Lion in Winter.  He has designed for Shakespeare Festival of Dallas, Theater Onstage, and he is the resident lighting designer for Pegasus Theater in Dallas.  His design for Woody Gutheries American Song at the Pope Theater in Florida, which toured to Vienna, was nominated for a Carbonelle award and he has been nominated twice for Rabin awards in Dallas for his work on Living Black and White shows at Pegasus Theater.  His most recent shows are The Land for the National Conservancy Trust national meetings in Nashville, TN and A Critical Case of Murder for Pegasus Theater. Nance currently lives in Dallas.
            Jon Banman earned his bachelor's degree from Bethel College and his masters from Wichita State University. As a high school senior, Banman played clarinet with the Wichita Orchestra. He spent most of his career teaching music in Ellinwood, KS. His first teaching position was in Clearwater, KS and his last teaching position was in Great Bend, KS. In addition to teaching in public schools, Banman has given private lessons to countless young people. He and his wife, Iris are retired and live in North Newton. They have a grown daughter and son.
 

Chisholm Middle School Open House

Chisholm Middle School will hold a technology open house and reception on Monday, April 30, to celebrate being named the 2006 Best of the Best secondary school in the nation by Intel and Scholastic. The Public is invited to attend the event which will feature live classroom demonstrations from 1:00 – 3:15 p.m., a reception from 4:00 – 5:00 p.m., and interactive technology demonstrations from 5:00 – 6:30 p.m.

The Newton Chamber of Commerce will hold a ribbon cutting at 4:30 p.m. Speakers for the reception include Dr. Mary Cohen, U.S. Department of Education Secretary’s Regional Representative and Christine Downey Schmidt, Kansas Board of Regents Vice-Chair and Kansas Senator (1993-2004). In addition, footage will be shown of U.S. Representative Todd Tiahrt recognizing Chisholm’s award in remarks he delivered to the U.S. House of Representatives on April 20, which were televised live on C-Span.

Students and staff will showcase the newly acquired technology with live classroom demonstrations and interactive technology labs during the event. Demonstration Schedule