The arts of OA

There are many art programs provided at Orcutt Academy High School. Two well known programs are Art and Photo. Here are some of the amazing arts done by our own Spartans!  

Art is a class many OA students end up taking for their visual or performing art, but many who don’t end up taking Ms. Kintzi’s  enjoyable class don't get an insight on the class itself.   Art, along with photo, is a very popular class for many students looking to take their visual or performing art. Here at Orcutt Academy, the school offers a total of three art classes, Art 1, Art 2,...

Mason Oakes, senior at Orcutt Academy High School (OAHS), has been a key component to the choir class throughout his four year experience.   When Oakes first joined choir his freshman year, the curriculum was much different compared to how it is now. During his first year, there had been a zero period advanced choir, which had been a show choir and concert choir combined, and had been l...

Superintendent Dr. Blow believes heavily in the arts programs throughout the schools in the district.   “The arts allow for a lot more creativity than your more traditional subjects,” she states. She discusses the amount of collaboration that goes into the arts, such as playing together in a band or choir. “In a good rounded education, you have both,” but she does talk about th...

One important aspect of the arts program at Orcutt Academy High School (OAHS) is the dedicated choir class. This elective takes a unique commitment and lots of dedication.   Choir is only offered for one period in the day. Unfortunately this is zero period, starting at 6:50 AM. This is a major commitment of the class. OAHS choir teacher, Mr. Smithson, and students alike agree that this i...

As a member of the OAHS band, the arts program is something near and dear to my heart. Though limited to just music, my experience with the arts has been one that has shaped me. However, even when I hear the cheers of my fellow students after performances, I know the arts don’t have the full support of the school.   Our school seems to love performances from the band, dance team or choir. ...

Here at Orcutt Academy, Journalism’s very own Mr. Shaw teaches something very near and dear to his heart: drama class. Not only do the students perform and put on productions, they do much, much more.   When you think of drama class, you probably think of any movie you’ve seen where the main characters are also involved in drama in some way. They audition and perform silly plays, like in D...

The Orcutt Academy drama program has blossomed over recent years, and extraordinary actors and actresses, such as senior Alysa Harshbarger, have been praised by and the community and our school as well.   Harshbarger is fairly new to the world of theatre. The senior joined her sophomore year after attending a couple of her older sister’s plays and hearing about how exciting it was being apart of ...

Vivian Meyer, a freshman at Orcutt Academy as well as member of the school band, is multi-talented stand out on campus. Meyer has been interested in music ever since her mother signed her up for piano lessons at the age of four. According to Meyer, she recalls her piano teacher also being her flute instructor, and who also influenced and urged her to join her school band. Meyerś has been involved with ...

It's been four years since Ms. Josie Coburn became Orcutt Academy’s band director. Since, then, the band has grown to record numbers this year. But the band has done more than just grow in numbers this year: they started their first marching band program as well as participated in several other competitions. According to Coburn, the band has several more goals for this year and beyond. Four y...

Orcutt Academy High School offers three different “art” classes in the art, photo, and video programs. Two of which; photo and video, are taught by Mr. McManus. Both classes teach students the basics of their respective art and allows students to showcase their talents with different projects. Photo 1 begins by introducing students to the history of photography, and the basics of what it mean...

When it comes to district and state funding of art programs, smaller schools are almost always on the lower level of financial support. Teachers and arts programs in the Orcutt Union School District (OUSD) know this all too well as they end up relying heavily on the non-profit Orcutt Children's Arts Foundation (OCAF). The Spartan Oracle wanted to compile information about the organization to figur...