MCH students shine at TCAF competitions

Rachael, winner of Best of Show and People's Choice
for TCAF Visual Arts Festival.

There’s a lot of talent at Methodist Children’s Home and many students received recognition for their months of preparation and hard work during the recent Texas Christian Athletic Fellowship (TCAF) competitions. MCH students competed against other schools in Texas in TCAF’s Visual Arts Festival, Fine Arts Festival, and Cheer Competition.

This was the first time MCH competed in the visual and fine arts festivals and some of the students’ first time to participate in a judged event or performance. Students were judged on a scale of fair (lowest), good, excellent and superior (highest) ratings.

“I think it was such a beneficial experience for our students, because it first caused them to spend focused time and effort toward learning and perfecting a skill or performance, whether that was instrumental, vocal, acting or dance, and then gave them a chance to showcase their work and be affirmed by others for the talents that they have,” said Kimberly Bobbitt, director of recreation. “The students walked away with constructive feedback and renewed desire to keep working on and developing their skills.”

First up was the TCAF Visual Arts Festival on March 19-20 at Hill School in Fort Worth. MCH had one student, Rachael, compete in the contest. Rachael sought out the opportunity to compete in the art contest, asking about the possibility after TCAF contests last year. She entered her artwork into the Charcoal category and received first place with a superior rating. Her piece went on to also receive Best of Show as well as the People’s Choice Award, both of the top awards for the high school division.

“I think the opportunity was beneficial for Rachael because it allowed her to showcase her talents and receive affirmation of her abilities,” Bobbitt said. “She was most surprised to receive the People’s Choice award as we were the only two representatives there that day from the MCH charter school. So she received affirmation not only from judges, but also from other teachers and peers who saw her work.”

The TCAF Fine Arts Festival was held on March 23 hosted by Community Christian School at Well of Life Church in Mineral Wells. Students from MCH’s theatre, choir and drumline programs competed, receiving high marks. For choir, Alexis, Hawa and Vanessa competed in the vocal solo contest receiving ratings of excellent, excellent and superior, respectively. Vanessa, Hawa and Katelyn also competed in the vocal trio category and received an excellent rating.

For theatre, Grace and Beth both received superior ratings for the monologues while Emberlynn and Justice received an excellent rating for the duet act.

“From memorizing their lines to coming in for rehearsals outside the afterschool program time, the students showed a lot of dedication which served them well in the festival,” said Kira Rockwell, recreation coordinator and theatre instructor. “The students were elated to walk away feeling like champions, as they should, for the work they had prepared.”

In drumline, Nick and Jeffrey performed an instrumental ensemble receiving a superior rating. Kelli also performed an interpretive dance and received a superior rating.

For the TCAF Cheer competition, MCHS’s cheer squad consisting of Ema, Destiny, Paloma, Kelli, Sonja, Jaelyne and Brianna, won first place overall in the novice cheer division.

“We are so proud of our students and the commitment and dedication of our afterschool programs for using their skills and talent to compete against other great schools in Texas,” said Anthony Mead, afterschool coordinator. “Our students have truly embodied the MCH life skills by focusing and finishing what they started and building healthy relationships amongst their instructors, peers, and other schools they competed against. Our students take ownership of these programs and use them to express themselves in healthy and constructive ways. This is why we do afterschool programs, to provide an outlet for creatively expressing yourself, learning positive life skills, and having a blast doing it!”

Theatre

Cheer

Drumline

Rachael - Visual arts