Centennial Winter Guard Wins First Place at Performance Arts Championships

From Centennial High School: Centennial High School (CHS) is proud to share that the Centennial Winter Guard placed first in their class of fifteen Guard Teams at the Southern Association for Performance Arts Championships in Chattanooga, TN on April 1, 2017. This was a fantastic end to a winning season, with the CHS Guard placing first in their class in three of the four competitions in which they participated.

Winter Guard is an indoor Color Guard sport derived from Military ceremonies that performs to recorded music instead of live, and competes indoors instead of out. Competitions run from January through April. This activity combines modern dance with flag, rifle and sabre work. The sport offers 13 different divisions in which to compete. While it is only the school’s 6th year of competing, the Centennial team started off the year in the SAPA Scholastic Novice division. After their 4th competition (and 3rd straight first place win), they were moved up to the Scholastic Regional A division, competing against other local high schools such as Johns Creek and North Gwinnett.

The Centennial team was led this year by Director Terra Johnson and Assistant Director Rachel Cooper; as well as three student leaders, Captains Anna Steltenphol and Matthew Gilmore, and Assistant Captain Kaley Olewicz. Strong student leadership is an important part of achieving success in any of the marching arts. “It is very exciting to see how far this team has come,” said Band Director, Michael Reid. “And, our student leaders have done a phenomenal job as well.”

Participation in Winter Guard is open to any student at Centennial High School. Registration for next year’s associated Color Guard, which performs outdoors with the Marching Band, is now open at CHSKnightsBand.com.

Centennial High School is a 21st century learning community providing a high quality, innovative educational experience for all students to be college and career ready. Located at 9310 Scott Road in Roswell, Georgia, the school has been ranked as one of America’s best high schools by The Washington Post, US News and World Report, and Atlanta Magazine. Centennial is also as a leader within the Fulton County Charter System.

Image Courtesy of CHS