By Dean Tan ’18 and David You ’19, Staff Writers

On Friday, November 15th, the fierce spirit of competition filled the choral room during fifth period as talented students performed various acts for the second annual Middle School Talent show. Bringing talents such as singing, dancing, magic, and more, it was truly a great day for students and teachers alike. It was an especially wonderful day for math and music teachers around Newark Academy as Dean and David, combining a piano recital with a polynomial graphing demonstration, won the talent show. Every one of the contestants worked their hardest, and all received hearty applause and laughter from the audience.

The whole talent show lasted about an hour. It was held in the choral room, where talent was already in the air. There were four judges, two hosts, and a total of eight acts. The four judges were Maria Armas, Tess Ostroff, Charles Pan, and Samantha Burggraf. The hosts included Durga Srivatsan and Siddarth Tumu. The first act was by Summer Peace and Emily Buchalter. They danced to “Applause” by Lady Gaga. The second act was by Jake McEvoy and Cosimo Fabrizio. Jake sang and Cosimo played the guitar to a song by Frank Sinatra. The third act was by Reid Christmann. He played an original song on the trombone. The fourth act was by Ryan Gajarawala. He performed “A Compilation,” also known as a magic act. The fifth act was by Nia Grundy and Sammy Powell. They sang “Little Things” by One Direction. The sixth act was by Dean Tan and David You. Dean created and solved a math problem on a whiteboard while David performed a piano piece. The seventh act was by Claire Dempsey, Natalie Sonkin, and  Lauren Oliner. They sang “Royals” by Lorde. The final act was by Zach Kessel. He sang Queen by Queen Latifah. The acts lasted for 40 minutes and the judging lasted for 20 minutes.

There were three winners and an honorable mention. Ryan got the honorable mention despite being gonged. Natalie, Claire, and Lauren got third place. Cosimo and Jake got second place. Finally, Dean and David got first place. The awards for first, second, and third included a trophy.

The audience was very delighted about the talent show. One audience member said the talent show was a great opportunity for everyone to get together and to build the community. Another member mentioned that it was a great time for students to express their acts and to have fun. One of the performers said that he liked all the serious acts. Another performer said it was a great way to get out of study hall. The teachers were also very satisfied with the acts. They all liked the variety of acts. One of them also liked how the performers took a risk in front of their friends. Another teacher was very happy to see all the different talents within the acts. Even a student council member said that everyone had talent.

However, there were a few things that people would change. Two teachers would have liked the sixth grade to watch. Another teacher would have been satisfied if there were no comments from the judges. Two people wanted more people to get gonged. One performer would have changed the biased crowd. Another person wished for more acts. One of the hosts wanted to let the performers submit videos. He also would have liked more variety. One student said that there should be a preliminary round. Another performer wanted better trophies and awards. Finally, two people decided to not change anything.

The outcome of Dean and David winning was an uproar. Everyone was cheering and applauding. Many people were not surprised that Dean and David won. People also said that Dean did an amazing math problem and David played a phenomenal piano piece. One student even said that the math was inspiring. Two teachers were very happy that Dean and David won. They also said that it was very creative.

Since this was only the second year, it is still a new tradition. Yet everyone thought that it was a tradition to continue. One student council member even said that it was fun to organize.

The talent show was not only a great time to show of one’s talent, but a great time for people to bond. It was also a great time for the 7th and 8th grade to get together. Furthermore, the talent show was also a great time for teachers to learn something new about students. The math department was very happy that day, especially the ones at the talent show. The Newark Academy community had not only made it a wonderful experience, but also a way to expand on the Middle School skills tree.