Performing & Visual Arts

  • Dancers

With a wide variety of classes to choose from during the school day, and a robust selection of extracurricular opportunities, students are guaranteed to discover their passions, exercise their talents, and express their creativity. Because our students have the benefit of small class sizes, personal relationships with their teachers and mentors, and access to unique opportunities, they can forge their own creative paths alongside and together with other student artists from different disciplines and backgrounds. Students in all Arts programs can represent their school in local and national competitions, and while we don’t strive for the awards, we do strive for excellence. Ultimately, we aim to create an ecosystem of creative opportunities, where students can participate in multiple activities, exploring the depths of their interests and abilities in a safe and welcoming environment where risk taking is encouraged, and where the people who do the work, do the learning.

Theatre

Immersed in the world of acting, stagecraft, and direction, our theatre students produce plays and musicals, compete in Thespians at the local and state level, and compete in the South Florida Cappies. Our Lower School production highlights the talents of our students. Moving into the Middle School, students begin with a Performing Arts Survey elective and progress to more specialized classes in Theatre Arts and Thespians. In Upper School, they delve into the history of theatre, acting, technical theatre, and theatrical production.

students performing

 

Theatre Success

  • The cast and crew of the musical Head Over Heels received 20 Cappies nominations and won 8 Cappies Awards at the gala including Top Critic Team in the Region, Sophomore and Junior Cappie Critic, Marketing and Publicity, Special Effects and/or Technology, Featured Actor in a Male Role in a Musical, Hair and Makeup, and Female Dancer.
  • Six Upper School students served as critics for The Cappies, and their critiques from various high school productions around Broward and Palm Beach counties were selected to be published online.
  • Middle and Upper School Thespians received Top Honors and Superior and Excellent distinctions at the Florida State Thespian Festivals.

Dance

Comprised of Middle and Upper School students, our competition dance team, FINesse, practices after school and performs hip hop and modern dance routines at pep rallies, performances, and at competitions. Students serve as choreographers for our Middle and Upper School musicals, which feature our talented dancers.

dancers

 

Music

With an emphasis on a contemporary catalog of songs, our music electives prepare students to perform in small and large group ensembles and to record and mix music in a studio setting. They perform live at pep rallies, games, concerts, competitions, and events. Our music program offers opportunities for students who have vocal and instrumental abilities. Students who play wind, percussion, and strings instruments can perform with our Orchestral Ensemble, while students in Contemporary Music Ensemble and Vocal Ensemble perform contemporary music selections for events and concerts.

   

Music Success

  • Four student musicians participated in All-State Ensembles following rigorous auditions. They performed in an exhibition concert at the FMEA All-State Conference, one of the largest music education professional development events in the U.S.
  • Four band students earned Superior ratings on their Solo and Ensemble state evaluations.
  • One of our freshman musicians selected among 16 of Broward County's finest piano students performed at the Chopin Foundation’s Young Pianist Concert, an annual event that showcases the future stars of classical music.
  • Eleven Middle and Upper School students were selected for the All-County Honor Choir.
  • Aquapella performed at the National A Capella Convention.

Visual Arts

In the visual arts, students have access to elective courses in drawing and painting, ceramics, and digital photography and design, which will help them hone their craft and build portfolios. Their artwork will be featured in digital magazines, competitions, galleries, and most importantly, in our own hallways.

swimmer

 

Drawing and Painting

 

Ceramics

 

Digital Photography and Design

 

Visual Arts Success

  • USchool Upper School students earned a combined total of 17 regional Scholastic Art and Writing Awards. Out of more than 300,000 works of visual and literary arts, one USchool student earned a National Silver Medal for her writing piece that exemplified originality, technical skills, and the personal voice.

 

Mass Communication

In the world of mass communication, students can study everything from media production and broadcast journalism to communication and speech and debate. The USchool Network team publishes newspapers, produces a weekly news show, broadcasts big games, and live streams performances. Middle School students begin with a Media Production Survey course that focuses on the fundamentals of photography, videography, and live studio production. In seventh and eighth grade, they can opt to take courses in Broadcast Journalism and Digital Photography and Design. By Upper School, they are ready to take advanced broadcast journalism classes with an emphasis on the production of weekly digital news magazine shows, live sports broadcasts, and short films.

Our speech and debate team travels the country and ranks among the best of the best. The Speech and Debate program teaches students about speech communication and works to enhance debating, public speaking, and interpretation skills. Students in this program also work on advanced research skills, which ultimately helps them prepare for competitions. Classroom debates will use the competitive debate model. Students are encouraged, but not required, to participate in rounds of competition outside of the classroom.

            

Mass Communication Success

  • Sixty-five students in grades 6-12 participated in prestigious tournaments across the country, including Harvard University, Yale, and University of Florida, where they competed against more than 3,000 competitors and won numerous first place championships. Students won more than 80 awards for the 2022-23 school year.
  • Seven students qualified for the 2022 National Tournament, a week-long competition with more than 8,500 competitors from around the country.
  • Seventeen Speech and Debate students received top recognition and brought home three state championships at the Florida Forensics League Varsity State Championship Tournament, an invitation-only tournament where students qualified to participate against the best competitors in the state.
  • 2023 Varsity State Championship in Public Forum Debate
  • 2022 National Speech and Debate Association National Public Forum Champion
  • USchool News Broadcast competed at the Student Television Network (STN) national convention in Long Beach, CA. 
  • USchool News has launched a sports broadcast division which includes sport communication classes, play-by-play announcements, and live game coverage.  
  • The USN Newspaper received two Excellence ratings and five Honorable Mentions at the Spring Florida Scholastic Press Association Competition.
  • The USN Newspaper published four issues within a year that garnered more than 600 views per issue.