On May 27 the high school went all out with a schoolwide exhibition that included sculpture, drawing, painting, photography, poetry, essays and science experiments.

"This is the fifth annual fine arts exhibition, but the first time we are showing art, science and English together," said Willow Glen High School Principal Elaine Farace. "We want parents and everyone in the community to see all of what our students are learning."

An orientation for incoming freshman was also part of the evening's festivities.

"Traditionally, the Freshman Welcome is a time for parents and students to come onto campus and meet each other and the faculty. They learn about the different activities and sports offered in addition to classes," Farace said. "This year, we decided to include the Freshman Welcome with the exhibition, so our new students would have a chance to see everything that's going on."

And there was plenty to absorb, as students and adults munched on hot dogs, hamburgers and other snacks while listening to upbeat tunes performed by the Willow Glen High School band. The school's nationally recognized robotic team's electric car also zipped in and out of the crowd, catching unaware bystanders off-guard.

"This is a great event," said Elaine Ramirez, whose daughter will be a freshman at Willow Glen High School in the fall. "It's giving her a chance to meet some fellow classmates and get an idea of what type of activities she might be interested in pursuing next year."

Some of the highlights of the multidisciplinary exhibition included a ninth-grade English class assignment to write a sonnet based on the play Romeo and Juliet. There were also student poetry portfolios available for review. And a fun assignment based on a poem, "Homage to my Hips," brought about lighthearted and insightful pieces such as "Homage to my Hair" and "Homage to my Legs." Other writing projects included essays on Catcher in the Rye discussing the symbolism used within the story.

Combining English and art, students in senior English were instructed to create a tree they felt represented themselves. Based on Zora Neale Hurston's novel Their Eyes Were Watching God, this project incorporated understanding written words and helped students more deeply appreciate the main character's journey of self-discovery.

Elements of art and science were also explored through mobiles created to reflect the designs of Calder mobiles, which focus on using kinetic energy in sculptures and displayed unity, balance and movement.

Using paper mache, poster board and acrylic paint, students were assigned to create individualized masks that fit together as part of a whole. Labeled as disproportionate masks, the project involved groups of students working together to select a theme and emotion that each mask within the group would possess.

"These are very creative," said exhibition visitor Mary Krammel. "It's great to see how a common theme can be interpreted in many different ways."

Personal portraits through photography were also displayed. The photographs reflected what it means to be human through the use of creative shadowing.

In one room teens and adults could peruse an array of science experiments. Interesting projects such as the effects of color on the perception of taste, the correlation between eating breakfast and academic performance, the best tool to use if you want to pick a lock and the effect of microwave radiation on seed germination were demonstrated through the use of documented experimentation, photographs and graphs.

"Next year we plan to expand the exhibition to include more poetry and writing as well as projects completed in our social studies classes." Farace said.