Millburn High School's Make-A-Wish Foundation Club is putting on its annual talent show "So You Think You Can Idol?" Thursday, April 5 at 7 p.m. in the High School auditorium.  Students from MHS will be showing off their various musical talents through performances ranging from rapping to singing to dancing.  Just some of the show's highlights include Soulfege, the MHS a cappella group, an original hip hop dance by Kai Rapelyea and Hassan Syed, a cover of Sara Bareilles's "Gravity" by Eleanor Konrad, and a rendition of Coldplay's "The Scientist" from Evan Wolf. There will also be a bake sale …

Crowds filled the MHS cafeteria Wednesday night for the annual Pops Concert, a night where the music department's exclusive ensembles presented a more light, entertaining repertoire, abandoning the classical music for contemporary jazz and pop standards. The Lab Band, one of MHS' two jazz ensembles opened the performance. The group is led by associate band director Matthew Spatz and rehearses for three hours on Thursday nights. The Lab Band presented "Leap Frog," "Peg," and "Soulin.'" Soloists in the Lab Band included saxophones Sam Curtis, Louis Danowsky, and Justin Dower; percussionist Nick…

Fellow MHS junior Sahil Gupta has an interesting proposal for the Millburn Board of Education. Seeing the success of the online education tool Khan Academy (recently featured on CBS' 60 Minutes and the TED Talks), he sees the benefits of implementing the tool to mathematics education in the Millburn Public Schools, especially at MHS. He believes that Khan Academy will rekindle student interest in math, and allow Millburn students to truly work at their own pace, which would foster maximum interest in the subject. He also sees promise in the dynamic new educational model that Khan follows. …

The Millburn High School Limelight Players are excited to present their spring production of Woody Allen's rousing comedy, Don't Drink the Water, a hilarious two-act play this weekend. Tonight's performance begins at 7:30 p.m. in the Millburn High School auditorium. Tickets are $8 in advance (up until noon on Friday), and $10 at the door. Email millburnlimelight@gmail.com to reserve tickets in advance. High school students can purchase tickets during lunchtime this week. Seats are reserved (and going fast), so write in with your order soon. Don't Drink the Water, directed by Paul Weinstein …

Editor's note: MHS Musings writer Max Sauberman is co-captain of the Forensics team. The Millburn Forensics team sent 50 competitors to the NJ Forensic League State Championship tournament at Ridge High School on Saturday and was entered in all 18 events. The team placed sixth overall in the entire state (behind Ridge, Montville, Freehold Township, Randolph and Matawan Regional), something all hundred-plus team members can be proud of. In addition, both the speech and debate sub-teams are ranked sixth in the state. Many Millburn competitors broke into the final rounds of their respective …

The Millburn Forensics Team, which is headed to state championship competition this weekend, has been having a tremendous season. The team competes in speech and debate events at weekly tournaments. With more than 100 students as active members of the team, Forensics is “arguably” the school’s most popular academic team and extracurricular pursuit. Saturday's tournament at Ridge High School was the final tournament for the team before the New Jersey State Championship, which will also be held at Ridge this Friday and Saturday. At last week's tournament, many team members broke into the final …

After a full season of entertaining crowds at every Millers home football game, the Millburn High School bands began working on their concert band repertoire in November in preparation for their first of two annual concerts. The MHS Concert Band, Wind Ensemble and two Symphonic Bands, which involve about 200 students, performed their songs at the concert on Wednesday, which was a huge success. The bands are under the direction of Mindy Scheierman, MHS Director of Bands and conductor of the 2011 All-North Jersey Honors Symphonic Band, and Matthew Spatz, MHS Associate Director of Bands and …

The choral and orchestral ensembles from Millburn High School showcased their hard work and talent at the annual Winter Concert on Thursday night. The groups have been practicing since the beginning of school. The concert was under the direction of orchestra director Karen Conrad and choral director Rodrigo Vega. Student teacher Aimee McPeak from Rutgers University also conducted pieces with the Chamber Strings and Symphonic Orchestra. The night opened with the Cantica Nova, Millburn's freshman chorus, who rehearse daily with Vega. They sang the English madrigal "Sing we and Chant It," Bernon…

I attended the first ever Battle of the Classes event on Friday night at Millburn High School, and it was, by far, the most student spirit I have ever seen within the confines of MHS. Not a basketball game, not a football game.... but at a student fundraising event. The battle was coordinated by the SADD (Students Against Destructive Decisions) Club, and was the culminating event of this year's Spirit Week, organized by class officers. In homeroom, students selected the six girls and six boys they wanted to represent their classes at the battle, and over the past few weeks, the 12 selected …

MHS Spanish language students were introduced last week to Javier Blázquez Francés, a high school teacher from Madrid, Spain, who gave them a glimpse into a language immersion program planned for next year. Señor Blázquez and the MHS Spanish faculty (Mario Azcarraga, Viviana Canizales, Lauren Hartmann, Gislene Hernando, Ken Rizzuti, Maria Vazquez, Mae Ward, and Dept. Chair Abigail Crespo) are teaming up as part of a brand-new program, where MHS students would have the opportunity to travel to Spain, spend two weeks there, and meet Spanish peers who would spend time with them later in the year…

Senior class president Benjamin Schechner addressed the graduating class of 2011 at Thursday's MHS graduation ceremony. Schechner, president of his class for all four years of high school, captain of the spring track and squash teams, the recipient of the senior superlative "Most Spirited,"  who gives the daily morning announcements (ending each announcement with "Stay classy," his catchphrase), focused his speech on the idea of distraction, and how the benefits of distraction have come to define the graduating class. Schechner was also behind this year's senior prank, where he and his …

After a year of successful performances with both Into the Woods in November and ARAÑA in March,  Millburn High School Drama Club members ended the year like they have since 2003, by giving back. The Drama Club raised more than $2,000 for Broadway House for Continuing Care in Newark with its 9th annual benefit concert, "Millburn Cares: Today for You." The performance last week featured 23 songs from a variety of modern musicals. Highlights included songs from "Wicked," "Shrek the Musical," "A Chorus Line," "Fame," and "Little Shop of Horrors." The show closed with a special acapella …

If you missed the 7th Annual MHS Science Research Symposium last night, you missed the opportunity to witness the possible launch of the research careers for some of the country's future scientists. Of the nine graduating seniors,  five juniors and the 15 sophomores in the rigorous science program that places students with professional scientists, at least a few of them are destined for careers in various scientific fields. Take senior Allison Bick, the recent national finalist of the 2011 Intel Science Talent Search, who will attend Princeton University in the fall. Her presentation, "…

The Millburn High School choruses and orchestras, under Rodrigo Vega and Karen Conrad, respectively, have been rehearsing for the Spring Concert since December. Their hard work paid off in a big way last week -- and the concert was well-received by a full house with multiple standing ovations and lots of applause. The night opened with the Cantica Nova, Millburn's freshman chorus, who rehearse daily with Vega. They started it off with the American folk tune "O Shenandoah," with freshman Jeremy Au on piano. They continued with "A Red Red Rose," with freshman Chris Li on piano. The choir also …

News that beloved teacher Frederick “Fritz” Jonach had died early Thursday  came as shock to Millburn High School students and faculty when it was announced  at school that morning. The 43-year-old was the father of two young children, and, according to MHS principal William Miron, Jonach had intended to take a personal day on Thursday so he could spend time with his family. A teacher at MHS since 1992, Jonach was a 1986 graduate of Millburn High School. He taught United States history, global issues, economics and film & society at MHS. He was also the advisor of many clubs (among them the …

The Millburn High School concert bands and wind ensemble ended a busy year of music on a high note. Last Wednesday night, May 18, the bands, under direction of Matt Spatz and Mindy Scheierman, presented their annual Spring Concert to family, friends and neighbors. The Concert Band, the freshman ensemble who rehearse with Spatz, performed first. Their program began with "The Star-Spangled Banner" and continued with "Rhythms and Riffs," "Snakes!" and "American Riversongs." Among the students in the Concert Band, many are distinguished for their personal musical achievements. Flautists Amanda …

Millburn High School celebrated the achievements of hundreds of juniors and graduating seniors at the annual Academic Awards ceremony on Thursday night. One of the traditions of the ceremony is for the seniors with the highest grade point averages to deliver speeches to their fellow students, award recipients, teachers and families. This year, the honor was given to seniors Annie Dolan and Judy Jansen. Besides achieving incredibly well in countless AP and accelerated classes, both Dolan and Jansen are active in many extracurricular activities. Dolan is heading to Georgetown, while Jansen is …

The Diversity Club of Millburn High School sponsored its first Tolerance Night, which featured guest speaker Dr. Jonathan Golden,  a professor at Drew University and director of Drew's Center for Religion, Culture and Conflict.  Professor Golden spoke to the attendees about the importance of tolerance, or "mutual respect," for high school and beyond. Dr. Golden emphasized how critical it is to keep lines of communication between different groups, or factions, open when times are good and things are calm. That way, if a crisis ever occurs, it is easier to work out conflicts. He then gave …

Fellow MHS sophomore Sahil Gupta has a great idea. He proposes that from sixth grade on, every Millburn student should be given an Apple iPad 2 to be used in the classroom. He believes the device will enhance the educational experience and student intellectual growth, while also being economical for the board of education's budget at the same time. Check out what he has to say. This is an issue that is certain to spark  lots of opinions around the community. Feel free to post comments to add your voice to the discussion. *** Here's Sahil Gupta's case for Apple’s iPad 2 in education: The …

The MHS auditorium was packed on Thursday night for the 12th annual "Night of Jazz," the Millburn Music Program's annual showcase of its three jazz bands, which this year included guest Saxaphonist Tim Ries, a  resident who plays with the Rolling Stones. The Millburn Middle School Jazz Band, the MHS Lab Band, and the MHS Stage Band performed sets of jazz standards and ballads, as well as various toe-tapping pop and rock tunes. Additionally, Ries,  performed various Stones selections with the Stage Band while his daughter, MHS senior Jasia Ries, provided the vocals. Mr. Ries has collaborated …