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Schools

Butler High's Cast of '13' Makes an 'Impact'

High school musical receives Educational Impact Award.

The cast and crew of 2012 musical “13” got one more honor to add to their production on Monday night.

Drama club director Sylvia Abdelsalam was on-hand at the Butler Board of Education meeting on Monday night with several members of her cast and crew to receive a Certificate of Appreciation from the board.

The certificate comes on the heels of the production’s capture of the Paper Mill Playhouse Rising Star “Educational Impact” Award.

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The musical “13” had several themes relating to growing up amid bullying concerns, and all members of the production experienced several workshops and side programs that fed into the production, including written and oral presentations, lessons on acceptance and diversity and more.

“This is not a very easy award to get because a lot of work has to go behind it. I did just ask (Superintendent of Schools Mario) Cardinale if I could share a couple things with you and show you what award represents (at tonight’s meeting), especially in this world where we live today with the bullying situation that is going on in the U.S. and the world,” Abdelsalam said.

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Cardinale and Board President Matthew Lee both commended Abdelsalam and those involved in the production for their efforts and ability to bring positive attention to the arts in Butler.

“The message that it carried in terms of an anti-bullying message, a message of acceptance, tolerance and diversity is one that every high school needs to continue to set,” Cardinale said. "That’s what the arts do for us if we see them correctly. They help illustrate lessons for us that we can carry on in life.”

“I’ve had the privilege of attending many musicals and plays and, like Mr. Cardinale said, they never fail to amaze,” Lee added. “They are all outstanding productions.”

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