On February 26, 2017, the 89th Academy Awards ceremony will unfold at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, CA. These awards will honor nominated films for a multitude of categories such as Best Picture, Best Actress, Best Actor, and many more.

Here at Hawthorne High School, Media Arts teacher Mr. John DiLonardo is holding the Media Arts Studio’s 7th annual Academy Awards, he calls it “Oscar Week.”

Oscar Week is the week prior to the Academy Awards and is filled with all sorts of A.A. festivities. This includes (but is not limited to) a red carpet that everyone may walk on upon entering the classroom, balloons, and a huge Oscar statue that you can take pictures with.

There’s also a school-wide vote as to which films will win in the categories. All participating D-day homerooms cast their ballot on February 16, and vote for the Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor/ Actress, Best Actor/ Actress, and Best Animated Feature. The class with the most correct predictions wins an Oscar trophy. Mrs. Marissa Fusaro and Mr. Gus Schell have won, but Ms. Kelly Clifford has swept the competition the past two years. The winner will get their trophy the Monday we return from break, 2/27.

DiLonardo also educates his students on all things Oscar. He teaches the voting process, the history of the Oscars, trivia, and film-making. The classes watch trailers for the nine films nominated for Best Picture, and watch an actual Oscar-winning film. DiLonardo says that “movies are my passion and I try to see all the nominated films so I can make my decision as to which films will win. So far I’ve watched seven of the nine.” (Update: at this point in time, Mr. D has watched all nine of the nominated films)

Find out Monday the 27 as to which homeroom won the HHS Academy Awards, and be sure to tune into the the actual Academy Awards on Sunday, February 26!

**Update: Ms. Clifford’s homeroom has won yet again! Congratulations for guessing every category correctly and winning HHS Oscar Week 2017!