CHARTER SCHOOL OF THE ARTS ADOPTS COMIC BOOK SUPERHERO AS OFFICIAL MASCOT
Teen Hero from Zoom Suit Animated Short Selected as School Mascot
March 13, 2006, Palm Beach, FL – Charter High School of the Arts – Multimedia and Performing, or CHAMPS, located in Sherman Oaks, California, has chosen the teen superhero from the award-winning animated short film Zoom Suit to be their official school mascot. CHAMPS’ curriculum places a strong emphasis on academics and every student is required to maintain a high level of competence in all subjects required for entrance to a state university.
“It was the hard work and success of the people involved in Zoom Suit’s creation that led to us selecting the character as our mascot,” said Dr. Norman Isaacs. “The principals of hard work leading to success are the principals we work to instill every day in all of our students. We want our mascot to be a reflection of this and to be an instant reminder to those who already attend the school or who may consider it in the future.”
CHAMPS is a nonsectarian school which opened in Sherman Oaks, California in September of 2005. To date the school has 120 students enrolled in 9th grade, with room for 250. The student body comes from a wide area that includes many parts of the San Fernando Valley and Los Angeles County. Each school year an additional 250 students for each grade level will be added until the goal of approximately 1,000 students in grades 9-12 is reached. This is a public charter school that does not charge any tuition.
With an average student to teacher ratio of 20 to 1, every student is taught in the most optimum conditions to be able to excel in all subjects, including those that may have challenged them in the past. What makes CHAMPS so unique is the arts specialties and electives. These offerings are designed to enhance the educational experience of every student, and advance the skills of those training in a specific art form. These students train up to 20 hours per week perfecting their skills, in addition to their rigorous academics.
“This is easily the greatest honor Zoom Suit has achieved,” said Zoom Suit writer and director, John Taddeo. “We’re all very excited about the fun that we’ll have working with CHAMPS and we hope that our creation will help inspire future generations to follow their dreams.”
About Zoom Suit:
Zoom Suit has quickly become the darling of the film festival circuit appearing in over 60 festivals since the world premiere at the Palm Beach International Film Festival on April 18, 2005 where it won “Best Animation” from the Palm Beach Film Society. Since then Zoom Suit has been featured in film festivals across the country, including New York City, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Texas, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Michigan, San Francisco and San Diego where it was an official selection of the 2005 San Diego Comic Con Film Festival. Zoom Suit has garnered numerous awards including “Best in Show,” “Grand Festival Award,” and multiple “Best Animation” awards. At the current rate, Zoom Suit will be viewed by over 500,000 fans of comics and animation. Zoom Suit the comic, written by John Taddeo with art by Billy Dallas Patton and featuring covers by Gene Colan, Jim Starlin, Bob Layton and Bart Sears, is planned for release in April, 2006. For more information or artwork, please visit the Zoom Suit web site at www.superverse.com.
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