Windsock

Becca Crist's Summer Experience

 

This past summer, junior Becca Crist enjoyed twelve days of study and the great outdoors at Valley/Ridge Regional Governor's School.  From June 15 to 26, a group of 23 students traveled from James Madison University, to Shenandoah National Park, to the Chesapeake Bay. 

The goal of the governor's school was to make students more aware of the environment of the Chesapeake Bay watershed.  They collected data, experienced the Bay through marsh mucking, and camped out for three nights with no access to showers.  “We did a lot of stuff; at first I thought it was going to be really boring, and we'd just learn all day, and sit in the classroom, but we had speakers and went on field trips to the arboretum,” said Becca.  She also enjoyed going on hikes, and canoeing. 

There were students from Broadway, Harrisonburg, Spotswood, Robert E. Lee, and EMHS.  They were led by two teachers from Spotswood, and two JMU professors, Mike Renfroe and Bruce Wiggens, who were “really, really cool,” according to Becca. Being the only person from EMHS was a bit of a challenge but a good experience for Becca. “It was really hard getting used to it,” she said.  “But it was a big thing for me, like, expanding my boundaries and getting over being shy.” One way she is able to stay in contact with some of the people she met is at cross country meets.  She would highly recommend the governor's school to everyone, it was a great experience and a wonderful way to meet people. 

A highlight of the Chesapeake Bay trip was getting “kicked out of the house” one day to walk around the small town, knock on doors, and get to know the area's residents.  Their assignment was to inquire what it was like living on the Bay in a small town. 

This experience for Becca may have more of an effect on her than just a good summer memory.  Since meeting JMU professors and living in the dorms at the college for several days, she has looked at JMU as a college option. With the science side of things, Becca said, “After that experience I'm looking more into environmental science.  I knew that I liked science and would probably do science in college, but [governor's school] has just got my sights set.”

-Malinda Bender

(Becca is second from right, front row- Va Tech shirt)

EMHS Wins Miller Cross Country Invitational

This year, Windsock will be running articles from Barometer, a middle school club focusing on writing.  These fledgling journalists are interested in having a voice in what happens at all levels of EMS. Ed.

On Friday September 26 the EMHS Cross Country team won the Miller Invitational with runners in five of the top six spots. Aaron Zook placed first for the guys race, followed by Brian Shenk and Matt Layman who took second and third. Jacque Zook came in second for the girls with Kierra Stutzman behind her with third place.

It was a cloudy with a slight drizzle, a good day for a tough course. The team was ready to run, after a long bus ride to Miller school. The guys race was at 4:30 and held exceptional results. Matt Layman quotes, "It's nice to know that all our hard work is paying off." Most of the team agreed that the race went better because of a controlled pace so that they could stay strong on the hills, when other teams slacked off.

The girls race followed at 5:00. Jacque Zook, a ninth grader, quotes "The harder you work in practice, the better your race results turn out."  The girls agreed that the hills were hard, but going back down felt great.

The 3 mile course was tough and consisted of many hills and several different surfaces. The middle schoolers ran as well, even though their normal races were 2 miles. All the runners were glad that the day was cool, instead of the intense heat at some of their previous meets.

Everyone was proud of the team for working hard to produce great results. It was also satisfying to know that the girls had won a meet for the first time in a while. EMHS is looking forward to returning to Miller for another invitational next year.

- Joy Njoroge and Caroline May

 

Welcome, Ryan Beuthin

 

Ello-hay. Oo-day oo-yay eak-spay English-way? Ryan Beuthin does, and it’s his job as the English as a Second Language teacher to teach the foreign students of EMHS and help them improve their English skills.

Mr. Beuthin lived in Nicaragua for a time, and while he became familiar to the culture, it came to his attention that the immigrants weren’t being educated very well, especially in language. That experience was an impetus that drove him to teaching language.

The ESL teacher position is brand new to EMHS. The need for that program has had increasing importance due to the many students coming in that are from different countries. “I’m really glad they’ve made it an official part of the students’ school experience,” Mr. Beuthin said of the ESL program. “There’s a lot that goes into going to school in a different country and that’s especially challenging when it’s a school that doesn’t speak your language. It’s good EMHS recognized the importance of that transition.”

Mr. Beuthin majored in communications at Olivet Nazarene University in Bourbonnais, Illinois, which is about forty miles south of Chicago. Previously, he taught ESL at a high school in Houston, Texas. Mr. Beuthin says that the best part about teaching this subject at EMHS is working with these students who all have very different backgrounds and that they bring all those unique cultures into the classroom. At the same time, it’s a challenge to figure out how every student and class has their differences.

He was born in Michigan, but his father, who is a professor, and his mother, a teacher, live in Indiana now. Mr. Beuthin has been married for fourteen months to his wife, Janie. He also has a younger brother who is a senior in college and is planning on going to medical school at the end of this year.

When asked what his dream job would be, Mr. Beuthin replied by saying, “I don’t think I really have one. I like what I’ve been doing so far. I take it as it goes and see where the Lord leads. He’s taken me to some outrageous experiences and I trust him for the future.”

- Gennie Kirk

Spiritual Renewal Week: Spiritual Fruits

Spiritual Renewal Week is over.  During the week students were distracted, amused and challenged by this year’s speaker, Jason Gerlach.  He is the youth minister at Community Mennonite Church and the Junior Varsity soccer coach at Eastern Mennonite School. During this year’s Fall Spiritual Renewal Week Mr. Gerlach challenged students and faculty to examine their spiritual disciplines, and keep examining them after the week was over.  Jason Gerlach shared “that who we are becoming matters; it has eternal implications.”

This year’s Fall Spiritual Renewal Week had many unique aspects.  One was a specific theme for each day.  Each day would focus on a different theme which was presented in many different ways.  On Monday we explored scripture reading through drawing and speaking.  Tuesday’s theme provided insight and entertainment with music on the theme of prayer followed by Wednesday’s video on silence/meditation.  Thursday’s chapel provided a different perspective on fasting.  In contrast to the themes of looking inward, Friday’s theme of community/service/hospitality examined a more outward perspective.

Many different people shared throughout the week, in addition to Jason Gerlach.  Curtis Stutzman talked about prayer and Susan Swartz talked about the importance of silence/meditation in her class and life.  Throughout the week Jay Hartzler led the EMS community in music and reflection.  There was also significant student participation this year.  Seniors Helen Furry and Janelle Dean both performed music and sophomore Mustafa Abid shared about fasting.

So, while Fall Spiritual Renewal Week is over the messages can stay with students and faculty into the winter and spring.  Jason Gerlach said, “I hope that students and faculty can take from Spiritual Renewal Week a strong conviction that spiritual disciplines are healthy and grounding practices that have been important for Christians over many years.  In addition, I hope that students and faculty can honestly respond to the statement I shared a number of times throughout the week, that who we are becoming matters; it has eternal implications.”

-Zander Pellegrino

 

"One of the More Competitive Teams"

 

Harrisonburg, VA- September 25: Walking from the cold drizzling rain to the warm light of the EMHS gymnasium, I feel a wave of bass and energy hit me square in the chest. I'm in the right place for sure, and the game is about to begin. Liberty Christian Academy takes an assertive early lead, jumping 3-0 over the Flames, and kicking the home team into action. After two blocked spikes by Leah Jacobs, EMHS finally wins the point, 3-1. The game goes on and LCA continues to dominate. At 3-10 the Flames call for their first time-out, and it becomes clear they were not ready to face a team like Liberty. Sadly, this pattern would contiunue throughout the game and the night. The Bulldogs took the first game 15-25, and had EMHS backpeddling the entire time. "I was really pleased with how you (were playing). You're one of the more competitive teams we've played. You have a very scrappy team and we look forward to playing you guys in the BRCC," commented Bulldog coach Lisa Deaver.

                      GAME 2

Sophmore Kelsey Blosser tips the ball over the net and to the left, suprising Bulldog defenders and  bringing the  game  to a 4-4 deadlock in what would prove to be the  most fought for game of the night. The game continued blow for blow until the Flames lead 10-8 and LCA turned things around, quickly
regaining lost ground and pushing EMHS back up against a wall. Soon they were ahead 13-16. Through a series of spikes blocks and the occasional ace, Liberty took complete control and sprinted to a 16-22 lead. EMHS however, refused to go down without a fight, rallying to within a single point before
a feint set fell across the net closing game two a 23-25 Bulldog win.

                      GAME 3

Halfway through the third (and final) game of the night LCA held a commanding 11-19 lead, and while the Flames picked up the pace late in the game, it would prove to be too much to handle. The last game ended 18-25, and the night was a 3-0 Liberty Christian win. "In the first game we could have pushed
harder, so it wouldn't be up to the last two games" said Blosser after the game. "The Twin Towers were gone, we were pumped, but they have a really good program."

- Mikey Cranston

(Photo from Grace Tournament by Josh Hertzler)

A Taste of China

 

Martha Chen, a Beijing native, is our Chinese teacher here at EMS. She will be writing articles for Windsock throughout the year that will undoubtably have a different take than the usual fare. Enjoy! Ed.

Last week, Mr. Elwood Yoder’s international culture class was studying about Asian food. He invited me to come to his class to give an introduction about Chinese food since I’m from Beijing, the capital city of China. I was very excited about the invitation because I’m teaching a Chinese class and I really wanted to share the Chinese culture with the EMHS students.

When I began to prepare the introduction about Chinese food, I was confused, for China is such a large country, having a population of 1.3 billion people. Chinese have different preferences of food according to their different geographic areas. For example, people from the south-west, especially from SiChuan, really like spicy food. But people from the south-east like a sweeter taste while the northern people prefer salty food. There are thousands of different names for Chinese dishes. What should I talk about? How could I let the students have a deep impression on Chinese food? I pondered until I had a wonderful idea. The very typical and traditional Chinese food is dumplings, Jiaozi, and both the southern people and the northern people eat them as the first meal during the most important Chinese festival known as the Spring Festival. Why don't I make some dumplings for the class and ask the students to have a taste for themselves? 

First, I went to Red Front and bought all the materials needed for the dumplings. Then I started to work, step by step, with all the ingredients by peeling the vegetables, mixing the flour with water to make the dough, blending the meat filling with all kinds of condiments…so on and so forth. Finally, I asked another teacher, LuAnn Bender, to help me to make the Chinese dumplings for the students. LuAnn is an excellent cook and she was a great help. Together, we made several plates of dumplings (see the above picture) for the coming class on Friday.

The exciting moment finally came. When Mr. Elwood Yoder announced to the class “first taste, later talk,” the whole class cheered. The students then watched the process of how to make and cook the dumplings. “Delicious! Wonderful!” the students exclaimed while eating the dumplings. When I saw the American students enjoy the Chinese food so much, I felt happy and proud so that it seemed I had just  tasted some honey in my mouth.

After eating the dumplings, we went back to the classroom to continue the introduction to Asian food. Eating the dumplings gave the students more interest in the Chinese culture. This is a very vivid and fresh international cultural class.

- Special Correspondent Martha Chen

Introducing Jared Stutzman

 

When the violin, viola, cello, and bass players of Eastern Mennonite School waved goodbye to Ms. Mulder last year, the question on their minds was “Who will be the new strings teacher?” The answer to that inquiry is Jared Stutzman.

Mr. Stutzman’s interest in music began at an early age. His parents still have pictures of him wearing a pair of headphones when he was little. He went on to major in Music Education with a focus on choral music at Ohio State University and also minored in English. He heard about the job opportunity at EMS from his brother-in-law. Although this is his first time working at a high school, Mr. Stutzman has experience from his teaching position at Shiloh Music Academy, a place that offers violin and guitar lessons in the central Ohio area.

“It was sad to see Ms. Mulder leave since she has been my strings teacher at EMHS since I came here in sixth grade,” says Melissa Jantzi, a sophomore who plays cello, “but Mr. Stutzman has been a very good replacement so far. I’m looking forward to learning from a new person and a new teaching style.”

Mr. Stutzman says that so far the greatest challenge for him has been getting used to his schedule. Teaching part-time at both EMS and the EMU Preparatory Music Program, he often finds himself rushing from place to place. In spite of this, Mr. Stutzman really likes the friendly community and interaction that is present with the students and faculty of EMS.

Outside of school, Mr. Stutzman is a big fan of baseball and follows the Chicago Cubs closely. He, along with his three brothers, grew up on a farm which is evidenced by his continuing fascination with cows and tractors. As of last July, he’s been married to his wife Rebecca who is a junior at EMU in the Education Department.

The strings players and the rest of the school are happy to welcome Mr. Stutzman to the EMS community.

- Gennie Kirk

Flames Flicker, Then Blaze in Menno Classic

 

On September 19th and 20th, the EMHS men’s varsity soccer team hosted the annual Menno Classic. The first game was on Friday with the other two following on Saturday. Fans came both days to watch what their players would do on both the upper and lower fields.

Liberty Christian started off the game on Friday, and proved to be a challenge for the Flames. Their team scored first, but with twenty-two minutes left in the first half, sophomore Mark Mast, made a goal with a header.

At the end of the half the game was tied 1-1, but in the first nine minutes of the second half LCA gained two scores. Mast said, “I was upset that we didn’t play a good second half. We play well in the first half but it falls apart.” The final score was 2-5 after senior Lucas Blosser assisted sophomore Jake Lind in a shot. Varsity coach Kendall Bauman thought the Flames were “unprepared” fo competition. Senior goalie Colin Green said, “We felt pretty good as a team going into the weekend, planning on contending with all of the teams. Then after the game on Friday I was pretty upset with how our team played. I felt like some of the team gave up after we got down.”

On Saturday morning people filled the bleachers and players positioned themselves for a successful game against Christ Church School.  Junior Matt Blauch scored with the help of Jake Lind. The score was 1-0 until the CCS goalie fouled sophomore Parker Leap in the last two minutes of the game. Leap was given a penalty kick and scored. EMHS won the game 2-0.

The attendance was up at one, and twelve or thirteen lady Squash Squad members wearing yellow were a part of the excitement. They were ready to cheer with a trashcan, sticks, horns, and their voices. People were wound up even before the third game. This was the final game for the Flames in the tournament and fingers were crossed for EMS to win.

Almost immediately, Jake Lind scored against Denbigh Baptist. Denbigh’s score remained at zero through the first half.  “Our defense is definately where we have our strength and experience,” Green admitted.  Matt Blauch made another goal in the second half.  Senior defender Ryan Eshleman scored right after Blauch was fouled when Baptist's #15 threw himself on the EMHS junior. Junior Jeremy Sauder kicked the ball into the net in the last minutes of the game but the goalie grabbed it. The goal was disputed at first but then EMHS was awarded the final point after the referees talked it over. The varsity team won the game against Denbigh 4-0.

It was “a good way to end the week,” according to Mast. Mr. Bauman saw that there was “more energy” and was “pleased with our team’s effort.” The EMHS Flames came in fifth with Episcopal winning the Menno Classic.

-Hannah Bendfeldt

 

First picture taken by Rodney Eshlemen; second by Kelsey Blosser

Positivity!

It’s an early Monday morning. You accidentally wake up at 7:45, leaving 5 minutes to get ready and go to school. Running wind blown into the building, you are greeted by the daunting ring of the bell, which symbolizes your third and last tardy to first period. While rushing to the office for your late slip, all of the contents of your backpack, plus your lunch, fly before your eyes into the middle of the hall. Flabbergasted at your luck, you melt to the floor wishing that you could be back in bed.  Sound familiar? All of us have had one of those days, and they never are pleasant.

After a morning like that, it is very easy to fall into a slump, becoming certain that it is going to be a bad, bad day. Recently, I was having a morning quite like the one depicted in this editorial. Later that evening, I came across an article in the magazine Timbrel. While flipping through, I found an article called ‘Hugs and Tears’ written by Evie Hertzler, a former member of my church. Just this summer she had passed away from ALS. I was a bit shocked to find this article, which she had written earlier in the year for the magazine. In this personal statement, she shows hope, faith and perseverance, while knowing the all too common fate of ALS. One quote she said that struck me was, “I am learning that each day is a gift of time and to live one day at a time.”

I find this statement to be an encouraging and inspiring reminder of true faith.  If we took each of our slight downfalls with a positive nature like Evie, much more could come of our experiences. Each day is a God given gift filled with adventures and disappointments. It is now up to us how we choose to live through the storms that come our way.

-Co-Editor Rose Jantzi

EMS Welcomes Mike Stoltzfus

 

Most of the students who attended Eastern Mennonite High School last year experienced a problem with the computers at some point.  A homework assignment didn’t print or a computer froze or the server went down.  This year there is a new server and new Technology Administrator.  Mike Stoltzfus is the new Technology Administrator.  He is an EMHS graduate with a degree from Eastern Mennonite University in Computer Information Systems.  He is the person who maintains the server.  In addition to maintaining the server Mr. Stoltzfus has made some changes to the school’s system.  This year he implemented a new wireless network and will have a new phone system in the spring or summer.

Mr. Stoltzfus grew up in Williamsburg, Virginia, near the colonial area until his sophomore year of high school.  That year he started attending EMHS.  He lived with his uncle, David Lehman, until the rest of his family joined him in Harrisonburg the following year.  While attending EMHS, Mr. Stoltzfus was in the Touring Choir and Chamber Choir.  After graduation in 1994, Mr. Stolzfus attended EMU.  In addition to a degree in Computer Information Systems, he completed all but two of the courses required to graduate with a minor in Youth Ministry.  Also while at EMU, Mr. Stoltzfus met his wife on a cross cultural in Africa.  They now have two children; Adam is in Kindergarten at Eastern Mennonite Elementary School and Luke is two years old.

Mr. Stoltzfus’s interests include music, geocaching and ministry.  Music is a lifelong interest for him; he sang at EMHS and plays drums in the praise group at his church.  Mr. Stoltzfus was introduced to geocaching by a friend about a year ago and has enjoyed it since.  Ministry is also a part of his life; Mr. Stoltzfus was the youth minister at Lindale for six years along with his wife.

- Zander Pellegrino