Windsock

A New Open House Model

EMHS held an open house nearly a month ago on February 18 for students and families from the community to observe our educational environment in action and kindle possible interest in attending EMHS.  This open house, unlike those past, occurred during a normal school day.  Families attended classes, chapel, and lunch along with the student body.

The decision to hold the open house during the day came about because of the shortcomings of evening open houses.  In short, says Jean Fisher, Director of Admissions here at EMHS, "The problem [with evening open houses] is that nobody is here.  They don't get any kind of feel for the school."   

But when an open house is held during a normal school day, the school can "show guests the way we really are," says Sarah Schaeffer, Director of Development here at EMHS. 

Both Mrs. Fisher and Mrs. Shaeffer agreed the open house was a productive and worthwhile.  18 families showed up to tour the school, attend classes, and listen in on a super-duper amazing music chapel.  Mrs. Fisher called the event "a great success," and Mrs. Schaeffer noted that the amount of families and students in attendance was nearing maximum capacity for the program that day.

This open house is part of an effort to attract more students to EMHS. Attendance has leveled-off in recent years and the new addition leaves room for at least 30 more students, most in high school, to benefit from an EMHS education. 

Most of the families attending the open house were non-Mennonites, perhaps raising concerns about
a more non-denominational drift at EMHS.  But information about the open house was distributed heavily through Mennonite churches and otherwise among friends of those attending EMHS.  "We want to make sure every Mennonite family who wants to come here can do so," stated Mrs. Fisher.  "And inviting others to join us doesn't necessarily constitute a loss of Anabaptist identity and values," says Mrs. Schaeffer.  "Having others here is not about losing who we are.  It is about reaching out and being efficient."

Look for another open house during the day here next year, as well as one in the evening for parents who can not get off work. "We will definitely do this again," says Mrs. Fisher.

- Nathan Hershberger

Teachers Building Bridges

    Unbeknownst to many here at EMHS, three current faculty members are currently serving on the boards of three different community organizations.  John Leonard, an English teacher here, sits on the Gemeinshaft board of directors.  Tina Glanzer, a guidance counselor, serves on the board of New Bridges, and Marj Nafziger, also a guidance conselor here at EMHS, sits on an advisory council for A World of Good Thrift Shop, more commonly referred to as Gift and Thrift.
    Mr. Leonard has chaired the Program Committee for Gemeinshaft since last fall.  Gemeinshaft is a convict transitional community that rehabilitates inmates and integrates them back into society.  The Gemeinshaft campus is just over the hill from EMHS and EMU, and for this reason Mr. Leonard was suggested by Jenny Amison, the Executive Director of Gemeinshaft and mother of recent EMHS graduate Charity Amison, to represent someone from the nearby community.  “I‘ve learned an incredible amount.”  Mr Leonard says of his time on the board.  “I’ve learned about our ‘justice’ system.  Prisons don’t do a whole lot to rehabilitate convicts.  A therapeutic transitional community is crucial.”  As chair of the Program Committee, Mr. Leonard helps plan some activities, but his main task is to “attend meetings and give input.”
    Just across Mt. Clinton Pike from EMHS, Marj Nafziger is serving on an advisory council at A World of Good Thrift Shop which encompasses the Gift and Thrift, Artisan’s Hope, and Booksavers stores.  The Thrift Shop and Booksavers take in items donated by the community and resell them at cheap prices.  Artisan’s Hope sells fair trade handicrafts and coffee and chocolate products from around the world, meaning artisans and farmers were paid a living wage for their product, and our environment wasn’t compromised in the process.  The sizeable profit margin of the three shops goes to MCC and basic improvements for the stores.  Business at Gift and Thrift is booming, says Mrs. Nafziger, “It’s been inspiring to see the steady growth.” Mrs. Nafziger sits on a Committee that advises the general manager of the three stores on personnel and hiring issues.  So whenever a new staff member is hired at Gift and Thrift, you can be sure Mrs. Nafziger was involved in the process.
    New Bridges is an immigrant resource organization in the Harrisonburg community.  It provides support and helps “incorporate immigrants into the community,” says Mrs. Glanzer.  This support takes the form of efforts to get green cards for recent undocumented immigrants, (with the aid of New Bridges 9 green cards were issued last year) reuniting families split up by immigration (two such families reunited last year), assistance with solving financial problems especially in relation to hospital bills, and finally ESL classes and seminary classes for Spanish speaking pastors without theological training.  Mrs. Glanzer helps coordinate special fundraisers for New Bridges.  Her job, she says, is to “raise as much money as I can.  It‘s important to design something that is attractive and will raise a nice amount of money.”  One such event is just around the corner. The Taste of the World dinner fundraiser will feature wonderful food and delightful music.

- Nathan Hershberger

Our Hannahs Are Busy

When Hannah Eberly and Hannah Beachy found themselves with empty periods during last semester, both responded by giving their time to mentoring programs at an elementary school.

Hannah Eberly, a senior here at EMHS, after wisely deciding to discontinue her studies of Calculus, an obscure, arcane, and largely useless branch of mathematics at EMU, discovered she had two free periods before lunch last semester.  Upon discussions with Mrs. Glanzer, Hannah elected to participate in a mentorship program with K-5 students at Eastern Mennonite Elementary School.  So from the middle of last fall to the semester's end, she traveled the 8 miles out to Lindale Mennonite Church on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays to helping to teach the cute little tykes and learning more about our Elementary School.

When Conversational Spanish ended with the college semester at EMU, Hannah Beachy found herself in a similar situation.  She decided also to spend her now-free last period of the day teaching youngsters.  Emailing the principal of Watermen Elementary School, Hannah, also a senior here, found that a kindergarten teacher there at her alma mater (her own former kindergarten teacher, incidentally) would be very pleased to have a classroom assistant.  Some time before Christmas, Hannah began to spend her seventh period class time at Watermen Elementary on Tuesdays and Thursdays, helping the teacher out in classroom activities, and racking up community service hours toward an English Honors Scholar Award in the process.  She will continue this until May.

Both feel they've learned more from their volunteering. Says Hannah Eberly, "I was not one of those people for the Elementary School, but being there and getting to know the teachers and students has really changed my perspective on that."  Hannah Beachy feels "It helped me think about things I want to do in the future, my career."

While she is focused on perhaps something in the field of psychology and social work, she is now considering positions in those fields which include regular interaction with children.  Both agreed their volunteering was a very worthwhile activity.

- Nathan Hershberger

Looking Forward to Discovery Trips

As students and faculty at EMHS know, mini-terms, a chance for students to explore learning outside the classroom, have been reformatted into a new Discovery curriculum.  This change came about in response to a desire to better the mini-term program in light of dialogue with teachers, parents, and churches. 

In the new Discovery curriculum, students receive credit for Discovery activities, whereas before, a mini-term was simply required every other year.  Because Discovery terms will be offered each year during the week after exams and before graduation, (another change) students can choose when they wish to attend a Discovery trip, making the system more flexible. 

These Discovery trips and activities will essentially be the same as the week-long mini-term activities.  Now, however, students can count church service or convention trips, choir trips, the month long out-west Discovery trips or other acceptable activities towards this Discovery credit.  Two such credits are required to graduate, one earned sometime in 9th or 10th grade, one in 11th or 12th.  One of these two credits must be earned through a school trip.

The only substantive change from the Mini-terms to the Discovery trips is the requirement that students journal briefly about their experience.

This change from mini-term to Discovery came about in response to feedback from churches and families.  Oftentimes church trips and school mini-terms became competing interests, especially when such trips each cost a large amount of money. “Congregations welcomed more cooperation with the school,” said Steve Yoder, a Bible teacher at EMHS who is heading up the transition from mini-term to Discovery curriculum.

According to a survey earlier this year, 42 high school students plan on counting a church trip for Discovery credit, demonstrating that such cooperation is indeed happening. Others were dissatisfied with mini-term because it was simply seen as another cost in the student’s education which did not include any credit.

But the new Discovery curriculum is not set in stone.  Said Mr. Yoder, “While I wouldn’t say it’s a test run, it is open for evaluation …we will be listening to feedback from students, faculty, churches and others.”

- Nathan Hershberger

The Hoover's Educative Summer

As part of her graduate studies at JMU, Laura Pagliarulo spent a portion of her summer in Germany studying wind farms and community dynamics. After a biking trip in Italy with John Hoover, her husband and the Earth Science teacher here at EMHS, both accompanied the '07 Discovery trip out west.

Her studies in Germany began in its northernmost state, Schleswig-Holstein, where she spent a large portion of her time. Over a third of the state's energy needs are met by wind power, and is, as such, an ideal place to conduct research on the topic. The research centered around outlining the main factors in a community's decision to accept or reject a wind farm. To this end she conducted a matched-pair case study, looking at a community in Germany and a community in the U.S. which chose to accept a wind farm, and a community in each country which did not. She has come to discover that, overwhelmingly, the largest concern communities and individuals have with wind farms in aesthetics. Concerns about shrinking bird populations are unfounded, and some problems may exist with shrinking bat populations, but these appear to be small. Purely and simply, those who oppose wind farms generally do so because of appearances.

Her research has also indicated the advantages of community organized and owned wind farms over wind farms developed exclusively by an outside utility company or corporation. "I believe wind energy has the potential to benefit local communities," says Laura. Wind farms can be placed on farmland, benefiting local farmers and keeping most of the income in the community, rather than benefiting a multi-national corporation. In addition, "Ownership in a product can mitigate concerns about views shed." When a community's members own a share in the wind farm and sees the ways in which it benefits the community, concerns about appearance tend to disappear.

This passion for wind energy which led her to her current studies has been a part of her life for some time. Said Laura, "I believe very strongly in doing something to fight global warming...I've always been passionate about the environment." Wind energy, of course, is an excellent way to do that, especially as the U.S. is far behind much of the developed world. "Germany has maximized on their resources, the U.S. is leagues behind," Laura said.

While some states in the U.S. have better potential for wind energy, Virginia, with no major wind farms, is still nowhere close to reaching its full potential. This is a shame, Laura says, because "wind energy is one of the few native energy sources [in Virginia]. That and coal." And coal, most would agree, is not on the path to a cleaner, safer future.

After her research in Germany, she was joined in Italy by John, and the two spent ten days biking in Sardinia, a large island off the coast of Italy, where some of Laura's relatives live. Laura and John then spent several weeks with the Discovery group, with whom Laura shared insights into the development and potential of wind energy and a more sustainable future.

- Nathan Hershberger

Cross Country Teams Finish with Victories

The EMHS Cross Country teams finished an impressive season with strength last Friday. To finish the year off, they competed with 28 other teams in the State Championship meet at Woodberry Forest. The cold and rainy day didn't seem to damper the running spirits of these athletes. Junior Aaron Zook said of the teams' performances, "Everyone ran really well," adding, "Woodberry is a good course to run on...I'm pleased with the way the guys ran." 

He has a good reason to take a measure of pride in their race. Zook placed 3rd at 17:00.13, out of a total of 221 runners in the guy's section. Matt Layman came in 62 seconds later to place 15th. Within five and a half minutes, all of EMHS guys had finished the race. The EMHS guy's team placed 10th as a whole out of 26 teams.

A similar story was told in the girl's race. Kara Lofton ran the race in 20:05.65, placing 2nd out of 141 runners. As if this weren't impressive enough, the girl to whom she ceded first place, Jane Gay of North Cross School, has won this State Championship race twice before taking 1st again this year. In the words of Head Coach Robin Zook, "she's a force...there's no shame in losing to someone of her caliber." The girl's team ranked 13th out of 16 teams, an inspiring finish when the young average age is taken into account.

However, neither the guy's nor girl's team was at full strength because of scheduling conflicts. Three members of the team are involved in our school's production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. One of those, junior Maria Martin, decided to attend both commitments on Friday, and ran in the 4:00 p.m. girl's race, only to come racing back to Harrisonburg in time to warm up and sing in the 7:30 musical.

On the team's performance throughout the year Mrs. Zook said, "they've run in really good races, they've done very well."

Times and places for EMHS runners:

Guy's Team
3 Zook, Aaron                    E. Mennonite             17:00.13
15 Layman, Matthew          E. Mennonite             18:02.71
62 Bender, Joe                   E. Mennonite             20:00.25
119 Yoder, Andrew             E. Mennonite             21:22.28
157 Martin, Daniel              E. Mennonite             23:14.09

Girl's Team
2 Lofton, Kara                    E. Mennonite             20:05.65
69 Miller, Kristi                   E. Mennonite             25:35.07
82 Martin, Maria                 E. Mennonite             26.04.57
131 Stoltzfus, Hannah         E. Mennonite             31:16.73
134 Hampton, Ruth             E. Mennonite             31:49.62
137 Kirk, Gennie                 E. Mennonite             32.29.41

- Nathan Hershberger

Journey to China

      Elwood Yoder spent three weeks teaching English in central China this summer. From July 9th to the first of August the EMHS Social Studies and Bible teacher was part of a five member Partners in Missions, or PIM, team, a program under Virginia Mennonite Missions (VMM). The team spent three weeks in the city of Nanchong in central China, teaching English to middle and high school aged students at the Nanchong Christian Church, a non-denominational Protestant church who had invited VMM to send such a group. In the words of Mr. Yoder, "It's best to go in mission work when you're invited."

          When approached by a VMM representative last winter Mr. Yoder had initially decided against going on the team. However, when approached a second time in January, he gave the opportunity further thought. After consultation with his wife, Joy, and a member of his congregation with previous experience in China, he chose to join the group. "Based on [June Lantz's] experience and my wife's response I decided to go."

           The express purpose of the trip was to teach English and build relationships while restraining the direction evangelism (insofar as those aren't a part of evangelism). Mennonite Partners in China, an organization that coordinates many such visits, works only with registered churches, those officially recognized by the Chinese government. On that note, Mr. Yoder said, "We operated without fear of government control, I wouldn't have been afraid if Hu Jintao [President of China] walked into my classroom because we were there as English teachers." He added, "We're not there to violate government guidelines."

            Mr. Yoder described Nanchong Christian Church as similar in physical size to Harrisonburg Mennonite Church, but with far more people. The church has both male and female pastors, whose preaching he described as "dynamic... they weren't afraid of a thirty minute sermon." In 2004, the EMHS Touring Choir visited the same church during their tour in China.

            At this point VMM is planning a similar trip next summer, though Mr. Yoder will probably not go again. When pondering over the experience, Mr. Yoder reflected, "Missions needs to be partnership," an idea he further describes in an article he wrote for Connections, a publication of Virginia Mennonite Conference.

- Nathan Hershberger (Pictures courtesy of Elwood Yoder)

SCO's Plans for This Week

SCO's newly formed Social Committee has organized a series of school-spirit events this week leading up to Homecoming weekend. Themed dress days, hall decorating, a school spirit assembly, a movie, and more have been planned to stir up excitement in a student body settling into the drudgery of fall school work. The hall-decorating contest, in which every class decorates a hall, has an attractive incentive: the class with the best ("best" being defined by a set of impartial judges) decorations goes first to lunch one day and gets ice cream as well. This prize is notably unfair to seniors, who have nothing to gain except ice cream, and stand to lose their hard-won place in the lunch line.

Both Thursday and Friday will be special dress days. On Thursday we are instructed to wear formal clothes, and on Friday clothes of blue and gold, the school colors. For those who wish to join in, poster and tee-shirt making are planned after school both days.

These activities will culminate in a school spirit assembly on Friday. Here we will recognize the achievements and hard work of athletic teams, especially on the varsity level, and those who have tirelessly devoted themselves to the upcoming musical Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. Some sort of competitive game will also take place at this assembly, spurring us on to greater acedemic heights.

This assembly will be followed in the evening on Friday with a movie for the high school, Sydney King's Pearl Diver. It will be shown at 8:00 PM on the soccer field. We are all encouraged to bring blankets and snacks.

- Nathan Hershberger

A Summer of Discovery

“Well you wouldn’t know, you weren’t on Discovery.”

Perhaps few people have ever actually said this, and perhaps it is often in jest, but for many at EMHS, this summer’s Discovery trip seems a strange experience that can never be fully understood by those who weren’t along for the ride.

Every other summer a group of upper classman and faculty from EMHS plans a tour of the country studying environmental and social issues along the way. This summer twenty nine students and seven faculty members committed to the third consecutive trip EMHS has offered, following an itinerary dense with activities to west coast and back. The theme this year was “Creating a Land Ethic,” drawing heavily on the writings of Aldo Leopold, the father of conservation in the United States. The shared objective of this troupe of travelers was to figure out what defines a land ethic, and discover what kind of views and relationships people around the country have with the land.

A prime example of Discovery’s exploration of perspectives, practiced during the entire trip, came during the group’s second day, while passing through Kansas. The group heard from Ken Warren, a geologist at the Land Institute, where a group of scientists are researching and developing more sustainable systems of agriculture. The next day, Ron Schilling, a resident wheat farmer, spoke to the representatives of EMHS about the challenges of modern farming and his view of agriculture.

The group continued examining case studies, settling down at camp for the evening and discussing the issues, or even voicing opinions over the coach’s microphone while on the open road. One particular study during the three week exploration presented the bison population issues at Yellowstone National Park. After hearing from a rancher with cattle bordering the park, the Buffalo Field Campaign, an advocacy and activist organization for the bison, and finally a park ranger involved with the park’s bison management program, students and teachers alike struggled to formulate a specific stance on the issue.

“This type of case study may have proved confusing at first,” said junior Brook Hostetter, “We watched  a documentary about [the bison issue], and I thought it made a lot of sense, then we talked with the rancher who said something different and he sounded like he knew what he was talking about, then we talked with the Buffalo Field Campaign and I didn’t know what to believe. But group discussions on the bus and at camp helped to resolve some of these issues in our minds and that sense of community was part of what made Discovery such a great experience.”

This sense of community forged during the trip is what Rose Jantzi, a junior, valued most. “Discovery allowed me to get to know a lot of people I hadn’t really interacted with much before.” For Mark Ferguson, the learning experiences of the trip were expanded by the diversity of the organizations and individuals the group spoke with. “It was fascinating to see how people could hold such different beliefs about the same issues and all sound like they were absolutely right.”

All agreed that Discovery 2007 had an impact on their lives. Nels Akerson said, “I’m more aware of the consequences of all the little things I do. When I start a car I think of global warming and our experience in Glacier National Park, when I turn on a light I think of mountain-top removal coal mining in West Virginia.” James Souder, a junior, now saves dispensed shower water to flush his toilet, Helen Furry, also a junior, has maintained her discovery mindset by monitoring the water consumption at her house and, as a result, noticed a drop in her family’s monthly water bill.

- Nathan Hershberger