Windsock

The Mennonite Hispanic Initiative

One of the ideas from Eastern Mennonite School’s mission statement is a strong commitment to a “global outlook,” which is exactly what is happening through EMS’s involvement with the Mennonite Hispanic Initiative. The MHI began as a collaboration by Virginia Mennonite Conference and Eastern Mennonite Seminary. The main goal is to provide Hispanic leaders who move into the Harrisonburg area with opportunities to make contributions to the church.

Paul Leaman, the principal of Eastern Mennonite School, first heard about MHI last spring and realized how EMS could aid the Hispanic families by providing the unique benefits of a Mennonite education during the elementary, middle, and high school years. The students that are currently attending EMS through this program include Jessica Pellecer, a freshman, Luis Martinez, a sophomore, Lucia Martinez, a sixth grader, and Pablo Lorenzana, a seventh grader.

The MHI also returns an immeasurable number of gifts to EMS. Loly Martinez and Grazia Hernandez are two women who have begun spending time at EMS four days a week this school year. They spend their time helping in Spanish classes, especially on Thursday, the scheduled conversation day. Both of these women were very actively involved in a bilingual school in their previous home of Honduras.

Paul Leaman feels that there are many benefits that EMS and its students receive from these arrangements. “Certainly we wanted to support the Mennonite Hispanic Initiative…and at the same time we’re very interested in strengthening our own Spanish program,” he said. Leaman hopes that in the future EMS’s Spanish program will grow greatly, and that if students have a desire to learn Spanish they know that EMS is a great school to attend to learn. EMS’s opening to their mission statement says, “EMS combines an academically challenging curriculum with a strong commitment to Christian discipleship, peace and justice issues, service, and a global outlook.” Leaman said, “One way to grow in global awareness is to go and travel about and experience other parts of the world; another is to become more diverse ourselves.”

The Mennonite Hispanic Initiative is an influential program to all who have connections with it through EMS, and hopefully its opportunities will continue to bless many people for years to come.

- Melissa Jantzi

EMS Has an (Almost) New Gym!

“I’m pleased to say that the new gym is almost finished!” Mr. Lehman announced on Back to School Night. 

Slowly, one by one, people stood up adding their cheers to the already thunderous roar. EMHS athletes would now be playing in a state of the art gymnasium. This didn’t just happen overnight, though. EMHS has been playing with the idea of a new gym since 1999. This thought came tantalizingly close to reality in spring 2008 when the Board of Directors finally approved plans for a new gym. However the gym still had obstacles to overcome. 

Last fall plans for a new gym plummeted along with the economy. Luckily for the students of EMHS two ladies, Diana Berkshire and Velma Stauffer, were determined that nothing would stop that dream from becoming reality. They immediately petitioned the board for permission to raise money… and they got it.  Because of their dedication, PTF extravaganza, and students and faculty who volunteered their time we managed to raise enough money, roughly $250,000.

Mr. Bechler, the main organizer of the project, was amazed at how everyone in the community came together to make this possible. Because of volunteers we were able to save $40,000 in labor. Construction started the first Saturday of summer. First on the list of renovations was to get rid of the old hole-riddled ceiling. The last of the renovation projects will be the new bleachers, which will be installed on Wednesday, September 23rd.  When you walk into the gym you immediately notice the brightness and the gleam of the new wood floors.   Our gym has gone through some extensive changes. The ceiling has been redone, light fixtures were replaced (now it doesn’t matter if a soccer ball hits one…), paint jobs, new sound system, and a wood floor were the major changes.

The new floor was Kristi Miller’s, a basketball player, favorite change. “I could tell the second I began playing that the new floor would be better for my knees,” she said.

That was one of the main advantages of redoing the gym. The old rubber floor was jarring and caused shin splints. The new wood floor is DIN certified. To be DIN certified, the wood has to have high absorption, high playability, and high recovery.  The renovation of the new gym has gone smoother than anyone expected.  Mr. Beckler thinks that the new gym is a “miracle” and I’m sure all of the students of EMHS will agree.

- Kathleen Leigh

A Composting Update

Living in a time of global “climate change” and “green” awareness, composting is becoming a more popular way to help take care of planet earth, and EMHS has been taking part in this since the beginning of the current school year. Shelly Thomas, a professor of an environmental science class at EMU, came to John Hoover, the EMHS environmental science teacher, to look into the possibility of getting EMHS composting using the resources available at EMU. Hoover became excited about this project, and it was up and running fairly soon into the first semester.

This composting project depends on the work of the entire school. It starts with students and faculty leaving all food waste and napkins to be composted on their lunch trays instead of putting them into the trashcans. Next, the dining hall workers collect these waste materials and keep them for the environmental science class. Then, every other day, weather permitting, a pair of environmental science students leaves Mr. Hoover’s class to take the compost up to EMU. Along with this transportation the students also keep records, included the weight of the waste. Everett Brubaker, a junior and a member of the environmental science class, said, “This makes me think about how much waste every one of us produces. A lot of this waste is either thrown into a giant pit in the ground or burned and then thrown into a pit. A very major percentage of this trash can be composted and/or recycled.” He continued to say that, “I really hope people realize that when they turn on their disposal a fair amount of their garbage goes straight down to the Chesapeake.”

The records that are being kept with the composting, along with simply being interesting could be used valuably also. Dining hall workers could see which meals produce the most waste, and students could see how much of a difference not finishing your plate makes. Also, Mr. Hoover said, “It gives us an understanding of how much food waste is being produced by this school, so if we were ever interested in reducing that…we have that data.”

According to the information that has already been collected EMHS produces an average food waste of 34 lbs a day. Over the span of one school year this adds up 6,200 lbs, or over 3 tons of waste.

Composting will continue to be a long-term project for Mr. Hoover’s classes. “We need to be stewards of God’s creation, so this is something that I take very seriously, and I’m going to try to encourage it with the kids,” he stated. The composting for this semester was on hold so far because of the cold temperatures; however, it is scheduled to start up again this week.

Mr. Hoover is interested in making EMHS a more environmentally aware school in other areas also. Other projects that are on his mind include minimizing EMHS’s energy use and starting a school garden.

- Melissa Jantzi

To see the excel spreadsheet of the composting records, click here: Composting data.

College Choices: Huge Decisions Made by Young People

April 1st is only six weeks away, and along with being April Fool’s Day it is also the day that many colleges notify high school students of whether or not they have been accepted to their school. Although college may seem like a distant matter for many middle and high school students, it’s approaching faster than one might think. Tina Glanzer, a guidance counselor at EMHS, said, “I wish people would start thinking earlier about what the options are, and discussing them with their families. High school goes by really, really fast.” 

There are many factors that decide where a student decides to go to college, and unfortunately a huge one is money. The tuition cost and the amount that schools are offering in scholarships can greatly affect a student’s choice. Other relevant issues include personal family values, majors that are offered, and a college’s social scene. “People have all kinds of different experiences at exactly the same school,” said Glanzer, so clearly, knowing one’s own personality is the largest piece of making a good college choice.

EMHS alumni have in the past had a pattern of attending Mennonite colleges. Approximately 40-60% of EMHS students end up at EMU, Goshen, Hesston, or others. According to Glanzer, “They came to EMHS because they valued that and that value stays with them.”

Now, especially because of the economy, students are looking more at public colleges in the state and community colleges, such as Blue Ride Community College. Virginia has a large variety of successful public colleges, and the discount in tuition is very appealing.

Glanzer encourages all EMHS students to take full advantage of the resources that are available for those preparing to choose a college. “I wish people would use the resources out there like the college fair to start ‘shopping’ earlier.”

- Melissa Janzi

**Ed note: click EMHS Alumni Colleges to see the list of colleges that have accepted EMHS grads in the last six years. It's impressive! (It's a WORD document)**

EMHS in a Changing Economy

These are difficult economic times for individuals, the United States, and the entire world. Eastern Mennonite High School is not exempt from these struggles.
  
The school's economics are quite simple. The school generates income, which is used to pay expenses such as payroll, class trips and activities, and other funding for operations. EMHS budgets to make the revenue and the spending about equal. The greatest source of income is from student tuition; this year EMHS budgeted for 321 students, though there are currently only around 314, which results in a lower income. 
  
Normally, the school also earns income from invested endowment money. The endowed investments generally earn about  $110,000 for spending per year. However, with the state of the economy, instead of earning, the school's endowments have lost 30%, which means there will be $110,000 less for spending this year. 
  
Eastern Mennonite's annual Christmas Fund drive, where faculty and students ask for contributions in support of the school, help fund the financial aid program and general costs of student programs. The amount budgeted this year is $420,000. Christmas Fund Drive aims to generate roughly 50% of this annual need. Last year, contributions fell just short of the school's total goal, so with the failing economy, concern exists for this year.

The school is making plans to sustain programs for students and remain  financially viable. Growing enrollment is the ideal way to increase revenue. Students encouraging friends to attend EMHS is a great way to help our school thrive. EMHS intends to weather the economic stresses as a community
with a planned response over the next 1 1/2 years. To address the issues as a community means that the faculty and staff are choosing to sacrifice some of their pay and benefits for the betterment of the school. This year, there was a need for faculty and staff to suffer a pay cut; however, a generous donor stepped up and offered to provide the difference in order to keep the faculty from losing money. 
  
Another way the school is dealing with the financial struggles is by cutting the sabbatical program. In the past, EMHS has provided funding for 2 sabbaticals per year. The sabbatical program provides funds for teachers to take time away from the school in order to continue to develop professionally, for example; returning to school, or attending professional conferences. Many teachers opt to put their sabbatical money into an account to be used over a period of time. However, the school is now having to take over the funds saved in these accounts in order to make ends meet. The sabbatical program is also being cut after this year, though $20,000 will be put aside per year, so teachers can then apply for these funds to help pay for professional growth experiences.

Eastern Mennonite has also had to make other financial adjustments such as reducing funds available for emergencies each year.  The savings that have been built up for a new gym floor will also need to be absorbed for making ends meet. There will also need to be a 2% increase in tuition, the lowest in years, to help lessen the projected shortfall between income and expenses.  Despite these challenges, the school will still work to provide as much financial aid as their means can support. 
  
All school departments will be requested to trim unnecessary expenses; considering closer trips to save travel costs makes financial sense in these days. "The best solution is a strong enrollment, 60 students per grade, 9-12," explains Principal Paul Leaman. "If we can keep from digging too deeply into endowment money during this down market, when the economy comes around we will quickly be
able to flourish." 
  
Though there will be cutbacks and sacrifice, the community attitude is one of perseverance with a spirit of hope for our future. 

- Jenn Leaman