Windsock

Lunasa Tonight!

On Friday March 7, EMHS is hosting the internationally known group, Lunasa. The Lunasa concert is being held as a fundraiser for the EMHS Touring Choir. This summer, the Touring Choir plans on traveling to Europe while singing in churches along the way. Mr. Hartzler, director of Touring Choir, said, “Lunasa is an outstanding cultural experience to hear music we don’t usually hear.”

Lunasa, which is named after an ancient Celtic harvest festival, has been recently called an “Irish music dream team” by Folk Roots. The sounds of Lunasa are from Irish decent with touches of jazz. On the Lunasa website, member Sean Smyth, said, “ I had a vision of the type of music I wanted to create. In my books, the most influential band was the Bothy Band, who were flute, popes and fiddle based.” From that vision, Lunasa has become the musical quintet it is today. Lunasa consists of a fiddle, flute, bass, guitar and whistles, which all combine to create a one of a kind sound.

October of 1997, Lunasa released their first CD, entitled “Lunasa,” which received rave reviews. In fact, their CD became a top seller in Ireland, ranked a top ten favorite. Lunasa continued to amaze their audiences through world tours of the USA, Canada, Spain, Italy, UK, France, and Holland. In 2007, the group celebrated 10 years of Lunasa.

Tickets can still be bought in advance by calling 540-432-4931. Advanced tickets cost $15/adults and $12/students. Tickets at the door are $18/adult and $15/students.

See below for a youtube clip!

- Rose Jantzi

District Auditions

Music is an undeniable talent at EMHS. Through the music departments, we are given the opportunity to compete with local musicians to earn a spot in district choirs, orchestras, and bands.
    The Jr. Regional Orchestra is an auditioned contest for 6th through 9th graders. Kathleen Leigh and Melissa Jantzi both qualified to be a part of the orchestra. They will be participating in one day marathon of learning the music and putting on a performance all in the same day. Melissa Jantzi said, “ The Jr. Regional Orchestra, though an intense day, is a great learning experience. It will be educational to get a new view from a different director.”
    District band is the same sort of auditioned group for middle school and high school band members. Mr. Buchanan, EMHS’s band director, said that District band is a great “chance to get together with instrumentalist from the area and work with nationally know directors.” The Concert and Symphonic bands are both filled with the top ranked auditioned musicians. This year, we had seven students participate in District band: Zander Pellegrino, Rhianna Cockrell, Malinda Bender, Christophe Langouet, Matt Layman, James Souder, and Rose Jantzi. Reflecting on his experience in District band, Christophe said, “It {District band} gives you an experience to play under pressure.” He went on to say that, “ Even if you don’t make it, it’s a great experience to get to know new people.” The top few of each instrument group in the Symphonic band also get the opportunity to try out for states. This year, James Souder, a junior tenor sax player, earned 3rd chair at States.
    District choir is also an auditioned group, which was held at EMHS this year. Twenty six students from EMHS made the District choir. Janelle Dean, a junior who participated in District choir, said that one thing she learned from the director this year was how a warm up of the voice, which may seem to be a pointless exercise at first, really did an effective job of warming up the voice. This year, EMHS also had five persons make All-States: Tucker Wheatley, James Souder, Janelle Dean, Brook Hostetter, and Helen Furry.

- Rose Jantzi

Fund Drive Results

Extra fundraising is needed to help cover costs at EMHS.  The necessities such as supplies, electricity bills, and teacher payments are not covered in the student tuition.  Such expenses are  paid off by the Christmas Fund Drive.

In 1955, students at EMHS started the Fund Drive.  Students would donated a selected about of workdays to EMHS.  Now, the Fund Drive is run a little differently.  The Christmas Fund Drive is an annual event which students ask for donations from friends and family to support EMHS.  Students are encouraged to fully participate in the Fund Drive through personal contacts, letter writing, donating work wages, or through phone-a-thon.  Personal contacts are made when a student asks persons to give a donation to EMHS.  A student must make five contacts to fully participate.

Letter writing is another option available to participate in the Fund Drive.  To fully participate, students need to write ten letters to alumni of EMHS asking them to consider a donation.  A popular way to participate for Junior and Seniors is through phone-a-thon.  On selected nights before Christmas break, phones are set up in the library for students to participate in the phone-a-thon.  Each participant is given a list of alumni phone numbers, whom they call and ask for a donation to EMHS.

This year, the EMHS student body surpassed its goal of $130,000, earning $143,265.63.  Since we made our goal, for the first time ever, students at EMHS are aloud to wear shorts.  This new change in dress was made possiblel by the creative thinking of the Christmas Fund Drive.  In addition to wearing shorts, there were several drawings in each grade fro cash prizes for those who participated over the recommended amount.  Mrs. Lynn Leischner, the Annual Fund and Alumni Coordinator at EMHS, said she hopes that students honor the dress code so we will be able to keep shorts at EMHS.

- Rose Jantzi

EMHS Whiteboards

They say you can tell a lot about a person by looking at the whiteboard on their locker. Unlike many other area schools, EMHS has whiteboards on the outside of each locker in the hall. These whiteboards serve many purposes for the student body.

One purpose is for notes of encouragement. When scanning the hall, I found one locker that simply stated, "Just giving your blank locker some love." Down the hall a ways, another locker stated "You are my banquet date!" Other lockers have homework assignments and old pictures from when the "owner" was little plastered on the front. Some lockers are covered in wrapping paper, a  tradition at EMHS to celebrate a friend's birthday. Others had newspaper clippings about someone's favorite football team victory (The Green Bay Packers being a popular choice). One locker in particular that caught my attention said, "If the U.S. spent zero dollars on 'defense' for one year it could double the income of 13,000,000 five-member families at or below the poverty line."

The whiteboards on the lockers symbolize to me the compassionate nature of our school. When I was observing the whiteboards, I did not find a single negative comment on a locker. Instead, the lockers were covered with bits of encouragement and acts of kindness. Though the locker comments are a wonderful thing to see, I think what encourages me the most is the persons behind the written thoughts. The lockers serve as a small symbol of our caring student body. Today, I encourage us to continue to remember each other throughout our days. I end this article with quote by Harold Kushner, "When you carry out acts of kindness you get a wonderful feeling inside. It is as though something inside your body responds and says, yes, this is how I ought to feel."

- Rose Jantzi

Living the Balanced Life

            It’s a Thursday night and you are at home pulling an all nighter to finish what’s left of your homework. The stress of the week is beginning to pile up on you like a truckload of elephants. You anxiously look at the clock as it sleepily chimes 2 am. Exhausted you wonder, will there ever be an end to the craziness?!?

The fact of the matter is the average EMHS student’s school day is filled with classes meant to stretch them intellectually. We as a student body are presented a challenging curriculum that in the long run will help us to succeed. However, in the mean time, the academics we pursue can be a strenuous journey. The stress of homework and extracurricular activities could cripple the unique joy our high school years. Is there any way that we can control the amount of stress we are under?

Believe it or not, I think there is! I believe that we are capable of balancing our lives in a way to eliminate the stress, get the schoolwork done and still have time for the activities we enjoy. At the beginning of this year, I had committed myself to too many activities, making my life a constant circus act. I hardly had any time at home, and the time I did have I found occupied with all my commitments. I could not continue this lifestyle or I would indeed come to a crashing halt.

If you feel this way about the year, here are a few tips that could help you on your journey. First of all, prioritize your life activities. Having an idea of which activities in your life hold the greatest value helps to prioritize what truly matters. Secondly, have a support group of friends and family who will keep you accountable to staying on the track to success. As stated by Desmond Tutu, “When you are in a crowd and you stand out, it is only because you are being carried on the shoulders of others.” Finally, remember to keep God’s word in your daily life. Take time to read the life lessons God has given us through His word. Having a deeper understanding of how God wants us to prioritize our life can help guide us in balancing our lives.

- Rose Jantzi

8th Grade Goes to Op Shop

The 8th grade FCS class is making a difference in our community by going to the Op Shop. The Op Shop is a non-profit organization that serves adults with developmental disabilities. It was started in 1983 to address the need for a day program for adults with disabilities. The Op Shop believes that every person with a developmental disability has the right to live, learn, and work in the most normal environment possible. While at the Op Shop, adults have the opportunity to earn a paycheck by doing jobs such as preparing bulk mailings and making craft items that are sold at the Op Shop store. The adults develop their life skills at the Op Shop, which paves the way for future employment.

Our guidance counselor, Mrs. Tina Glanzer, made it possible for the students to visit the Op Shop. Mrs. Glanzer has made it her personal project to get kids out into the community and broaden their worldviews. Having a brother-in-law who is a member of the Op Shop, Mrs. Glanzer used that connection to create a program for the 8th grade FCS class. While at the Op Shop, the 8th graders interact with the residents by doing crafts or playing games together. Mrs. LuAnn Bender, the FCS teacher, said, "Some people who I think are going to be the most uncomfortable end up being the most comfortable working with the people and enjoying themselves a lot." The class is split into a guys' and girls' section and each section goes to the Op Shop twice a semester. Though it may seem like a small deed to the students 8th Grade class, the relationships that are developed are making a difference.

- Rose Jantzi (photo by Mrs. Glanzer)

Music Review: Ollabelle

It can be easy to forget that there is such a variety of music out in our world that, like a hidden treasure, is waiting to be found. As put by Miles Davis, "Good music is good no matter what kind of music it is." I believe that the musical group Ollabelle can easily fit into the category of good music.

Ollabelle is a five-person New York-based band that celebrates rural American roots music. This group first came together because of their love for music. All five of the members come from different geographic locations, ranging from Sydney, Australia, to Canada. One aspect of their music that I admire is that none of their songs sound the same. Sometimes I find myself listening to what seems to be the same melodic tune by an artist, but with Ollabelle that is not the case. Their music ranges between a mix of electric blues, gospel, bluegrass, and country genres.

In their self titled album Ollabelle, quite a few of their songs have a Christian slant to them. This made me wonder if they consider themselves a Christian group. In one of their latest blog entries on their myspace page, they said that they are not a predominantly Christian group. They went on to say that in saying that Ollabelle is not a Christian group does not mean there are not individuals in their band who would consider themselves Christian. Rather, they had never intended to be a Christian band.

Ever since the first time I had listened to the music of Ollabelle, I found myself instantly interested in listening to their songs again and again. I have never heard a group that has a style similar to Ollabelle, making their music new and exciting for me to listen to. But no matter how much I praise the music of Ollabelle, the only way for you to truly understand the beauty of this group is to listen to them for yourselves. So I encourage you to take the time to listen to the unique sounds of Ollabelle.

- Rose Jantzi

To see the album and listen to parts of songs on amazon, click here.

Here is a clip of Ollabelle performing "Get Back Temptation" live:

Alumnus Sidney King: Movie Maker!

One of EMHS’s own alumni has gone out into the world and made a name for himself.

Sidney King, the director of the film Pearl Diver, walked down these same halls that we do today. King came to EMHS for three and a half years and graduated in 1995.

King looks back at his years of high school and recalls mentors he had at EMHS that helped lead to his interest of being a director. He remembers Gloria Diener, his English teacher, encouraging him to become a writer, even though he wanted to become an editor.  Like some of us, he has taken classes with Mrs. Gautcher, Mr. Elwood Yoder, and Mr. Hartzler. King is thankful for the many opportunities he had at EMHS. He was a part of extra curriculars such as Touring Choir, the Windsock and a member of the soccer team. From EMHS, he went on to the University of Cincinnati Conservatory for a year and then transferred to Goshen College where he studied for three years.

             King’s film career started when he made his first documentary in college. He received grant money from the documentary, which helped to fund his production of Pearl Diver.  Pearl Diver was shot in 17 days, which is a very short time frame compared to an average movie shooting which can take 70 to 90 days.

The movie Pearl Diver is about two sisters who grew up in a conservative Mennonite community. When they were both young, their mother was killed in a terrible murder.  Twenty years later, they both go on to lead two very different lives, one staying near home, marrying and having a daughter and the other moving to Chicago to become a writer.  When the man who killed their mother is given the opportunity to be released from prison, the two sisters' viewpoints clash on how the situation should be handled. The movie follows their journey as they try to agree upon a decision.   

Sidney King got the idea for the movie Pearl Diver from hearing about a conservative girl who got hurt in an accident. Borrowing from that story, he added his own ideas to form what we now know as Pearl Diver. Thanks to some of his family and friends, King found people who were willing to work on the movie for free or provide props and other forms of assistance for the making of the movie.  One of the biggest struggles of directing this movie for King was trying to balance making the movie marketable but not compromising the story.

Pearl Diver is an independent screen film. Unlike large films done in Hollywood, independent films have a different pace about them. “Some Hollywood films tell you exactly what the moral of the story is and you know exactly how you should feel about it and all the good people are rewarded and all the bad people are punished. And that is not how things really work out,” says King. He continued on this thought, saying “Is your art like a mirror that reflects life or as a tool to change reality? Which is it?” 

Looking to the future, Kings says he has lots of additional movie ideas to go on. One movie idea would be set in the Chesapeake Bay during World War II. Another movie idea is based on a true story about Hutterite brothers from Montana who wouldn’t fight during World War II and were tortured to death because of their stand.

For more information on his movie Pearl Diver go to pearldivermovie.com.

- Rose Jantzi (picture of King from goshen.edu; poster from movie website)

Our Brand New Math Teacher

                                              

If you are ever passing by Mrs. White's classroom, you may find yourself wanting to stick your head in to see what all the excitement is about. On the first day of school, Mrs. White brought out a large tube that had once been a container for curtains. The class was at first confused and wondered what this had to do with our math lesson on slope. Mrs. White went on to explain how this was her very own "slopinator." Inside the slopinator was a little toy car. When she lifted the slopinator to a variety of heights, the class observed how the car would go faster as the tube went higher. When the tube finally got to the point where it was standing on its end, we learned that the toy car was going at an undefined speed, which is also the name for a line in the same position. She explained how, thanks to the slopinator, we would never forget the difference between a zero slope and an undefined slope.

Mrs. White is teaching Math III and Algebra II this year for our math teacher, Mrs. Walsh, who is taking her sabbatical to be with elderly mother in Oklahoma. Mrs. White has been teaching for over 30 years and has taught math for nine years. She has owned a first aid and CPR training business, taught in the rescue squad and has taught statistics and industry. In her free time, Mrs. White enjoys being with her four children and gardening. She heard about EMHS's need for a teacher through an email and considers it to be a "divine intervention." When asked what one thing she would like the student body to know about her she said, "I love teaching. I love math."

- Rose Jantzi