Windsock

Martha Chen, Visiting Chinese Teacher

At EMHS and similar Mennonite institutions, the international appeal and character of the Mennonite church has resulted in a remarkably varied collection of experiences.  These take various forms, ranging from faculty with long records of travel and service starting from the typical Mennonite background, but also with numerous international guests coming here.  Martha Chen is one such guest, who we had the pleasure of hearing in chapel recently, and who was happy to share about her life, and how she came to be here.

Martha was born in Bao Ding, in Hebei province, south of Beijing in 1952.  She was raised until the age of six by her grandmother in the countryside, after which she attended a boarding school for six more years.  She attended middle school for one year, however was interrupted by the Cultural Revolution, a total upsetting of Chinese culture imposed by its communist dictatorship starting in 1966.  Part of the utter chaos that followed was the collapse of the school system which, while originally novel for the former students (many of whom proceeded to thrash their former teachers), in fact crashed China.  For about three years, Martha would serve as a Red Guard, a communist enthusiast of a sort.  She saw chairman Mao twice around this time, and worked on a sort of commune in Inner Mongolia, a province that is essentially the eastern half of China's border with Mongolia.

In 1972, Martha returned to the city and worked in a factory until 1976.  She studied English for three years after Mao died in that year, and then taught it until 1984.  In September of 1985, she moved to Beijing and taught there until 1989.  She then moved on to a different college until her retirement last year, immediately after which she was requested by Meryl Byler of Mennonite Partners in China to come here.  She gladly obliged, and has been here ever since.

Martha has had a very positive experience since she arrived here.  She really enjoys Americans, and says that our environment is clean and our people friendly.  Because of experience with a much worse situation in China, the incredible blessings we have here are quite clear to her.  She appreciates the United States, and hopes for good relations between our two countries.

- David Jost

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

This is What Happens...

When you don't go to Pack the Gym Night. Rocks. Big rocks.

The Brumobile Lives!

Tech Ed doesn't always get a lot of attention. It's secluded off in a back corner of the school building, and it's not quite as flashy as some of the school's other programs; Tech Ed classes don't win climatic championship games in stadiums full of screaming fans or sing in beautiful European Cathedrals. That doesn't mean nothing's going on, though.

For the past few years, Tech Ed teacher Mr. Dennis Brubaker has been working on building a car from scratch, mostly out of recycled parts salvaged from other cars that were past their primes. This year, Mr. Brubaker decided that the project might be a valuable learning experience for his students, which gave rise to Car Care class. During the class, which lasted through first quarter, the students worked on the car, and in the process, learned how automobiles work and how to take care of them. They even had some outside help from John Gahman, a local man with experience working on cars.

The relatively small class was able to get a great deal done in just a few weeks: they ran fuel lines, installed a battery, mounted the gear shift and steering wheel, worked on the brakes, and did a few other things as well. The partially completed car is still sitting the Tech Ed room for anyone interested in seeing it.

- Dustin Crummett

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)

Welcome (Again) to Mrs. Roth

Some may not know that our new government teacher, Shannon Roth, actually taught at EMHS before this year. Along with her heavy and stressful schedule of college homework, huge papers, a job as a pastoral assistant, as well as the everyday challenges of life, Mrs. Roth decided to increase her teaching experience by teaching part-time at EMHS. Last year she taught freshmen United States History for one period of the day. This may not sound like much, but coupled with her already hectic schedule, managing her time became very difficult. At one point she would start her day with morning classes at EMU, after which she would get something to eat, change clothes and then run to teach at EMHS. When she had finished teaching she would run back to her house, change clothes again and then finish her day with evening classes.

Mrs. Roth was born into a Mennonite family in Iowa, but moved while she was a young age to Virginia so that her father could teach at Eastern Mennonite Seminary. She was then raised in Harrisonburg and attended elementary and middle school in the area. She then went on to high school at EMHS and graduated to attend EMU. All throughout school she thought she would become a minister or work in some other church related job, like her dad, but she majored in teaching since EMU had no church leadership related major. When she graduated she decided that she would like to become a teacher after all and her first major experience with teaching was being a student teacher at Turner Ashby. She then taught part-time at EMHS to help out Jim Rush, who was about to retire. She was later given the opportunity to choose between teaching World History at Turner Ashby or Government at EMHS full-time. Even though the pay at Turner Ashby was better she decided to teach at EMHS, because she enjoyed Government more and liked the idea of teaching at a Christian school.

Her hobbies include watching sports, as she often did with her father when she was little, and reading casually or for educational purposes.  Her mother works at RMH and Mrs. Roth recently just got married.

Sarah Schaeffer: Our New Developer

                                 

She likes long walks on the beach and in the mountains. She is the picture-perfect professional on workdays, but on weekends she loves nothing more than to play in the mud with her dogs. Though she has a sweet tooth that will one day "be the death of me," she cannot abide chocolate in any form. This is the tall blonde woman whom you may have seen in the halls: Sarah Schaeffer, EMHS's new Director of Development.

Ms. Schaeffer comes to us after 20 years at JMU, where she served as Senior Director of Admissions. Before this, she was a news reporter for Channel 3. Now she is at EMHS to report our news. It is news that she is every day more excited to tell.

As Senior Assistant Director of Admissions at JMU, Ms. Schaeffer became familiar with the high school scene, making the rounds of schools across the country to interview prospective students. EMHS, she says, is a school like none other she has encountered before. "I've spent a lot of time in a lot of high schools, and there is more positive energy in these halls than any school I've ever been in. My impression of the student body is...that you guys are happier, friendlier, more excited about life- I leave my door open so I can hear you in the halls. There is some good stuff going on here." The challenge for Ms. Schaeffer is to put the sense of what is happening at EMHS into words. "I have to take a picture of this."

She must take a picture of it, and present that picture to the wider community. Ms. Schaeffer meets with the parents and grandparents of both current and former students, with alumni, as well as with anyone who is interested in EMHS. She must keep EMHS funded. The things we want, a new gym for example, are the things she is working to provide, along with the things we take for granted. Her work is essential to the existence of our school.

Ms. Schaeffer is out there telling our story, a story she believes in whole-heartedly...but, do we believe in it? To Ms. Schaeffer, the student body at EMHS "speaks happiness." If this is true, why should we hesitate in speaking that happiness to the community? Prospective donors want to know what is going on here. Why is EMHS unique? What does it mean to our students? Ms. Schaeffer believes that the appreciation for EMHS is great, but that there are not enough of us speaking that appreciation boldly. People don't know. People need to know if EMHS is to keep its doors open.

Ms. Schaeffer wants EMHS students to begin telling the story from their point of view. She is planning an event in October, the details of which she will outline in an upcoming chapel, that will allow students to speak directly to prospective donors in a sort of tour of the school. If you would like to be a part of this, go down to her office (it is on the way up from the gym or down from the front office) and introduce yourself. You will be very welcome, because, in Ms. Schaeffer's words, "Nothing I can say will mean as much as what you can say."

- Hannah Cranston (Photo by Philip Yoder)

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