Word of Mouth Student Newspaper Volume 10 Issue 4
this issue Parents’ Days p.2 Equestrian Team p.4 Tennis Teams p.5 Senior Sunday p.6
Spring Formal By Alice Wang The Oak Hill Academy community began the 2017 Spring Formal, “Starry Night,” with an excellent meal. Dinner included steak, chicken, crab cakes, pineapple wrapped in bacon, asparagus, roasted vegetables, and mashed potatoes. Chocolate cake, cheesecake, cookies, mango sherbet, strawberries with cream, and fruit cakes were served for desserts. Assorted candy and cookies were available throughout the evening. A ceremony was held to recognize the Class of 2017. Each member of the Class of 2017 received a senior gift, portable cell phone chargers. Nahum Belayhun was named the king, and Madison VanEpps was named the queen of Spring Formal. The Spring Formal court candidates consisted of Chris Evans, Andrew Evans, Carittah Cai, Montana Francis, and Bailey Madison. Once the ceremony ended, music began to play, and everyone enjoyed time on the dance floor until midnight. The Spring Formal Committee set up and decorated the dining hall for the event. Students on the committee included Bree Thompson, Bello Razgallah, Kevin Kennedy, Lexie Stoltzfus, Montana Francis, Bridget Hoffman, Chase Vincent, K’Juan Williams, Bolu Salami, Mikun Adewole, Bailey (Continued on page 4)
Parents’ Days Days— —Career Fair By Carittah Cai Every year during Parents’ Days, Oak Hill Academy sets up a Career Fair. Parents volunteer to participate so students can learn more about their jobs. Parent participating included John Surdu (Sammy) – military/ engineering; Heather Hughes (Camden) – family therapist; Valentina del Valle Castro (Emilio and Santiago) – art therapist;
Alberto del Valle Castro – business; Marius Evans (Andrew) – dentistry; Eileen Evans – psychiatry; Jackie Evans (Chris) – nursing; Tihira Haffoney (Keith Williams) – education; Melissa Kelley (Jake) – nursing; and Katherine Green (Christine) – organizational futurist. Some people from the local community also participated. These included Yvonne Rodgers – banking; Sgt Doug Carner – law enforcement; Karli Meagher – social work; Dale Presnell – retail management; and Christi Boyd veterinary medicine. “It was interesting. I learned about a lot of
different jobs out there,” said Natalie Zhang. “I held a real gun for the first time,” said Carittah Cai. Everybody enjoyed the Career Fair.
Parents’ Days Days— —Music Program By Alice Wang The Parents’ Days events included a musical program on Thursday night. Lydia Haimanot, Tobi Salami, and Ms. Callison kicked off the evening by performing “Be Still and Know” and “Hallelujah.” The vibe shifted to a more traditional feeling when the Appalachian String Band, consisting of Christine Green, Stepan Simington, Tomas Syrovatko, and Ms. Callison, played four songs. The audience was notably impressed with Jack Carpenter’s skills on the banjo on the song “Cripple Creek.” The beginning guitar class was the next to hit the stage performing Bob
Dylan’s “The Times They Are A Changin” with Aidan Stenner singing lead vocals and Rhett Spencer on harmonica. Additional class members include Jack Carpenter, Emilio del Valle Castro, Brady Jenkins, Jake Kelley, and Rachel Murphy. The Music Lab Ensemble, Hollis Cooner, Josh DeLacerda, Chris Evans, Eddy
Kayouloud, Jake Kelley, Kenny Nwuba, and Aaron Stepanek, ended the night on a good note with classics such as “Simple Man” by Lynard Skynyard, “Redemption Song” by Bob Marley, and newly beloved “Angela” by The Lumineers.
Parents’ Days Days— —Spring Play The spring drama presentation is an annual tradition during Parents’ Days. Mr. Pease wrote and directed the play “Much Ado About Something Redux” which was inspired by William Shakespeare. The director’s assistant was Natalie Zhang. The actors included Josh DeLacerda, Bailey Madison, Madison VanEpps, Nahum Belayhun , Camille Musgrove, Kelly MacLean, Lexie Stoltzfus, Promise Sam, Bello Razgallah, Chris Evans, Ty Franzus,
Andrew Evans, Kevin Kennedy, Sophia Miller, Bree Thompson, and Sam Fryling. Ms. Bronson had a cameo role as the master villain. The stage crew was organized by Mr. Wymer who was assisted by Sammy Surdu. Students in the stage crew included Liam Hill, Santiago del Valle, Natalie Zhang, Lydia Haimanot, Jackson Ritter, Josh
DeLacerda, Sam Lewis, Sarah Smith, Mikun Adewole, and Ian McCrory.
Parents’ Days Days— —Homeroom Assembly By Alpha Diallo Alice Wang and Mikun Adewole presented information about the global student community at OHA. They described an enriched school experience through learning about many cultures. Several dance performances highlighted some of
those cultures. Sofia Xu, Jingyi Cai, Alice Wang, Wendy Hu, and Gloria Lan presented a traditional Chinese dance. An African
played the mandolin and Cici Wang sang the OHA Alma Mater while Camille Musgrove performed ballet. traditional dance was presented by Tobi Salami, K’Juan Williams, Kenny Nwuba, and Promise Sam. Chase Vincent, Montana Francis, and Kenny Nwuba delivered a typical American dance. To finish off the performance, Chris Evans
Mr. Wymer closed the morning assembly by announcing the winners of the art show. The winners for this year’s art show were Jingyi Cai, Sophia Miller, Sam Lewis, Cici Wang, and Jade Renaud.
Spring Formal cont. Madison, Madison VanEpps, Christen Reeves, Jackson Ritter, Reggie Ekong, Hannah Stowe, Josh DeLacerda, Alice Wang, Jaiden Lindsay, Jake Kelley, Anna Spencer, and Lauren Oberman. Staff members who
helped decorate were Mr. Mackey, Ms. Sargent, Ms. Tobin, Mr. Rodgers, Ms. Haas, and Mr. Blevins.
Equestrian Team By Chase Vincent Oak Hill Academy is wellknown for their equestrian program. Students learn how to take care of horses, ride, and compete in horse shows. The Equestrian Team at Oak Hill Academy offers an amazing opportunity for all students to be part of something outside themselves, to connect with animals, and build strong teamwork. Students form profound bonds with the animals as they progress in their learning. The horses are
housed in the Lenore Equestrian Center, which was dedicated on November 1, 2013.
Montana Francis. The team is coached by Mrs. Manuel and Mr. Henry.
This is what makes the Equestrian Team so special. The students feed, groom, and ride their horses on a daily basis. To be part of the equestrian program is a large responsibility that comes with a lot of vigorous work.
At each show, the team competes in multiple categories at multiple levels. During the Chatam show, Rachel received two first places and a fourth place. At the North Carolina State Fair, Lauren received a third and fourth place ribbon, while Rachel earned a third and two fourth place ribbons. At the Thomas Bridge horse show, Lexi won two first place ribbons. Anna and Montana assisted the team by helping to care for the horses.
The members of the Equestrian Team are Bailey Madison, Lexi Stoltzfus, Lauren Oberman, Rachel Murphy, Anna Spencer, and
Tennis Teams By Carittah Cai The Boys’ Tennis Team opened its season at Ashe County High School in Jefferson, North Carolina with a close loss of 4-5. Connor Cummings, Aidan Stenner, Alex Stenner, Andy Kim, Mark Fu, and Sam Skoloff played singles. Connor, Aidan, and Alex, won their matches. There were three pairs of doubles teams: Mark and Connor, Alex and Aidan, and Sam and Andy. Alex and Aidan won their doubles match. The second match was at Alleghany County High School in Sparta, North Carolina. The OHA guys won 9-0. Connor, Aidan, Alex, Mark, Sam, and Ty Franzus played singles and won their matches. The team also won the three doubles matches. “Connor and I are the golden pair. We are really proud of ourselves,” said Mark Fu. This year, the coach for the boys’ tennis team was Mr. Allen. The boys’ team included Connor Cummings, Mark Fu, Andy Kim, Ty Franzus, Bello
Razgallah, Sven Patzer, Sam Skoloff, Aidan Stenner, and Alex Stenner. Nahum Belayhun and Sam Lewis were the managers of the team. “Even though we did not win our match, I am proud of the Girls’ Tennis Team, especially since we had five girls who had never played tennis before,” said Ms. Brooks, the coach for the Girls’ Tennis Team. The Girls’ Tennis Team lost their match at Rural Retreat High School in Rural Retreat, Virginia. They played eight game pro-sets, which means the first person to reach eight games won the match. Tsehaye Vener won one of her games. Team members included
Jade Renaud, Montana Francis, Cici Wang, Sophia Xu, Sarah Smith, Tsehaye Vener, Chase Vincent, and K’Juan Williams.
Senior Sunday By Umberto Brusadin Camden Hughes gave a great and inspiring sermon on Senior Sunday about how to face adversity and overcome it. The topic of the sermon was leaning on God during all times of life and finding one’s self through times of adversity. Camden spoke about how the loss of his best friend in a boating accident showed him how life was a blessing, not an entitlement. He made all of the people present realize how fragile life is, and how everyone has to be thankful for God’s many blessings even on the toughest days. “True happiness and gratitude for the things we all have are pivotal to living every day to the best of our potential,” Camden explained. He felt that Joshua 1:9 exemplified best the virtue of leaning on God.
Kelly MacLean, Sammy Surdu, Alice Wang, Eddy Kayouloud, and Cici Wang sang in the Praise Band. Kenny Nwuba played the drums, and Josh DeLacerda played the guitar. Bree Thompson read the scriptures, and Madison VanEpps helped Rev. Turnmire with the children’s moment. To conclude the service, the graduating class stood and sang with the chorus in what will be remembered as a very joyous moment. The ushers were Madison VanEpps and Bree Thompson.