h t u o M f o d Wor Volume 8, Issue 8
May 2014
Senior Sunday at Young’s Chapel Oak Hill Academy Student Newspaper
By Shawn Haas Senior Sunday occurred May 4th at Young’s Chapel Baptist Church. The date marked the last Sunday that the Class of 2014 attended worship at Young’s Chapel. All of the seniors were dressed elegantly, wearing nice suits or classy dresses. It
Inside this issue: Spring Sports
2
Equestrian Team
3
Golf Club
3
Lacrosse Club
3
Senior Skip Day
4
Noonkester Social
5
Spring Formal Pictorial 5
was a fantastic service and a great experience for all forty-five seniors. The entire service was organized and presented by the OHA Youth Group. Members of the Youth Group who participated were: Eden Sileshi, Davi Lazard, DJ Grayson, Devin Soulsby, and Michelle WatsonJones. They helped with procedural parts of the service, such as the ringing of the bell and the lighting of the candles, the children’s sermon, the benediction,
and the invocation. Senior, Christian Schmidt, spoke at the service, delivering a powerful sermon. He spoke with great passion and personal investment. His words inspired the Senior class as well as the entire congregation. Christian spoke about doing things in the name (Continued on page 4)
OHA Baccalaureate By Maddy Leech Baccalaureate is an annual tradition at OHA. This spiritual ceremony honoring the seniors was held on Sunday, May 11th. Mr. Dwayne Merritt delivered an inspirational message focused on surrounding oneself with ‘good’ people and ‘doing unto others as you would have them do unto you.’ Stating that the students
‘already know right from wrong,’ he challenged them to go beyond that and help others along along the way. Passing around a plaque, the theme was both simple and powerful, ‘We can so we should.’ Mr. and Mrs. Black returned to ‘the Hill’ to provide music for the service utilizing both the piano
and organ. The guitar students, led by Ms. Callison, performed two songs. The students included: Michelle Watson-Jones, Will Messer, Devin Soulsby, Cade Groesbeck, and Andrew Worth. The service concluded with a prayer by Rev. Turnmire.
Page 2
Spring Sports
Word of Mouth
Soccer
By Amy He Spring soccer was coached by Mr. Knudsen and Mr. Gary Crede. The captains were Andrew Awantang, Alex Boshart, and Michelle Metcalf. The team practiced daily after school. Although games were few, the players worked hard.. The Spring soccer team included: Andrew Awantang, Kwande Bawa, Alex Boshart,
Cade Groesbeck, Peter Hatakeyama, Sibo Ju, Won Jun Jung, Kimy Kacyira, Austin Kloberg, Alex Kulp, Chris Li, Michelle Metcalf, David Mosindi, Andres Rodriguez, Xiaolin Sun, Josh Tamminen, Andrew Worth, Brian Wu, and Joshua Yoon. Amy He, Dani Kahn, Kelsi Liddle, James Yuan were the managers.
Earning special recognition this year were: Peter Hatakeyama – the Academic Award for the highest GPA on the team, Kimy Kacyira – the Most Outstanding Player Award, and Chris Li – the Coach’s Award for grit and determination.
Coached by Mr. Finklea, the girls would practice after school or after dinner to improve. Even though they lost against Rural Retreat, the girls felt good about their growth and improved abilities. When Christine Sears was asked about her experience
at Rural Retreat, she said “It was tiring, I’m sore all over. They played better than we had initially expected, but I had fun!”
Girls Tennis By Mariah Ashley The girls tennis team had a short season due to rain. There were seven girls on the tennis team who included: Leah Baucom, Maddy Leech, Libby Young, Eden Sileshi, Christine Sears, Jae Mayweather, and Mariah Ashley.
Track and Field By Leah Baucom The Oak Hill Academy track team had a good season. Coached by Mr. Riedl, the participants included: BJ Stith, Charlie Favor, Alex Van Stippen, Spencer Titzmann, Baaba Otabil, Maina Ly, Libby Young, Alex Collins, and Destiny Alston.
put. Every one of them put in hours of hard work to perfect their throw of the shot put and spin of the discus. BJ, Charlie, and Libby were the sprinters of the team while Alex ran the long distance events.
Maina, Libby, Baaba, Spencer, Destiny and Alex were the ‘throwers’ of the discus and shot
Every member of the track team was a dedicated individual that worked all season. When asked to reflect on the 2014 track season Coach Riedl replied,
“Everyone got better throughout the year in distance thrown and times getting faster. They were a lot of fun to work with. The ones that were committed and came to practice were a really good group. We had a good time at the meets, and on the drives to and from the meets. They worked hard and wanted to get better, and that’s what I was hoping for this season.” The track team this year competed in six meets. The entire team started and finished strongly, and Oak Hill’s community looks forward to the track team next year.
Volume 8, Issue 8
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Thomas Bridge Horse Show By Destiny Crickman On May 10th the Oak Hill Academy Equestrian Team traveled to their final show of the year in Thomas Bridge, North Carolina. The girls had a variety of different skills to show in their classes in walk and trot classes and walk, trot, canter classes. They also showed in a few halter
classes. Linda Goins won 1st, 2nd, and 4th while showing Trouble. Ashley Dupper won 3rd, two 4th places, and 5th showing Popper. Tamsin Smith won 1st place and 2nd in halter while showing Buckaroo. Christine Sears won 1st and 2nd showing Teddy. Cheyanne Molina won 2nd, two 3rd places,
and 4th. Lien Raets won a shirt and pin with her two 1st places, 2nd, and 3rd while showing Dale. Destiny Crickman won a halter, $10 gift card, and a pin with her two 1st place wins, 2nd, and 3rd while showing Perry. Overall, the show was quite a success. It was a great end for the Equestrian Team of 2014.
Golf Club By Tony Anderson Mr. Henry Crede shared his love for golf with the students this Spring by organizing a Golf Club. Students interested in playing 9holes of golf signed up with Mr. Crede to head off-campus to a local golf club. Mr. Crede also hosted many afternoons of chip-n-
putt at the soccer field for avid student golfers. These students included Alex Kulp, Min Yeol Lee, and Spencer Titzmann. Having the opportunity to golf widened student’s athletic capabilities as well as develop close bonds with fellow golfers.
Lacrosse Club By Yonatan Belayhun The Lacrosse Club was established to build interest in the sport. Last year the Lacrosse Club was started by Mr. Rodgers and Brennan Jolliffe who saw an interest on campus. The club met for practices and ran drills to introduce the skills to new players while keeping skills fresh for the experienced players. The club recently attended a college game in North Carolina seeing a nationally ranked D2 team. Mr. Rodgers said, “It was great
exposure to the game [of lacrosse] for our new guys, impressive to our experienced players, and a learning experience for me.” The club hopes to grow in the coming years as lacrosse is
an exciting sport which is described as a mix of soccer, football, and basketball. Lacrosse is internationally known as ‘the fastest game on two feet. ‘ The five current members are: Brennan Jolliffe, Jake Armendariz, Philip Johnson, DJ Grayson, and James Kidd.
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Word of Mouth
Senior Skip Day By Ma’moun Bukhari One of the many days that the seniors of Oak Hill Academy look forward to throughout the year took place on Thursday, May 9th Senior Skip Day. The day started off with the privilege of missing homeroom and even some extended time for breakfast, which allowed most seniors to sleep in for a few more minutes. Seniors then hopped on the WiFi equipped bus and were on
their way to the Twin County Cinemas in Galax to watch the latest Marvel movie, Spider Man 2. The group was treated to popcorn, drinks, and candy as well.
once again on the road and headed towards dinner.
The movie ended and the bus headed to Thunder Valley which was another highlight of the day. Thunder Valley consisted of an arcade, go karts, laser tag, and a putt putt golf course. After a couple of hours of fun, the bus was
The final destination for the day was a personal favorite of many in attendance. The Homeplace Restaurant delivered a family style meal that was beyond delicious. The meal consisted of four types of meats, several side dishes, and ice-cream for dessert. The Seniors spent about an hour there, and aside from all the eating, the group created a few good final memories before the close of senior year.
Senior Sunday cont. (Continued from page 1)
of God, rather than looking selfishly for accomplishment and accolades. One of the most memorable moments of the entire sermon was a quote by C.S. Lewis. “Aim for heaven and get Earth thrown in. Aim for Earth and get nothing at all.” – C.S. Lewis The Senior Sunday was a wonderful send off.
Everybody enjoyed the service and left the chapel reflecting on Christian’s good message. Many continue to reminisce about the fabulous time we have all spent here.
Volume 8, Issue 8
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Noonkester Social By Aislinn Curtin The Oak Hill community gathered for the end of the year social at Noonkester Park. After Christian Schmidt said the blessing for dinner, many people got up and jumped into the lake. The water was very cold, but everyone had a lot of fun. For dinner there were hamburgers, veggie burgers, potato salad, corn on the cob, chips, sodas, and a few other things. After dinner, the inflatable obstacle course arrived which
brought out the competitive spirit in everyone. While people lined up to do the obstacle course, some played soccer, and another group of people participated in the golf shot contest. Participants tried to hit their golf ball across the lake and closest to the cone in an effort to win $50. Caleb Martin won the golf shot. Christine Sears said, “I loved going to Noonkester and being able to jump in the lake. It
was very cold, but I enjoyed it.� As the sun set and darkness took over the lake, a large bonfire was lit. Students socialized in the glow and warmth of the bonfire. Overall, the night was amazing. It was a successful close to the last full weekend on campus this year.
Spring Formal Pictorial
Dance With Me
Editor-in-Chief Shawn Haas Staff Journalists Tony Anderson Mariah Ashley Leah Baucom Yonatan Belayhun Ma’moun Bukhari Destiny Crickman Aislinn Marie Curtin Amy He Staff Photographers Carly Bronikowski Sallie Jones Proofreaders Lisa Finklea Cyndie Richardson Faculty Sponsor Mikki Haas
The Mission of Oak Hill Academy
Oak Hill Academy is a coeducational, Baptist affiliated, boarding/day school committed to excellence in education and adolescent development in a non-military setting. The mission of Oak Hill Academy is to offer a safe, secure, nurturing environment for girls and boys needing a change in school, peer, community, or family relationships. Oak Hill provides a structured college-preparatory program to students in grades 8-12. Our curriculum challenges the brightest student and encourages those who are unmotivated, who are underachieving, or who are experiencing difficulties in their school setting.
Oak Hill Academy
2635 Oak Hill Road Mouth of Wilson, VA 24363 Phone: 276-579-2619 E-mail: info@oak-hill.net