Eagles in the Mud By Keegan Ladner In what Mr. Mark Sasse, coach of the girls softball team, described as a “mud-bowl,” the softball Eagles, guys and girls, fought for victory on 17 May. They walked away from the games with silver, bronze, and mud. Both teams had qualified for the state tournament after winning gold in the island tournament. But in the latest contest, the varsity boys’ team won silver, having played better and harder than they had ever played before—and not only winning a state tournament game, for the first time, but also winning silver. The girls, although not making
history, also had a good season, finishing with bronze in the state competition. The teams first noticed that the field looked, felt, and smell less like a field and more like a mud-pit. Nicole Mauger (12) described it as “almost literally crap.” “ Y o u w o u l d be running down the first base line, and you would sink into mud almost ankle deep…then you’d get a grounder and it would roll through a
Labor Day: Freedom at Last! Students enjoyed a long weekend for the occasion of the Malaysian Labor Day. Having both Monday and Tuesday of that week off, students, parents, and staff had a greater abundance of time for activities. For most families, Labor Day, 1 May, proved nothing more than extra time with which to engage in rare activities. For other parents and students, the day provided a time to witness and participate in an important holiday for laborers of the country, especially for the migrant workers. On this occasion, the dorms visited the Lost World water
By Joel Shafer park in Ipoh. According to Ben Unruh (12), the water park boasted aspects beyond those of the conventional water park. In addition to the typical slides and fountains, the park also housed a petting zoo. Unruh described his favorite part of the petting zoo as, “When they fed the tigers…they threw chunks of meat at them. They had been kinda lazy before, but they snatched the chunks out of the air!” He further described his favorite experience in the water park, “This one slide was pitchblack and high-speed; and if
A Western Taming By Nathan Danneker Students, parents, and teachers eagerly filed into the chapel during X-block on 23 March. The actors nervously fidgeted with excitement backstage. Finally, Mrs. Valerie Brokaw, the director of the drama, walked onto the stage, thanked everyone for coming, and without further ado, introduced the play Rowdy Kate by Claire Boiko. The curtain opened and laughter soon followed. Based on William Shakespeare’s comedy, Eagle’s Eye
The Taming of the Shrew, the play put the story in the fictional Old Western town of New Paducah and gave it a Western twist. In this version, the rowdy ruffian Kate, played by Hannah Graves (8), would not let her younger sister Blanche (Amanda Goh, 8) marry until she has married. In frustration, Kate’s father, Big Bart (Noah Graves, 7), offered $10,000 to the man that could tame and marry Kate. This offer reached the ears of an escaping 4
huge puddle, splashing you—we were so gross!” Though they didn’t win, the girls concluded that they played an intense game, no regrets and no blame. “We played as a team and lost as a team,” Mauger said. Rebecca Wiesner (12) echoed her: “I am proud of our team and how far we have come. The teams that we lost to were good, strong teams; and I would rather lose to them than anyone else. I am going to miss this team when I leave.” The boys’ team also had its share of spills and thrills. Nathan Peace (12) said, “all of our games were really close and intense, and we made history.” Sam McIntyre (10) said, “I
really enjoyed the game—it was so intense.” Led by Mr. Chance Edman, their coach, the boys team made history with their second-place trophy. The teams walked away with more than just mud and medals— they left with the satisfaction of having played a good game. Even after washing off all the mud, which apparently posed quite a challenge, the teams could remember not only the games, but also the friendships they built on the teams. “I loved playing with everyone; it was so nice getting know people I really didn’t know before. I love that about sports,” said Mauger, reflecting on the season. They walked away from the games heads held high, medals shinning proudly, and friends bound tightly. Go Eagles! •
you hit it wrong, you would flip, which kept it exciting!” Nathan Danneker (12) seconded this opinion, “I loved the tube slides, especially the tunnel one because you couldn’t see where you were going, which made it thrilling.” When asked about his favorite part, Unruh mentioned another aspect of the park, “The most relaxing part was the artificial hot spring they had there.” Besides extra time out of school for students to have such adventures, the day also had great significance for migrant workers of the country. Mr. Dave Shafer, a parent, who assisted in engaging with these workers regularly, provided his insight into the meaning of the holiday for the Nepali workers,
“It’s nice for them to have a day off, which they don’t get very often, and enjoy fellowship with other Nepalese.” A fellowship organized by a collaboration of several parents’ ministries, YWAM, and Nepali pastors provided a day of recreation and evangelization for these workers through traditional Nepali music, dancing, songs, games, food, and Biblical storying. Mr. Shafer commented, “It was an opportunity for them to hear testimonies of Christians in a conversational atmosphere.” As the day drew to a close, dorm students returned exhausted but cheerful, and the migrant workers reflected back on the day as an invigorating respite. •
con artist, Pete Porter (Ayden Winsor, 7), who planned to marry Kate and then run away with the money. Hilarity ensued when Kate found out about this plan and schemed to stop Porter. The play came about through the work of the MS Drama Exploratory led by Mrs. Brokaw. These young actors learned how to project their voices and master the stage. Emma Hofer (8), one of the actors, enjoyed the play as she could “become someone who I am not.” Their hard work showed in the play as the audience continued to cheer and laugh throughout the afternoon. As the final curtain fell, the
audience applauded the actors and the play. Sabrina Ly (8) found it “...interesting and fun to watch.” “It was alive and humorous,” said Kia Thompson (9). Ooychai Yuthiwattana (11) said, “They acted very well, better than Johnny Depp.” The middle schoolers relaxed and congratulated themselves on a job well done. As the audience left the chapel, they continued to laugh at the very western taming they had just seen. • May 2012