ISSUE 08 | March 19, 2014
Dominican Overview Worship Team Trip Youth Group Growth Jason You Testimony Mr. Undseth’s Bible class gives students critical thinking skills basing humanities understanding on God’s Word.
Comets in the Classroom
Jonathan Eckhardt | Staff Reporter
Hillcrest’s College Preparation Increases in Shadow of Graduation March The worries of college and graduation are close at hand for Hillcrest students. Preparing for post-secondary studies doesn’t mean a student can’t enjoy high school, but headaches are avoided for students who start thinking of their transition to adulthood early. College discussions help students consider what they should pursue in life and what steps to take in attaining their goal. Mrs. Ruth Juliot, Hillcrest’s guidance counselor, gave suggestions for where high school students should prepare in their steps toward college. “Sophomores may feel like college is a long way off. However, things they do now will help them when the time comes,” said Mrs. Juliot. Sophomores tend to think their worries center on obtaining good grades and surviving high school, but there are actually other tasks a sophomore can do to help them later in high school preparation for college. Class grades and students’ grade point average (GPA) are very important. College admission decisions oftentimes are decided by a student’s GPA.
There are other activites a sophomore should consider. Mrs. Juliot tells sophomores that “getting some work and volunteer experience in your areas of interest is good as well, it helps you to know what you may eventually choose as a college major and future career.” Juniors in high school also need to stay on top of college preparation. A junior should sign up for both the ACT and SAT. Taking at least one of the tests twice will undoubtedly increase performance on the standarized exams. Juniors should study for the exams during summer vacation, taking the exams in the spring of their senior year. Mrs. Juliot also advises special college visits. Most students should accomplish this before their junior year of high school to gather a feel for the college campus. Senior year for some is a time to enjoy the final year of high school, but college preparation should continue. Seniors should apply to at least two colleges prior to the start of their senior year in high school. Having taken
the ACT or SAT test as juniors, students will have the necessary information to complete the college application process. There are large amounts of forms that seniors need to complete before graduation. The federal application for student aid (FAFSA) will open in January of a student’s senior year. International students need to complete the TOEFL test if they are planning to attend college in the United States. Once students receive communication from colleges they’ve applied to they need to compare admission packages the school offers. Financial aid, scholarships and housing costs are important to parse in choosing a school to attend. Hillcrest’s rigorous graduation requirements prepare students for college. “The AP and honors classes we offer help students learn to study, compose essays, and think at a college level,” said Mrs. Juliot. “I have heard positive feedback from past graduates, appreciating the preparation they received.”
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Vegard Schejederup and Zoey Schweitzer lead worship in Eau Clarie, WI.
Worship Experienced Zoey Schweitzer | Staff Reporter Jeehoon Park and Per-Christian Hjellum are standing to my right, their guitars reflecting the blue tinted lights. Vegard Schjelderup, his saxaphone reflecting a pale pink tone onto the floor, stands to my left. Emily Pribbenow and Anders Grinde are joined by Henrik Hjelset in the back of the stage providing rhythm, as my voice starts the song and is soon joined by Jeehoon and Emily providing harmony. Rehearsal ends in the gymnasium at Bethesda Lutheran Brethren church in Eau Claire Wisconsin, and I begin to realize how blessed I am to do what I do. Surrounded by greatly talented individuals who I also call friends, we glorify God through music. The God who created us with skills and personalities also knows our flaws perfectly, but chooses to use us as instruments to lead others to know Him. Students from Kennedy Secondary School and Hillcrest Academy share in their small group at Bethel LBC.
Students Grow Together at Youth Group Amanda Doiron | Staff Reporter Youth group exposes students to young adults in church who care deeply. These young adults add truthful voices and a caring presence to the lives of many high school students. Same age peer groups provide a wonderful opportunity for students to learn to interact as independent men and women invested in the church; growing in ways that prepare them for a life of service in their local church, mentored by young adults through youth group.
Christian students come together to encourage one another in the gospel they seek to live for Christ in difficult school and home situations. Students often share common interests, as well as common struggles; they know what others in their situation are going through. An age-based church youth group for students provides a wonderful opportunity for gospel support and encouragement, provided that it is guided carefully by God’s Word.
In Fergus Falls, youth group is a time where students from different schools come together as one community. Youth leaders’ objectives are to help each young person grow personally and spiritually. Wednesday is when most Hillcrest students meet with friends at youth group in Bethel Lutheran Church. Leader Allen Aase coorindates a team of volunteers to run the youth group program consisting of games, team-building activities, and lessons from the Bible.
During youth group there is a time where students break-off into small groups. This is where most of the prayer time occurs. Small groups are gender and grade specific, and are consistently led by the same small group leader week after week. Small groups are encouraged to celebrate the lives of each student, and support one another by listening and sharing experiences. These conversation groups lead students to a greater understanding of the family of God as students become prayer partners for each other. The purpose of small groups is to help lead the students into discipleship.
A youth group should be the formation group of one-on-one discipleship relationships. At Bethel, students begin to find others at the same stage of life as they are, even though they may come from different schools. The small groups that break-out after youth group teaching create honest conversation, prayer, confession, and accountability led by young leaders in the church. At Bethel, youth group is a kind of training ground for service, leadership, and ministry for the future adult leaders in the church. Youth group at Bethel is a place where students receive much needed spiritual encouragement. As 2|
Youth group is a great experience for students. Youth leaders encourage a greater sense of community and togetherness in teens, and remind them that Christ’s love is real. Youth group in this spirit helps students become better citizens, church members, and human beings as they grow up. Activities during youth group prepare students to love and serve the body of Christ as students mature and grow up.
As Hillcrest students we traveled to Eau Claire Wisconsin, forming a praise team from a pool of talented students. Bethesda’s contemporary service, called Eleeo, fits Hillcrest students’ style of worship and we were given an opportunity to lead the service through music. Our two hour Saturday practice at Bethesda started with a formative devotional time led by JeeHoon Park. Breezing through songs and growing acclimated to new equipment foreign to us, the rehearsal time left us confident and joyful. Following practice our team grew closer as we sat down for dinner at HuHot. My borther Matt Schweitzer provided encouragement as we shared hopes for our future, laughs and Asian cuisine. Our team is close, we share scripture and bear struggles through short devotional times before practice. Special routines have focused our group, enabling us to join together as musicians who want to share joy that God has given us. After dinner our team relaxed. The boys spent the night in the church, playing music late into the evening hours, as the girls connected at my brother’s apartment before heading to bed before our early morning rehearsal. As we gathered together Sunday morning to lead the worship service I realized how truly powerful it is for us to worship together. As properly prepared musicians who work to sound cohesive, our main objective is leading the congregation in worship of Jesus Christ, an incredible blessing. Closing the worship service at Eleeo, our band felt truly blessed. We grew closer together as a group because of this experience; it reinforced our motives for leading through music. It’s a blessing to be a part of something bigger than myself.
Students from the Santa Fe primary school in San Pedro, Dominican Republic smile following a gift and visit from Hillcrest Academy a partnership between the two schools has enabled many in the community to hear of Christ. This school is now replicating Hillcrest’s missional emphasis visiting local retirement communities sharing Christ.
So Much More Than Just A Mission Trip Brandon Doering | Staff Reporter On the fifteenth of April twelve students will leave for the Dominican Republic on a seven day mission trip. It is a chance for students to not only minister to those less fortunate, but it is an opportunity for these students to minister to those who may never have heard the story of Jesus Christ. Although they may encounter some adversity and challenges, the students will make the most of every opportunity to share the gospel. One of the more pronounced challenges the students will face is the language barrier. None of the students traveling speak Spanish natively, but the group has ways to combat this adversity. Many of the students have varying amounts of spanish training through high school classes while attending Hillcrest, which will help spark conversations. The group also will work with translators who travel with the group to make sure the message of the Gospel is conveyed to the people. ”It’s going to be a little awkward at first,” said Quincey Circo, senior at Hillcrest, “But through various activities and the spanish knowledge we have, it will go well.”
Spirit to lead and guide them.” Mr. Preston has lead mission trips of this nature since 2001 at Hillcrest, when the basketball team traveled to
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Another tool students have at their disposal are Evangecubes. Evangecubes are cubelike objects that tell the story of man’s fall and the redemption that is brought through Jesus Christ in a picture format. They are a great device to convey the Gospel when there is a language barrier, and are a great way to facilitate conversation. One of the other challenges students will face is stepping out of their comfort zones and starting conversations with strangers. Mr. Gregg Preston, leader of the mission trip, believes “It puts everyone in positions where they need to fully rely on the Holy
“The Dominican Trip puts everyone in positions where they need to fully rely on the Holy Spirit to lead and guide them.”
Florida to minister to people using athletic talents. For the last five years, seniors and chaperones from Hillcrest have made the trip to the Dominican Republic as a senior class trip.
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Over the past five years, the Dominican Republic trip has seen Hillcrest support a school called Santa Fe. The grade school Hillcrest partners with has improved the lives of the local community. Over the years, as the school has purchased land and improved curriculum, Hillcrest’s support through countless donors has facilitated various construction projects. Local residents say this work has created channels for the message of Christ; establishing the school as a beacon of hope for the impoverished community. “This is going to be a great opportunity for everyone who goes to grow in their faith walks,” said Liz Peterson, senior at Hillcrest. “We are going to be stretched and forced to step out of our comfort zones, but the Lord will be there to guide and help us.” The Lord calls all of us to spread the good news of Christ to the nations, and Hillcrest’s Dominican trip provides a meaningful experience to train students to accomplish the Gospel commission. Mr. Preston invests a lot in the trip every year, hoping to help students see their calling. “The Lord tells us to go into all the world and preach the Gospel. Everything that Hillcrest teaches through its Bible classes teaches this. Going to the Dominican Republic puts what we have learned into practice.”
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Contemplative Comet Dear Contemplative Comet: My parents have been on me for eating out. Routine trips to Holiday and Applebees have created problems, mostly with my wardrobe. The prized outfit I arrived at Hillcrest wearing is too tight for me to squeeze into for my trip home. Most of my other spring clothes don’t fit me either, after my season of hibernating this winter. Rather than working out I think I should take advantage of my final months here at Hillcrest, enjoying American food. Ultimately, I need to save money for a new wardrobe, while saving money for great American food. Can you please help me with my troubled dorm life? Yours Truly, Eating Up My Wardrobe
Reconnecting Cultures at HLA
Dear Eaten Wardrobe, Surviving the dorms in winter can be hard, but there are many ways to save money, enjoy food and avoid calling in a life-line from Dominoes. One of my favorite snacks is snow-made ice cream. Directions can be found on Google. A couple of ziplock bags, some heavy cream and a touch of some ingredients found in the kitchenette will make it. Another helpful tool is a water-heater. If you have one, you can heat-up hot water to make a pot of noodles. You could also grab a jar of nutella to mix with your heavy cream in the water heater, making a delicious cup of hot chocolate. Your water heater noodles, accompanied by a cup of nutella hot chocolate, is the perfect Saturday study meal. A touch of ziploc ice cream is sure to cap off your study times with a smile. I have seen a few students also multitask while eating their noodles. Using two pencils as chopsticks while reading, some students flip the pencils over, taking notes mid-bite. I Hope this helps you save some money and multitask as you prepare for Easter break. Signed, The Contemplative Comet
HLATODAY is produced by the Journalism program at Hillcrest Academy.
Quincey Circo Amanda Doiron Liz Peterson Maddie Veum Jonathan Eckhardt 4|
Brandon Doering Kara Nash Zoey Schweitzer Eddie Jiang
Jason You | Staff Reporter I visited America when I was in sixth grade. In 2006 my dad and I traveled along the west coast of the United States. Five years later I decided to come to the USA again with a different purpose, to attend high school at Hillcrest Academy in Fergus Falls. I love Fergus Falls. The quiet streets are covered with trees, and the beautiful lakes are very pleasant. There are over 20 million people in Seoul, South Korea, where I currently live. It is very busy; the population and commuters make the streets incredibly chaotic. Most people live in apartments, which I think is distracting, as many people don’t have privacy. People in Seoul don’t spend much time with their families, or even spend time in quietness, because they are too busy. In Fergus Falls I have noticed people spend more time together and talk more with each other. During my time at Hillcrest I have learned that I should build my relationships with people rather than focus completely on my work.
Hillcrest has many students from different nations. There have been approximately twenty Koreans attending Hillcrest for the past few years. A special development for the Koreans in Hillcrest is Korean devotions. Every Saturday the Korean students meet in the chapel to encourage each other in spiritual growth. We use this time to share the words of God, to talk about our story, and to grow up spiritually. We sing worship songs and share prayer requests after we have a devotional from the Bible. Korean devotions are important because it is the only time we can talk about serious topics that impact us as Koreans. I met many good people in Hillcrest, but if someone asked me about a special thing from Hillcrest that I will miss, I will say the Koreans. It has been such a good time for me; sharing burdens and difficult challenges that are going on inside of me that only fellow Koreans can understand.
Comets in the Classroom Cont. 99% of Hillcrest graduates from the past five years attend either a two year or four year college after their time at Hillcrest. “A good portion of our local students, and some from out-of-state, about 20%, attend our own MState here in Fergus Falls; having excellent programs at a much lower cost than many four year schools. The remaining 79% choose to attend a variety of four year schools. Some popular choices are Liberty University in Lynchburg, VA; Bethel University and Northwestern in St. Paul, MN; University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, MN; NDSU in Fargo, ND; MSUM in Moorhead, MN; and UWEC in Eau Claire, WI,” reported Mrs. Juliot. The guidance office at Hillcrest is full of resources for students to use. Across from the
office there are bulletin boards and magazine racks full of informative material. There are also SAT/ACT study materials, books on colleges and information on possible majors. The school bulletin and website also give ACT/SAT test dates and scholarship information. Mrs. Juliot is a very good resource as well. She hopes that students will use these resources to help with college preparation. Still she is continually impressed with Hillcrest students noting there is a lot going on, and she likes seeing students assert themselves and work towards the plan God has for them. Mrs. Juliot is in the guidance office Mondays, Wednesday, and
every other Friday.