Shen-Val-Lore
The Student Voice of Shenandoah Valley Academy Shenandoah
SAU Honors Music Festival
Early in the morning on Wednesday, February 8, 16 SVA musicians headed to Southern Adventist University for an Honors Music Festival. When they arrived, they quickly registered and ate a delicious supper. Many of the musicians were so excited to see their long-lost SVA alumni friends and family members who are currently attending Southern. Upon arrival that evening, the band and string orchestra practiced in separate areas until 9:00 pm. Thursday morning was filled with rehearsal upon rehearsal. Each of the musicians enjoyed getting to know the conductors and new stand partners. Both the string conductor, from Oklahoma State University, and the band conductor, from Lipscomb University, were very unique and talented people. Thursday afternoon students from Southern gave many of the musicians campus tours, and our SVA musicians especially enjoyed getting to go down the slide in the student center while on the tour. Thursday evening was especially fun because the students were given free rein in the Hulsey Wellness Center on Southern’s campus. Students could do things like swim, rock climb, work out, or watch the basketball intramurals game. Friday brought more rehearsals in the morning and early afternoon. In the evening, everyone headed to vespers. It was Student Missions vespers,
ELLIE ANDERSON
and it was a very enjoyable program to be a part of. It began with all former student missionaries walking through the aisles waving flags from the countries in which they spent time doing mission work. Students shared about their experiences overseas and even wore traditional outfits from different countries. It was a very enjoyable experience. Afterwards, a couple of the students got to go to an off-campus afterglow event that is put on for Southern students every week. It is called Klatsch, and the students really enjoyed the home cooked food, making new friends, seeing old ones, and just enjoying Sabbath fellowship.
On Sabbath morning, the band musicians played for the first church service, and the string orchestra played for the second church service. Both music groups performed in a concert that afternoon. It was a bittersweet moment because they knew they had to say goodbye to all the lovely friends they had made during the music festival. After lots of hugs, pictures, and goodbyes, SVA students headed to a pizza restaurant. That pizza was INCREDIBLE! Ellie Anderson was especially thrilled that there was vegan cheese, and it even melted like normal cheese! Michael White almost ate an entire full-sized pizza on his own, because he was so hungry and it was so
good. Most of the students then went back to the hotel to pack, but one of them who was staying in Southern’s dorm got to watch Southern’s intramural championship game, which was a highly exciting event.
Early the next morning, SVA’s 16 musicians loaded up the bus in the rain and headed home. They enjoyed sleeping, reading, eating, and singing along to classic road songs all the way back to SVA. It was such a blessing to be able to go to a music festival once again. This was the first time back to one after COVID for SVA, and I would say it was a great success!
This year’s basketball tournament started with a long journey down to Southern Adventist University on January 13. The trip down was about eight hours of endless jokes and beautiful sleep. We arrived and promptly went to vespers. Southern had a great vespers service and we were all impressed by the quality of songs that they had.
The next day was our first game. On the first day, most schools thought that we were not going to be good at all.
Some didn’t even know about Shenandoah Valley Academy. Our men quickly made a name for themselves, winning their first game by about 20 points, to the shock and horror of the opposing team, Grace Christian Academy. The second game was no different; the men had the junior varsity players play for the majority of the game and we still came out on top with an overwhelming win against Lincoln Academy.
Basketball Tournament
JONATHAN PELOTE
The ladies’ team started out slow with losses in their first two games, but they bounced back in the second day, winning their game and playing for the division two championship later that day. The ladies would conquer and win the division two championship. The second day was just as successful for the men. The men’s team faced Andrews Academy in the semi-finals. Many of the spectators thought that Andrews was going to win the game. But our men’s team dominated and won by a commanding 17
points. Many of the players on the team suggested that was the best basketball they had played all tournament; they did not know what was coming next.
For the championship game, the men played Oakwood Academy. Oakwood had won every game they had played up to that point by over thirty points, so many of the people who came to watch the game assumed that this game would be more or less of the same. This is because not only had they been crushing the com-
petition, but they also had a significant height advantage over every player on our team.
Our men’s team fought hard and was the best competition Oakwood had in the tournament. The men were within one point late in the game and had an opportunity to take the lead and possibly win the game.
But some unfortunate events and good playing by Oakwood put the game out of reach in the end. In the end, the men’s team was proud to come away with second place and gave God all the glory. Both teams
came back home with trophies and represented our school and God well. We are proud of our teams and cannot wait to see what they can do next year.
The National Honor Society induction was described by some as one of the most organized induction ceremonies they have seen yet. The NHS officers had the current and new members come early in order to prep for the big event on February 19. I was part of the set-up process and can attest that this was not an easy task since it was directly after talent show.
As all the parents and the new inductees came in, I was playing the piano to set the mood. Once everyone was seated, Mr. Short began with a welcome, followed by a prayer by Mr. Leeper. Pastor Shane then gave a message on what true education was. He also talked about what it truly meant to be a learner for life and a model student. He emphasized the importance of studying for life and not a grade. It was a very good message. Then Mr. Leeper
NHS Induction
AVERY BROWNE
began to announce the names in alphabetical order of each class’s Principal List students. These are students who have a GPA of 3.5 or above. An interesting trend to note is that from the freshman to senior class, the number of students on Principal’s List only increased.
Once Mr. Leeper had finished reading all of the names, the NHS induction began. Officers assumed positions on the stage as Ms. Wiedemann welcomed everyone. After the welcome, Olivia Patrick, Kelsey Quintiana, Nya Walker, and Carrie White read the four NHS pillars: character, leadership, scholarship, and service. These are to emphasize the importance of being a model student and excelling in all areas of life. After this portion of the candlelight ceremony, Tessah Zimmerman and I went to the platform to read the names of the new inductees as
well as their biographies. We had 22 new inductees—16 girls and six guys. Ms. Wiedemann is always sure to note a trend in more girls being accepted than guys. After the inductee ceremony was over, we said the NHS pledge, then watched a slideshow presentation highlighting the events NHS has had this year. This service was a true success for the SVA National Honor Society.
What school event allows you to bring: toilet paper, car covers, school benches, straighteners, and old chips…
JUNK SCRAMBLE! This is one of the most popular and most loved school events. This event happened in the SVA gym, on Saturday evening, January 7, at 6:30 pm. Students were expected to bring the most random objects that they could find. Objects varied from a bitten Dorito chip to fire wood. There were no limits! This year’s Junk Scramble was orgainzed by Mr. Leeper and Mr. Short, and SA officers Naomi Coreas, Nathaniel Fairbank, and Erica Lopez.
The SVA gym was separated into four sections: the Freshman section, Sophomore section, Junior section, and Senior section. In the middle of the gym, Mr. Leeper stood beside a table where the objects would be placed. Beside the wall of
Junk Scramble
SALOME TEMBO
the gym, we saw Mr. Short with the list of items that would be listed, and Naomi keeping score of all the classes’ points. This Junk Scramble we were blessed with our own Junk Scramble mascot, Jonathan Pelote. Throughout the event he went to each class and collected a few of their items, which he then wore while riding around the gym on a scooter from the Junior class.
This Junk Scramble was so unpredictable because we did not know who was going to win. In the beginning of the event the Junior class was about 10 points ahead of all the other classes. Then the Sophomore class caught up and were in the lead. In the middle of the event the Seniors caught up with the Sophomores and left them behind. The Freshman class was behind, but they caught up to the Juniors and the Sophomores. Towards the
end of the event, the scores were not looking too good for the Junior class. The last thing to determine the winners was that each class had to sing the school song and the team that won got 10 points. The Seniors were in the lead at this point, but the Freshmen were only nine points behind them; if they won the singing contest, they would win the entire event, which they did for the first time in a long time! Their prize was a pizza party.
I really enjoyed this year’s Junk Scramble because everyone seemed so excited and the adrenaline was high, although I was a little sad because the Junior class lost by so many points. “ I loved this year’s Junk Scramble because of the mascot,” said one student. Overall the Junk Scramble was a success and most students had a lot of fun
The night of January 21, 2023, Jazz Night was in the air. The night began with Emily Frietas with a jazzy piano piece. Next, the Orchestra Jazz Band came up and performed a very jazzy number called “Low Rider.” Then came our first poem of the night, read by Ettienne Rodriguez (Tony). Tony wowed everyone listening and they were moved by his words. The next song was a lovely duet was sung by Zaida Galva and Raquel Gomez. Their very jumpy and lighthearted song called “Love to Keep Me Warm” truly warmed everyone’s hearts. After the duet, Nolynn Dahlberg came up and sang a truly passionate song
called “La Vie en Rose.” This song, in French, was accompanied by Ms. Wiedemann on the piano. After Nolynn’s song, we had our second poem of the night. Caleb Rivera presented his very thought-provoking poem called “The Crab Apple Tree.”
Soon after Caleb finished, Kika Auguste read an anonymous poem for everyone. Kika finished and then Tamar Hamilton sang a crowd and world favorite, “No Time To Die.” After Tamar finished her breath-taking piece, Nolynn read her poem. She, like Kika, read an anonymous poem that had everyone snapping. After
Jazz Night JOSEPH PELOTE
the moving poem, Ariana Anderson, accompanied by Ms. Wiedemann, sang “It Had to Be You.” Next, we had Faith Babcock, who in her Freshman year won talent show with her poetry, read a poem for us that was amazing. After that poem we had a quartet of voices featuring Raquel Gomez, Esther Rapley, Ariana Anderson, and Zaida Galva. They were accompanied by Ms. Wiedemann, Seth Job, and Jonathan Pelote. This quartet of voices blew the crowd away and received a standing ovation after they sang “Killing Me Softly.” Next, we had Avery and the Junior Guys, which included Joseph Pelote, Jonathan Pelote, Cody
Thomas, and Hansen Lee, singing a crowd favorite, “My Girl.” Avery took it away and the backup “dancers” really did a good job when it came to getting the crowd excited.
After a 15-minute intermission, we came back and Naomi Coreas welcomed everyone back and brought in the mood for Samantha Trigo. She played “LaLa Land,” which brought back a lot of memories for some people. Next, the Orchestra Jazz Band played “Detention Blues.” After their jazzy song, Alex Cuellar read a poem for us, which was powerful. After Alex, Cody Thomas and Hansen Lee sang “Fly Love,”
which was very good. After Cody and Hansen, Ms. Wiedemann, Juan Benavides, and Mr. Cedric came on and killed it on their fiddles, playing “The Boy is Blue.” After a moving poem by Esther, Aubrey Herbert sang a song called “Misty.”
After Aubrey, Emily returned to the piano and played “This Masquerade.” Then Lucas Ferraz read a poem called “An Umbrella Under the Rain.” This poem was phenomenal and he even brought an umbrella in for the poem. Michael White, a crowd favorite, played “Linus and Lucy,” which won the hearts of the people again.
After this, Kelsey Quintiana sang “I Wish You Love.”
Tony and Jose Roblero were up next, and they played “All Over Again.” Esther, Naomi, and Jonathan (on saxophone) played “Just The Two of Us,” and it was great. Tony got on the mic again and read some poetry. After that Zaida Galva sang the best song of the night called “At Last.” It was rumored that she sang it for someone. After Zaida’s wonderful song, the traditional song of Jazz night, “Feeling Good,” was sung. Ms. Wiedemann then closed the night and the after party started. It was filled with dancing, singing, and joy. The night ended as the cast headed out for the night.
This year’s Career Day, held on Sunday, January 29, had nine different options to choose from, and these options were diverse: a helicopter pilot, an anesthesiologist, a police officer, a body guard, a firefighter, a veterinarian, a facility manager, and a doctor. The anesthesiologist encouraged the class to have good grades and to not be too distracted during studying. He gave us a list of classes required to go to medical school. He said that medical school is expensive and that he used loans to pay for it. Starting pay is around $200,000-
$250,000 so it paid off fast.
Medical school is extremely stressful, but it was tolerable if one consistently did work and studied for tests. Entering in med school can be complicated since it is highly competitive. Students need to have good grades. Depending on the college, the required GPA can be from 3.4 to 3.9.
The veterinarian said she was also in debt after schooling. Since her field receives lower pay than a medical doctor, it took approximately eight years to pay off the debt. Being a veterinarian does not necessar-
Career Day
KEVIN GUZMAN
ily mean working with every animal; there are different fields involving different animals. Our presenter only worked with horses and was independent. She goes to various places and tests the horses on the client’s property.
The mechanical engineer talked about the experiences of an engineer; it is a very hands on career and requires creative thinking. He worked in a military base working on machines that helped the soldiers with diving. An engineer has many options to choose from; our presenter discussed four
types of engineers: mechanical, chemical, electrical, and civil. The job also helped him understand different views on objects used daily. He gave us an example on how to find the temperature of a candle.
The doctor told us we need straight As to be accepted to med school and that it is harder to get in now than it was 20 years ago. Being a doctor is stressful, often working 80 hours a week, but our presenter worked one week and then had a week off, which makes things easier. There are many types of viruses that can
cause problems, but the doctor explained how he identifies the problems, then sends them to a place where they need to go or prescribed them the necessary drug.
I attended four sessions, so I asked a few people what the other subjects were about. The police officer talked about mental health and he also brought his service dog. The bodyguard was a great choice for his occupation and he explained what he would do to protect his clients. He also said that he worked for famous people. The firefighter stated
there are two paramedics, an EMT and one that can prescribe any drug. The IT presenter explained that he does not need approval to hack into other people’s accounts. The benefit of career day is that these people who came in were willing to share their knowledge and prepare us for reality. This gave us a broad view of good career options and it might inspire us to go into similar fields
The spiritual revival that occurred on campus during the week of January 23 to 27 was one that I have never seen on campus before. It all began a couple weeks before when a few student leaders gathered together to plan what would be one of the best weeks I have ever had at SVA. The Friday that we arrived, we all gathered to eat dinner and followed it with vespers. We welcomed the Sabbath with a Bible study on Isaiah 58. We sang camp songs and had fun but also created a space where we could be vulnerable. As leaders, we needed to feel free to express our concerns and questions over the Bible and Christianity in order to know what would need to be addressed in the following Week of Prayer.
Student Led Week of Prayer and Spiritual Retreat
The next day, we split into groups to plan the different parts and roles that we would all play in the program during the week. I was in the speaker group. We studied a little on Jeremiah and the struggles he faced when God asked him to speak. Every part of the entire week was very special to me as I was not only encouraged by the staff but also by my fellow peers. I was able to go on walks and take the alone time to pray. There at the retreat, it was decided that I would be one of the speakers as the overall theme for the week was “A Better Way: Do you want to be made whole?” What I was asked to speak about was the same question that was asked on Friday night during the Bible study, what’s your yoke?
NAOMI COREAS
I had to think about the burdens in my life that were not allowing me to live freely and in peace with God. So as soon as we got back I began my research. I was asked to also speak about Mary Magdalene as she had many burdens to carry that we could learn from. In my research, I learned that the interesting thing about Mary is that, with one or two exceptions, she is at Jesus’ feet weeping when we see her. Everything I learned and shared was crucial as I spoke for the first night, Monday. It was important for us as a student body to identify our yokes and understand what was or is holding us back from having a better relationship with Christ.
The program for the week was
very attentive to the needs of every kind of learner. In the mornings we sang campfire songs and watched clips from The Chosen series to introduce the theme for the day, which was then followed by Raquel Gomez explaining the meaning in more depth. It would not have been a week of prayer had there not been as much prayer as possible, so that is what we did.
Throughout the course of the week, we prayed. We prayed over ourselves, over our friends, over our families, over our teachers and mentors, but most importantly over our school. We prayed that there would be a spiritual revival on our campus that would transform lives and fulfill God’s plan for us in our lives. We also prayed for the Holy
Spirit to rain down on us and in every space throughout campus.
Every single person who stood in front of the podium was used by God that week. It continued the trend that we for so long wanted to catch wind, Jesus is our friend and He is the best way. From Anaiah McCalla speaking on transformed lives to Marietta Nagy speaking on breakthrough in Christ, every person shared his or her testimony. On Thursday, Salome Tembo spoke on learning to surrender with Zaida Galva following on Friday asking us if we were willing to be made whole like the man at the pool of Bethesda. Jonathan Pelote ended the week off strong as he spoke for church Sabbath
morning. He did a recap on the whole week for the church and those who had not been with us during the week. He expressed the importance of trusting in God before the transformation in our life happens. Since Week of Prayer, I have been more engaged in spiritual activities on campus, as well as pursuing a deeper relationship with Christ. I have also seen revival and reformation within my friend group and the people around me, but I hope this is not just another one of our spiritual highs but instead a transformation that will last a lifetime.
Editor: Nya Walker
Mrs. Boyer White: Sponsor
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