TheCrest
Hilton Head Christian Academy’s Monthly Student-Led Publication
Volume 3 Issue 2
HHCA’s Big Fish: The Musical
December 2024
Eli Taylor Editor-in-Chief
The HHCA Fine Arts Department have outdone themselves with their amazing production of Big Fish this fall. The show Big Fish is about a strained relationship between a father, Edward (played by senior Nathan West) and a son, Will (played by sophomore Eli Taylor) Their relationship gets put under the microscope when the son realizes that his wife is pregnant and his father is diagnosed with a terminal llness. The play is a mix of huge theatrical numbers that occur as Edward tells fantastical stories of his past and small intimate scenes as the emotions of the real world are reflected. Another notable highlight of the show is the music. The show contains both large ensemble numbers such as “Be the Hero”, and
emotional solos such as “I Don’t Need a Roof” (sung by Edward’s wife, Sandra, who was expertly played by freshman Jetts Nelson). Overall, the show was a huge success with only raving reviews and no dry eyes in the house.
The show ran from December 5th-7th at 7 p m each night with an extra matinee show at 2 p m on the 7th Tickets were sold both online and at the door. For obvious reasons, credit has to be given to HHCA’s amazing theatre director, Mrs Michelle McElroyCox, who put her blood, sweat, and tears into this show Mrs McElroy-Cox came up with larger than life sets, intricate costumes, and, of course, put up with the cast offstage. Some more notable mentions go to the crew members from
our local community that helped make the show possible like John Dowbiggen, who programmed the lights, and James Brown, who helped craft our sound system and cues. Another special shoutout goes to our seniors here at HHCA that include: Audrey Atkins (who played the Witch), Caroline Thomas (who
played the mermaid), and Nathan West (who played the lead, Edward) These seniors put their heart and souls into this show and also helped be good leaders and examples to the other cast members. Thank you everyone who came to see the show and let’s continue supporting our HHCA Fine Arts Department Go Eagles!
HHCA upper school theatre class performs “Big Fish ” Photo taken by Mrs. McElroy and Mrs. West.
Emma Berry Staff Writer
The Miracle of Christmas
As the holiday season approaches, people around the world are getting ready to celebrate the miracle of Christmas. However, have you ever stopped to think about the true story behind the cherished holiday? It all begins in the Bible According to the book of Luke, the Christmas story begins with a young virgin named Mary, who lived in the small and lowly town of Nazareth. At the time, Mary was engaged to be married to a man named Joseph, who was a descendant of King David One night, the angel named Gabriel appeared to Mary and told her that she would bear a son, who would be the Son of God. Mary was (at first) frightened, shocked and amazed by
this news, but she trusted in God’s plan and accepted this monumentally significant and important challenge Meanwhile, her fiancé Joseph was also visited by an angel who told him that Mary’s child was, in fact, the Son of God. Joseph was instructed to name the child Jesus, which means “God saves” As the hour grew near for Mary to give birth to Jesus, she and Joseph traveled to the town of Bethlehem, also known as the City of David. However, when they arrived, they found out that there was no room in the local inn there So instead, Mary gave birth to Jesus in a humble manger, surrounded by barn animals The miraculous sight was celebrated by a group of shepherds who were previously visited by
a host of angels announcing the birth of Jesus.
The Christmas story is a powerful reminder of God’s love for us and of His faithfulness It’s a testament to God’s willingness to sacrifice for the sake of humanity. By sending Jesus to earth as a vulnerable infant, God demonstrated His love and commitment to redeeming humanity from sin It’s a story about trust, obedience, the wonderful miracle of new life, and is a powerful reminder of God’s love for humanity shown through Jesus’ birth, life, death, and resurrection. As we celebrate this 2024 holiday season, let’s not forget the profound love that underlies this special time of year
Save the Date: Testimony Chapel
Jackie Hayes
Editor In Chief
On Friday, January 17th, Mr Lucci is holding a “testimony chapel” in which students are invited to share the story of how they came to know Christ.
The special chapel will take place during standard chapel time and will be available for both the middle and upper school students to watch. If you are interested in sharing your testimony, please reach out to Mr.
Lucci today!
Madison’s Menu: Peppermint Meringues
Madison Moore Staff Writer
Difficulty: 4/10 : Beginner-Friendly
(Criteria based off of time, skills, money, and equipment required to bake)
Credits to: skinnytaste.com (for the recipe’s base)
Yields: 40-70 meringues (varying based on size preference)
Necessary Equipment:
A stand mixer (with a whisk attachment)
Pans covered with parchment paper or silicone pads
A piping bag (or a plastic bag)
A star piping tip
A cookie cooling rack (optional)
Ingredients:
- 3 large egg whites (if even a trace of yolk gets into these, they will not come out properly)
- ¾ of a cup of sugar
- ½ teaspoon of pure peppermint extract
- Red food coloring
Continued on page 3
Julia Reis Staff Writer
2024 Christmas Concert
On December 12, 2024, HHCA’s campus was filled with the sounds of holiday cheer! Students from numerous grades came together to display their God-given talents and leave the audience in awe The concert opened with a familiarly warm welcome by the Symphonic Band. First, they performed “Somewhere in My Memory”, a piece commonly associated with the film Home Alone Next, the Upper School Jazz Band performed Pentatonix’s version of “Carol of the Bells”. The Middle school Band kept the magic flowing with their performance of
“Winter Wonderland” by Felix Bernard. The Seventh and Eighth grade Jazz Band then played “Jingle Bell Rock”, adding an irresistible jazzy feel to the evening
Later in the night, the Middle school chorus beautifully sang their rendition of “The Shepherds Spiritual”, “The Virgin Mary Had a Baby Boy” and “The Jazz Waltz of The Sugar Plum Fairy” Then the Upper School Strings and Combined Strings performed “Acclimation”, “Star of Wonder”, and “Rock Rock Merrily on High”. Their heartfelt performance filled the room with the true spirit of the season!
Towards the end of the night, the Eagles Jazz Band performed “My
Favorite Things” and “Nica's Dream”. Then, “Night of Silence" was performed with combined Chorus and Strings All three are both expressive yet difficult arrangements that showcased the band's talent and creativity!
Then, to close out the night, the Eagles Jazz Band returned to the stage with ”Santa Claus is Coming to Town”, featuring Benny Capers, whose golden vocals added a festive touch to the iconic song
This year’s Christmas Concert was a joyous celebration of music, talent and holiday spirit! The dedication of the students and teachers was clear in every note played and every song sung
HHCA Community Showcases Talent at ISCA Spotlight
Luke Strebe Staff Writer
A night of pure remarkable talent. The weekend before homecoming, the Island School Council for the Arts hosted a special
event to showcase the talent in our community. Any student from grades 8-12 had the opportunity to submit a video of themselves performing in order to be considered for this open-mic night The result was stunning
Those in attendance were delighted by the performances of students from several different schools, all coming together to create an unforgettable night The night was filled with some familiar faces Senior
Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 175 degrees While the 1 oven preheats, line two or three baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. 2
Beat the egg whites and sugar in a stand mixer. 3.
Take the bowl of the stand mixer and set it over a pan of simmering water, and stir gently until your sugar is completely dissolved (usually takes two to three minutes) 4
Add your wet ingredients from the stand mixer into your large bowl of dry ingredients and mix well 5.
Add in your peppermint extract. 6.
Get a piping bag with a star tip (or cut a plastic bag and fit it with a star tip like I do) and paint (using a small paintbrush) 2 or 3 red stripes of red food coloring in the bag. 7.
Fill the piping bag with a cup (or so) of your meringue (you will repeat this process for excess, repainting your stripes when refilling) 8.
Continued on page 4
Emma Berry, sophomore Mallory Krimm, and former HHCA student Sean Cullen, together known as the In Crowd, opened the night together with a couple songs to start things off In
addition, Emma Berry performed an original song of her own while Mallory Krimm sang an extremely funny duet with Eli Taylor. Eli also performed a solo from a classic: Beauty and the . They were joined extraordinary rmance by Milla lli. Additionally, Strebe participated ging a song from : the Musical an West made an arance in his current inging a song from A’s upcoming show, ish. They of course oined by many s in the community. This event was a great way for talented kids from all around to come together and create a wonderful night This showcase was a great delight and a fantastic way to see so many skilled performers do what they love!
New HHCA Building Lays Firm Foundation for the New Year
Chris Nguyen Staff Writer
Construction of the new learning center at HHCA has been rapidly progressing and excitement on campus has been building The school year has finished off with the relative completion of the outside of the new high school building, highlighted by the attachment of a new HHCA crest facing the
senior parking lot.
Reactions on campus have largely been excitement for the new academic building and surprise at the pace with which the project has been going Regan Matthews, a Junior at HHCA, said regarding the new construction: “It is amazing to see how quickly the new building has been constructed. I’m really excited to see how next year goes and to
enjoy our new academic building.” From the laying of its foundation to the erection of its walls, the new HHCA building has left a prominent mark on our campus throughout the school year The creation of the building will mark one of the school’s largest expansions, further cementing its place in history. Although its completion date is not concrete, excitement is
9. Pipe small stars onto your baking sheets (¾ - 1 inch depending on size preference)
10 Bake the meringues until crisp, but not browned, for about 1 hour and 40 minutes. After this, turn the oven off and leave the meringues in the oven for 30 minutes
11 Let the meringues cool some before moving them onto a wire rack to finish cooling
12. Store in a sealed container to eat later. Enjoy!
Tips:
When adding your red food coloring, make your lines neat to give them a clean, festive look When putting together your piping bag, tie the top of the piping bag/plastic bag to prevent the filling from coming out of the top
buzzing for the opening of our new upper school building and it is exciting to see what the future of HHCA’s campus looks like
HHCA students perform at ISCA Spotlight Photo taken by Cynthia Cullen
Jetts Nelson Staff Writer
2024’s exhilarating basketball season will run through mid to late February Already, an exciting highlight has been our boys’ basketball team opening the season at home with a win, brought home by a largely new group of guys! Coach Brown, the boys’ basketball head coach, already has placed his prediction that, “ this team will grow into a tough and well disciplined group of players that fights for each other and knows how to compete together.”
Eagles Take the Court!
When asked, “Who do you believe has improved the most so far this season/ has the most potential?”, Coach Brown answered with, “When we treat ourselves as a unit, and not a group of individuals, we will have the opportunity to truly reach our ceiling of potential. Every player in our program knows it is their job to make the guys next to them better I want to give a shout out to our young guys who have stepped up earlier than most to play Varsity basketball. They are drinking through a fire hose to learn a lot of new concepts at a high speed
credited to hhca org and level, and doing their best to bring what they can to the table to help us ucceed as a team.” He is truly proud of this entire team, as they are not only
preparing and building towards the Region play in January, but they are coming together as a family with an unbreakable bond.
Operation Christmas Child: Spreading God’s Message to Those in Need
Sierra Moore Staff Writer
Operation Christmas Child is a great way to spread God’s message during the holiday season. The operation's purpose is to send a tangible sign of God’s love to children in need all around the world This project encourages new and old followers alike in the spirit of
kindness to help spread cheer by filling shoe boxes with gifts and/or necessities for these children. As Samaritan’s Purse states, “This whole process is made possible by caring individuals who pack shoeboxes full of quality gifts for children in need” (Samaritan's Purse)
Many locations (including Hilton Head
Christian Academy) now partner with local churches in order to create a good number of shoe boxes for all of these wonderful children. HHCA has already purchased many Operation Christmas Child boxes If supporting the spread of the good news and Christmas cheer is important to you, you are encouraged to pick up
a box in the lobby of the main building The process for completing a box is simple: Fill out a label as to what age the child receiving the gift is, observe the list of approved gifts, purchase one (or a few), place them into the box, and turn the box in to a local drop off point
Once the shoe boxes are on their way, packers
The HHCA Eagles were state champions in the 2023-2024 season Photo
of the boxes may be able to track their box as well to follow its journey
“Many of these shoebox packers also use our ‘Follow Your
Box’ feature to discover the country where their gift will be delivered”
(Samaritan's Purse).
MeetOurTeam
Jackie Hayes Editor-In-Chief
Eli Taylor Editor-In-Chief
Luke Williams Editor-In-Chief
Emma Berry Staff Writer
Bailey Block Staff Writer
Nyla Capers Staff Writer
Michael Higgins Staff Writer
Madison Moore Staff Writer
Sierra Moore Staff Writer
Jetts Nelson Staff Writer
Chris Nguyen Staff Writer
Nic Panzarella Staff Writer
Zac Panzarella Staff Writer
Julia Reis Staff Writer Staff Writer
Ivey Taylor Staff Writer
Brody Mayles Staff Writer