Monday 5 December 2016

Give As God Gave

Megan Chang

With each new week came a new discipline to learn; the week for the discipline of service had come and gone. From reading to second graders to cleaning the gym bathrooms to running chapel, the 12th grade Spiritual Disciplines class got to experience firsthand what it truly meant to serve others. For three days, students signed up for various tasks that teachers on campus needed assistance with.

“It was so fun reading to second graders. I was surprised to see how excited my kid was to learn about rocks,” said Kylie Toh (12). About half of the students in the senior Bible class headed over to the second grade classroom to read non-fiction books and play math games with them. They did the activities in pairs—one senior and one second grader. The one-on-one interaction allowed them to bond together and get to know each other better. Toh went on, “By the end of the day, she [Toh’s second grader] still recognized me.”

On the other hand, a few other students busied themselves with preparations for the chapel service. The chapel service incorporated some of the things the students did in another discipline, the discipline of worship. While helping Pastor Ronzheimer run chapel, the students also showed how they each glorified God in their own way. Benjamin Mauger, who shared a poem he wrote, said, “I absolutely loved the experience. It was a way to give back to God and use the qualities that God has given me. It also showed me what praise was.”

On the third day, the whole Bible class and Mrs. Allen helped clean the gym bathrooms. This proved a new experience for a lot of students as some of them had never cleaned a bathroom before. Instead of behaving reluctantly, the students went all out and scrubbed every nook and cranny until the whole bathroom smelled fresh of soap. Toh said, “I never thought I would clean the school bathrooms, especially not the boys’ gym bathroom. However, it was actually not as bad as it sounds.”

Other services included picking up trash, making graphic designs, stapling drama programs together for Mr. Sasse, and helping Mr. Edman out on Upper Field. The students did not expect recognition or a reward for their service. They served purely with an open heart and for the love of God. As Philippians 2:3-4 says, “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.” 

RLT: Wonderful Wonders

Kasey Rogers

The Tales of Wonders 2 was a play full of different Christmas stories. All of the actors had to play many different roles. The RLT players worked really hard to memorize the script, and then practice it to put on four performances, during December 1-3rd, at Penang Pac.   

They took a lot of time out of their lives to get everything ready beforehand. They had to get the timing right. They had to make sure the props were in the right places. Then there were the light cues; they had to make sure the lights were in the right places, at the right times. Then there was the music cues that had to play the correct songs at the perfect time, notifying the actors that they had to make their entrance or exit with the music. Also, while speaking about sound, they had to check if the mics were too loud or not loud enough. Could they be heard over the music?

This show continued to be challenging with costume changes. People were running around backstage trying to get into their places. Along with this, the actors experienced stage fright and worried about forgetting their lines, increasing the “anything can happen”—or “nothing can happen”—atmosphere. The hope was that, after hours upon hours of preparation, the whole thing would just flow into place with everyone putting 100% effort into it, and the performance working out beautifully.

And this was the final result.

Everyone played his or her part with passion, whether acting or working backstage or working the lights and the sound. I believe that the RLT group did great. Everyone in the group brought their own talent and uniqueness. Everyone had their own strengths and weakness, but they all came together to work and support each other.

As Mr. Sasse reflected, “This group was the most meaningful and dramatic group I have ever worked with.”

And after all their hard work, it must have been worth it to hear the audience clap and cheer for them. Overall, the RLT did a really good job on this play; they made us laugh, they brought out everyone's inner child, and they helped us remember what Christmas is really about and what we should be thankful for.

A Simple Thank You

Grace Lim

Giving thanks can be easy but how often do we give thanks? Thanksgiving is all about giving thanks to those who are often unnoticed. Who makes our lunches? Who keeps our classrooms clean? Who guards the gate when we aren't here at school? Aren't we thankful for all the things they do for us? Sadly, we often don’t take the time to thank those who work in our school. Therefore, in light of Thanksgiving, the Home Economics class decided to take the chance to serve the national kitchen staff members who work at our school.
Mimicking the original tradition of Thanksgiving, the Home Economics class cooked a whole turkey and mashed potatoes, baked three pies (pumpkin, pecan, and apple), and made a salad. It took them a whole day to cook all those things; they even started cooking the turkey the day before. Instead of using powders and taking shortcuts on the crust, they took the initiative to bake the pies from scratch.
Despite the long, extraneous day working in the kitchen, the Home Economics students were extremely thankful for having the opportunity to work as a team and also to serve others. Caitlin Goh (12) said, “It was tiring and challenging, but I really enjoyed how we worked as a team to serve others.
As expected, the workers were thrilled to see the efforts of the Home Economics class. Ke-Erh Huang (11) said, “They had a huge smile on their face, and that’s what made the whole day so meaningful.”