“All You Have to Remember From AHOD, Mr.Steinkamp, Is That…”

Jun Lee

An outburst of applause and cheering. But only a handful recognize how this semester’s first All-Hands-On-Deck (AHOD) marked as a successful “Setting Sail” into the school year 2019-2020.

Without a knock of notice, our high school principal Mr. Brewster entered, advancing towards the podium with a casual demeanor. Having asked Mr. Ronzheimer for a few minutes of interception from the seniors’ Spiritual Disciplines class on Monday, Mr. Brewster addressed, “Seniors, you are now responsible for leading the school, for positively influencing the younger classes. So I request that all of you, during AHOD three days later, gather around the stage and cheer and clap as loud as you can so that the younger kids follow suit.”

As the saying goes, “time flies.” Three days became two days, two days became one hour, and one hour became zero minutes. The boat horn’s buzz trumpeted across the Deck, and our beloved host country’s anthem “Negaraku” rang across the soils, “where the people live, united and progressive.” All followed the usual, customary procedures until an unexpected burst of hoorays and claps roused the entirety of our high school into a fever pitch. Daniel Choi, junior class president, entered the stage to promote the Galley’s amazing bubble tea for RM5. The subsequent activity of “Guess the Teacher” inherited the heated applause and this school year’s first AHOD finished a huge success, receiving an energetic response from the audience.

Of course, Choi’s exemplary performance, Mr. Thompson’s veteran hosting skills, and Dalat’s overall cheery disposition might have contributed to the enthusiasm. Few, however, may have noticed the senior contribution; they circled the stage and whooped as loud as they could, setting an example of how “whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all” (Mark 10:43-44). Such an encouragement did the stage receive that Choi effervescently recounted, “I was so glad to serve. It was a great experience for my first public speech to receive such a positive hail.” Instead of demanding reverence of the younger classmen, the seniors became servants and slaves amongst our high school, lifting the efforts of junior class as their representative Choi made his grand debut on the Deck-stage.

Again Mr. Brewster entered and interrupted Mr.Ronzheimer for a commentary on how AHOD went. Tension grew along with anxious anticipation for Mr.Brewster’s remark. AEOB (All Eyes On Brewster) went on for a few seconds that felt like a lifetime until Mr. Brewster’s lips rose up: a grin!

“Thank you so much, seniors! Do you know what I said when Mr.Steinkamp asked why so much noise came out of AHOD? ‘You only have to remember that seniors rock!’”

Perhaps Mr.Brewster wanted to say, “Seniors set a rock, a milestone for true Christian leadership through service, by pushing themselves down and lifting the junior class as the stars of the day.”