Date post: | 29-Jul-2016 |
Category: |
Documents |
Upload: | loma-linda-academy |
View: | 216 times |
Download: | 0 times |
Photos By:Danelle Taylor Johnston and Shawn Weerawardana
Table of ConTenTs And Jesus Grew... 4Watching For The Future “Review” 6Now You Know 7Day In The Life 8Mother’s Day D.I.Y. 10Student Feature: Adam Basical 11Meeting New People 12Divergent Far Superior to Predecessors 14Those Who Go The Distance 16Reality Check: Perspective 18In Fashion! 20
*Publisher*Robert Skoretz*Sponsor*Danelle Taylor Johnston*Staff**Editor-in-Chief*
Shawn Weerawardana*Reporters*Tahira AshleyJason FriasElijah HickmanVictoria IcoAdanna OkwanduDominique Townsend
What are four days of the week that start with the
letter “T”???Guess the right answer, submit it to our website
and win a prize!
Volume 81 Issue 5AprIl 2014 rorThe mIr 5
Loma Linda Academy has a reputation of changing its students towards a life closer to God.
And Jesus grew in wisdom and
stature, and in favor with
God and man (Luke 2:52). Jesus,
the Lord and Savior, the only one
who knows beginning from end,
grew in wisdom and stature. So
many times, as Christians, people
think that they are supposed to be
perfect. However, Christians can
fail. But the thing is that the Lord
meets them at their failures, and
guides them along. At Loma Linda
Academy the students can harness
the campus as one of these guides.
Upon entering high school as
a freshman at LLA, one can expect
to grow closer to God in a very
short period of time. Students have
this opportunity from the very
first day, and so many take this
and run with it for the next four
years that they are on the campus.
Everywhere students can experience
and feel the love and desire from
teachers and staff to help students to
experience this closeness with God.
“It’s definitely chapels every
Friday that highlight my week,
and make me feel closer to God.
When everybody is so involved in
ministry it’s hard not to get involved
in the spiritual hype,” Velerie Lopez
(11) said.
Whether it
be in Bible classes,
week of prayers,
vespers, and all
the other things
done at LLA,
students naturally
are brought
closer to God.
When students graduate it is hoped
that they leave the school, not
only with academic knowledge,
but also the knowledge of Christ.
For years it seems as though
Loma Linda Academy has been
successful at doing this.
“When I came into the high
school I told myself that I would
make a change for the better,
and very fortunately for me there
were things here to help me on
that journey to be closer to God.
And in time, I just became more
involved and just got a lot more
spiritual,” Julian Rengifo (10) said.
Whether students have this
mindset to change or not, LLA
seems to have such a positive
effect on its students, and in
the end it even changes them
for a better life in general.
Alyssa A. from Citrus Valley
High School, a Christian herself,
said, “It’s really sad how much I’ve
lost that connection with God in the
three years that I’ve been at Citrus. I
haven’t had a religion class in years,
and sadly I haven’t even prayed
collectively with a group of friends
in years either...I envy those that
can go to a school where they can
openly learn about God...I honestly
believe that if I went to a Christian
school, I’d be so much happier.”
Being at a school like LLA
is truly a blessing, that if taken
away might even take a toll.
“LLA gives you freedom of
religion in the way that you have
the opportunity to discuss religious
beliefs with one another. You can pray
openly, whereas in public schools
you can’t. I find that it is very hard
not to learn more, or get closer to
God when in every class the teachers
show us how God is involved in every
aspect of education.” Lopez (11)
Come graduation, students
undeniably can say that they have
grown closer to God. This happens
because the mission of Christ is
taught to students. Somehow this
creates a huge change in students.
Through the students of Loma
Linda Academy, those who do not
know God will experience Him
through these students themselves.
The school teaches students about
God, so consequently they can teach
others. Through these very students,
LLA hopes to show others who
God is, and what He can do. What
LLA hopes for is for its students to
create a heaven on earth. For the
most part it has succeeded in that.
by: shawn weerawardana
6 Volume 81 Issue 5 AprIl 2014rorThe mIr
The Samsung® Galaxy Gear: An innovation in communication and design.
Remember the cartoon The Jetsons where people could
watch television shows on
their watches? How about the Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers, where the
main characters could communicate
just by talking into their wrists?
Well, Samsung® has brought those
dreams into reality with the Samsung®
Galaxy Gear, a smart watch with
some seriously cool tricks. With its
sleek, unobtrusive
design, its
responsive touch
screen and stylish
stainless steel
frame, the Galaxy
Gear, according
Samsung®’s
website,
“Changes the
way we stay connected.”
The watch is essentially
an extension of the Galaxy S
smartphone, the two devices being
seamlessly linked together. This
makes it so that you have many
of the features of your phone
conveniently on your wrist.
With the Galaxy Gear, you
can now make and receive calls
without needing to take your phone
out. This could make unnoticed
missed calls a thing of the past.
Some of the
different features
of the Galaxy Gear
are Bluetooth®
connectivity,
4GB of internal
memory,
accelerometer with
gyro-stabilizer,
a 41.4mm
display screen with 320x320
resolution, and of course, the
ability to become a watch.
Another very interesting feature
is its 1.9 megapixel camera located
on the strap. The camera shoots in
720p at 30fps and can play video in
MP4, and also has 2 microphones.
So far, the Galaxy Gear has
gotten some good reviews with
many people praising its design, and
innovation. The main gripe, however
is that there is no way to access social
networks, something that people
really wished would happen. Another
drawback is that its compatibility
with other devices is limited.
The Samsung® Galaxy Gear
is an incredible innovation with
lots of potential. It and similar
devices will most likely take the
world by storm. The Galaxy Gear
is truly the next big step in how
we communicate with others.
“waTChing”for The fuTure
by: Jason friasPhoTos CourTesy of samsung.Com
Volume 81 Issue 5AprIl 2014 rorThe mIr 7
now you Know
Correction!In the last issue of The Mirror,
in the article “A Week of Prayer A
Week of Revival,” we published
that Week Of Prayer was run by the
Student Association! Although SA
does an amazing job, they didn’t
run Week Of Prayer, Campus
Ministries was and always has
been in charge of week of prayer. SORRY!
On March 13, 2014 Sergio
Uribe and Elva Vega took their
Spanish classes to Balboa Park
in San Diego. The students were
gone all day. They went to the
Centro cultural de la Raza in
San Diego old town. To look
at their adventure go to North
Hall and look on the board
next to Vega’s classroom.
In the last issue of
The Mirror there was
another scavenger
hunt. The winners
were...
Charles Clayton
Josef Wright
Thomas Rouser
...they each won gift
cards to Chipotle.
The tea club has been meeting every
Wednesday for treats and tea. They also
make special trips to teachers.
Danielle Hamilton(12)
recently won first
place in the Redlands
Classic Bike Race for
her age group with
barely any training at all!
8 Volume 81 Issue 5 AprIl 2014rorThe mIr
Spending more than eight hours with several different classes of teenagers is not usually what comes to mind when thinking about a typical dream job.
However, this is a typical day
in the life of Loma Linda Academy
(LLA) math and physics teacher
Heidi Elssmann. Getting to school
around 7:35 AM for faculty worship
is the only
chance
she has to
interact
with
adults.
“From
then on,” she said, “I see
nothing but kids.”
The morning periods are
occupied by her physics classes, which
have lots of fun experiments and
toys to interact with. “It’s always fun
to play with the
physics toys after
we make them,”
Elssmann said.
Between her
morning classes
and lunch time
she has one period
dedicated to
preparation for her
afternoon classes,
which are all
Algebra I classes.
She also takes
advantage of this
time to eat lunch,
because she gets
very busy as soon
as lunch time starts. “I always have
kids in here taking tests or studying,”
she explained. “So, I try to eat lunch
before then.”
Even when
after-school
time is thought
to begin,
Elssmann is
still working on
school related things. Sometimes it
is with labs for her physics classes,
and at other times it is with projects
in the LLA Robotics Club. Overall,
her day does not truly end until
about 5 PM when she goes home.
Sounds pretty stressful, right? This
kind of a schedule is enough to
give anybody a cross attitude and
aching head, but Elssmann actually
enjoys it. Since her own children no
longer live with her, she said that it
makes her “happy to have so many
teenagers [around] everyday.”
Surprisingly, Elssmann had not
originally intended to be a teacher.
“It was a providential thing. I really
believe that God led me to work as
a teacher,” she remarked. Having
gone to school for engineering
and pursued that career, Elssmann
had only taken up teaching as a
part-time job. She grew to like it
TeaCher feaTure: mrs. elssmann
“I really believe that God led
me to work as a teacher.”
Volume 81 Issue 5AprIl 2014 rorThe mIr 9
more and ended up sending in a
teaching application to LLA.
Somehow the application made
its way to Mesa Grande Academy,
who then offered Elssmann a part-
time job. Accepting the job offer
resulted in her service there for
three years. After that, it was the
late Gordan Day, the junior high
principal at that time, who worked
it out for her to come and teach at
the LLA junior high full time.
That lasted for three years before
she quit so that she could take a break
from teaching for a while. Elssmann
was called back to LLA in order
to be a substitute teacher for Dave
Burishkin in 2009 when he became
ill with cancer. He had hand-picked
her to take over for him. She started
teaching at the high school full-
time after he passed away in 2011.
In all the time that Elssmann has
been a teacher, she said
that the most satisfying
feeling has not been when
the whole class does well
on a generally difficult
test or when everybody
in class behaves, but
“when a student has
the ‘Aha!’ moment.”
The ‘Aha!’ moment,
as defined by Elssmann, is that
moment when a student finally
understands something that they
have been struggling with. It
apparently happens quite often,
which makes her happy. “I love it
when it happens. What really helps
them have that moment is when they
do things themselves,” she said.
“Mrs. Elssmann is one of
the teachers I relate to the most
because she’s so young at heart,”
said Joshua Sihotang (12). Even
though they can drive her crazy,
Elssmann loves to spend time
around the students and she enjoys
getting to teach them. “They
bring me so much joy,” she said.
Kevin Dockham (11), Christian Lott (12), Jonathan Thomas (12), and Heidi Elssmann
by: adanna oKwanduPhotos by: Matt Kim & Victoria Ico
10 Volume 81 Issue 5 AprIl 2014rorThe mIr
moTher’s day diyMaterials:
• construction paper
(two colors)
• scissors
• lollipops (min. 4)
• scented wax beads
• drinking straws
• small vase
Step 1: Fill the vase with
the beads. Be sure to
pack them down so that
they are really tight.
Step 2: Cut out six hearts for
each lollipop. Those will serve
as the petals of the flower.
Lollipop Flowers
Step 3: Using the scissors,
make a small hole in the base
of each heart. Run the stem
of a lollipop through the hole
to make sure that it fits.
Step 4: Slide the hearts onto
the lollipop, one at a time, and
arrange them like the petals of a
flower. Then cut the straw just a
half-inch longer than the stem
of the lollipop, and slide it on.
Step 5: Push the lollipop
into the vase, and pack
down the beads around it.
Step 6: Repeat steps 3 through
5 until the vase is full.
by adanna oKwanduPhotos By: Shawn Weerawardana
Volume 81 Issue 5AprIl 2014 rorThe mIr 11
sTudenT feaTure: adam basiCal
In indescribable heat, competitors dropping like flies, one man emerges victorious. His name? Basical—Adam, Basical.
Adam Basical (10), a student at Loma Linda Academy (LLA), finished his first full-length marathon on March 9, 2014. Coming in at a time of “five hours and thirty-something minutes,” he said, Basical ended the 26.2 mile race just steps before his father in the famous L.A. Marathon.
The Los Angeles Marathon is one of the biggest and most prestigious races in the United States, boasts the marathon’s official site, with upwards of 20,000 contestants that participate each year. This year, it began at 7:25 A.M. (for the full field, or regular, marathon competition) at Dodger Stadium, running through tourist sights such as: the Hollywood Walk of Fame and Beverly Hills, and ended at the Santa Monica Pier.
The marathon itself was in March, but the training began long before that Sunday morning loomed on the horizon. “I started training six months before,” Basical said, describing his routine. “I ran twice a week at 5:30 in the morning, with a long run on the weekends,” he said calmly. That would be a lot of running for anyone, but it didn’t seem to faze him. He said, “I run four minutes and walk one minute.”
The race has become a huge event not only for the competitors and their families and supporters, but also for
the community. Often, locals and many others, line the road to cheer on the runners, holding up signs to inspire the tired athletes to keep pushing themselves. If a competitor’s name is easily visible, supporters on the side of the road can be expected to chant and cheer him/her on.
Those who take time out of their
schedules to become official race volunteers, organize and support water stops along the route, often passing out snacks to the exhausted athletes. Some of the race course takes the competitors through residential neighborhoods, so sometimes the homeowners also pass out bottled water or food as the runners go by.
The race on March 9th was a particularly difficult one for many competitors because of the extreme heat. Basical became animated at this point during the interview, saying, “It was so hot! Sometimes I didn’t even drink the water at the stops, I just poured it over my head to cool down.”
Local weather stations announced a record high temperature that day at 85 degrees (according to the L.A. Times). Also according to the L.A. Times, race officials noticed quite a few more people in need of assistance during this race, as compared to previous years.
But more than staying hydrated (though very important) or knowing a safe pace to run at, a serious racer knows that the proper equipment is key. Special running shoes, and a pouch with protein bars, GUs (a popular energy gel), or cookies in Basical’s case, and electrolytes are the basic elements that each and every runner carries with him or her on a marathon run.
Instead of running with an organized group, such as the Loma Linda Lopers, Basical said he runs with his family. “My dad and brothers run,” he said. In fact, Basical said he ran almost the whole race with his father, only breaking away near the finish line.
This final push to the end was his favorite part, he explained, “Near the finish, people start chanting your name.”
Can’t you hear it now? “Bas-i-cal, Bas-i-cal!” And the crowd goes wild!
by: dominique Townsend
12 Volume 81 Issue 5 AprIl 2014rorThe mIr
meeTing new PeoPle
Tip #1: Get out there. How are you going to find new
friends if you are not trying to look for them? This is often
more difficult for the shy, self-conscious type of people
than those who are outgoing and bold. “Most kids who
are afraid to talk to new people just need to step out of
their comfort zone,” said Lynne Hattendorf, the Loma
Linda Academy (LLA) high school guidance counselor
and testing coordinator. “Don’t worry about being nervous
because the other people are probably nervous too.”
Grace Hutagaol (12) was very introverted when she
first came to Loma Linda Academy (LLA). “The people
came up to me first,” Hutagaol said. “That made me more
comfortable.” Even though that may happen occasionally
to some people, waiting for others to approach you does
not always work. Seeing that you are willing to befriend
others will encourage them to make an effort as well.
Tip #2: Make conversation. Talking with people is a
good way to get to know them. It also provides ample
opportunities for you to look for common interests, which
are great for beginning friendships. If you are not sure
about how to start the conversation, you can begin with a
compliment or question about school related things. If you
have joined a school sports team, you can absolutely take
advantage of that by using it as a conversation starter.
“Talking about [recent] events is a great way to start a
conversation,” said Hattendorf, “or you could try [mentioning]
sports or something. There are tons of things to talk about.”
The only thing you definitely do not want to talk about
is yourself. Try not to ask questions or make comments
that only center around you and your own abilities. It
makes you appear self-absorbed to others, and how other
people see you is an important part of making friends.
Meeting new people and making new friends is not the easiest thing to do.
It is not easy to be the new kid in school or the one trying to make new friends in a new environment.
However, being the kid who watches the new kids come into their familiar territory is pretty hard too.
People often have a hard time making new friends because they don’t know how to go about doing so.
Unfortunately, there is no official guide book on how to befriend someone, but here are some tips that can
definitely help you take a step in the right direction. Besides, it is never too late to make friends.
Volume 81 Issue 5AprIl 2014 rorThe mIr 13
Tip #4: Be friendly and
approachable. Smile at people
when they look at you instead of
only staring back, and laugh when
you hear a funny joke. Interacting
with other people will show them
that you are a sociable person,
willing to make friends. However,
there should be a definite line
between friendly and strange.
“Don’t be too creepy. You
don’t want to scare your soon-to-
be friends away,” said Janna Que-
Albano (9), a new student to LLA
this year. This piece of advice comes
from a personal experience that
she had when someone had tried
to befriend her when the school
year began. She had been a bit
weirded-out by the other person’s
sudden approach and was unsure
of what to do. It took some time
for her to become comfortable with
them, but Que-Albano eventually
understood why they had acted so
and now they are good friends.
Tip #5: Be yourself. There are
many qualities that people look for
in people whom they might befriend,
and one of the most important
ones is honesty. Being honest about
who you are and what you like not
only shows other people that great
characteristic, but also gives them
the chance to get to know you.
“Everyone should know this: be
yourself,” Emily Mejia (11) said. “If
you’re not yourself [with them] the
first time, what’s the point of being
yourself the second, third, or fourth
time with them?” Changing yourself
to fit the description of “cool”
according to other people is not
something that you should ever think
is okay to do. People should accept
you for who you are. Stay true to
your own original personality so that
people will like you for who you are.
Tip #3: Be careful. Make sure
your friends will be friends with
you because they truly enjoy your
company, not just because of the
things you might have or do.
You want to be able to recognize
why a person wants to befriend
you, and it should be for the
genuine want of friendship.
However, you should have good
reasons for making friends with
other people as well. Hattendorf
recommends that you figure out “why
you want to become friends [with
certain people] before you approach
them,” because you should treat them
the way you want to be treated. If you
are not going to treat them with the
same respect for their feelings that
you are expecting from them, maybe
they are not the best choice of friends
that you could decide on. There are
many other people to chose from.
by: adanna oKwanduPhoto illustration by: Elijah Hickman
14 Volume 81 Issue 5 AprIl 2014rorThe mIr
WARNING: “DIVERGENT” SPOILERS AHEAD.
Well, Lionsgate and Summit Entertainment have done it again, another young adult series crashes the big screen this season.
Following in the massive footprints of blockbuster hits such as “The Hunger Games” (2012) and the “Twilight” franchise (2010-2013), “Divergent” is the latest dystopian film based off of a best-selling novel to make
its way onto the big screen.This series follows the journey
of one young woman who refuses to be categorized in America’s futuristic society. A society where individuals are separated based on a specific set of characteristics, and “faction [comes] before blood,” as is first stated by faction (a group based on a set of characteristics they live by) leader Marcus Eaton (played by Ray Stevenson).
Directed by Neil Burger and adapted from the book published by Veronica Roth (2011), the film pursues the heroine in her struggle to survive being different in a society where abnormality is feared and quickly wiped out. The heroine,
16 year-old Tris Prior (played by Shailene Woodley), discovers a conspiracy in the government that
threatens her very existence as a “divergent,” a person who cannot be contained by any
single characteristic or placed into any one “faction,” and therefore poses a threat to the corrupt leaders of the society.
Under pressure and in danger of being found and killed for her ability to resist the influence of the mind-altering drug called only “the serum,” Tris and her new-found love interest Four (played by Theo James) must decipher the reasoning behind the conspiracy and find out how to protect themselves, before the unthinkable happens.
Playing at two hours and twenty minutes long, my first thought was that the film had better hold up to my expectations. However, when the opening scene began with a realistically abandoned Navy ship resting just outside the most wicked-looking gated wall I’d ever
moVie reView: “diVergenT”farsuPerior To PredeCessors
“Playing at two hours and twenty minutes long, my first thought was that the film had better hold up to my
expectations.”
Retrieved from Lionsgate Website
Volume 81 Issue 5AprIl 2014 rorThe mIr 15
seen, I was pleasantly surprised at the digital art depicted in the film. The fact that the setting was realistically an adaptation of a post-apocalyptic Chicago made the film seem far more plausible than its predecessors.
With that said, I did feel as though sometimes the film left
out details that would have smoothed the plotline out, creating a peculiar feeling of the movie being
unnecessarily extended, and yet emotionally truncated, as if the characters weren’t fully developed.
But at other times, details seemed unlikely or impossible, as if added only to allow pieces to be cut out of the film.
However, I applaud the casting choices for this film, for once a bit of divergence (excuse the
pun) from the novel’s description of a character was welcome.
Playing the main characters
Tris and Four, actors Shailene (of “Secret Life of an American Teenager”) and Theo (a better known British television star) gave an enthralling and nearly flawless performance. Their facial expressions portrayed the emotions and chemistry that their lines lacked, particularly in the scenes involving the fear simulations.
The biggest complaint I have might be that the only real difference I gathered from the film
between the “divergent” Tris and the rest of the people in her faction, was her overwhelming determination to survive. She may have been able to resist the hallucination-inducing (for the fear landscape) serum’s influence, but this ability is not explained in the film, other than an offhand comment made by Tris’ mother, who says, “Divergent. Your mind works in a million different ways. They can’t control you.”
Despite the screenwriting discrepancies, I thoroughly enjoyed this film. In fact, I went back to see it in theatres a second time. I would recommend this film for fans of both the series and dystopian storylines. Unlike “The Hunger Games,” you don’t need to have read the books to understand the story, and the acting was on point. I’d say “Divergent” is the best film of the season. A-.
“Divergent. Your mind works in a million
different ways. They can’t control you.”
Retrieved from Divergent Official Facebook
Faction Symbols: Retrieved from Divergent Official Facebook
by: dominique Townsend
16 Volume 81 Issue 5 AprIl 2014rorThe mIr
Those who go The disTanCe
Such an effort, for such a long distance.
If getting up at 7:00 A.M. was
hard enough for most local residents,
imagine the time that some students
have to get up because they live
anywhere from 15 to 50 miles
away. That is just one of the many
complications that about 36.2%
of the student body have because
they live far away (outside of Loma
Linda, Redlands, San Bernardino,
and Grand Terrace) from the school.
Many of the students that attend
Loma Linda Academy (LLA) come
from cities such as Pomona, Riverside
and Highland, and have to travel
at least 30 minutes to school every
morning and home every evening.
It takes a lot out of these students.
They have to wake up much earlier,
sacrifice homework time for travel,
and sometimes lose sleep because of
struggling to get homework done.
This distance issue is a problem
that is unique to private schools
such as Loma Linda Academy.
Most students in the United States
attend a public school, which has
a limit of being within 15 miles of
the school. The area limit is given
because public schools also provide
bus transportation to these students,
which LLA obviously does not.
When asked about how time
and traffic factors into his 12-40
minute morning commute from
Highland to Loma Linda, Darryl
Magno (12) said, “The earlier I get
up and leave, the less traffic I have
to drive through.” Traffic plays a big
role in what makes these students’
commutes so complicated. Travel
times can range from 30 minutes
to almost an hour and the times
only get longer as traffic thickens.
Another complication that
some students suffer because of the
distance is the strain on activities.
Usually, students end up tired
and sleep deprived because they
end up working into very late
hours. Others also find that the
distance can complicate attendance
to sport practices and games.
Academically, some students,
like Elissa Giang (10) who travels
25-45 minutes from Yucaipa, find
it hard to be able to get homework
done in a timely manner. “I get
home really late, so I have less
time to do homework before I
have to sleep,” Giang said.
Distance also affects the social
aspect of students lives as they find
it harder to spend time with friends
or even to stay in close contact with
friends at all. Even school social
event are a hassle. Marshay Horne
(11), who travels 23 miles from
Upland, finds it hard to attend
school events because the start times
are late for her and if she were to
attend, she would end up coming
Volume 81 Issue 5AprIl 2014 rorThe mIr 17
home at a very late time. With the
distance comes some sacrifices.
For the students who live far
away, complications are something
to be expected, but those who live
far away also see some benefits to
their distance from school. Scotty
Weber (11), a resident of Pomona, 35
minutes away, finds that “living far
from school is like being in a separate
world,” and that it is enjoyable to
not see certain people all the time
or be within “the school area.”
With all of these issues that
come with living far away one
might question “Why come to
Loma Linda Academy at all?”
For the Shenouda sisters, Marina
(11) and Alex (9), their parents chose
this school as “Being one of the best
private schools for education,” says
Alex Shenouda (9). The reputation
of LLA as a high-education level,
private, Christian school appears
to be the number one reason why
so many students are willing to
tolerate the distance and attend this
school. The second highest reason
for attendance is that it is within the
parents work in the area, so it is not
a hassle to bring their kids to LLA.
Not only do parents love
LLA, but the students as well.
Horne said, “I like it here. People
are very nice and the school has
a good learning environment.”
Traveling from 30 minutes to
an hour every day just for school
seems like a crazy idea. However,
students still enjoy coming to LLA
despite the sacrifices they make.
by: ViCToria iCoPhotos By: Elijah Hickman
18 Volume 81 Issue 5 AprIl 2014rorThe mIr
“We’re going to ask you, “How do you view God?...Because that’s perspective,”Jason Frias (12), codirector with
Thomas Rauser, said during
the introduction to “Reality
Check: Perspective” program.
Since their start in the fall of
2006, this was their second full
length presentation. Their first was
in the spring of 2010, which was
a play of the
entire Gospel of
Mark, word for
word.
The first
meeting about
the idea of
a full length
production for
Perspective,
was last year
in September. They team started
writing the skits and poems in
November, and a few of the skits
were revamped renditions of skits
that Reality Check performed a
few years ago. After months of hard
work, long rehearsals, and lack of
sleep, the night had come.
The Perspective performance
was on March 14 at 7:00 PM. The
first skit was called “The Lucifer
Dilemma.” Marc Caballero (12)
played the role of God in this skit
and Aaron Ebuenga (12) played
Lucifer. The scene, set in Heaven,
started off with Lucifer talking
to himself. It moved on to a one-
sided conversation between the
audience and Lucifer. Then God
came into the scene and He and
Lucifer begin their conversation.
Lucifer: “I'm Lucifer I
can understand anything!”
God:
“Except how
deep my love is
for my creation."
One of
Reality Check’s
original skits
that many
people liked was
"The Lazarus
Alternative."
It was a skit that entertained the
idea of Lazarus deciding not to
come out of the tomb when Jesus
raised him from the dead. What
if Lazarus struggled with trusting
Jesus and had questions about God's
plans, like so many of us do.
The possible crowd favorite
of the night was the touching yet
comical "Little Billy." It was their
fifth skit in their line up, and it
was about a little boy named Billy
(Aaron Ebuenga, 12). He was five
years old and in kindergarten at
a Christian school who loved his
teacher, Teacher Lily. One day he
had a substitute, Mr. Carter (Marc
Caballero,12), who was the teacher’s
husband. Billy gave him a hard time.
Regardless of what the
substitute tried to do to make Billy
happy nothing worked. He even
suggested singing some Sunday
school songs, like “My God Is So
Big,” but nothing was working.
Later on in the skit Mr. Carter
revealed that Teacher Lilly had cancer
and that is why she hadn’t been
feeling well. He explained that the
Sunday school song was a favorite
of his wife, and it gave them hope.
The skit was the perfect mix of a
touching message and humor. There’s
no way to know about every problem
that everyone may be facing. They
don’t need to be judged, they need
kindness, and to be reminded that
they always have hope in Christ.
As well as the program went it
success was not just a coincidence
it came after many nights of the
Reality Check team staying at school
whaT do you see?
Volume 81 Issue 5AprIl 2014 rorThe mIr 19
for up to six hours rehearsing the
skits. The actors sacrificed time and
effort is displayed for everyone to
see when they perform well. What
many may not realize is that the time
and effort put in by the Tech people
and everyone behind the scenes is
revealed as well. Jonathan Thomas
(12) worked with the tech behind
the scenes. “Coordination between
tech aspects like the lights, spotlights,
mics, and behind the scenes people
was the most difficult part.” Tech also
started planning months in advance
for this night, even with help it still
took four days just to set up the stage.
Jason Calvert, campus chaplain, said
the Reality Check team he is “proud
of the directors and cast, for hard
work, creativity and dedication.”
The hard work was worth
it. Students that went to the
performance were impacted greatly
and in many different ways by
the skits. Moriah Perkins(10) was
impressed with the writing and
the execution of the skits. “What
really impressed me was how each
skit represented how our faith
influences our outlook on life.
Our perspective,” Perkins said. The
people in Reality Check hoped
that everyone in attendance walked
away with the theme of the skits. “I
hope that they experienced God’s
love and grace in a deeper and
more intimate way,” Calvert siad.
Ana Ceballos (12) said “I really
hoped that it changed something
for them. Even if it’s a small thing.”
Tania Magallanes (11) said,
“I hope that we actors were so
convincing that the message was
conveyed. I hope they changed
their perspective of themselves,
and that they’ll remember the
plays and allow it to actually
change them. For many of the
students in attendance the program
made an impression on them.
Emiley Mejia (11) said,
“Refreshed view of the stuff
that I already knew. Like a
different perspective on the
basics that I already knew.”
The Reality Check team may
never know the full extent of the
impact that their performances
had on many that attended that
night. It changed many peoples
view that they had of others,
themselves, and God. In the
end that was the goal, to change
your perspective for the better.
by: Tahira ashley