March 25, 2011Volume 17, Issue 14

HLA Today

Hillcrest Lutheran Academy’s Bi-weekly News

Visit the HLA Website ffhillcrest.org

Short video highlights of

school activities are available.

HLA Today is produced

bi-weekly by the Journalism class.

HLA Today Staff

Annalise BoyumWil Twedt

Chris ChristensonFrankie Sandnes

If you are interested in having the

HLA Today mailed to your house,

contact the front office,

218-739-3371.The cost is $30

per year.

Rem ix , Review, ReshapeHillcrest students and faculty participate in Prayer Day 2011.By Chris Christenson

Last Friday Hillcrest students and faculty came together as a family to “reshape” their view of worship and prayer. The theme for Prayer Day 2011, [RE]Shape, was explored throughout the day in videos, devotionals and wor-ship.

The day started off with a video de-votional challenging students to rethink the way they approach prayer. Among other things, the speaker stressed the importance of leaving time in prayer for God to talk.

Following this the teachers returned letters to students that they had written

to themselves at the beginning of the year. The letters, which were a response to the first few days with AXIS, served as a testimony to how much many stu-dents had changed since the start of school.

Next on the schedule was a group prayer session. Students were broken up by grade and gender and spent close to an hour lifting up a variety of topics to the Lord.

Mr. Peterson led an introduction to worship through pottery following the prayer time. Using just his hands, a lump of clay and a potter’s wheel he drew

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countless analogies to God and human nature, “reshaping” the traditional view of worship.

Mr. Peterson’s presentation transitioned into a student-led worship time before lunch. Af-ter lunch everyone came back together for open-mic sharing, the last event of the day.

“I really enjoyed getting back our letters and reading what we wrote,” said junior Zach Ner-sten. “I also enjoyed listening to Mr. P with his pottery thing. It was kinda cool watching him do that.”

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minutes away and my competi-tion was in ten minutes. The judge actually granted me some more time, so I was able to go back and get it… but I never forget it anymore.”

For Chris it’s been a long journey from the boy misplac-ing his reed to the accomplished musician he is today. He started out at age seven taking piano lessons at his mother’s urging, sticking with it even though he

Se n i o r C h r i s

Ryu smiles and leans back in his plastic chair, managing to

look relaxed and comfortable in his collared shirt and sweater.

“It was the second or third competition [for clarinet] and I actually forgot my reed,” he reminisces. “I was freaking out because our house was thirty

Take a BowHillcrest bands come together for an all school band concert.

Wor sh ipBy Chris Christenson

Worship… what’s it all about anyway? Somebody opens with prayer, we stand and sing a few songs, somebody reads a verse, we sing a few more songs, we sit down and get on with our lives—what’s the purpose? Where is the meaning if our hearts aren’t in the right place?

I play worship a lot. Every week I’m on a team at one church or another and often I end up playing at school as well. It’s something I enjoy doing and I’m thankful to get to play but sometimes it’s too much. There comes a point when leading worship becomes a habit. Every now and again I’ll look back on a session and realize that it wasn’t very worshipful. Maybe our team was too focused on the sound, or maybe there was a distracting hum issuing from the speakers the whole time. It’s easy to go through the motions without your heart being in it.

I think God might be telling me to take a step back and start looking at worship from a new angle. A wise man once told me that worship isn’t just when you’re on stage singing and strumming a guitar, it’s your whole life. Colossians 3:17 says, “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” We are meant to be worshiping God in everything we do. Now that’s quite a task, impossible for us as fallen humans, but it’s something to strive for. It’s something to strive for.

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ScheduleMarch Friday, 25 Jr High visit Hillcrest day Old Gym Movie Night ............................................ 6:00 p.m.Saturday,25 KRIK(Christian sports club) ................................... 4:00 p.m.Tuesday,29 Student Council Meeting ..................................... 10:00 a.m. KRIK(Christian sports club) ................................... 4:00 a.m.Wednesday,30 Block ‘A’ ScheduleThursday,31 Jr High Spring Production .................................... 10:00 a.m. Jr High Spring Production ...................................... 7:00 p.m.AprilFriday,1 Spanish Field Trip to Flamenco Ballet ..... 6:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Jr High Spring Production .................................... 10:00 a.m. Dorm: Mission Impossible .................... 1:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. Jr High Spring Production ...................................... 7:00 p.m.Saturday,2 Pacesetters BB Tournament .................. 7:30 a.m. - 7:00 p.m. Dorm Minneapolis Shopping Trip ......... 8:00 a.m. - 10:00 p.m. KRIK(Christian sports club) ................................... 4:00 p.m.Sunday,3 HLA Talent Show ................................. 7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.Monday,4 Baseball Varsity .................................. 5:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. March Madness Party ......................... 6:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.Tuesday,5 Class Meetings ................................................... 10:00 a.m. KRIK(Christian sports club) ................................... 4:00 p.m. Softball Varsity .................................................... 5:00 p.m.Wednesday,6 Block ‘B’ Schedule

“didn’t really like it.” He later added clarinet to his

arsenal, placing quite well in early competitions in Canada (where his family lived during his middle-school years).

When he came to Hillcrest as a sophomore he impressed many with his talent, quickly becoming a valuable part of both Concert and Jazz band. He’s played under Mr. Doering each year he’s been here.

Monday, March 14 HLA parents and students went out to support those performing in the all school band con-cert. Mr. Doering conducted groups from elementary to high school in a night full of trumpet flares and cymbal crashes at Bethel Church.

Chris, like many, performed double duty that night, playing clarinet in Concert Band and piano in Jazz.

In what was one of the high-lights of the show, Chris per-formed the solo for “Carnival of Venice” on the clarinet. “I think it was the hardest solo I

continue from page 2 ever played in my Hillcrest ca-reer,” said Chris, “but I liked it. It was challenging but it was also fun.”

The night closed with mixed junior high-senior high band playing “Hollywood Milestones,” a compilation of famous movie tunes that got a smile from just about every-one in the audience.

For Chris and the other se-

“I think it was the hardest solo I ever played in my Hillcrest career,”

niors in band, the completion of this concert means there’s only one more left in their high school careers. For some it may be the last time they perform, for others this is just the beginning. “I’m not actu-ally going to major in music in college,” says Chris, “but I’ll definitely join like band or choir. I love music and it’s a big part of my life.”

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The Madness of This M archHillcrest students dressed up for a week of March

March 14-18 was designated as March Madness Week. Stu-dents were given a list of dress up ideas for each of the school days.

Monday was Superhero/Villain Day. Some students dressed up as superhero, some as villains, and some made up their own kind of superhero.

Tuesday was Formal Day. Some of the students went all out in their “JS” formal and suites. There were also some “rebels” who decided to come to school in sweatshirts and sweatpants.

Wednesday was Movie/TV Character Day. School was filled with all sorts of movie characters. The varieties went from Laura Wilder to the blue people on Ava-tar. “Character Day was the best,” said Trine Morken, “because I

got to see Pippi Longstocking!” Thursday was Green Day in

honor of Saint Patrick’s Day. A large percentage of the school had their green on in all sorts of different shades. Siqi Feng said, “Thursday was my favor-ite. Everyone was green! I came

Senior girls dress up for TV/Movie character day, except for Rhoda.

Taylor Brue dresses like a detective for movie character day.

Cat Jacoby and Mike Stilwell dress up as Princess Leia and Han Solo.

down for breakfast that morn-ing and the whole cafeteria was green!”

Friday was Jersey Day. Most of the guys, along with a lot of girls, went around the halls with their favorite team or player.

Andrea Christenson and Ahna Lacey dress up as Russell the boy scout and Kevin the Bird

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Morten Reksten and Chris Christenson at track practice.Jason Fox pumps his fist for March Madness

Andrew Twedt, Jake Jones and Mike Stilwell were many differ-ent shades of green for St. Patricks day.

Senior guys sport jersey’s on Friday’s dress-up day.

Annie Boyum takes a picture next to her Avatar friend Tayler Leach

Seniors Christina Hardie and Jake Jones dress up as characters from “Napoleon Dynamite!”

Jason Walkup turned 40 on Tuesday, Mar. 22. His mother brought him a present and a cake. If you forgot to get him a present don’t worry. He’ll still accept them.

March Madness

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Seeing People F rom a D if f eren t Ang l eJazz band and soloist do well at the jazz contest.By Wil Twedt

It was a good morning for us, I think. I mean almost every one of us came out with a superior rating. The Jazz band went to the ensemble and solo contest at MSUM up in Moorhead. It was an early morning but it turn out well. I expected the Jazz band to do well again since every other time we have gotten a superior rating, and that didn’t change this time either, still perfect I guess…

I only had one event this year, so I got to go around and listen to everyone else do their thing. I also got some time to do some homework, which was really nice. But the most fun part was see-ing the people. I mean when you see somebody that you play football against that you would’ve never guessed that played the flute well that changes how you think about them. In a good way (the flute is a joke, okay), it tells you that they’re not a rival, and that they aren’t gonna try and bring you down. They are just doing what everybody does and that’s just going to high school.

It reminded me that I’m the same. I play football and basketball; I’m in the band and jazz band, plus both choir and vocalize. I’m probably fit the stereotype more than they are. I think sports and other things sometimes put up a wall that says this person is only a football player, not an artist, or a musician. But in reality they are just as talented or more talented in so many different areas. That sports or competition is only one aspect of their lives…

In other words the more the merrier. So far a lot of musical acts have been put up but people can still sign up for the talent show that will be held in April 3rd in the old gym. The cost is only $5 to act, sing, dance, or whatever you may want to do while you’re on stage. And everyone is invited! The cost for admission is $3 for a fun night of laughing and fun. “I think it is a lot of fun to see people get up and do random things for the fun of everyone,” said junior Zach Nersten.

Talent Wanted!Talent Show PreviewBy Wil Twedt

The Talent Show is a mix of videos and real life acts that can include anything from bands to music videos to skits to whatever a person can possibly come up with. Many people sing or play an in-strument too. There is a limit to the amount of videos that can be shown. Please plan ahead and sign up soon.

The talent show is a fund raiser for next year’s trip to the Domini-can Republic. All of the money received though the show is going to help with the mission trip.

A ng e l a Hol me n2011 Fargo Star- Week 7

Angela Holmen entered the Fargo Star competition spon-sored by the Fargo Forum. You, the public, determine the winner. The contest has been going for several weeks. This is the week she is up for a vote.

She is singing 60 seconds of a Christian song “Temporary Home”.

Go to http://fargostar.areavoices.com listen and vote.

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Around 50 Hillcrest stu-dents participated in the 37th annual Tri-College Math-ematics Contest on Wednes-day, March 16. The students first did an individual’s work-sheet and then moved on to working as teams.

The individual winners for grades 11-12 were Tae-Gyu Park (1st), Seung Joon Chung (4th), Ju Young Kim (5th) and Siqi Feng (top ten).

The winners for grades 9-10 were Ji-Hyun Kim (2nd), Yu-jin Jang (top ten) and Jordan Konynenbelt (top ten).

The two Hillcrest teams for grades 11-12 placed first and second. For grades 9-10, a Hillcrest team also placed first among small schools.

This year over 200 teams were present, more than 1700 participants.

The Hillcrest teams had a variety of countries with Americans, Koreans and several Norwegians partici-pating, along with single stu-dents from Brazil, China and Japan.

This is the fourth year in a row that Hillcrest students have won first place for the small schools at the Senior High level.

L et’s Do the MathHillcrest students participated in a Math Competition.

Above: 9th and 10th grade, first place winners.

Above: 11th and 12th, second place winners.

Above: 11 and 12th, first place winners.

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Above: To Save A Life will be playing at the Fergus Falls Kennedy Secondary School on August 31, everyone is welcome.

Last fall three students from the area— Jordan Maahs, Rachel Olson and Annie Boyum—began organizing plans for a teen-led Bible Study. They started their study at Somethin’s Brewing, and after about four months of studying the book of James some students felt the group needed to do more. They needed to share what they were learning!

In the beginning of Janu-

ary, the group started meeting at Martinson’s for a more homey setting. Here is where they began to ponder ideas about what they could possibly do to make an impact on the schools around them. The idea came after some of the students began watching and studying the movie To Save A Life at the Bethel Church youth group.

Christina Hardie took this idea and put it all to action. Since then the group of around 15 has taken off and worked to-gether to get this all moving.

Cat Jacoby said, “It’s going to be awesome and I’m super pumped! It will be an opportu-nity to finally connect with the public school kids that we usu-ally don’t get to talk to.”

Now the group is finish-ing touches and beginning to get the news out

To Save A Life Movie N ightA student-led Bible Study has felt the Spirit leading them toward getting out the Gospel!

around town with posters and handouts. At the moment, from a Facebook event, they have around 60 people planning to at-tend. Their hope is to get as many as possible.

Rachel Olson said, “Right now what we really need to be doing is praying for the people planning to attend. Please pray that this event will be effective in sharing the gospel with students in our community.”

The movie night will be happening at the Kennedy High School Auditorium, on March 31 at 6:30pm. The event is free and there will be door prizes and snacks. Cat says you should come and invite a friend!

K no w l ed ge B o wl Takes T hi rd i n Sub - Regi o nsBy Frankie Sandnes

Last Tuesday, Mar. 15, the Hill-crest knowledge bowl team won third place at the sub region meet. This advanced them to the region meet on Tuesday, Mar. 22, at Life Church in Fergus Falls. They placed 2nd in the Regions meet.

They are now eligible for state on April 7 and 8 at Cragun’s. To top it off the team consists of only sophomores, Chris Bigelow, Chad Hermes, Jordan Konynen-belt, Jared Kugler, Jaron Olsoe.