Education

Story by Heidi Wetmore

When the coronavirus pandemic began last March, students from Spencerville Adventist Academy (SAA) moved to an online educational experience. Wanting to help kids who were struggling to adjust to online learning and to grasp concepts virtually, Abby Shim (’21) began tutoring them, free of charge.

“For the most part, it went well,” says Shim, “but I decided to take it a step further and make a website so that my students could upload their worksheets prior to their session and to make it easier for parents to communicate with me.” Shim’s website, powertothepupil.org, enabled her to meet the needs of those she tutored in a more helpful way.

Story by Esther Hernandez

“At Blue Mountain Academy (BMA), we believe that true education focuses on academics, along with social, physical and spiritual development of our students,”
states Burney Culpepper, principal. “This year’s FOCUS (Focus On Christ’s Ultimate Sacrifice) week impacted our staff and students in a powerful way, causing them to grow in their relationship with Christ and strengthen their understanding and desire for the Word of God.”

“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want” (Ps. 23:1, KJV).

My favorite verse in the Bible is Psalm 23:1. I know I am safe if God is my Shepherd. I will always have what I need. Many times, however, when I experience trials, I easily forget this promise and start to distrust and despair. I need to trust God when difficult times occur, and rely on this promise to keep my heart calm.

God saved my life when I was baby. As a premature infant, I weighed only three pounds at birth. The doctors didn’t expect me to live. They also thought that, if I did live, I would only have half of my heart and be unable to walk. But God saved me and sustained my life. If it weren’t for the Lord, I wouldn’t be here today—totally healthy and strong.

“Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labor” (Eccl. 4:9, NKJV).

This verse is one of my favorites because it encourages teamwork. I like working in groups and working with my friends on projects because it’s fun! We learn so much from each other.

Have you ever done a group project and the other person won’t work with you? How does that make you feel? It probably makes you feel sad because you’re the only one working. My teacher assigned a group project in school, and I was excited to work on the project, but my teammate didn’t want to do much of the work. I tried to talk to him and encourage him to work with me on the project so that we could finish it and it would not be a lot of work for both of us.

Story by Shenandoah Valley Academy (SVA) Students