Story by Tracey Jackson
School started with high hopes and bubbling excitement as students and staff reunited on the campus that has become a second home to so many. It soon became apparent, however, that the anticipated dip in morale would be monumental.
With the stress of a steadily raging pandemic and continued political discourse in the country, the students’ and staff focus was continuously tried.
Story by Vicki Swetnam
This year, Spring Valley Academy (SVA) introduced a new high school course exploring the world of entrepreneurship. Students learned how to hire, fire, sell, explore the market, read financial statements, create a business plan, give an elevator pitch and ask for funding. The capstone project was a Shark Tank contest in which each student presented their own business plan to a group of local business leaders requesting an “investment” in their company. The students delivered and staged their presentations using props such as cupcakes, prepared meals, lawn mowers, clothing and other items.
Story by Jenevieve Lettsome & V. Michelle Bernard
Schools around the Columbia Union Conference are also striving to teach students about caring for the earth, using various activities such as installing solar panels and planting gardens.
Mountain View Conference’s Highland Adventist School in Elkins, W.Va., recently received a rain barrel from the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (WVDEP) Division of Water and Waste Management to help provide water for their greenhouse growing program.
Story by Andrew S. Lay
Students who don’t live within driving distance of a nearby Seventh-day Adventist academy can still obtain a great Adventist education by living in a dormitory, such as Chesapeake Conference's Highland View Academy in Hagerstown, Md. This arrangement not only offers families more convenience, but it gives students the opportunity to enjoy the entire academy experience—from breakfast in the morning through recreational time or sports practice in the evening.
Story by Vicki Swetnam
Darren Wilkins, principal of Ohio Conference's Spring Valley Academy, recently announced that the 2021 National Merit Scholarship Program named senior Benjamin Shull a Commended Student, one of 34,000 throughout the nation, recognized for exceptional academic promise. This year, Commended Students were those who placed among the top 50,000 scorers of more than 1.5 million who entered the scholarship program by taking the 2019 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test.