Bear Creek - The Bear Creek School

a year
As the school year ends, with dead week wrapping up, I am forced to
ask the question, “what have I learned this year?” This question sounds cheesy
because of course I have learned something or I would not be passing my
classes. This question does not just apply to book learning, although that is
relevant; it also applies to everything that has made me who I am during this
school year. I am amazed how much I have grown, mentally, physically and
spiritually, in just the nine months I have attended Bear Creek.
It was sometime in the afternoon, I was laying in my hospital bed, hating
the fact that I was going to be missing all of La Semana Santa (the week of the
Saints, or spring break in Latin America). My friends were all talking about
leaving on vacation to different places around the Dominican Republic and
some were getting on planes to go visit their family in Europe. I was deathly
ill with Dengue Fever and not going anywhere fun. I was restless, tired and
worried about my health which was in serious condition. The nurse walked
in and injected something into my IV and took my third blood testing of the
day. I clenched as she pinched my skin. I had gotten pretty good at this whole
blood test thing. About an hour later I sat in bed crying because the liquid
from the IV created a horrible itching on the palms of my hands. The nurses
told me there was nothing they could do; it just happens sometimes. I wanted
to just pull the IV out of my arm and swim back to America; that was how
desperate I wanted to heal.
The phone rang. It was my dad. I had gotten into The Bear Creek School.
It was all I could do to keep from screaming; I had worked so hard to get in,
from trips to post office to mail documents and interviews with Mrs. Hernandez
over my cell phone. This was this boost of confidence that got me through the
rest of my school year in the Dominican.
Do not get me wrong: living the Dominican was a trip of a lifetime, an
eye opener to the real world. But I felt that my educational background was
far from solid; I needed a school that offered a good education. My schooling
background is pretty crazy. I moved to Washington when I was seven and
attended Wilder Elementary from first to fifth grade. I then went to a choice
school in the Lake Washington School District called the Environmental and
Adventure School. I attended EAS from sixth to seventh grade but, I really
disliked it. The school was very small, and the teachers taught in a style that
was difficult for me. After EAS, I went to the International School of Sosua in
the Dominican Republic for my eighth grade year. ISS was filled with people
from around the world, and I really got to experience different cultures. But
educationally it was very easy.
The day before my freshman year started, I was most worried about how
I was going to survive. Most of these people had been going to Bear Creek their
FeAture
Current
June 5, 2008
to remember
by Adelaide Tillinghast
Dengue Fever is a flu-like illness spread by the bite of an infected
Staff Writer
PIANO LESSONS
Diane Axworthy
425-883-4436
dianeax@gmail.com
dianeaxworthy.com
mosquito. There are four strains of the virus; a person can only
get a strain once or four times with different strains. Dengue is
spread by the bite of an Aedes aegypti and the Aedes albopictus
mosquito. The mosquito transmits the disease by biting an infected
person and then biting someone else. The virus then travels to
the bloodstream, affecting the blood vessels. During this process,
chemicals used to clot blood are used up, and thus severe
bleeding (haemorrhage) occurs internally as well as on the skin.
Dengue hemorrhagic fever is a severe, often fatal, complication of
dengue fever. Dengue viruses occur in most tropical areas of the
world. Dengue is common in Africa, Asia, the Pacific, Australia, and
the Americas. It is widespread in the Caribbean basin.
whole lives and had a solid foundation to handle the rigorous curriculum of
the Upper School. I worried that my writing was not good enough. I wondered
how I was going to pass English Class, and on top of that, write for the school
newspaper. I had to trust God that because he had gotten me into this school,
he was not going to let me fail.
It is true: God was with me every second of the way. I did not fail English
(although I should probably wait until after I have taken the final to say this),
and mentally I have grown in ways I never imagined. In this one year at Bear
Creek, I have learned more than I would have if I had been at the International
School for another three years. These classes have given me an educational
challenge, and many late nights, but the feeling that you get knowing you have
learned so much is better than the feeling of, “you could have tried harder!”
Not only is this school providing me with a good education, but I have
also been given the physical challenge of running! Many people think I am
crazy for running cross-country (sometimes even my family thinks I am crazy),
but without this sport, my year at Bear Creek would have been much less than
amazing. Through cross-country I have met people who are truly inspiring,
people who I have shared the struggles of racing with, and hard workouts with.
Although I have not wanted to go to some of the practices or run in a race,
these times, when I finished, were some of the best moments of my life, and
that is the reason I run!
I have not mentioned very much the true reason behind my joy. God is
the reason. I have grown a good deal spiritually. What has been very different
from all of my past schools is the Christian element at Bear Creek. I believe
this is the main reason for my success in finding the right school and liking
it from the very first time I walked through Bear Creek’s doors. I have found
that the people here are much more understanding of each other. Christianity
overrides everybody’s differences and brings people closer together. It’s like a
big family; if you are having a problem there is always someone to help you.
This creates warmth in an atmosphere that could otherwise be so cold.
I remember the day that I was accepted to Bear Creek, and I am so grateful
that God chose me to go to this school out of all the other people that were in
my hospital, suffering from the same virus, that may never have the chance to
get a good education. I want to thank all the teachers at Bear Creek for giving
me a year to remember, and I look forward to the next three years!