Fear Not! Graduation 2007 - Rehoboth Christian School

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High School UpdatesArt Students at theEmpire State BuildingNYCCALIFORNIA, HERE WE COME!When I got the idea last fall to take a group ofkids to New York City, most people I told thoughtthat it was far fetched, and for good reason. Thelogistics of a trip like what I had proposed wereintimidating. The reason it came to happen wasbecause of Laurel Christy, a kind-hearted womanwho is in charge of residency at the School ofVisual Arts in New York. She enthusiasticallyhosted us for free, allowing five Rehoboth studentsto see a world they never thought they’d see.Nearly all our fund raising opportunities cameabout by way of Rhonda Berg at the Red MesaFoundation, who let us stuff RMF newslettersand create signs to help pay for our trip. This tookmuch of the pressure off our students and theirfamilies to come up with funds on their own.After spending a few hours waiting for a very latevan to pick us up, we arrived at SVA around 4am.While in transit, the kids were amazed at how alivethe city was, even at that early hour. Screamingpolice officers, honking taxi cabs, noise of everykind.The Rehoboth Christian High School Band spent the last week of Marchtouring California. The band played concerts, worked on a service project,and had great fun! An all-night bus trip from Rehoboth put the band in LosAngeles early Saturday morning where they spent the day at First AmericanIndian Church painting and cleaning. On Sunday they played during themorning worship service, and in the evening headed across town for anotherconcert at Lutheran Church of the Master.Monday brought some time at the beach and another concert at BethelReformed Church in Bellflower, CA. Tuesday was spent at Azusa PacificUniversity. Students toured the campus, had clinics with band directorProfessor Zander Koops (a former Rehoboth teacher) and also attended an APUSymphonic Band Concert, where they were invited to play several songs.by Dave Taylor, Art TeacherWe spent three full days in Manhattan visitingart museums, viewing some of the world’s mostfamous works of art, from ancient Egyptianartifacts to Van Gogh’s beautiful and tragicpaintings. It was the ultimate art class field trip, asI hoped it would be. And the students had theirperceptions of the art world changed forever.I have concluded that trips like this are essential.We need to support them and do what we canto make sure that schools like Rehoboth aregiving our kids these kinds of opportunities. Arteducation is not a textbook thing. You can’t look atWashington Crossing the Delaware in a textbookand say, “Wow... that’s great” when the real thingis over 20 feet wide and over 15 feet high. It iscounter-intuitive. It will only serve to ignitepassions for learning in our kids and isn’t that whatwere trying to do? It’s what we dreamed of for ourkids when they were younger and it’s what theywill remember when they are older.Wednesday was a FUN DAY at Magic Mountain, an amusement park full ofhair-raising roller coasters! Thursday was a trip to Sequoia National Park toenjoy God’s Creation, and then a combined concert in the evening with CentralValley Christian School. Friday was a tour of Hearst Castle and an afternoon atPismo Beach. What a treat for students from the high desert of New Mexico!Rehoboth Band in Newport Beach, CA6 Rehoboth Christian School Summer 2007
Senior PresentationsFor three years now, the high school has requiredall of its graduating seniors to make a SeniorPresentation as a part of their Rehoboth graduationrequirements. This has become one of thelandmark events of the senior year for studentsand community members alike. This year’s seniorpresentations offered many of us an emotionaland candid look at the educational outcomesfor Rehoboth seniors in their own words. It alsooffered each student a chance to hear the spokenaffirmation of their mentors and other panelists— a “well done” in many ways as meaningful as ahigh school diploma.While the Senior Presentation itself only takes 12minutes, the transformational impact it has onstudents is long lasting. The process starts at thebeginning of every junior year when RCS studentsare given the opportunity to ask an adult rolemodel to serve as their mentor for the next twoyears. This is the only formal relationship at RCSwhere the student gets to choose an adult to leadthem. It is a powerful moment, and an honor,when a junior approaches a teacher and asks himor her to be a mentor. This relationship is designedto help juniors and seniors think through some ofthe important decisions about life, college, career,faith, and relationships they are making during thispivotal time. The mentor also advises their work ontheir Senior electronic portfolio and presentationand chairs the panel for their presentation.During their senior year, students are encouragedto walk through the meta-cognitive exercise ofreflecting on three specific questions: Who amI? How has Rehoboth shaped who I am? And,how am I going to contribute to my world? Theseseemingly simple questions get at the heart of whatwe aspire for our students to become: changeagents in the world.We believe that students who know who theyare, who have a strong sense of their cultural,intellectual, physical identity and most importantly,their identity in Christ, are strong people who actin accordance with their beliefs about themselves.We believe that students who know themselves,and God’s knowledge of them, are responsive togrowth and learning, and are not threatened bynew ideas and life’s challenging problems. Wewant each Rehoboth student to maximize theiropportunities for growth in a caring and supportiveenvironment. Rehoboth changes kids…and that isexciting to see.We also believe Rehoboth students are called tomake a positive impact in their community, theirRosey Charles Presentingworld. Success at Rehoboth is not measured by allthe knowledge, awards and accolades students haveacquired during their time here. But rather, successis measured by the contributions they make everyday. It is all about giving, not taking. Our studentsmust be prepared to give to the real world theyenter when they graduate from Rehoboth or wehave failed them.Senior Presentations are an opportunity forstudents to reflect on all of these things, “sealing thedeal”, if you will, of their high school experience.It is also a time for them to practice the grace ofgratitude, expressing their profound thanks totheir families and teachers — thanks that are muchdeserved and not often spoken.The Cast of “Arsenic & Old Lace”Arsenic & Old LaceHello. My name is Brian Alford and I directed Arsenic & Old Lace, which wasperformed this year by the Rehoboth Christian High School Drama Department.During my freshman year I played Jack in Into the Woods. When our director left,I knew that I had to step up and direct the next year. I knew from the start that Iwas going to produce Arsenic & Old Lace. I loved the movie version and my momhad performed in it when in high school. We only had twenty five practices to puteverything together for this play. The elaborate sets were built with care and attentionto detail. The actors, whether playing a psychopathic killer, a kindly old woman,or a drunken plastic surgeon, truly found the essence of their character. Despitecomplications and feeling that we had thrown everything together at the last minute, allthe audience saw was a great play!Rehoboth Christian School Summer 2007 7
Page 1 and 2: Vigorously Academic • Beautifully
Page 3 and 4: A Tribute to Renzoby Carol Bremer-B
Page 5: Resourcefulness: I didn’t seea fl
Page 9 and 10: Ethan HebertEthan has a very creati
Page 11 and 12: Elementary UpdatesElementary Parent
Page 13 and 14: Correction: Jasper Littletree’s e
Page 15 and 16: Announcing Rehoboth VillageFor near

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