loma linda academy mirror '13-'14 i1

Volume 81 Issue 1sept. / oct. 2013 rorthe mIr 1

Loma Linda Academy Newszine | Established 1940s | Volume 81 Issue 1 | Sept./Oct. 2013

2 Volume 81 Issue 1 sept. / oct. 2013rorthe mIr

HandsHake & senior entrance 22 august 2013


22 august 2013 Editor in Chief

Shawn Weerawardana

Reporters

Julian Aveling Abry Gittens Shawn Weerawardana

Joyce Zheng Elijah Hickman

Photos by:

Danelle Taylor Johnston

Shawn Weerawardana

Mirror Staff

Table of Contents

Publisher

Robert Skoretz

Sponser

Danelle Taylor Johnston

Contact

Loma Linda Academy10656 Anderson St.

Loma Linda, CA [email protected]

14 Those Pay-cuts Though Shawn Weerawardana

16 Sports Contributions Elijah Hickman18 Campus Ministries/SA/ Yearbook Staff/Film

4 Editorial Shawn Weerawardana 5 Fire at Pine Springs Ranch Abry Gittens 6 Meeting New Faces Joyce Zheng 8 Class Officers

10 Franz Hall Update Julian Aveling

12 Five Ways to Make Your Life a Little Easier Abry Gittens

13 Briefs


editorial

C’mon guys...Really?

You’re killing me. Everywhere I

go on this campus I am guaranteed

to see trash! The sad part is that it

isn’t just at the end of the day! I

come in for zero period, trash, end

of lunch, trash, after school, trash.

Don’t get me started about after

school. I mean I get it. I’m a student

here too. You may not always have

time to throw away trash. Things

happen—but really? It’s gotten

really bad and it needs to stop.

Do you know how many trash

cans we have on campus? We have

over sixty trash cans on campus

not including the ones in teacher’s

rooms and bathrooms. So using

this information, you mean to tell

me that during the course of your

day you don’t pass one of these trash

cans? Do you really mean to tell me

that when you have trash, you can’t

find a trash can to throw it away in?

Instead, you just throw it away on

the floor? NO! Please find a trash

can! For goodness sakes find a trash

can and throw away your trash.

I have literally seen people that

leave trash, with a trash can two feet

away from them...TWO FEET!

For years now the school, all

the teachers, parents and multiple

students, have tried to fix this issue.

Yet, it’s 2013 and the problem

is just as bad, if not worse, than

when it started. So how can we fix

this. I am asking you straight up;

what do we do? Please if you have

ANYTHING, let me know. Just

take a second and look around, look

and see if you see any trash. If you

do, please pick it up and throw it

away. Please. Make this place a better

place to go to school. Yes, do that in

other ways too, but if you physically

make the school better, even in the

aspect of aesthetics, it automatically

becomes an even better place to be.

editorial

By: Shawn Weerawardana


Fire at Pine sPrings rancHFire at Pine

Springs Ranch causes damage that cuts close to home.

On July 15, the Mountain Fire tore

through the San Jacinto Mountains

and into Pine Springs Ranch (PSR),

a Southeastern California Conference

summer camp. About 179 visitors

had to evacuate. The journey was slow

going because of the amount of cars

going down the small winding road

on the side of the mountain. Campers

and counselors had to leave the camp

with nothing but the clothes on their

back, due to the extreme smoke.

The 480-acre facility, purchased

in 1961, has a long-standing legacy

in the Adventist church. From their

summer camps, to hosting retreats

for schools and churches year-round,

PSR has done a lot for servicing

countless amounts of people. As an

unfortunate consequence of the fire,

all these activities have been halted.

News traveled quickly and soon

people all around heard about the

tragic fire. Local churches joined

together in prayer as they awaited

to hear about the damages to the

camp. As soon as it was safe, campers

from previous years rushed up the

mountain to see what they could

to do to lend assistance. Volunteers

worked to clear out debris and

find other ways to help. Older

campers created pages online, such

as an account on wepay.com, as

campers from past and present

appealed to their friends and

family to help the camp that had

given them so many good times.

Heather Grable, an ‘13

alumni and the older sister of

junior Heidi Grable, was on the

mountain working at PSR during

the time of the fire. Luckily, she

came down the mountain safely.

Students at LLA have fond

memories of Pine Springs Ranch.

Some may remember going up for

Bible Camp during 7th and 8th

grade or during their junior or senior

year. Other students may remember

the food from the cafeteria or

maybe during summer camp when

all the campers lined up in front

of the flagpole. During this whole

ordeal, people have really banded

together to show support for their

beloved Pine Springs Ranch.

During a brief inspection the

day after the fire, the home of the

camp facility manager and his family

had been burned to the ground. The

sewage plant was unable to work

at all. The camp store had been

destroyed, along with several other

buildings in the camp ground.

Once the damage was

accounted for, camp counselors

were left to pick up the pieces.

Fortunately, they were not alone.

This statement was released by

the camp after the incident, “We

thank God that none of the staff,

campers or animals were injured.

But the camp will be closed until

extensive repairs and rebuilding

are finished, and we will need your

help to rebuild. The largest costs

will be covered by insurance, but

many smaller expenses, such as

environmental restoration, personal

losses and facility improvements will

require additional donations... It

is estimated that no functions will

be possible at the camp for some

time, possibly several months.”

Currently, PSR is closed until

further notice. As they work to

get back on their feet, we can

all say a preyer that they will get

back to where they once were.

By Abry Gittens

community


meeting new Faces

Starting on August 22nd, Loma Linda Academy ushered in a brand new 2013-2014 school year.

Some changes on campus

include the construction of the new

library and the planned demolition

of Franz Hall. The most significant

difference is that many new students

joined the school and two teachers

joined the faculty. Among the

transfer students, eighteen of them

are in the freshmen class, and the

other three classes each have four

new students. Erica Rantung is the

new English as a Second Language

(ESL), geography and Bible teacher.

The school also has Lucio Camacho

as the new athletic director.

It is interesting to get to know

about new people in campus. They

may have different personalities,

specialities and cutural backgrounds.

However, just as Rantung said,

“In LLA, we are serving the same

God and we have the same goal.”

Speaking of cultural backgrounds,

LLA has two new Chinese

international students this semester:

Yichen (Peter) Wang (10) and Yuchen

(Jim) Yang (9). As a Freshman, it

is Yang’s first year in the United

States. Although still struggling for

language barriers, he has already made

many friends in school. According

to Yang, his friends are willing to

help him with his classes. He loves

sports and is an excellent swimmer.

Yang is also greatly interested in golf

and looks forward to joining the

school golf team. After two weeks of

studying in LLA, he has experienced

a completely different type of

school system compared to that in

China. “In China I used to have all

classes with exactly the same group

of people.” But in LLA, he meets

different people in each period. He

also added, “ Here I have P.E. class

almost everyday.” In China only one

or two P.E. class periods are provided

for high school students every week.

Victoria Pacheco (10) and

Mariam Jenkins (10) are both

sophomores. Jenkins loves music;

She loves to sing and she likes to

laugh and talk. She went to Redlands

Adventist Academy before she came

to LLA. She has always known LLA

and Loma Linda University (LLU),

since both of her aunt and uncle

went to LLU. She said, “People

have strong and long friendships.”

Pacheco went to Providence High

School. She likes sports and would

like to join the girls volleyball and

basketball team. She has a very open

mind and enjoys helping people and

experimenting new things. What

is unique about Victoria is that she

hangs out with a lot of celebrities;

since she has friends whose parents

are producers of TV series including

Austin and Ally, Vampire Diaries,

The Secret Life of the American

Teenager, True Blood, and Pretty

Little Liars. Dr. Sandiford is her

(Yuchen Yang) (Mariam Jenkins)


student liFe

favorite teacher. Pacheco enjoys

Sandiford’s class very much because

she thinks his style of teaching is

very unique and self-explanatory.

Erica Rantung actually taught

ESL and Bible classes as her part-time

job for the last school year. This year,

she

becomes a full-time teacher. Rantung

has an international background.

She graduated with a B.A. in Foreign

Language (English) Education in

Taiwan in 2005. She obtained her

M.A. in Religious Education from

Andrews University in 2011. She

also completed the TESOL (Teachers

of English to Speakers of Other

Languages) certificate program

through Anaheim University in 2013.

When Skoretz was looking for an

ESL teacher, Rantung happened to

have what the school was looking

for. Rantung teaches four classes:

ESL, Introduction to Christianity,

Geography and History of Religion

I & II. She said that she is thankful

for the opportunity to teach multiple

classes. She tries to balance her time

to handle all classes. She loves the

diversity of the students, and she

said, “I grow as I teach.” Rantung

also suggested some effective

ways for foreign students to learn

English. “Learn through daily basis,”

She said, “One helpful way is to

communicate with native speakers.”

The new athletic director,

Lucio Camacho previously worked

for Mesa Grande Academy for 16

years. Camacho said that LLA has

very nice facilities as well as good

sports programs.He also wanted to

work with Gary Eggers. This year

Camacho’s goal is to “continue

moving things forward,” and “keep

all the sportsmanship good.”

Throughout the interviews,

LLA cafeteria was favored by all

interviewees. “Pretty good! It’s better

than La Sierra,” said Kasey Harry

(11), a new Junior from La Sierra

Academy. Jenkins also showed her

love for the school cafeteria. She

said, “I love the food.” Rantung

also loves the food, especially

Asian food for every Wednesday.

All interviewees found themselves

loving the school. “Everyone is so

fun to talk to and it’s so easy to

make new friends,” said Jenkins.

“I love how we are so

connected like a community,” said

Pacheco. She said that the school

“makes you feel more at home.”

“LLA makes me feel welcomed,”

said Harry. Yang said that everyone

is very friendly. It can be seen

that all new students quickly

integrated into the new campus.

(Erica Rantung)

(Lucio Camacho)

(Kasey Harry)

by Joyce ZHeng


camPus leadersFresHmen oFFicers & sPonsors

soPHomore oFFicers & sPonsors

2017

2016


Junior oFFicers & sPonsors

senior oFFicers & sPonsors

2015

2014

student liFe


‘What is happening with Franz Hall?’

This is a question that has been

asked by many students since

the plans for deconstruction

were first revealed.

Franz Hall itself has a number

of problems. Its foundation is old

and the building needs structural

reinforcement. The school

plans to begin main demolition

around Christmas break, per the

approval of the city, according

to Robert Skoretz, principal.

Loma Linda’s Historical

Commission, an advisory group

to the city council, is not entirely

agreeable to Franz Hall being

torn down. The Historical

Commission wishes Franz Hall

to be memorialized in some way.

One suggestion is for the front

third of Franz Hall to be saved and

incorporated into a new building.

If that is not possible, the

Historical Commission would

like for a new building to have a

facade that resembled old Franz

Hall. Unfortunately Loma Linda

Academy administration felt

that the first option was not cost

effective. The second option is

unfeasible because the plans for

a new building have not been

finalized, and imposing a constraint

before then would be restrictive.

Skoretz stated that the school’s

ideal plan would be for the new

building to be an auditorium, so

high school students would no longer

need to walk to Chan Auditorium,

on the elementary campus.

Even if the front third of the

building cannot be saved, plans are

still being made to memorialize

Franz Hall. Plans include making

a detailed photographic record and

placing a memorial to Howard

Franz at the northwest corner of

the Student Services Building.

Student opinions on what is

happening to Franz Hall were in

general hopeful for the future.

Tahira Ashley, (12), recalled

fond memories of having a shortcut

through Franz Hall to North

Hall, adding that while she would

prefer it not to be torn down, she

understood that it is necessary.

Franz Hall also contained the

Library which has been temporarily

moved into the heritage room.

The new library is currently being

constructed within the four old

former classrooms in West Hall.

According to Mark Holm, vice

principal, the library is due to

be finished any day, possibly by

the time this is published. The

cafeteria is still located on the

north side of the building.

On a recent tour of the library,

Holm explained that the library

will have, among other things: a

combination of a study hall and

computer lab room, as well as two

smaller study rooms and special

UV ray blinds that will block

sunlight and protect the books.

Skoretz added, “I am sad to see

it [Franz Hall] go. I was a student

there myself, but my duty to the

current students outweighs the

sentimental value of the building.”

by Julian aveling

FranZ Hall uPdate

LLA students and staff Spring 2013


FranZ Hall now

scHool liFe


5 ways to make your liFe a little easier High School

is a rough time for anyone. Here are a few tips to make your experiences

Make sure you eat a healthy

breakfast. Your brain needs food

to keep running. It is true what

they say, breakfast really is the

most important meal of the day.

1)start tHe day oFF rigHt

2) get your Priorities straigHt

This is something that can be

a struggle for some high school

students. Between our friends, family,

sports, and that great show on TV,

we sometimes get a little too caught

up. Don’t forget what’s important.

It is easy to get distracted in the

short-term fun, but don’t forget

about your long term success.

3) get involvedA great way to have fun

during the school year is to get

involved with school activities.

If you’re a little shy and want

to branch out, joining a club or

trying out for a sport is a great

way to meet new people and

get out of your comfort zone a

little. Just be careful not to pile

too much on to your plate!

4) Follow tHe rules

Not following the rules doesn’t

make you cool. A simple way not

to create unnecessary problems is to

stick to the book. Whether it’s the

dress code, or not parking in the

visitors parking, doing what you are

supposed to can make life a lot easier.

5) devotionals

It’s easy to get caught up in all

the things we have going on, but

don’t forget to spend time with

God. He’ll always motivate you

and keep you on the right path.

extra


you dont know? now you know

The Last Of the

90s Kids!This year will be the last year that

most of our students who were born

in the 1990s will totally populate the

school. After the incoming freshmen

arrive, we will be in the midst

of the kids of the new

millenium.

On

Se

ptember 28, 2013 Micah Charles H

errmann was born. Th is is Mr. Herrmann’s fi

rst ch

ild.

McDonalds

opened in Loma

Linda near the intersection

of of Mountain View and Barton

Rd. How do you feel about this? Let

us know at llamirror.org/news at the

brief called McLomaLinda on

the site.

Robert Skoretz, high school principal,

has commenced his PhD in Practical Theology with an emphasis in Religious Education at Claremont

Lincoln University.

Go to the mirror

website!www.llamirror.org

Sarah Henderson,

English teacher, has begun the Graduate Certificate Program in

Mind, Brain, and Teaching at John Hopkins

University.

A full list of clubs and their

descriptions are on the mirror website!

brieFs


tHose Pay cuts tHougH!Surprising

pay cuts strike a chord with the community of LLA.

For many years, the school has

been the source of income for a

countless number of students. At the

start of this school year a limit of two

hours of student work per teacher

was set in place. It left many students

searching for other sources of income.

LLA had cut student’s work

hours to two hours a week at

the beginning this school year in

attempt to save the school’s money,

as opposed to the prior limit of five

hours. Enrollment went down from

the expected 460 students to this

year’s enrollment of approximately

440. There was a budget for this

year based on more students than

are actually here, and the pay cuts

to student workers were placed

in order to reduce expenses in

order to balance the budget. This

cut happened so suddenly that

students were at the crossroads as

to whether they should continue

working or to quit their jobs.

Pastor Skoretz said, "Due to

lower enrollment this year, we have

made school-wide budget cuts in as

many areas as possible. Fortunately,

we did not have to lay off any faculty

at Loma Linda Academy. However,

we did need to cut back the amount

of hours of paid student labor given

to each teacher, from five to two

hours per week. We realize this

is difficult for both students and

teachers and we are continuing to

hunt for ways we might be able to

restore some of the lost hours. In

the meantime we appreciate those

who have been able and willing to

help teachers on a volunteer basis."

The whole situation had become

a problem that affected the student

community at LLA. Jordan Roberson

(12) said, “I think it has affected me

but in ways that don’t necessarily

affect me now. Like since this has

happened I have a cap on how

much money I can make, and like

I’m not gonna lie, I need money

for myself, because where else am

I going to get it from you know? I

can’t depend on my parents forever.”

Other students, like Josh Stange

(11), did not mind the hours cut.

He says, “Well, the only reason is

that I’m fine with it, I don’t really

need to get paid. I just like to help

out Ms. Elsmann. Other than that

I'm fine with being able to just

earn some money. I mean that’s

a gift from the school, they don't

HAVE to pay us, but they do.”

Due to these changes, student

workers were asked to work a

maximum of two hours a week.

Students had the option to continue

working for just the two hours or

working for community service hour.

Students were, and still are, not

allowed to switch over to community

service hours once their work hours

for the week are complete. They

must choose to do one or the other.

Valerie Lopez (11) explained,

“Instead of getting paid more I work

for community service.” For a clearer

example, if a student had worked

during fourth period, and this

student worked his or her two hours

for the week, once this was done,

he or she does not have the option

to switch over to Work Education

Experience or community service


hours. If the student continues to

work for pay he or she still had to

go to work until the period is over

and was not allowed to work.

The change had not only affected

students but teachers as well. Many

teachers are behind on grading and

it affected the way they spend their

time. Students in general are noticing

grades on PowerSchool are appearing

later than usual. These appear to

be the consequences not having

the availability of their workers at

various times during the week.

Valerie Lopez said, “ I don’t

think its fair, not only for students

but for the teachers. It affects

everybody. Less students helping

with the work means more work for

the teachers, and that affects grades

and effectiveness in a sense I guess.”

This does not only affect workers at

the high school, but also workers at

both the elementary and junior high.

The LLA community was in

distress, and many teachers and

students were left in confusion as

to what to do, until October came

along. The administration had found

some money in the budget that could

be used. Obviously student labor had

become a huge issue among us, so

it was inevitable, that this money, at

least some, would go to this cause.

The administration had a

meeting with the faculty to discuss

how to use the money that was

found. What has been done is that

the student labor budget has now

been restored. Although not to the

full five hours students had before

but to 200 minutes per week.

For now this will have to work.

But starting on July, 1, 2013, the

minimum wage in California will be

increased from $8 an hour to $9. And

even after this happens, 18 months

later, the minimum wage will rise

to $10. These raises in minimum

wage will seriously affect the student

labor budget in the following years

to come. But for now we will have

to make due with what we have, and

students seem, for the time being,

happy with what has happened

in the end of this whole ordeal.

Do you ever find yourself out of the know on school events? Not to worry, the mirror staff has your back!Go visit...www.llamirror.org

By: Shawn Weerawardana

scHool liFe


beeP beeP! loma linda vollyballscHool liFe

Wins & LossesFROSH

(freshmen/sophomore)

As of Oct. 17

Wins 4 Losses 1

Varsity

As of Oct. 17

Wins 11 losses 3

Junior Varsity (J.V.)

As of Oct. 17

Wins 5 Losses 1

two scores are unknown


scHool liFe

beeP beeP! loma linda FootballPHotos by: diane bradley

Guys Flag Football

As of Oct. 17

Guys Varsity

Wins 7 Losses 1

As of Oct. 17

Girls Varsity

Wins 7 Losses 0

Girls Flag Football

Wins & Losses


camPus leaderscamPus ministries student association

yearbook staFF Film/rePlay

Journalism/mirror


senior coming out

9 sePtember 2013


Picnic/beacH4 OctOber 2013vesPers

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