Education

After eight years, Lawrence Galera, the music director of Pennsylvania Conference's Blue Mountain Academy (BMA), takes a final bow.

Story by Tamyra Horst

At the conclusion of The Great Controversy: Origin of Evil performance, Lawrence Galera, the music director of Pennsylvania Conference's Blue Mountain Academy (BMA), took a final bow. For eight years, Galera impacted the lives of many students on BMA’s campus in Hamburg. Galera announced he has accepted the position of music director at Collegedale Academy (Tenn.)

Takoma Academy Week of Prayer

Story by Shari Loveday

This spring Potomac Conference's Takoma Academy family accepted a mission that some might view as impossible. The Week of Prayer’s overall theme was, “What’s God Got to Do With it?!” As each youth faced this question, Lola Moore Johnston, senior pastor of the Woodbridge (Va.) church, challenged the students to figure out how God fits into the personal lives of young people. She also shared that all of us should be “Living for 1 Like.”

New Jersey Educators

Story by Sadrail Saint-Ulysse

It has become painfully clear that there is a great need for school safety and security training in this country. As my wife, Malou Saint-Ulysse, principal of Meadow View Junior Academy in Chesterfield, and I sat through the school safety and security training presentation by Thomas Gambino from the New Jersey State Department of Education, we quickly realized that every principal, teacher, substitute teacher and school staff needed the same training. So, I invited Gambino to our Spring Teachers’ In-service, so that our entire New Jersey Conference school personnel could receive the same instruction.

Photo by V. Michelle Bernard

Story by Edwin Manuel Garcia

Participants from around the Columbia Union Conference gathered at the union headquarters in Columbia, Md., this week to kick off the second year of the Advancement of Christian Education (ACE) Academy Leadership Coaching initiative.

The year-old initiative is guided by seasoned outside experts connected to the union. Participants include 20 educational leaders with varying degrees of experience who are being offered the tools and training to be successful, and hopefully, will be motivated to stay at their jobs longer.

Pine Forge Academy Choir

Story by Jaymie Pottinger

One of the major milestones of the 2018–19 school year came out of the Music Department with the long-awaited PFA live recording. The last time the PFA choir had a live recording was in 2008, under the leadership of Jason Ferdinand. 

After the students completed the planning and fundraising, scores of alumni, parents and community members traveled to Girard College (Pa.) to witness a concert and live recording, under the leadership of Jarrett Roseborough. 

Vivian Washington, a proud graduate of the Class of 1979, shares, “I could not afford to miss this live recording. The choir produces such a rich sound, and Pine Forge Academy means a lot to me.”