Story by Vicki Swetnam
When Police Officer Tom Thompson heard about the 26 Rwandan refugee students attending Spring Valley Academy (SVA), he determined to raise money to help provide them with lunches, tuition and other expenses. He encouraged fellow officers at the Grandview, Ohio, police department to join him in a “no-shave” fundraiser challenge. They proudly presented a $3,000 check for the Rwandan students to Principal Darren Wilkins at a pizza party held at the school.
The Spencerville Adventist Academy (SAA) Drama department will present four performances of My Fair Lady, scheduled for April 18, 19, 21 and 22 in the SAA auditorium at 2502 Spencerville Road, Spencerville, Md., 20868.
Tickets will be available at the door or online at spaac.net.
Story by Ron Mills
Takoma Academy’s (TA) chorale and camerata are joining forces to participate in the Music for All National Choir Festival and the World Choir Games (WCG)—the largest choral competition in the world!
Via a recorded audition, a panel of renowned choral conductors selected the TA chorale as one of the charter groups that sang at the premiere of the Music for All National Choir Festival in Indianapolis, March 15-17, 2018.
The Music for All National Choir Festival is a noncompetitive experience for outstanding middle school, high school and youth choirs. The festival is a celebration of musical excellence, combining world class performance and evaluation opportunities, with an exhilarating atmosphere of camaraderie in music.
Story by Doug Walker and Visitor staff
More than 100 students, staff and faculty from Washington Adventist University (WAU) in Takoma Park, Md., braved stiff wintery gusts to participate in the National School Walkout marking one month since the shooting that took the lives of 15 students and two staff members at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla. They were among students from across the Columbia Union Conference and elsewhere who participated.
Story by Heidi Wetmore
Students from the Spencerville Adventist Academy (SAA) broadcast journalism class recently participated in a 36-hour film festival. Julio Munoz, associate director for Communication at the North American Division and director of the SONscreen Film Festival, along with Emily Mastrapa, a local lmmaker and Spencerville alumna, served as festival mentors.
Each lm had to incorporate the same prop, charac- ter and line of dialogue. “Giving constraints to student lmmakers empowers their creativity,” shares Robert Martinez, organizer and broadcast journalism teacher.