laurelbrook.org
Laurelbrook
Watchmen
(423) 775-3339
114 Campus Drive
Dayton, TN 37321
Staff Interview: Pedro and Ginny Arcé
By Polina Verbytskyy
Back story:
“Pedro and I got married back in 2002. We had four
beautiful children, and decided to settle down in the
sunny state of Florida. We wanted to dedicate our
lives fully to God’s work so we started an audio
ministry. Pedro worked as an aquatics director at
the local YMCA. I was busy homeschooling my
children, doing ministry, and caring for our farm.”
How do you like Laurelbrook?
“We love it. I was a little disappointed at first
because we wanted to be at Hartland. But here, we
have a huge mission field, and we are thankful that
God brought us here.”
How did you hear about Laurelbrook?
“Back in the summer, we applied to go to Hartland
College and continue ministry there, but because of
needed funds, we were not accepted. Someone from
Hartland helped us contact Wanda Sarr, who then
interviewed us and gave our information to multiple
schools who might be interested. Laurelbrook was
one of them. A week later, Ms. Dottie contacted us
very excited, wanting to meet us. Then a few days
later we visited the campus and fell in love with the
place instantly. On August 17, we packed up our
things and moved our family up here. From the time
we heard the name ‘Laurelbrook,’ to the time we
arrived here was a short period of only two weeks.
It was definitely God’s providential hand.”
Why did you want to come to Laurelbrook?
“We didn’t care where God would send us. We
wanted to dedicate our lives for His service and to
help finish His work in the last days.”
Ginny & Pedro Arcé
Contents:
Page 1- Staff Interview
Page 2- Back to School
Penny Fair
Page 3- Bon Appetit
Recipe
Page 4- Who Am I?
Cultural Articles
Page 5- Watcha Think?
Page 6- You Know It’s Your
First Week When…
Page 7- Men & Women of God
Dorm Life
Page 8- Crossword
1
Issue 1, Volume 1
August/September
Back to School
By Heidi Oxentenko
On August 16th, 2015 we officially began
the most awesome school year Laurelbrook
Academy has ever had. It will be, you’ll see.
Classes began on Tuesday, following the annual,
somewhat boring but completely necessary,
orientation on Monday. The first week of school, of
course, is sort of experiment week. Getting used to
the schedule of things, learning how to work at
whatever job you might be doing, meeting new
students and staff, and mastering how everything’s
going to fall together this year.
The most exciting part of the school year is
always meeting new people, seeing who you have
to live with for the rest of the year. This year we
have about 40 to 45 students and most of them are
“new kids.” Some of the greatest friends you will
ever make are made in your first year at
Laurelbrook. These are the people who will stick
with you all the way through all the little pointless
dramatics of high school. So, as classes begin our
first few weeks of school, make as many friends as
you can. They will be the reason you look back on
high school and smile.
Another very important aspect of going back
to school, is meeting your teachers. The first few
weeks of school, you learn if they are exciting or if
they are boring, if they give too much homework or
not much at all, and if you will look forward to their
class or dread them. Personally, I think my teachers
are absolutely awesome. As we go through the
school year you will come to realize that they are
there to help you no matter what. One thing I’ve
learned is that you should never be afraid to ask
questions. They always have an answer, and if they
don’t, they’ll give you credit for the question.
One thing that was sort of hard to get used to
was the change in class schedules. For all of the
students who were here last year, we had it
engrained in our minds that class began at 1:50 PM
and ended at 6:05. Of course it was different for the
morning classes, but you get the idea. Each class
was the same length and we only took 3 classes
each day. This year the schedule is a little different.
We take every class, every day and the timing is
completely changed. It’s definitely going to take
some getting used to, but overall it is going well.
That is, if you can remember that you have to be in
Spanish at 3:11 PM and Bible starts at 9:08 in the
morning. Yes, the timing is a little awkward, but so
far classes are going well.
Overall, the year has gotten off to a great
start and I’m sure everyone is excited to see how it
will end.
Annual Penny Fair
By Polina Verbytskyy
On August 27, 2015, we finally had our
yearly Penny Fair! Due to the lovely weather in
Tennessee, our penny fair was postponed an entire
week. This exciting event has been a tradition for
more than 15 years at Laurelbrook. Basically, the
whole school spends an evening together eating
good food, playing games, and socializing together.
Preparations started before hand with Maudie
Westfall, other LBA staff and volunteers, as well as
the senior class. All the proceeds from the penny
fair go towards the senior class, of 2016, to help
with any expenses they have during the year.
At 6:30 pm the penny fair started. The food
was definitely one of the highlights! To help raise
money for the seniors, students enjoyed soda pop,
root beer floats, corn dogs, doughnuts and many
other foods. Of course there was the usual haystacks
which was the free option.
There were many new booths this year, such
as, the costume photo booth where you could dress
up and take pictures with your friends, the softball
and basketball toss, the corn hole, hula hoop
contest, cupcake walk, the bird show, and many
more. As they do every year, the Laurelbrook Fire
Department showed up, offering rides on their fire
truck, which many enjoyed. One of the amusing
features was definitely the bird show with Mr.
Wilson’s pet cockatoo. But everyone can agree that
the best part of penny fair was, obviously, the dunk
tank. What’s better than buying a ticket to dunk
your friend in
freezing cold water?
There was always a
crowd of people
standing by that
booth. This was also
a great opportunity to
take some great
pictures of hilarious
faces!
2
Issue 1, Volume 1
August/September
Bon Appétit
By Paige Sansonetti
As staff of this newsletter, we are charged
with discovering all sorts of news. Including, how
the food tastes in the different kitchens here at
Laurelbrook and sharing recipes with our readers.
This month we stopped in to the Nursing
Home Kitchen, where the head chef, Aaron
Athearn, allowed us to sample some of his dishes.
With the nursing home’s new menu rotation, there
are many new dishes coming to the residents. The
first dish we were able to try was a new dessert,
pumpkin cheesecake. I was personally quoted to
have said, “This is delicious! I’m so glad that it’s
that time of the year where everything in pumpkin!”
The second dish we were able to try was the
main entrée for that day, fried ravioli. This is also a
new dish that is being served, and all who tried it
were in awe of the deliciousness. The fried ravioli is
served with a side of pizza sauce for dipping, which
adds extra flavoring to the ravioli.
We’d also like to share with you a dessert
that we have made and sampled. This month’s
dessert is Nutella Oreo Cheesecake. If any of you
know Polina and Heidi well enough, you’ll know
why we chose this recipe to make this month.
We went the cheap way out and bought an
Oreo crust, so we didn’t actually try out the crust
recipe. We did make the filling, which is super easy
to do. Our one tip is to make sure that you’re cream
cheese is thoroughly softened, it makes creaming
the filling so much easier.
Nutella Oreo Cheesecake
Filling:
8 oz. Cool Whip whipped topping
8 oz. softened cream cheese
1 cup Nutella
Crust:
20 Oreos
12 TBL butter
¼ cup sugar
Directions:
1. Crush Oreos, and then mix together with
butter and sugar in a small bowl. Mix until
well combined. Press into the bottom of a
pie plate.
2. In a large bowl combine Cool Whip,
Nutella, and cream cheese. Stir until smooth.
Spoon onto Oreo crust.
3. Refrigerate for 1-2 hours.
3
Issue 1, Volume 1
August/September
Our Life at Laurelbrook
Mi Quince
By Evelyn Kim
Hello! I’m Evelyn Kim. My friends and I
are from Korea. We were in Walden’s International
Academy (WIA), which is a sister school with
Laurelbrook Academy (LBA). My father
recommended this school for us to come and learn
English for my TOEFL test. He is the president of
WIA. He established the school ten years ago.
Before, he was a pastor. He realized that God needs
a prophet school which follows His educational
way, and trains students as prophets for the last
days. Even though all his family members and
friends told him that he was really stupid to give up
the position as pastor; he decided to make a school.
He only had $5000 in his hands. But God was with
Him, and finally in 2005, he established WIA. WIA
has lots of similarities with LBA. Both schools’
educational way is on the basis of God’s message
from Ellen G. White and purpose in training
students as missionaries. The atmosphere is very
similar as well. I’m glad that WIA and LBA are
sister schools. About our life here, actually at first,
it was hard to adapt to this big change. But
everybody here helped us, so now we are doing
really well. Sometimes we get tired and ache due to
hard work, but we like it so far. We like our good
friends and activities here. We are leaving in
January. During the school life, we want to be
closer with you guys. We also want to help this
school as much as we can.
WHO AM I?
“If you’re talking, you’re not listening”
By Jairit Montilla
Mis quince anos! El 28 de julio fue casi el
mejor dia de mi vida. Tuve la oportunidad despues
de tanto tiempo de visitar a mi familia en
Venezuela. Para mi sorpresa el dia sabado 31 de
julio mi familia tenia un quinceanera planedo para
mi. El sabado en la manana mis padres me llamaron
a una “reunion familiar”, me mostraron el vestido
mas hermoso que jamas habia visto, era color sage,
y abombado. Por supuesto despues de haber estado
en la “super saludable dieta de laurelbrook” tuve
orar para que me entrara el vestido. Por suerte a la
final el vestido me quedo perfecto. Luego entre el
carro, mis padres se dirigieron hacia la iglesia. Toda
la iglesia estaba decorada de color sage y
Esmeralda, con notas musicales por doquier. Luego
se suponia que debia caminar por el pasillo de la
iglesia en medio de todo el mundo, habian como 90
personas incluyendo personas que ni conocia. Por
primera vez en la historia mi cara sepuso roja, peor
que un tomate. Al principio me dio mucha pena
caminar por el pasillo, hasta que por fin llegue a la
plataforma.
Cuando llegue a la plataforma habian 7
chicos y 7 chicas. Cada uno de elllos me dio una
rosa y me dijo un versiculo que hasta hoy me
inspira a seguir adelante aun en medio de las
situasiones. Pero de por si que ya estaba nerviosa de
paso el que tenia el sermon era mi papa, el pastor de
la iglesia. Ese fue el sermon mas largo de mi vida,
pero hoy le agradezco. Cuando la consagracion
termino tuvimos una fiesta en el patio de la iglesia.
Comimos hasta que ya no pudimos mas. Los
hermanos de la iglesia trajeron alfajores,
ponquecitos, torta, etc. Ese dia fue uno de los
mejores dias de mi vida y estoy muy agradecida a
Dios por ello.
Continued on page 6
“Well, I mean, I guess…”
“We never put anyone on the spot”
4
Issue 1, Volume 1
August/September
Watcha Think?
By Heidi Oxentenko
Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. I’ve heard that phrase end so many debates since I came to
LBA. I’ve also seen the school change in different ways nearly every year since I came. Here are a few opinions
our very insightful students have about Laurelbrook’s absolutely amazing food this year. Just a quick shout out
to Mrs. Brenda who has done a fabulous job this year and every year that she’s cooked for us here.
Jessica: “I think that
having the choice
between vegan and
non-vegan food was a
really great idea. The
food is really good
and everyone has
started to come to
meals and enjoy
eating together.”
Roman: “So far
it’s pretty good. It
has good days and
bad days. Best
meal is definitely
mashed potatoes.”
Matthew: “We
need chicken.
Compared with last
year, the food is an
absolutely amazing
improvement. My
favorite meal is
fried rice with egg
but it would be
better with
chicken.”
Elyjah (Vegan):
“Laurelbrook makes
being vegan
challenging. It’s
honestly very hard
because vegan food
doesn’t look as
good as real food.
But it’s healthy. It’s
bad for my eyes, but
it’s good for my
stomach.”
Once you’re a senior, you’ll probably have worked every job on campus. I’ve been in housekeeping, laundry,
both of the kitchens, grounds, garden, cannery, cleaning, three different offices, shop, CNA, and I even helped
my dad run the boiler once. That’s something I really wasn’t too helpful with but still, you get my point. The
only thing I’ve never really done is to be an IT expert. But then again, I’m not that gifted with technology, so
I’ll leave that up to Benji and TJ. Overall, I love the kitchens. But once again, everyone has their own opinion.
Stephany: “I never
really enjoyed
working until I came
to Laurelbrook. I
especially enjoy
working as a
supervisor in the
academy kitchen
because I can get off
work early.”
eating together.”
Issue 1, Volume 1
August/September
Inna: “I like that LBA gives us
the opportunity to experience
many different jobs. By those
things they definitely
accomplish the mission of
preparing us for life. The
ultimate job at LBA would
definitely be working as a CNA
because I get to interact with
different people and learn their
life stories and it humbles me.”
Isaac: “Well every
job is great!” (Isaac’s
typical sarcasm)
”Honestly, except
housekeeping. I don’t
like housekeeping. At
all. The best job is
woods because it’s
winter and it’s cold.”
Jairit: “I like the
elementary school
because I love
being with kids. I
don’t like the
farm, because it
feels like work
will never end and
it’s either too hot
or too cold.”
5
You know it’s your first week when…
My 15th Birthday
Stories collected by Polina Verbytskyy
By Jairit Montilla
This is a collection of stories from past years
and this year of things that could happen to anyone
during their first week here at Laurelbrook.
My fifteenth birthday! The 28th of July was
probably one of the best days of my life. I had the
great opportunity after a long time to visit all my
family in Venezuela. Asa surprise on July 31 My
family had a quince planed for me. On Sabbath my
parents called me to a “family meeting”. They
showed me the most beautiful dress I have ever
seen in my life. The color was sage and it was puffy
at the bottom. I had to pray that the dress would fit
because I had gained a little weight here at
Laurelbrook. The dress ended up fitting me
perfectly. I got in the car and my parents drove me
to the church. The whole church was decorated in
sage and peach color with music cords all over.
Then I had to walk down the aisle in front of
everybody. There were about 90 people there, and
some of them I didn’t even know. For the first time
in this story my face was redder than a tomato. At
first I was really embarrassed to walk down the
aisle with everybody looking at me, but I finally got
to the stage.
On the stage there were 7 guys and 7 girls.
Each of them gave me a rose and read a bible verse
encouraging me to keep going forward despite the
circumstances. I was already nervous enough and to
make it even better my dad, the pastor of the
church, was the one giving the sermon. It was the
longest sermon I have heard in my life, but I am
now thankful for it. When the service was over we
had a party in the back of the church. We ate so
much until we couldn’t fit anything in our mouth
anymore. The brothers and sisters from the church
brought alfajores, cupcakes, the cake and other
things. That day was one of the best days of my life,
and I am very thankful to God for that.
A girl decided that it would be a great idea
to warm up some bread in the microwave with the
metal twisty tie still on. In minutes, there was a
flame in the microwave, but thankfully she was able
to put it out by unplugging the unit. The funny part
about it was that she didn’t know why the bag
caught on fire so she tried again. This happened
three times before she realized that it was the metal
bread tie. Once again, our kitchen is safe from
burning down.
Someone sprinkled whip cream powder on a
cake, thinking they could skip a few steps. I guess
they didn’t know to add milk and blend it!
A new student thought that the way to make
grilled cheese is to GRILL the cheese….. Get it??
Haha lol
A supervisor forgets to put vegetables on all
trays in one whole dining room, and then finds
himself running around serving everyone
vegetables.
A student tried to clean a resident’s room,
but ended up getting oatmeal thrown on him.
A new student was asked to take the garbage
outside, so he dragged the huge bag all the way to
the west wing exit door, and then outside, not
knowing what to do with it. Thankfully a more
experienced student was able to show him the way.
A supervisor forgets to put the lid on the
blender, and gets puree green beans all over his
face! (This story is definitely not about Mr. Aaron).
STUDENT SUBMISSIONS
If you’d like to submit a photo, poem, or short
story to be featured in the newspaper, please
contact someone on the journalism staff or e-mail
Paige at [email protected]
6
Issue 1, Volume 1
August/September
Men & Women of God
By Heidi Oxentenko
The third weekend of the school year, the
girls went out to the lodge for a relaxing weekend
together. Laurelbrook does this annually, but this
year was really special and a lot of fun. Of course, it
is purity
weekend, so we
have to learn
about becoming
the young
ladies God
would want us
to be. For this,
Mrs. Michelle
led out by telling us her personal testimony. We
also watched videos by Joshua Harris, author of I
Kissed Dating Goodbye and Do Hard Things. On
Saturday, a former canvassing leader of Mrs.
Michelle’s came and told us her story. It was all
very interesting and inspiring.
On Sabbath night, as a special treat for the
girls, Mr. Pedro and Mrs. Ginny, the girl’s dean
family, hosted a purity banquet. Mr. Pedro did the
decorating – absolutely beautiful – and Mrs. Ginny
cooked the food. It might be kind of boring for
guys, but girls really love having an excuse to put
on a pretty dress and do each other’s hair. Of
course, for this banquet there were no dates, but we
still had an amazing time with each other. All of the
girls agreed that the food was by far the best part of
the weekend. Mrs. Ginny did an absolutely amazing
job with the cooking. We got to try Spinach
smoothie which didn’t look good at first but tasted
heavenly and on Saturday night we were surprised
with Tres Leches, which is a cake made out of three
different milks. Over all, the weekend was relaxing
and tons of fun.
The next weekend the boys went out to the
pavilion and camped while they learned more about
unity and the importance of making the right
decision. They
had an
awesome
weekend of
relaxation and
oblivion. The
oblivion was
because they
did not know what was going on back at their dorm.
The girls surprised these very unsuspecting and
disorganized people by cleaning their dorm. You’re
welcome guys. It took about 4 hours of many hands
working hard to make the place look decent again. I
won’t mention whose rooms were the worst because
it might be hard to distinguish. We found brown
showers and dirty laundry, sinks full of unwashed
dishes and dirty floors. We learned that guys are
passionately lazy. But hopefully the boys did not
only learn to be pure at heart, but clean in their
homes as well. Overall both weekends were fun and
insightful in more than one way.
Dorm Life
By Darius Moses & Lorealle Moore
Dorm life is very interesting. When at the
dorm, people are doing many different things; some
playing chess, playing cards, conversing, playing
Uno, and working out. When we get back from
whatever activity that’s going on in the evening, we
usually have a meeting about how we are doing
throughout the day, then we have worship. After
worship, we usually have free time to mess around.
Then comes the dreadful quiet time and lights out.
In the morning we get up and do devotions, we get
dressed and take showers. We have to be in living
room by 6:30 am so that we all can leave early and
get to worship on time.
Life at Laurelbrook’s girls’ dorm is
wonderful! All of our goals are in harmony with
each other. Even though the girls’ dorm this year is
twice as full then the year before, this year seem
less dramatic. Right now we have a few girls
waking up at 6:00 to have worship together. Praise
the Lord! We also have a group of girls who get
together after evening worship to work out their
mind, bodies and souls. You might wonder how can
you work out your mind, bodies and soul at the
same time, well this is how they do it; after they
pray they go to their different places in the room.
Some start working out while one plays the piano
and sing hymns and other Christian songs. In this
way they relieve their minds from all the stress of
school and homework and praise God while they
get their daily exercise.
7
Issue 1, Volume 1
August/September
Laurelbrook Staff
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Across
1. I tell Mr. Rich what to do.
2. I also tell Mr. Rich what to do, but I’m in
charge of the school.
3. I help keep all the flower beds at
Laurelbrook looking nice.
4. I’m in charge of the kitchen & I fix cars in
the body shop.
5. I’ll snap pictures of you throughout the year,
but you won’t know it until you see the
yearbook.
6. When it comes to banquets, I’m the one to
talk to!
7. I’m Mr. Rich’s second in command.
8. I help people become CNAs.
9. I make the farm beautiful & I help with
activities at the nursing home.
10. I make Mr. Rich’s life easier, by keeping his
office organized.
11. I teach the elementary students.
Down
1. I’ll teach you how to use a weed whacker,
lawn mower and you’ll get a tan working
with me.
2. Everyone tells me what to do.
3. I keep the girls happy & I’ll help you learn
an instrument.
4. I make chemistry fun!
5. You’ll be in trouble if I catch you speeding.
6. Come see me for your monthly allowance.
7. I need all of your church information.
8. I’m in charge of billing at the nursing home
& I make the meals for the residents.
9. I founded Laurelbrook.
10. I keep the guys out of trouble.
*Answers will be in next month’s issue.
8
Issue 1, Volume 1
August/September