The Highlander
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THE HIGHLANDER • February 29, 2024
February 29. 2024 - Vol. 2. Issue 11
HOLIDAY CORNER
WORLD NEWS
Celebrate Black history month Pg.7
MENTAL HEALTH
The Chiefs win the superbowl Pg.2
Learn how to overcome fears Pg.3
ACROFEST IS A SUCCESS! Magdalen Carlson Thursday, January 25, began the 29th annual Acrofest hosted by Highland Academy. The gymnasium filled up with gymnasts from 11 schools across the Kentucky/Tennessee conference wanting to practice gymnastics skills and learn new ones as Southern Adventist University’s gymnastics team, Gym Masters, did a gymnastics clinic for the conference schools. The event lasted from Thursday until they showcased their talents that Saturday night, January 27. Acrofest is an annual event that brings together the elementary schools and junior academies from around the conference. Both Highland and Madison academies, with Southern Adventist University (SAU), provided the workshops. Gymnastics teams from each school worked hard throughout the first semester on skills and a routine they could perform during the Saturday night showcase. The event, however, is open to more than just conference schools with teams. Students who are not part of a team, as well as homeschooled and public school students, are all invited to participate. After registration, the students head to the gymnasium and that is where the fun begins. Students look forward, not only to learning the skills taught by the university, they also look forward to seeing old friends from other schools and making new friends throughout the event. Some of them only see each other at events such as Acrofest, which makes it an anticipated event for many. Students worked in various stations that were set up for groups and individuals. There were eight different stations. Circus station was where they got to learn silks and juggling. At the tumbling station, the Gym Masters taught different moves and skills like dive rolls, round-offs, and cartwheels. What was amazing was that there were so many unique skills everyone had, so some had a back tuck, or a back handspring. The elevator and tossing stations are very similar. When tossing, they had to use a similar skill that they learned while working on elevators. The flier or top would jump into the bases’ hands and while using that momentum they would be tossed into the air. There was a headstand station that conditioned them to have a stronger core, but they also practiced handstands against the walls. The 2 high/3 high station many people liked. Aiden Naumaan and Sam Dennis could do a great 2-high and were practicing for a
3-high, getting so very close to their goal. When asked about what they like about Acrofest, students seem to agree that the new skills and the patience of the Gym Masters from SAU made a tremendous impact making the event a positive experience. Rebecca Bouza from Murfreesboro Seventh Day Adventist Elementary commented “Besides the amazing activities, I really appreciated the Gym Masters’ willingness to help and demonstrate skills. I really loved their encouraging attitudes. It made the whole experience even more amazing.” Michaela Fuentes from Madison Academy Acros echoed this saying, “It was amazing and so many nice people willing to have fun and teach us new skills!” Still, others shared that their favorite part of the weekend was learning and practicing a certain skill they wanted to try. Luke Weisner from Highland Elementary School stated that he was excited that he successfully based a 3-high. He said that even though it was difficult, the flyers as well as the Gym Masters’ efforts and encouragement made it easier to just keep pushing until he got it. Sam Dennis from Highland Academy said that he also
appreciated the 2-high station. Saturday night, the teams gathered to share all they learned by participating in competitions and performing their routines. The local churches, community, and family members of each participant are all invited to the performance. The gymnasium was packed as the event began. Participants and audience members began with competitions. There were headstand competitions as the announcer, Raphan Ley challenged participants not only to do a headstand but to clap their hands, reposition into a frog stand, take their feet almost to the ground and back up, clap behind their backs and more. One by one people fell while trying to keep up with the commands. There was a handstand competition and a butterfly competition where bases struggled to hold up a person on their shoulders in a 2-high and their top held up a person on each side making “wings” out of people. This is as difficult as it sounds and one by one, groups began to drop. The last challenge of the evening prior to the performances was “pinning the beam.” Each year, tossing groups from Highland Academy Gymnix, Madison Academy Acros, SAU Gym Masters, and various other groups attempt to toss their flier all the way to the beams overhead. Try after try, the different teams started walking off the mats giving
up on being the first. Finally, one team from SAU and one team from Highland Academy were left taking turns and giving each other the room they needed to make it happen. The crowd went wild as Carson Watkins from the Highland Academy team flew up, grabbed the beam and started doing pull-ups! Connor Cheney from Highland Academy Gymnix said, “Acrofest was awesome, and seeing our gym team pin the beam made it so much cooler!” Academy students jumped and screamed in celebration of Watkins’ accomplishment as this is the first time in several years that Highland has managed to pin the beam first. After the challenges, the music started and various teams started showcasing their routines and what they learned throughout the week with the SAU Gym Masters performing intermittently throughout the evening. The evening came to a close as the Gym Masters wrapped the event up with their tribute to scripture. They demonstrated artistically various stories from scripture beginning with Creation. One of the greatest portrayed scenes they did was Jonah and the Whale. The Gym Masters created a whale-looking shape with their bodies and inside they literally threw “Jonah” out onto a mat. And of course, they finished with the second coming with Jesus coming back for everyone. The only part of the event that no one looked forward to was Acrofest weekend being over. It was so much fun for so many as new skills and new friends were made. Michaela Fuentes said it best saying, “I can’t wait til next year.” Pictures by: Katie McConnell and Juanita Cabralas