Over the summer, students from Armuchee High School participated in many different conferences, camps, activities, relaxations, and other social events.
Freshman, Angelina Khoja, traveled out of the country this summer. She said, “I went to Canada to meet my dad’s side of the family.” Khoja hadn’t seen her family in a while, and she was introduced to some of them for the first time. She was very excited to go meet them, especially in another country. “My grandpa finally got his visa, and he went to Canada, so we went to go meet him.” Khoja and her family visited Edmonton and Calgary in Alberta, Canada, where they went to several water parks and saw different scenes of sky views. They hiked and explored nature, and went to several cliffs to see the beautiful landscape below.
Some students like ninth grader Adalyn Smith, stayed at home over the summer. “I found a new Disney show to watch every week,” she said. Smith watched Good Luck Charlie, KC Undercover, Bluey, and Percy Jackson. Adalyn also said, “I read Harry Potter and I went on walks at night.” Smith found many other exciting, but relaxing ways to spend her summer without having to travel often. These included sleeping, eating, cooking, drawing and painting, which took up most of her time over the summer. She tried new recipes, and created some new ones of her own. Smith drew everything from a cross to a garden, and painted different landscapes and objects, such as a countryside at sunset or mountains in the distance.
Parker Campbell, senior, went to several different camps over the summer. He said, “Band camp was super fun this year. I met Mr. Chasteen, and I really like him.” Mr. Chasteen is the new band director this year at Armuchee High School, and Campbell had the chance to meet him over the summer. Parker also worked at WinShape Camps, a community camp for children grades kindergarten through sixth. He said, “I learned how to do photography at WinShape Camps with Bryon Schirner. I learned a lot of stuff I did not know about taking pictures.” Campbell didn’t originally know that much about cameras and photography, so WinShape really helped him learn more about them, and use them for good in his church.
A few Armuchee students, like ninth grader Isabella Howell, went to a conference with friends. “We also went to a Student Leadership Conference, SLU 101 [in Orlando], where we had about a year’s worth of leadership skills packed into 4 days.” Howell and her group left home for a week, and they learned how to be better leaders and followers of Christ. “We learned about our faith, and why we believe it. We learned ways to live in a world that isn’t as Christ centered as it should be.” Howell and the other young leaders heard from speakers such as Dr. Jay Strack, the president and founder of Student Leadership University, Brent Crowe, the Vice President of SLU, and Jeff Wallace, the Chief Executive Advisor. Other speakers included Alisha Childers, Brad Lomenick, and Pat Williams, the co-founder and Senior Vice President of the Orlando Magic. It was a huge learning opportunity for the students who went, and they all really appreciated the wonderful leaders, speakers, and chaperones who led them throughout the week. Howell and her church group made new friends and enjoyed the company of wise leaders, but they had many long conferences throughout the day. However, it wasn’t all work. Howell and her friends got to ride roller coasters and hang out with sharks at SeaWorld, and have lots of fun at Universal as well.
Senior, Braden Therber was faced with the challenge of balancing work and fun over the summer. “I worked in the evenings so I could do fun stuff during the day.” Therber worked at the Rome Emperors as a ground crew member this summer. He worked over thirty games and helped lay the foul lines, dust off the bases, drag the field, and pull the tarp on the field when there was poor weather. During the day, he would enjoy his summer by spending his free time with friends, family, and his girlfriend, but when the evening came around, he would go watch baseball games and work at the same time. Therber also had weeks with no work in them, and in those weeks he would travel or participate in camps. Therber’s family went up north for their summer vacation, and toured the cities surrounding the Great Lakes. They explored Cleveland, Detroit, Niagara Falls, Toronto, Milwaukee, and Chicago. Therber also attended his church’s annual Beach Camp at the beginning of the summer, and worked at WinShape Camps to end his break.
Freshman Selma VanSise said that she “was busy over the summer” and wasn’t able to complete her summer wishlist. VanSise really wanted to get more involved in cheerleading at Hot Shots, but she didn’t get the chance to. Selma’s family also traveled to South Carolina, but when they were back at home, she had to take care of her younger sisters and help her family out, so she didn’t have time for cheer. I’m sure a lot of us felt the same way Selma did, saying that “Summer ended way too soon, and I didn’t do enough.”
From traveling, to working, to relaxing, students at Armuchee High School were busy working and participating in activities and events over the summer.
