The True Meaning of Christmas Bears Take State!

Vol. 97
Number 2
December 11, 2015
S a n Ma rc o s A c a d e my
2 8 0 1 Ra n c h Ro a d 1 2
San Marcos TX 78666
Bears Take State!
State Champs: Following the 27-6 State Championship victory over Tomball Christian, the Bear football team revels in their success November 28 at Houston
Baptist University. This is the first State win for the Bear football team in several decades.
by Khyle Danhach
•
•
•
Christmas spirit: President & Mrs. Scott with
youngest student Caterina Vazquez (6), who lit
the Academy tree at the
end of the Talent Show.
Program: The Christmas
Program featured the
choir, beginner band, high
school band, and theatre
class sharing the season’s cheer with music,
singing and laughter.
Decor: The middle school
decked out the doors in
the Jamail Event Center
to brighten their temporary classrooms.
What’s Ahead...
December
14... 1st & 2nd period finals
15... 3rd & 4th period finals
16... 5th & 6th period finals
17... 7th & 8th period finals
19... Christmas Break begins
25... Merry Christmas -Christ is born!
January 2016
11... First day of
Spring Semester
The Bears had an outstanding season that lead
to a State championship.
This journey all started
in August when the team
geared up for football camp
and the two-a-days in the
100-plus-degree heat. The
days were long, but they
were worth it.
On November 28, the
Bears squared off against
the Tomball Warriors to
fight for the State Championship. It was cold and
rainy in Houston. The
Bears arrived five hours
early to tune up the team
which had gone a week
without a full practice because of the Thanksgiving
break.
After suiting up, the
Bears headed out for a
short warm up and were
greeted by the cheers of the
many Academy students,
faculty and staff who came
out to support the team.
The Bears got the opening kickoff and opened up
with a nice drive that ended
on a controversial fumble
call by the refs. Tomball
got the ball on their own
two yard line but ultimately
turned the ball over. The
Bears ended up scoring
on a receiving touchdown
by running back Christian
Wilson (12). Tomball was
stopped on their next drive
and the Bears scored the
drive after linebacker Hank
Shirley (12) intercepted the
ball so quarterback Kyle
Robbins (12) could score a
few plays later. The Bears
went for a two-point conversion to make it 14-0 and
held it there until halftime.
Tomball started with
the ball and was stopped.
It went back and forth on
a few drives before wide
receiver Brendan ChrisContinued on page 4
The True Meaning of Christmas
by Reese Pickett
Christmas is a wonderful time of the year. Some say the
most wonderful time of the year. Christmas is a holiday
of relaxation and spending quality time with the ones you
love. The Academy has many international students from
around the world and many of them do not have much of
an idea of what exactly Christmas is and how Americans
celebrate it.
Christmas is the day Christians celebrate the birth of
Jesus on earth. Christmas is a time to honor Jesus by
giving to others and reflecting his kindness to others.
Christmas is celebrated, not only because we receive gifts,
spend time with family or eat good food, but because it is
a time to celebrate Jesus Christ’s birth and
give thanks to God for sending his only son
to die for our sins. American clergyman,
Roy L. Smith said it well: “He who has not
Christmas in his heart, will never find it
under a tree.”
The image that Christmas brings to mind
is festively lit houses, decorated Christmas
trees, colorfully wrapped presents, and
feasts with lots of tasty sweets. Christmas is
a favorite holiday in America and throughout the world. Children in America believe
in the fairy tale of Santa Claus – the chubby
man in a red suit, with a fluffy white beard,
and a bag of presents on his shoulder. Santa is found in
shopping malls, on street corners, and on posters and gift
wrapping. In America, Canada, the United Kingdom and
Austria he is also known as Kris Kringle. The Santa or
Kris Kringle character is based on a real person – Saint
Nicolas – who lived in Asia Minor around 300 AD. St.
Nick was a wealthy Christian priest who was both kind
and wise. He traveled the country secretly helping people.
In a best known story, St. Nick helps a poor man by dropping bags of gold into stockings drying by the fire so his
three daughters will have money for their weddings. Our
traditions of hanging stocking on our mantles and giving
gifts point back to St. Nick.
While the real St. Nick was a kind,
giving person, he did not live in the North
Pole, have elves, nor a sled pulled by flying
reindeer like our American Santa Claus.
Our Santa climbs down the chimney and
leaves gifts under the tree for kids to open
Christmas morning.
Many people get caught up in all of the
drama and exciting events of Christmas
and, too often, the true meaning of Christmas is forgotten. This Christmas season,
we should all try to focus on the season’s
true meaning. It is bigger than the love of
our families or good will toward men. It
Continued on page 3
Page 2
The Laurel December 11, 2015
Tastes of Christmas From Around the World
together to learn, these
recipes have been compiled
from the places our students call home: Nigeria,
Angola, Mexico and Texas.
This holiday season, you
can cook an international
meal and surprise your
family and friends!
by Ife Dahunsi
People around the world
celebrate Christmas in
different ways. Traditions
may be unique to each
country and household, but
one thing remains universal: food. Although different places have signature
foods that are prepared at
Christmas time, a known
fact is that everyone enjoys
the meals that they prepared with their family and
friends.
“In Angola, we believe
that if you eat Bacalhau A
Gomes De Sa, you have
good luck during the next
year,” said Angolan student, Ellenya Brito (9).
Since the Academy is
a school where people
from different cultures and
diverse backgrounds come
Nigerian: Jollof Rice
Total time: 1hr 15 mins
Prep: 5 mins
Cook: 1 hr
Ingredients:
2 cups of parboiled rice
5 tablespoons of tomato paste
1 red bell pepper (tatashe)
2 scotch bonnet peppers
About 600ml meat or chicken
stock
1 tablespoonful ground
crayfish (optional)
1 onion, sliced
1 clove garlic
4 teaspoons olive oil
2 small bay leaves (optional)
1 bouillon cube (recommen
Maggi or Goya)
Water, as needed
Salt, thyme, curry, seasoning
salt and any others of
choice (as needed)
Directions:
Precook rice and set aside.
With a blender, blend
scotch bonnet peppers,
onions, red bell pepper,
and garlic until it forms
a smooth paste. Set the
mixture aside. Prepare the
sauce. Do this by boiling
the mixture in a pot for few
minutes. Place pot on heat,
add some oil and chopped
onions, fry a bit and then
add the tomato mixture, fry
for about 10 minutes and
then add tomato paste.
**Cook until the tomato
loses its sour taste and the
oil begins to rise to the top.
Add the meat or chicken
stock to the pot and leave to
boil on high heat for 5-10
mins. Then add thyme,
curry, stock cubes, salt and
any seasoning of choice as
needed, and boil for 5 minutes. Add the rice and mix
thoroughly. Then add bay
leaves. **the liquid in the
pot should be at the same
level as the rice in the pot.
Cover the pot and let simmer until there is no more
liquid in the rice (cook on
low to medium heat). Then
mix thoroughly.
discarding fat. Strain the
broth and reserve 6 cups.
Some steps taken from In a large sauce pan, heat
Nky Lily Lete the red chili sauce and add
meat; simmer, covered for
10 minutes. To make masa,
beat shortening on mediMexican: Tamales
um speed in a large bowl
Total time: 1hr 15 mins
for 1 minute. In a separate
Prep: 15 mins
bowl, stir together masa
Cook: 1 hr
harina, baking powder
Ingredients:
and 2 teaspoons salt. In
3 ½ lbs pork shoulder or pork
the meantime, soak corn
butt, fat trimmed, cut up
husks in warm water for
10 cups water
at least 20 minutes; rinse
1 medium onion, quartered
to remove any corn silk
3 garlic cloves minced
and drain well. To assem3 ½ teaspoons salt
ble each tamale, spread 2
4 cups red chili sauce
tablespoons of the masa
¾ cup shortening
mixture on the center of the
6 cups masa harina
corn husk. Place about 1
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
50 dried corn husks (about 8
tablespoon meat and sauce
inches long)
mixture in the middle of the
masa. Fold in sides of husk
Directions:
and fold up the bottom. Lay
In a 5 qt Dutch oven, bring
the tamales in the basket,
pork, water, onion, garopen side up. Add water to
lic and 1 1/2 salt to boil.
Dutch oven just below the
Simmer covered, about 2
basket. Bring water to boil
1/2 hours or until meat is
and reduce heat. Cover and
very tender. Remove meat
steam 40 minutes, adding
from broth and allow meat
water when necessary.
and broth to cool. Shred
Recipe By Karen
the meat using 2 forks,
Continued on page 3
Caleb (8) &
Mr. Guenther
Fissy Ibidapo (8) &
Tanner McGill (12)
Max Boucher (12)
Michael Solomon (10) performed Toby Max’s “City
on Our Knees” and middle
schoolers Isabella Hilton
and Lily Xu’s did “Let It
Go” – all displaying the
Academy’s amazing vocal
talents.
To change things up, the
theatre class performed a
hilarious skit called “Computer Says No” wherein a
pair of apathetic “nurses”
give sick and bleeding students bad medical advise,
much to the delight of the
audience.
The show finished out
with an superb violin medley by senior Max Boucher.
Then President Jimmie
Scott and our youngest student, Caterina Vazquez (6)
were on hand to light the
Academy Christmas tree
and usher in the Christmas
season with some carols.
This talent show was
great. Students showed
their talents and the audience was amazed by the
performances. Many were
asking “Wow, do I really
know that person?” but all
left with smiles on their
faces.
Miracle
Okafor-Paul (12)
no, and Teyana Walker, on
flute, lightened the mood
The Thursday before
with a humorous medley
Thanksgiving Break stuof “The Butterfly” and
dents in their dress uni“Mission Impossible”. By
forms enjoyed a sumptuous changing the instruments,
Thanksgiving meal before
the audience was shocked
heading up to the Robinson by the novel playing style.
Christian Center for a great It was awesome.
talent show.
After Miracle OkaforFirst, Caleb Guenther
Paul shared a funny and
(8) played guitar and sang
meaningful monologue, all
“Brother” with his father,
lights went off. Wearing
Mr. Brian Guenther, the
black clothing adorned
Associate Academic Dean
with purple and green
for the middle school. Mr.
glow sticks, middle school
Guenther then accompanied students made the audience
a duet by seniors Mallolaugh as they became funny
ry Little and Jeffry Loyd
stick figures dancing in the
singing Meghan Trainor’s
darkness.
“Like I’m Gonna Lose
“I loved it. It was aweYou.”
some. It was organized
The next acts displayed
and very appropriate for
some of SMA’s piano taltheir age,” said high school
ent. Bianca Escandon (10)
math teacher Mrs. Patricia
played Brood’s song “Four Jackson.
Walls” with full emotion.
Eighth grader Fisayo
Jimmy Jiang then showed
Ibidapo and a senior Tanner
his professional piano play- McGill paired up to sing
ing skills performing “Mar- Justin Beiber’s “As Long
riage d’Amour.” Samantha As You Love Me”. The two
Ojeda (9) accompanied her did a great job merging two
sister Sarita Ojeda (11) who very different styles. Then
sang Taylor Swift’s “Out of Mackenzie Heldstab (12)
the Woods”. Then seniors
sang Francesca BattestelSophie Bathrick, on piali’s “Heaven Everywhere”,
by Mike Zhang
Middle School Dancers
Academy’s Got Talent
Marshall Marburger,
Hank Shirley &
Sean Quigley (12)
Page 3
The Laurel December 11, 2015
Language Lab
by Justin He & Mike Zhang
Many international students are enrolled at the Academy. This semester many of these students are participating
in the after-school language lab directed by Mr. Peter
Browne.
New to SMA, Mr. Browne teaches the English as Second Language classes throughout the day. Mr. Browne is
highly-educated and never stops learning. He has a double
Ph.D. in both psychology and biology. He is an author of
a novel he wrote with an Italian friend during the years he
taught in Italy. Mr. Browne is a multilingual educator –
he is fluent in English and Italian and he also knows a lot
about Spanish, German, Greek, and Latin. He is not only
good at linguistic teaching, he also accomplished in U.S.
History.
“Mr. Browne is a good teacher,” said Jeka Yu (10). “He
always helps me learn and doing homework. He helps me
improve my English and grades.”
Language lab has become a much needed project at
SMA and is an important activity for international students. What Mr. Browne tells them to do can really help
them improve their English speaking and writing skills.
Even students who speak English well are helped by Mr.
Browne’s instruction.
“It’s still the foreign language, and I cannot use it as my
native language,” said by Billy Wu (12). Although Billy
is not enrolled in the language lab, Mr. Browne was able
to help Billy with a paper he was preparing for the college
he wants to go to.
Since our community is multicultural, foreign students
looking for an education in the United States need extra help to continue to grow in the future. With the large
number of non-native English speaking students here, the
language lab really helps prepare these students for success at the Academy and, later, for college.
True Meaning Cont. from page 1
is about remembering the
birthday of Jesus. We celebrate one of the greatest
truths of the Christian faith
at Christmas: Jesus was
born, God himself became
man. Christmas is about
this amazing act of love.
During this Christmas
break, when things get hectic and we are out having
fun, we should take a step
back: Thank God for sending his son and remember
the true meaning of the
holiday we call Christmas.
College Bound Seniors!
Zach Cox
Angelo State University, San Angelo, TX
Sean Driscoll
Auburn University, Auburn, AL
Bodun “Edward” Hu
Texas A&M University, College Station, TX
University of Texas, Austin, TX
Tanner McGill
Dallas Baptist University; Dallas, TX
Matt Novelli
Austin College, Sherman, TX
Belmont University, Nashville, TN
Southwestern University, Georgetown, TX
Marie Pearce
College of Marin, Kentfield, CA
Will Platt
Menlo College, Atherton, CA
Hank Shirley
Pennsylvania State University,
University Park, PA
Sammy Tawakkol
Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX
Alejandra Tristan
Texas A&M University, San Antonio, TX
Do Good December
Christmas
Favs
Our survey ranked
these Christmas
favorites:
Cookies
#1: Sugar
#2: Chocolate Chip
#3: Gingerbread
Candy
#1: Candy Canes
#2: Peppermint
Bark
Impact in Action: At the kickoff event, Chick-fil-A Leader Academy participants put together meals as part of the goal to feed 1 million hungry people.
Thirty-one SMA students meet once a month throughout the school year for
a Leader Lab to develop leadership skills and organize community outreach
projects.
By Khyle Danhach
This school year, 31 SMA students are participating in
the Chick-fil-A Leader Academy. The Leader Academy is
a national leadership development program sponsored by
Chick-fil-A for high school students. It combines leader
labs and student-led community-outreach projects. This
program is important as it helps develop the next generation of leaders.
The students get together and pick their own service
projects to help out the community. This month’s “Do
Good December” projects are the first the group will
undertake.
One group is having raffle to raise money for a family
that lost its home in the recent flood. Another will be visiting a nursing home next week to play games, give gifts
and spread the Christmas spirit. The third group is raising
money with the goal of sponsoring the education of two
of the TEEM Haiti orphans. The last group of students is
gathering supplies for Prevent-A-Litter (PALS) of Central
Texas to support their spay and neutering clinics.
As this is the season of giving, the “Do Good December” projects give Leader Lab students a chance to make
an impact in their community. That message is what the
program tries to get across to students all across America.
Having this program around, helping out the community,
and bettering our students is a great idea. We hope that it
stays around for a long time.
Movie/Video
#1: Elf
#2: Home Alone
#3: How the Grinch
Stole Christmas
Song
#1: Jingle Bells
#2: Silent Night/
Joy to the
World
Tree Type
51% Real
49% Fake
While there were a
variety of traditions
& memories noted,
across the board,
spending time with
family topped the
best memories and
traditions for the
members of the
SMA family.
Merry Christmas!
Tastes Cont. from page 2
Angolan: Bacalhau A
Gomes De Sa
Total time: 37 hrs 5 mins
Prep: 20 mins
Inactive: 36 hrs
Cook: 45 mins
Ingredients:
1 1/2 pounds salt cod
1/2 cup plus 1 teaspoon olive
oil
2 cups thinly sliced yellow
onions
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 pounds waxy potatoes,
sliced 1/4-inch thick and
cooked until tender
4 hard-boiled eggs
8 black olives
1 tablespoon finely chopped
fresh parsley leaves
Directions:
Soak the cod in cold water to cover for 24 to 36
hours, changing the water
occasionally, drain. Flake
the cod into small pieces,
removing any bones. Set
aside. In a large saute pan,
over medium heat, add 1/4
cup of the oil. When the
oil is hot, add the onions
and the garlic. Season with
salt and pepper. Saute until
lightly golden, about 6
minutes. Preheat the oven
to 350 degrees F. Grease a
medium oven-proof casserole dish with 1 teaspoon of
olive oil. Season the potatoes with salt and pepper.
Spread half of the potatoes
over the bottom of the prepared dish. Sprinkle half of
the salt cod over the potatoes. Place half of the onion
mixture over the salt cod.
Top the onion mixture with
more salt cod. Place another layer of potatoes over the
top of the cod. Drizzle the
entire pan with the remaining 1/4 cup of oil. Place in
the oven and bake for 30 to
40 minutes, or until golden.
Place on a serving platter.
Garnish with the sliced
eggs, olives, and parsley.
Texan: Texas Trash
Total Time: 1hr 15 mins
Prep: 15 mins
Cook: 1 hr
Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/4 cup celery salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
1 1/4 seasoning salt
1 tablespoon Tabasco sauce
1 tablespoon Worcestershire
sauce
1 cup Cheerios toasted oat
cereal
2 cups rice chex
2 cups corn chex
1 cup pretzel
1 cup nuts
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 cups Wheat Chex
Directions:
Preheat oven to 250. Mix
the first 7 ingredients in a
cup with a spout. Mix all
dry ingredients in a baking
pan. Pour the butter and
seasonings over the dry
By Emeril Lagasse mix, stirring until each
piece is coated. Bake for 1
hour, stirring every 15 minutes. Then cool the mixture.
Bon Apetite!
Page 4
The Laurel December 11, 2015
Champs Cont. from page 1
tensen (12) scored on a
tackle-breaking reception
touchdown putting the
Bears on top 21-0. Tomball eventually scored on
a passing play to make it
21-6. Late in the fourth
quarter Christian made his
second touchdown, which
would be the final score of
the game. The Bears won
27-6.
After the final second
came off the clock, the
Academy football players
shook hands with the other
team and awaited the trophy presentation.
“It was a great group of
guys who really wanted
this and have earned this,”
said Hank.
“It felt good knowing
that all our hard work paid
off,” said left tackle and de-
fensive end Walker Powers
(12).
“Winning State was
bittersweet, because it was
amazing that we won, but it
was my last football game,”
said Brendan. “My favorite part was the last few
minutes of the game when
we knew that all our hard
work from the season had
paid off.”
Heading to the locker
room with trophy in hand,
everybody was happier
than ever. It was a great end
to an amazing season.
Soccer Kicks Off
by Ife Dahunsi
In early November, the
soccer teams dusted off
Dribble it: In their first home game
against New Braunfels Christian
Academy, Ashton Blackstone (9) is
backed up by Dakota Feigl (12) as
he runs the ball down the field. The
Bears are 5-1-0 and the Lady Bears
are 1-6-0 so far this season.
their cleats, slipped on their
jerseys and shin guards,
and kicked off the season
with home game against
Boerne Geneva for the girls
and New Braunfels Christian Academy (NBCA) for
the guys.
“I am enjoying it so far,”
said senior Mallory Little.
“The team is great. The
coach is great. We all work
very well together.”
Despite adjusting to a
new coach, the boys soccer
team has started the season strong with a 7-0 win
against NBCA and wins
against Cornerstone, Hyde
Park and St. Paul II.
The SMA soccer teams
are definitely having a good
season so far.
TCAL All-State
Football Stars
Offense
1st Team
Most Valuable Player:
Kyle Robbins, QB
Running Back:
Christian Wilson
Wide Receiver:
Brendan
Christensen
OLine:
Walker Powers
Center:
Hank Shirley
2nd Team
OLine:
Warren Kemp
Honorable Mention
Tight End:
Whitaker
Touchstone
Overall Athlete:
Tanner McGill
Defense
1st Team
DLine:
Miracle Okafor-Paul
Linebacker:
Tanner McGill
DBack:
Kyle Robbins
Kicker:
Will Platt
2nd Team
DLine:
Walker Powers
Linebacker:
Hank Shirley
DBack:
Phoenix Bustillos
Punter:
Kyle Robbins
Honorable Mention
ALinebacker:
Hector Correa
DBack:
Rory Korzeniewski
TEEM Haiti
Students are showing
their support for TEEM
Haiti’s Maison des Enfants de Dieu orphanage
by donating powdered
formula and diapers in
droves. The orphanage
currently houses 71 children and relies on our
donations to keep their
operation running.
The Guenther Family
will return to Haiti with
a team of volunteers and
much needed supplies
right after Christmas.
Last year more than
6000 diapers were donated. The student body
was challenged in a
recent chapel to surpass
that number this year.
Donations are being
accepted through Friday,
December 11.
Flooding
at SMA
By Reese Pickett
Halloween weekend,
heavy rainfall came down
for almost two days
straight, causing damage to
houses, stores, and businesses around the area.
San Marcos Academy was
also greatly affected by the
storm.
Davidson Hall, which
houses the middle school
and supply room on campus, took on water. Middle
school students had to
move out of the building
due to the unsafe conditions. Classes for grades
six through eight have been
held in Fine Arts wing of
the Jamail Event Center
since early November. The
middle school building had
mold growing in it because
of the water and the moist
walls. Contractors were
hired to destroy the mold,
tear down and replace dry
wall, and to get rid of the
remaining water in the
basement. Lots of progress
has been made and the middle schoolers will be able
to return to their normal
classrooms after Christmas
break.
The high school had
minor flooding all along the
back of the building. Damage was minor, but the back
walls, area around the back
doors and cabinets located
on the back walls in the
ISS, art and JROTC rooms
are being repaired.
“The flood was crazy,”
said boarder Aahil Ramzan
(10). “The rain was coming
down so hard and there was
a bunch a water.”
The Sabre bookstore
was flooded and has been
temporarily relocated to the
Bear Cave until the floors
can be replaced. During the
storm, water built up on the
roof and broke through the
ceiling tiles into the store.
During the time it was
closed, the store lost thousands of dollars in sales. It
is likely The Sabre will not
move back into its original
location until the end of the
school year.
We are grateful for all
the effort and resources that
have been put into the flood
recovery on campus and
look forward to seeing its
completion soon.
Basketball
Briefs
by Justin He
Basketball is a popular
winter sport. Our boys’
Varsity team was in good
shape this season, even
with the loss of several
strong players from last
year. So far they have won
three games and with the
arrival of additional players
with the end of football, the
team is getting even stronger.
“The team this year has
much more experience than
the team last year. They
have more depth and more
position,” said by Coach
Bill Miller. “From the
games which we played,
our team should work on
the taking care of the ball.
The whole team should
perform better in the game.
Jerry (Sainah) is a good
leader for the whole team
and they work together real
well. I think we will get
State champion.”
Coach Blake Draper, the
new assistant coach came
to us from Texas State University. He will be working
to develop a new and better
Staff Reporters:
Ife Dahunsi
Khyle Danhach
Justin He
Reese Pickett
Mike Zhang
Adviser:
Mrs. Cindy Rollins
Policies:
The Laurel is published
several times each school year.
It is distributed free of charge
to the San Marcos Academy
student body. The Laurel may
also be viewed online at the
Academy web site, https://
smabears.org. .
Opinions expressed in
columns and editorials are
those of the student writers
and do not necessarily reflect
the views of the faculty or administration of San Marcos
Academy.
Letters to the Editor are
encouraged. Letters must be
typed and submitted to the
editor one week prior to the
publication date. All letters
should be signed.
For information on San
Marcos Academy, please visit our web site at https://
smabears.org.
Contact:
Phone: (512) 753-8040
Fax: (512) 753-8031
Email: [email protected]
Site: https://smabears.org
Address:
2801 Ranch Road 12
San Marcos, Texas 78666
Junior Varsity team.
The Lady Bears have
a new team. Many of the
girls are first-time players, but are already seeing
progress and improvement
with every game. Coach
Barrick Nealy is new to
coaching girls’ basketball, but has been with
SMA athletics for five
years. The team is coming
together and starting to gel
more.
It is still early in the
season, but we have high
hopes for our basketball
teams!
Push it: Still early in the season,
juniors Bami Folabi and Sterling
Gillman team up to secure a 69-39
win in the home game against Legacy
Christian Academy in November. The
boys Varsity is 3-5-0.