March 12, 2010Volume 16, Issue 12

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S enio r Swagger on the Slopes The senior class takes a weekend trip to Duluth.by Rachel Sandnes

As Cristina Gomezcoello picked up speed going down the slope, she quickly realized, as this was her first time skiing, that she had no clue how to slow down. The slope began to get steeper and steeper, and a rather large pole was getting closer and closer. She said, “Her life flashed before her eyes…” as she stumbled down the hill. She woke up to a nice man helping her up, and a fellow skier on the lift above throwing down a dollar bill and complimenting her on her recent wipe out. Once situated, she decided that from then on she would walk down the slopes. Skiing was far too terrifying.

Cristina said, “Skiing was fun while

going down the bunny hill, but once I accidentally turned down a blue square (intermediate slope) and didn’t know how to stop, skiing wasn’t fun anymore. I fell a lot and I’m still very sore.” Christina says the senior class trip to Duluth was awesome because she got a chance to talk to and get to know her fellow classmates who she usu-ally doesn’t see outside of school. Although skiing wasn’t Cristina’s favorite thing, the senior class managed to do a lot more than that. The trip included bowling, swimming, sight seeing around Duluth, grabbing food at local joints, and even striking up conver-sations with people around the city.

Some of the senior girls pose for a picture next to one of the many lighthouses in Duluth, MN!

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Jared Schultz said “It was cool how the tips that Mark gave fit into a conversation I had. I asked this woman, ‘Why do you wear that cross?’ It was awesome how the Lord provided a way into the con-versation. Wherever you go you will find a mission field. Although this woman didn’t come to know Christ that night, it’s reassuring to know there was a seed planted.”

Much planning and preparation went into this trip to make it hap-pen. Ali Connelly said, “The trip to Duluth was completely set up by Kari Battillo and the senior class wants to give a big shout out. Thanks Kari!”

A Big HIT at Hillcrest 44th annual basketball tournament will be held at Hillcrestby Peter Rogness

The Hillcrest Invitational Tourna-ment is a basketball tournament that will take place on Friday and Saturday, April 16-17, 2010. The tournament is organized by Charlie Brue, teacher and coach at Hillcrest. The tournament has been going on since 1966. This will be the 44th year of the tournament.

The tournament consists of 64 teams from all over. Teams come from around the Midwest, or even some from far away states such as Pennsylvania and New York. Teams are mostly made up of players that attend a Lutheran Brethren church, or are Hillcrest alumni, or current Hillcrest stu-dents.

The teams are categorized into four different divisions: I, II, III, and Classic. The teams are placed based on the age and experience of the players, and the level of competitive basketball they have played.

The games take place in a number of area gyms: the Fergus High School and Middle School, the YMCA, Cleveland Elementary, and both the old and new gyms of Hillcrest.

The tourna-ment is a great time of fun for everyone around Fergus Falls. Over 600 players and their families come to town, bringing business to restaurants and hotels.

HITs are a fantastic time for all play-ers to renew old acquaintances. Many of the same teams have been attending this tournament for years. “It’s bigger than Homecoming,” said Mr. Brue, “with all

the alumni that return to play basket-ball and see friends.”

HITs are also very popular with Hillcrest students. The sophomore class runs the clocks and does the books for many games as a fund-

raiser for their class. Typically each year, many students play on a variety of

teams. Charlie Brue said, “I want to see even more Hillcrest teams this year. I’d like to see a Korean team, a Danielsen team, a berserker team and a girls’ team.”

The deadline for registering a team for HITs is March 19. The cost is $200 per team and a roster must be turned in with payment.

Hillcr

est Invitational

Basketball Tournament HIT 2010HIT 201044 th Year

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A Time to Engage Hillcrest students participate in Mission Minneapolis to create relationships with the local people and demonstrate God’s love.by Abigail McWaters

As ten Hillcrest students and two chaperones slowly approached Ebenezer Church, they all peered expectantly out the windows as an-ticipation and excitement filled the Chevrolet Express van. It was March 5th and the first day of “Mission Min-neapolis”.

Mission Minneapolis is a one weekend mission trip for Hillcrest students, offered a few times a year. It allows for students to reach out to the local people there and help in anyway they can.

The students that participated in this Mission Minneapolis were Carl Berge, Erlend Eide, Daniel Torsvik, Martin Hagen, Øystein Ryland, Rachel Olson, Silje Arefjord, Malin Knudsen, Marte Weltzin, and Sigrid Gilje. The two chaperones were Girls Dorm Resident Life Staff Member,

Nicole Quernemoen and Boys Dorm Resident Life Staff Member, David Listor.

When the team arrived at Ebenezer Church in Minneapolis on Friday March 5th, they spent the time worshipping and preparing for the weekend’s events. On Saturday the team hit the Minneapolis streets! The team broke up into smaller groups and visited local hair salons, clothes boutiques, and flower shops, getting to know the neighboring people and asking their views on Ebenezer Church and what improvements could be done around the area.

On Sunday, the team departed for the Minneapolis streets once again to talk with the people in the area. “There was a focus on local missions, getting to know the people where you live. It was more about learning than

working,” said Sigrid Gilje. Later that afternoon, the team set off for Mall of America. Although this is the big-gest mall in America, the focus of the team wasn’t on shopping. Rather, it was about reaching out to the people there, creating a relationship with them, and showing the love of God. Sigrid Gilje felt more prepared for this task after attending the sessions focused on the importance of witnessing with Mark Cahill during Spiritual Emphasis week. “It made me more open-minded to the Lord’s plan. We didn’t go to the mall to shop,” Sigrid Gilje said.

The team arrived back at Hillcrest on Sunday March 7th with many stories to tell and a stronger bond with each other. “It was a really nice group and we grew in our relationships with each other. We all learned so much,” Sigrid Gilje said.

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TidbitsCompiled by Chrystian UlrichAbigail Feist fell 50 times on the senior class trip. Hannah Juel and Pernille Jacobsen had a giggle fit at Applebees. Jared Schultz, Peter Rogness, Jeff Schmidt and Rachel Sandnes ate at Chipotle two days in a row. Sara Christianson set off the alarm going into Wal-mart. Daniel Nersten opened the door for Connie Jensen when she had her hands full. Nisius McAllister left his MP3 player and school books at home. Wil Twedt found a Nerf sword in the Wal-mart parking lot at 1 a.m. Devon Apgar got 8 stitches after his fall in a basketball game. Rachel Sandnes fell up the stairs and cut open her elbow. Gabe Jennen crashed into Grace Jacoby on the slopes during the senior trip. Andrew Stender is excited for the Twins to do better than the Yankees this year. Dean Erkenbrack rescued the boys dorm from cold water. Justin Olsoe got an odd haircut. Elizabeth Nersten scared Alex Karlsen with a fake spider. Carl Berge woke up on his own. Quincy Undseth and Daniel Nersten were kicked out of Service Food for sharing their faith.

All-S tate Al l T he WayTwo students receive All-State band honors.by Amanda Schnyders

April 17 may be just another Saturday in Fergus Falls, but for Jordan Konynen-belt and Brandon Doering, it’s the first day of the two day all-state honor band event.

In the late fall 2009, Brandon and Jordan submitted a recording with two prepared pieces and some musical scales. The Minnesota Band Directors Associa-tion, MBDA, selected them for a band of about 70-80 members to play in Marshall, MN on April 18. Brandon was chosen for the sixth through eighth grade age group from 300-350 applicants. Jordan was cho-sen from over 200 applicants for the ninth and tenth grade age group.

The event in Marshall is a Satur-day and Sunday event. Saturday is a day for sectionals and other forms of various rehearsals. Sunday will be a big day for the All-State honor band members. It will be the day of dress rehearsals and the final concert.

The level of music on a one to six scale (one being beginner band; six being highly professional) for the sixth through eighth grade group is between a three and a three and a half. For the ninth and

tenth grade group, it’s about a four.Students receive their event music in

February to start their own rehearsing. At the event, they have guest conductors from various colleges around the state. One of them this year is from Concor-dia in Moorhead. Coming from a smaller school, it will be a different experience rather than coming from a bigger school. In the 70-80 member All-State honor bands, each part will be covered. At Hill-crest, if no one plays an instrument that is needed, whoever plays the instrument that sounds closest to it will play that part so that the sound will be similar.

Last year was the first year that any Hillcrest student sent a recording in. Jordan was the only one who received an invitation to the All-State honor band event. He went for the sixth through eighth grade age group. This year, there will be two members representing Hill-crest Academy, a veteran and a rookie.

“Both students showed a great deal of individual effort in preparation for the audition,” said Hillcrest band direc-tor Steve Doering, “We’re all looking forward to a great experience.”

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This Issue was edited by Kari Battillo and

Elisabeth Listor!

We Jump! We Shoot! We S ave!Junior high students raise money for Hoops for Heart.by Kyle Mitchell

“I was eight years old when I first went to the hospital and they found out how sick I was. I stopped breath-ing, but they saved my life,” said Nata-lie Bascunan, a life saved from the money raised from hoops for heart.

Hoops for Heart is an organization run by the American Heart Association which is a national voluntary health agency whose mission is, “Building healthier lives, free of cardiovascular disease and stroke.” Hillcrest started

participating in Hoops for Heart four years ago and has raised over $1,500 for this program.

This year there were about 30 ju-nior high students who participated and they raised around $500. The student that collected the most mon-ey was Kayla Christenson with $125 raised; the rest of the class helped out with most kids contributing at least ten dollars. Mrs. Hohncke, the coordinator for Hoops for Heart,

said, “It was great to see the kids get excited about collecting money for this event and being able to have fun while doing it.”

After the fundraiser was over, the kids spent a seventh hour gym class playing basketball to thank them for the time they spent fundraising for the event. Junior high student Dan-iel Nersten said, “It was a lot of fun to collect money and then to have a day to play basketball.”

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Playoff TimeThe boys basketball team prepares for playoffs.by Paige Stier

The HLA boys basketball team is preparing for their first playoff game of the season on Thursday March 11th against the Brandon-Evansville Chargers at the HLA Student Activity Center. The Com-ets have had a great season so far with 18 wins and only 2 losses in the regular season. They will enter the playoffs with 12-0 conference record. The team is mentally, physi-cally, and spiritually getting ready for playoffs. The basketball team has recently had a couple of injuries--Devon Apgar with a head injury this past Friday and Josh Wolderich with

a knee injury. Both have been rested up and will hopefully be playing on Thursday. Brandon-Evansville is currently ranked 7-19 in the regular season and 6-6 standings. If the Comets win their game against the Chargers, they will play the winner of the Battle Lake and Clinton-Graceville-Beardsley game. Coach Preston said, “It is a game that we need to make sure that we are pre-pared to play well Thursday. They pose a problem in that they have four different players that shoot three pointers very well. We will have to play well defensively”.

Sports ScoresGirls Basketball

Friday, 3/1Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa ...51Hillcrest ...........................57

Thursday, 3/4Parkers Prairie ..................70Hillcrest ...........................35

Boys BasketballFriday, 2/26

Rothsay ...........................37Hillcrest ...........................70

Tuesday, 3/2Hancock ..........................61Hillcrest ...........................75

Friday, 3/5Clinton-Graceful-Beardsley 58Hillcrest ...........................67

Ful l y For givenby Eli Christofferson

“It wasn’t so long ago that you were mired in that old stagnant life of sin. You let the world, which doesn’t know the first thing about living, tell you how to live. You filled your lungs with polluted unbelief, and then exhaled disobedience. We all did it, all of us doing what we felt like doing, when we felt like doing it, all of us in the same boat. It’s a wonder God didn’t lose his temper and do away with the whole lot of us. Instead, immense in mercy and with an incredible love, he embraced us. He took our sin-dead lives and made us alive in Christ. He did all this on his own, with no help from us! Then he picked us up and set us down in highest heaven in company with Jesus, our Messiah.”~Ephesians 2:1-5 (The Message)

Living in a world full of sin is a constant struggle. Even though the world makes sin look appealing and harmless, in the end sin just destroys and consumes our lives. Often we get caught up in selfishness and rebellion and want to live our lives the way we want and not how God intended us to live. When really, God knows what is truly the best for us and is just trying to protect us from getting ourselves into predicaments that would harm us or complicate life greatly. When we decide to live the way we desire and not how God desires us to live, we should be “done away with” because we completely turn our backs in disobedience towards God. But because of God’s mercy He gives us the chance to repent and turn to Him. Even though sometimes we might feel like we are beyond help, and that God would never accept us because of what we have done, we simply have to run to Him and ask for forgiveness and our transgressions will be removed from us as far as the East is from the West. Once we truly are sorry for what we have done and have repented, we don’t need to worry about what we have done in our past because God has fully forgiven everything, and we should thank God for that!

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B e Bold and WitnessMark Cahill speaks during Spiritual Formation Week.by Carley Fabian

As the Hillcrest students and staff gathered in the Bethel Church Fellowship Hall on Mon-day March 1, one could hear the talk about what this year’s speak-er would bring to the table.

Mark Cahill started talking about how essential it is that Christians care about the souls of lost people. He explained to the students how to start a conversation with a stranger and what questions to ask. He also told about his experiences.

Mark Cahill was Catholic growing up and didn’t know what he believed. He played

college basketball and then later became a teacher. During college Mark met 4 people who changed his life. He became a born again Christian and de-voted his life to Jesus Christ. After teach-ing for a few years he became a full time evangelist.

Mark gave the students a homework assignment to be bold and wit-ness to one lost person during the week. On Thursday the stu-dents shared their experiences

they had throughout the week.Mark talked about the impor-

tance of being in the Word. He said that if students weren’t in

the Word they wouldn’t be ready for the hard times coming.

Mark really had an im-pact on the student body. Cat Jacoby said, “Mark re-ally changed my point of view on witnessing.” Talia Pearson said, “Mark’s

words changed my whole way of thinking. When I go to a store I actually think about people’s souls.”

Outstanding Studen ts S tan d Ou t.Two Hillcrest seniors receive academic awards.by Gabriel Jennen

Hillcrest Seniors Andrew Hohncke and Sophia Undseth both recently received awards for excelling in academics, along with other activi-ties.

Andrew Hohncke became a state AAA honorary semi-finalist. To receive the AAA award the student must excel in Academics, Athlet-ics, and Arts. Andrew Hohncke, a member of NHS, Knowledge Bowl, Key Club, Football, Basketball, Track and Field, Concert Band, Jazz Band, Concert Choir and Vocalize seemed to be the perfect candidate. “I was really excited when I heard that the teachers of Hillcrest nominated me for the AAA award,” said Andrew.

Every year the teachers vote

on two students, one male and one female, to go on to sub-sections in Minnesota. This year the teachers of Hillcrest nominated Andrew along with classmate Sophia Undseth, Sophia didn’t make it all the way to State but still was a good candidate for the award after being in NHS, Key Club, Volleyball, Basketball, Softball, Concert Band, Jazz Band and Concert Choir.

Although Sophia did not receive the AAA award, she did receive an award that she has been working on for over a year. It all started last year when Sophia took the PSAT as a ju-nior. After taking the test and getting her scores back, Sophia received a letter about an opportunity to apply

to be a National Merit Scholar. This honor is only given to students who are in the top two percent in the na-tion. After filling out the application, writing essays, getting references, and taking the SAT Sophia learned that she was one of the 15,000 finalists in the country, less than one percent.

“Receiving the award gives me a chance to make an adventure out of my life,” said Sophia, “I could never have done it with out the talent that God gave me.”

Sophia is thinking about attend-ing Liberty University in Virginia for Nursing while Andrew plans to at-tend Carlson School of Management in the Twin Cities for International Business.

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A Day in PrayerStudents end Spiritual Formation Week with a time of worship, prayer and sharing.By Carl Berge

Spiritual Formation Week ended with a prayer day when students, as well as teachers, had some time to reflect upon the challenging week they had just experienced. “It was really inspiring and helpful to see what we have to do to spread the Gospel,” said junior Cathrine Kvamme.

Girls dorm head Dean Nicole Quernemoen, together with Wayne Stender, helped organize the prayer day and she said it went smoothly. “By having the prayer day we want-ed to focus on the Lord through prayer, worshiping and sharing. We want the Lord to be glorified,” she said.

At the start of the day, students were welcomed into the chapel where they were given some infor-mation about what was going to happen. After that, the boys and girls split up, boys went to Bethel Church and the girls stayed in the chapel. Over at Bethel, Mr. Undseth held a speech focusing on prayer as an important part of your day. He asked

the students if they could spend one percent of their day in prayer in their everyday life. He said that one per-cent of your day is around fifteen minutes in a day. “I liked his chal-lenge and when he talked about his own experiences with prayer and God,” said junior Thomas Kilvær. In the chapel, the service was led by Mrs. Schultz-Fred and she talked about marriage and how God is our Father. “I liked her talk. It was down to the point and very practi-cal, “said junior Marte Weltzin.

After this, the students spent time on their own in the chapel, classrooms and the stu. In the chapel, chairs were removed, and people sat on the floor, some praying, some spending time reading the Bible.

Before open lunch started, the worship team led the students in a time of worship. “I really enjoyed the worshiping, it was different and every-one participated, “said Silje Arefjord.

Junior Benedicte Bjørnestad, one of two lead singers in the Norwegian praise band, said she liked to see people

loosen up and worship the Lord.The last two hours of the day were

spent sharing thoughts, ideas and ex-periences about the week and personal testimonies. “ I appreciated the sharing time that we had. It was a good time,” said Weltzin.

UPCOMING EVENTSWeek Eleven 3/15 All School Band Concert . . . . . . . . . . . . 7:00 pm 3/17 Tri-College Math Competition . . . . . . . . 8:00 am 3/17 Knowledge Bowl . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8:00am 3/20 HLA Talent Show . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6:45 pmWeek Twelve 3/22 Choir Concert . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7:00 pm 3/23 Knowledge Bowl . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8:00 am 3/23 Parent-Teacher Conferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3/26 Hillcrest Band Tour . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3/26 Hillcrest Easter Vacation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Future Events... 4/11 Band Concert @ Bethel . . . . . . . . . . . . 7:00 pm