Academy Press: FBA Student Newspaper (Issue 1)

PressSENIORS UnitedThe class of 2014 is ready for the end...

>>> page 04

BACK TO SCHOOL?!A new year brings new challenges

>>> page 03

The Biggest Stories of the First Quarter

Academy

The FBA NewsPress Quar ter 1 ISSUE 1

FOOTBALL IS BACK >>> page 08

Can You Dig it?All About Vol leybal l >>> page 13

Fashion... What's Your Style?

MESSAGE from the EDITOR

EDITORMarko Susnjara

STAFFBlaine Nicholas

Chandler Jones

Logan Kirkpatrick

Ellie Merrill

W James

Adviser: Mrs. April Radcliffe

Academy PRESS is published as a

publication of First Baptist Academy.

3000 Orange Blossom Drive

Naples, FL 34109

239-597-2233

www.fbalions.org

All rights reserved © 2013

Here at the Academy PRESS, we str ive to br ing

you only the best in news and enter tainment ,

while keeping our focus as a whole in the r ight

place. With so much happening at our school

this year, the paper should be more excit ing then

ever. We hope you enjoy this publ icat ion and wil l

continue to support us through the remainder of

the year. Marko Susnjara

2 I S S U E 1

A C A D E M Y P R E S S

BACK TO School New classes , new fr iends, new stress?

EEveryone has a

di f ferent opin-

ion on start-

ing the f i r s t

day of school .

Some stu-

dents are super exc i ted whi le

others are dreading the

start . E ighth grader Andrew

Rose sa id , “ I was not look-

ing forward to school at a l l .

Summer i s the best t ime of

the year and I d id not want

i t to end.” Whi le f reshman

Ju l ie Beam descr ibed her

fee l ings , “ I was exc i ted to be

coming into h igh school . We

don’t have to wear uni forms,

and I got to meet a l l the

new kids .” I t ’ s a day fu l l of

mixed emotions . When asked

about fee l ings , f reshman

Anna Dougherty sa id she fe l t

lost , whi le f reshman Mad-

i son Peacock sa id she was

very nervous . Although both

g i r l s sa id they quickly real-

ized h igh

school i s much di f ferent than

middle school and they were

super exc i ted about that .

Senior Ty ler Brecher sa id “ I

d id not want summer to end,

a lthough start ing senior year

i s exc i t ing despite a l l the

pressure .” Whatever grade

you are enter ing, whether

you’re nervous , exc i ted, lost ,

or confused the f i r s t day

of school a lways comes . No

matter what , you have to be

prepared. -Maggie Wi l l iams

Seniors Lead WorshipOn S eptember 27 the seniors had the pr iv i lege of leading chapel .

They star ted of f with worship with Hezron on the drums, M att on

the guitar, Daniel le playing the keyboard, and Adam and Cale igh

s inging. Af ter worship Jordan Beaubr in spoke about the senior

retreat in the beginning of the year. She expla ined how i t was

a bonding t ype exper ienc w for the c lass and how the seniors

rek indled old f r iendships. Then Kody VanDuser set goals for

our senior c lass. He expla ined what goals the seniors set for themselves.

Noah spoke about “ the Rock ,” a rock that the ent i re senior c lass in i t ia led f rom

Lake Aurora . The rock depic ts that the seniors are a united c lass and they wi l l

s tand strong. The seniors c losed with a word f rom Pastor Kevin VanDuser.

I S S U E 1 3


Seniors Start the year off r ight

All summer, the date August 14th was always in the back of our minds. Always there, looming in the distance, only mentioned in a hushed whisper or a screeching cry. This date, of course, was the first day of school. The date students everywhere would be forced to trade in their freedom for tests and homework, and be forced to wake up at 6:30 am instead of 11:30. The following day, August 15th, is usually

just an extension of the day before, the introduction to a long year. However this year, for the senior class, that all changed. This year, our class did something that had never been done before. On only the second day of the new school year, we had the amazing opportunity to kick off the school year with a splash, a senior retreat, which took place at the beautiful Lake Aurora camp site. To start the week on a high note, we were the very first to use the shiny new school bus. Needless to say, it did not dis-appoint. When we arrived we were greeted by friendly people and spacious cabins. We were excited for what was ahead of us. Over the course of the two days we spent at

the beautiful lake camp site, our class truly grew closer to-gether through the many exciting activities in which we were able to

participate. Jumping on and flying off the blob, fishing, kayaking, relaxing on the beach, playing volleyball, playing man-hunt, and participating in the amazing discussions led by coach V; all of this kept our days busy and fun. An absolute highlight of the two days were the small group sessions we broke up into, as we got to know each other much better and began new relationships. All of these amazing experiences, combined with the fact that we didn’t have to show up for school two of the three first days, make me confident in saying that every single one of us enjoyed ourselves, and it offered the chance to go back, would accept in a heartbeat. By Marko Susnjara

4 I S S U E 1


a. Listen to some funky, sorta old, differ-ent music while wearing your oversized headphones.b. Make sure you wear over-

sized, vintage, and kind of ironic t-shirts with different mes-sages all the time and loose, cut-

off jeans and awkward length capris.c. Have the right attitude! Don’t care

what others think of you and make sure you settle into your own environment and stay independent of the current trends .

a. Dress like one. If you want to see what that looks like, study the girls and guys with the colorful polos and khakis that are sporting their online or-

dered colorful backpacks.b. Stride forward only in the best slip-ons and flip-flops all the time. Don’t get them in any bold colors, though. Get them in the almighty neutrals so you can pair them with anything and every-thing.c. TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF. I cannot stress this enough. You need to make good hygiene and grooming a regular, if not rigidly religious, part

of your life if you want to be prep. Make sure no strand of your clean, shiny hair is out of place and your nails have to be cut and cleaned. This next tip goes especially out to the dudes. #1 rule of being attractive: SMELL GOOD. When you smell like a little piece of heaven, it takes care of the rest. d. Manners are a must. Be courteous towards your parents and teachers at school. Even be polite to the other groups! Always sport a bright, shiny smile and make sure to be respectful of ev-eryone. Doing well in school is a must too, but make sure you look great while doing it.

a. Dress like you just walked outta the mud swamps. Jeans and old, worn boots are necessary to

be accepted into redneck culture and if you don’t have these, please leave. You’re not a true hick until you have your camo. Hats, overalls, shirts, pants, and even lanyards can

be done in camo and are a must. b. HEY LISTEN UP, YA’LL! IF YOU DON’T

HAVE A BIG, JACKED UP TRUCK, YOUR LIFE IS A LIE. Well, at least the hick part of it. Your status as a redneck is all about the truck you drive! In fact, you can never have too many bells or whistles on your truck! The bigger and louder it is, the more hick you are. Make sure you have stacks and loud, obnoxious horns to give yourself

extra redneck points.c. Don’t worry about your appearance. Rednecks are low-maintenance and disheveled but somehow pull it off as part of their overall attitude. Don’t let your hair grow too long though cause you’ll end up looking like the hipsters. Take care of yourself but don’t at the same time.

a. Let’s get something straight right off the bat. Just because you are an athlete or someone who attempts to be an athlete, doesn’t mean

you’re a jock.b. Dress for success as a jock ,which means any athletic brand of clothes is acceptable. Slides, sweats, Under Armor shirts, anything Nike or Adidas, and don’t forget the socks! c. Wear your letterman jacket at all times, if possible and lend it out to your head cheerleader girlfriend when she’s “cold” or actually just whenever she wants.d. Go to football practice or some other manly sport practice and domi-nate. Make sure everyone sees you working super hard and getting playing time and then rub it in everyone’s face and exaggerate all the plays you make.e. Work hard at school, but not too hard: you don’t want it to look like you’re working hard.f. Get good grades and occasionally give the teachers a hard time but make sure you graduate so you can continue on to college and pursue your professional sports career.

THE JOCK

THE RED

NECKS

FashionForward

How to Be:

by Savannah George

THE HIPSTER

THE PREP

I S S U E 1 5


Everything worth accomplishing is work. Hard work results in changes, whether i t 's a score that increases or a goal that you f inal ly meet , i t a l l begins with work.

SAT/ACT Test Prep - I t a l l s tart s with an idea.

Brad Bai ley and Andrew Hatch had an idea to

better the SAT/ACT scores o f s tudents acros s

F lor ida . Brad had the or ig ina l idea when he

wrote ACT/SAT prac t i ce exams . He l earned

f rom teachers , s tudents , and the people who

actual ly write the ACT and SAT to see what the

best s trategy was to writ ing tests . He learned that a

cr i t ica l th inking approach to the ACT/SAT i s better

instead of the repet i t ion approach most tutors go

by . Ba i ley met Hatch whi le they were at tend ing

Harvard and went on to teach Hatch everyth ing

about The Brad Bai ley Method for taking the ACT/

SAT. They both graduated from Harvard and now

they teach their way of taking ACT/SAT to students

a l l over Naples , with great success . Students who

are in this ACT/SAT prep class learn about the best

cr i t ica l th inking ways to approach a problem on

the test . Math, for example, i s an area of the test

where you can use guessing. They teach a strategy

us ing the most common aspects of each answer .

Andrew Hatch i s current ly teaching thi s s trategy

and many other strategies to FBA juniors dur ing

2nd per iod. David

B o n i l l a s t a t e s ,

“Act/Sat prep pre-

p a r e s y o u f o r t h e

t e s t a n d A n d r e w H a t c h

i s v e r y k n o w l e d g e a b l e

in th i s area. By W. James

Preparing for the future!

Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men. Colossians 3:23

6 I S S U E 1


This year our FBA cross country team i s putt ing in extra

effort to break records and f in i sh for His g lory . The season

started ear l ier th i s year with a meet at Lemon Bay High

School where the team set h igh standards for the year .

The g i r l s ’ team, composed of V ictor ia Stearns , Kr i s ten

Heerema, Jess ica Kantner, Devon Powers, Ashleigh Baker,

and Grace Scott , competed with other school s inc luding

Mariner and Sarasota High School . The boys ’ team, con-

s i s t ing of : Robbie Hurt , Jacob Winkelman, Jack Heerema,

Adam Schmitt , and Matthew Powers , p icked up two new

runners : George Cruz and Logan Kirkpatr ick . After their

f i r st meet, the team ran another 5 ki lometers at Ft . Myers

High, where the team had the opportunity to see exact ly

what the rest of the season would entai l . Every-

one beat their personal records at Jet Blue Sta-

dium in Lehigh Acres . Our own Jacob Winkel-

man placed 3rd in our Di s t r ict on September

28th , a new record fo r the c ro s s country 5k

with a t ime of 18 :22 . The teams had not been

ab le to b reak a per sona l record fo r some

t ime. On Saturday , October 5th , at Buck-

ingham Park near F t . Myer s , a lmos t the

ent i re team broke the i r per sonal records

and George Cruz ran for the f i r s t t ime thi s

year . FBA c ro s s country has h igh hopes

for the season ahead. The team plans on

breaking even more personal records and

running every race for Hi s g lory . By Logan Kirkpatr ick

"Brethren, I do not regard myself as having la id hold of i t yet ; but one thing I do: for-gett ing what l ies behind and reaching for-ward to what l ies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the pr ize of the upward cal l of God in Christ Jesus." Phi l ippians 4:13-14

No Bench Required!

ACT

I S S U E 1 7


First Baptist Academy vs. ImmokaleeThe Lions came off the bus with a mindset to show, not only Immokalee, but the entire state of Florida that they aren’t just a regular 2A team. Immokalee on the other hand was still licking the wounds of their heartbreaking loss against Clewiston the week before. They both went on to the field with a strong belief that they were going to win. One playing for the salva-tion of their season, and the other for the salvation in Christ. Just when things were about to get underway thunder rumbled

through the stadium. Both teams ran to their locker rooms and waited for the sign to go back out. It seemed like they wouldn’t play that night, but two minutes before they would have canceled the match the three horns rang out and the game was underway. The lions started out flat with a short drive which led to a 15 yard punt which gave Immokalee a very short field and they were the first to score. The Lions came back and drove down the field for a couple of 1st downs, but eventually failed to convert on 4th down. This gave Immokalee yet another short field which they used to drive down and scored again. The Lions started to get their offense going by driving down the field and scoring. The Lions surprised the Indians with an onside kick, which FBA recovered. The two teams battled the rest of the half and the score was 7-26 at half-time. The Lions ran on to the field determined to shut down the deadly Immokalee offense. This did not start out well since the first play of the half was a 63 yard run for a TD by the Indians. But the Lions battled back in the second half scoring a touchdown as time expired bringing the final score to 13-39. Despite the loss the Lions were satisfied with their performance. They believe they showed the rest of the state that they are a real team that proudly displays

a Cross at the center of their field and plays 4HG. Now the FHSAA knows there is something special happening at the little Christian school off of Livingston and Orange Blossom.by Jared Crespo

First Baptist Academy vs. NeumannFBA went out to their biggest rival, St John Neumann to play the fourth of their five consecutive road games and it was as exciting as advertised. Neu-mann believed this was their year to take 2A by storm but to do that they would have to make an example of the district champion FBA Lions. FBA started out strong by getting a quick 7 points, but Neumann received a short field from a recovered onside kick and tied the score on that drive. It was an absolute grind from that point on. Just before the half the Lions were leading 14-13. The Celtics stopped FBA at the goal line. This led to the an impressive defensive stand. They stopped the Celtics at the 2 yard line on 4th down. FBA failed to execute and punted the ball away. This led to another short field for Neumann - again they were on the goal line and the Lions held them to a field goal. At this point the Celtics had taken the lead 16-14, with a little over 5 minutes left. The Lions drove down the field and led with a passing attack.continued next page-QB Tyler Dean and good rushing from RB’s Christian Ro-driguez and Dillon Cibelli which ultimately capped off with a 30 yard by Cont,

A Story of the Underdog

L ions Win Nailbiter Over Rival

8 I S S U E 1


4HGfrom pg. 8 -Good rushing from RB's Christian Rodriguez and Dillan Cibelli was capped off by a 30 yard pass from QB Tyler Dean to Tyler Breacher. This put the Lions in the lead at 21-16. All the Celtics needed was a touchdown and the game was theirs with 1:30 left on the scoreboard. The Celtics slowly made their way down the field but in the end it wasn’t enough. The FBA Lions won 21-16 against their bitter rival. It was as uplifting of a victory for the Lions as it was a crushing defeat for the Celtics.

FBA Dominates in WinFirst Baptist Academy vs. Moore HavenIt was a long drive to Moore Haven on the FBA bus, but the Lions focus remained on what was about to happen that evening. Moore Haven was the toughest team left on the Lion’s regular season schedule and their last of 5 consecutive away games. This game was going to come down to what happens when an unstoppable Moore Haven offense meets an impenetrable FBA defense and it was a sight to behold. The Lions started out with a quick score and shut out the explosive MHS offense in the first half. By the end of the second quarter FBA had a commanding 19-0 lead. Moore Haven came out of the locker room at halftime motivated to pull off a comeback and they scored on the first drive of the half. Again the Lion’s defense was too much for Moore Haven to handle and the final score was 26-7. A W in the win column for the FBA lions. With a 4-1 record on the road during their 5 game away streak and undefeated record in district play, FBA is on the way to becoming the champion of district 2A-6. With only a few games remaining in the regular season, the Lions will begin gearing up for the playoffs and a run for the regional title.By Jared Crespo

Road to the District!

H A R RY MA R I TATO

DA N I E L L ES P L E N D O R I O

V I N N I E

PA N I P I N TO

J O R DA NB E AU B R I N

B R U N OR O S A

Pen or

Pen-cil?Pen

Pen or Pencil?Pen.

If you could, what elective would

you add to FBA’s class choices?Cooking Class

Pen or Pencil?Pen.

If you could, what elective

would you add to FBA’s

class choices?Baseball Class

Pen or Pencil?Pencil.

If you could, what elective

would you add to FBA’s class

choices?CookingClass

Pen or Pencil?

Whatever works.

If you could, what

elective would you

add to FBA’s class

choices?

Recess

I S S U E 1 9


Football is a place where many life lessons are learned and rela-tionships are melded, through hard work and intense emotions. Players and coaches spend may hours in the weight room and on the fields, pumping iron, watching film, and planning their game. These times of intense preparation yield real character building moments and create friendships that will stand the test of time. Each moment helps the team as it prepares to play 4HG.

More than a game. . .

M E N TO R I N G

While football is a

game and is about win-

ning (and championships)

Howard and Deacon

show that it is also

about relation-

ships,

CELEBRATE

After a hard fought

game at Neumann and

an important district win,

the team celebrates by

pouring Gatorade on

Coach Sparacio's

head. P L AYWith pre-

game emotion Tyler and Nick begin to focus on what needs to be done.

ENCOUR AGECoach V celebrates along with Christian after a night of hard hits

WINThe team takes the

field in preparation for

their game against

Imagine School.

Go Maroon, Go

White!

Can you dig it? The FBA varsity volleyball team has been digging it all season as they ’ve

c l inched the second seed in the distr ic t . H ighl ights

of this season include three vic-

tor ies over Neumann and com-

peting in two tournaments pro -

viding them with the oppor tu-

n i t y to p l ay g o o d co m p e t i t i o n

a n d w o r k t o g e t h e r a s a t e a m .

Without any seniors on the team

this year, leadership responsibil -

ity fel l on the junior c lass. Daniel le Stevenson

and Emily Lines led the way as captains for the team while class-

mates Caroline Rober tson, Michaela Zerbo, and Shawna Wiggins

a d d e d e x p e r i e n c e a n d d e p t h t o t h e s q u a d. Ta l e n t e d s o p h o -

mores K aleigh Walker, Ashley Steiner, Anibel Sumner, Jack i Pe a r s o n , a n d A b by B e u t te l co m p l e te t h e v a r s i t y ro s te r. H e a d i n g i n to p o s t - s e a s o n p l ay, Co a c h Wa l k e r a n d t h e t e a m a re t h r i l l e d t o h ave s e t t e r A s h l e y S t e i n e r b a c k i n the l ine -up. “ I am excited to have another oppor tunit y to play CSN, i f we can stay focused and pumped up I th ink i t w i l l b e a ver y good match! I a lso am

e xc i t e d t o h ave A s h l e y b a c k in the l ine up!” says Coach Walker. Ashley missed the middle par t of the season with a foot in jur y. Al though she was missed on the cour t , several teammates stepped up and this exper ience wi l l

u l t i m a t e l y m a k e t h e t e a m s t ro n g e r. T h e t e a m i s l o o k-ing for ward to f in ishing strong in the distr ic t tournament. By : Emi ly L ines

“4HG” is the JV vol leyball team's motto. The team's season

has been a challenge with more losses than wins. Even

though they have lost some they have fought hard. The

team has fought for not only the glory of FBA but mostly

the glory of God, which is far more important. A member of

the JV vol leyball team said, “The sport of vol leyball i s a lot

of work. It ’s a chal lenge but it ’s very excit ing.” In vol leyball

you always have to try your very best, but sometimes your

very best i sn’t enough to win. However, your very best i s

al l you need to glorify God. This team works hard at every

practice and every game. Their sportsmanship is probably

one the most important factors affecting their team. They

said,“Most of

the t ime we

get along but

sometimes

we argue.”

Every person

in this team

has a different

personality, because that’s

how God made them. They’re

each going to have their

own opinions and thoughts.

Bringing unity to the team is

the f irst step of success . This

team has put a lot of t ime and

effort into ski l l and unityand

they can only get better. By

El l ie Merri l l Now the season is

coming to an end and they have plans to f inish

Can You

Dig It?

More than a game. . .

I S S U E 1 1 1


A tradit ion - Blake poses with the

trophy that the team didn't win.

FALL INTO SPORTS AT FBAAf ter four years of work this year 's senior gol fers are f inding success on the greens.

The FBA Lion’s golf team is off

to a decent start at 2-3. They

won a nai l b i ter dur ing the

SFCA game by B lake dr iv -

ing i n a b i rd ie to s ea l the

one stroke v ictory . The next

win they ach ieved was aga ins t a heav-

i ly favored Seacrest . They pul led of f the

u p s e t m o s t l y b e c a u s e o f a n i n j u r y t o

Seacrest ’ s s tar p layer in the midst of the

match. The FBA Lions won by 1 1 s t rokes .

Go l f p r a c t i c e s a r e a

r e l a x e d a t m o s p h e r e

b u t t h e p l a y e r s d o

know it i s a t ime for

improvement so they

s t a y d e t e r m i n e d t o

win. "We have a lot of fun at golf prac-

t ices . I t ' s very ch i l l and coach doesn ' t

m ind a l i t t l e humor , but we neve r

s top improving,” sa id Logan Hendry of the

FBA go l f team. The team i s no pushover

however . They have a very s t rong l ineup

with Al lan, David, Zach Brecher and Grant

Sher le s . “ I can ’ t wai t to see how the re s t

of the season plays out .” Says Blake Smith

1 2 I S S U E 1


Documents

Academy Press: FBA Student Newspaper (Issue 1)