The Best Season in Years

This year our middle school boys' basketball teams had the best seasons by percentage in recent memory. The "A Team" finished 15-4, and the "B Team" 11-5. Coach Kenny Grider (OBI '86) expected both teams to do well from the start. "I knew who I had on the teams, so it didn't really surprise me," he said. This was Grider's ninth year to coach middle school basketball.

One of the season's highlights was winning our OBI tournament for the first time in four years. Our team prevailed in the last four seconds against Jackson County.

Grider enjoys coaching this age group. "Thye don't think they know it all, " he explained. "They're easily coached because they want to learn, to get better." Since middle schoolers are not yet coordidnated or as skilled as they will someday be, coaching involves teaching "simple mechanics", according to Grider.

Another of Coach Grider's goals is building character in his young players. "I try to teach them to treat each other with respect. I won't keep a kid on the team who makes fun of others. They're supposed to build each other up, not tear each other down." Coach Grider concluded, "I'm really proud of them. They worked hard."

Two from OBI go to All-State Chorus

Two OBI students earned the right to participate in this year's annual Kentucky All-State Chorus, sponsored by the Kentucky Music Educators' Association. Andrew Davidson and Gaiell Kercy attended the three-day event in Louisville in February.


This was Andrew's second year at All-State. "I really enjoyed it," he said. One memory he will keep is that of all of the students singing the National Anthem each night from their hotel balconies.

Gaiell was "sort of surprised" to be selected, since he tried out last year and didn't make the cut. "I was more focused this year," he said. "I think I became better at All-State. I learned new techniques."

The All-State Chorus was made up of roughly 700 top vocal students from across Kentucky. The state choral chair accepts the best students in each of four parts: soprano, alto, tenor, and bass. Singers are tehn put into one of three groups: a boy's choir, a girls' choir, or a mixed-voice choir. Andrew and Gaiell both sang in the mised choir. They spend three days in concentrated rehearsals before performing in a concert on the last night.

The All-State audition included singin a piece of music for four judges in a quartet and also performing part of the selection solo, both times singing a capella. Additionally, the boys had to sight-sing for a fifth judge after being given only a beginning note and approximately 30 seconds to glance at the music.

Ministering to those "in an in-between spot"

When Oneida Baptist Institute openedon January 1, 1900, we accepted children of all ages. In the 1950's we discontinued the elemetary program and worked only with high school students. the '70s and '80s brought major changes . We added many co-curriculars, began a summer school program, opened the Tutoring Lab and brought middle schoolers back into our student body.

Today approximately 80 of our 325 students are in grades six through eight. Most of our younger students come to Oneida for the same reasons as their older peers. Some have fallen behind academically. Others are not getting along well at home. Still others need to be separated from a negative peer group. "The parents want the students our of an environment that hasnt' been positive, "explained Marv Leuschke, middle school principle. "They're looking for an opportunity to change their lives. The parents have felt that there is not an opportunity for their children to succeed for whatever reason."

The need for structure is cited as a primary reason for enrollment of OBI students of all ages. Leuschke believes we can provide that structure. "We are one team, consistent will all the kids".

The structure is even more evident in the middle school than it is in the high school. Our younger students have all of the courses in just two buildings, so they can easily get from one class to another. With an average size of 10 or fewer, classes in middle school are even smaller than those in high school. Students in grades six through eight are tested at the beginning of each school year, and then grouped into 'sections' based on their math test scores. While they do change classes and have different teachers for each subject, middle school students stay in the same section for every core class.

Fourth hour for these students is enrichment. They may choose from a wide range of subjects, including guitar, computer games, various sports, physical education, home economics, choir, art, and farm education.

Leuschke has worked with children in grades K-8 for 37 years, so he is well acquainted with the challenges of ministering to middle schoolers. "They're neither little kids nor adults. They're stuck in an in-betwen spot. We have to keep realistic expectation of what they're able to do." Leuschke spoke to how this plays out academically. "They may have the ability to do the work but might not understand the concepts. As teachers, we always have to start with the concrete and go to the abstract. That allows us to do hands-on fun things. These kids aren't too big to have fun and laugh at themselves."

Middle school students are also going through a host of physical and emothional changes that affect them socially. "Academics are secondary to the social aspect," Leuschke remarked. "They're living in an experimental mode, trying out things they see adults doing... They're learning how to deal with the adult world when they're young people and not yet adults...They react differently as they see what works. Six months in the life of a middle school person is a huge time span. They'll go through several different personalitites during grades six through eight as they experiment with who they are and as their self-image changes. They are very fragile, and they need a lot of 'TLC'."

Leuschke finds working with this age group to be very rewarding. "They're very honest and open. What you see is what you get." Leuschke sees this as positive. "The honesty decreases the drama you'd have with high school kids."

Watching Them Grow

At Oneida, caring for our youngest students not only includes the school day, but dormitory life as well. In both the girls' and boys' dorms, middle school students are grouped together on one floor. Freshman may live with the younger crowd or with the high schoolers. "It depends on their maturity," explained Betty Rankin, Dean of Students. The houseparents spend more time of the floors with the middle school youngsters, as they need closer supervision.

Rankin stated, "We have fewer sixth-graders, because they often don't know how to take care of themselves." Houseparenting our youngest students can be an interesting task. they often need to be taught how to do laundry, the basic of hygiene may need to be reinforced, and they need lessons in tolerance and cooperation. "They're still learning about teamworkd," Rankin said. "Sharing is a big word for this age group." Sometimes older students help the younger ones with basic chores.

Our youngest students can make houseparenting worth the effort, though. "The hugs come easily," Rankin stated. "We can see growth in a child. We watch the girls blossom, become more confident and learn how to take care of themselves. We see the boys taking more responsibility. It's really neat when you see a kid who's been here a couple of years begin helping the little ones."

Surprisingly, homesickness is not as much of a problem for this age group as one might assume. "The big kids can be just a homesick, if not worse," Rankin said. "Often the little ones come here with an older sibling, and that helps. Many times the parents are the more homesick for the kids than the kids are for the parts, especially at this age."

Middle School Teachers: Meeting the Challenge

Jenny and Kenny McCain are in their twelth years of teaching in the OBI middle school. Jenny is the primary teacher for our sixth-grade class. Kenny teaches Bible for the 7th and 8th grades.

This year has been an adventure for Jenny. She accepted the challenge of teaching the sixth graders in an experimental self-contained class. Except for science and the enrichment hour, sixth graders stay in one room with Jenny all day. "At first I said 'no' when they asked me to do it," she confessed, but over a few weeks she prayed about it and told the principal she would take the class if he still wanted her to. "Now I love it. It's been a real blessing. I have to teach five different subjects, but it's easier because I know the kids and I can relate one subject to another."

Jenny strives to keep things interesting. "I try to make it fun. If I'm boring myself, I know I'm boring them!"

She also goes the extra mile for our youngest pupils and their families. "I try to make it as much like home as possible. We have birthday parties and surprises." She also calls the parents of her students frequently, allowing for ongoing communication.

The self-containted setting gives Jenny the opportunity to focus on life skills more than she otherwise could, thereby easing the youngsters' transition to middle school. "I try to teach them how to survive being a student and how to be organized, especially when they're away from their families. We deal with how to work in groups and how to handle doing an assignment you don't like."

Kenny tries to tailor his Bible teaching to meet the needs of older middle schoolers. "We go from more devotional lessons to more academic ones," he stated. He relates biblical principles to issues teens face and uses scripture to teach not only about Bible stories, but about life in general.

Kenny speaks passionately about the values he works to instill in his young students. "One of my key things--what drives me to teach Bible--is my belief that if a kid finds out what his purpose in life is, then everything else will fall into place. Purpose is the key." Kenny noted that at OBI it is easy for a student to focus on short-term goals, such as making the honor roll so he can be exempt from nightly study hall or getting grades up so she can play sports. "For the kids who come here, though, it's not so much about academics as it is their wants. 'What do I want in life?'. I life at the kids and that's how I size them up. When God helps them find their purpose and have a drive, that drive will cause them to achieve."

Fine Arts Department Benefits from Volunteer Labor

In January, our art classes moved into a newly remodeled classroom. Another refurbished room is ready and waiting to become the new piano lab.

Both the art room and piano lab had needed to be improved for some time. The art room was small, and the storage space was not very user-friendly. The piano lab was crowded and contained no room for storage. Since the lab was adjacent to the chape, there were also issues with noise and student traffic.

The solution to both problems lay in the Gritton Gym. A concession stand area in the upstairs portion of the gym was rarely used any more. The old art room was right nest door to the concession area. Our new construction crew and volunteers tore out the dividing wall, creating one large space. They then built another wall, creating two classrooms with new dimensions.

The remodeling was extensive. A window was put into the new art room. Knee walls were installed for the piano lab. "The room was designed especially for that purpose," said our new construction director Dan Nichols ('94). The ceilings were raised a foot and new drywall ceilings were put in, as well as new lighting, heat, and AC.

"The art room is now bigger than any other classroom on campus," Nichols stated. The new piano lab is larger than the old lab and has storage space for books and sheet music. After new keyboards are purchased for the lab, all piano classes will be moved to their new environment.

Both of these classrooms are examples of how much we treasure and depend on your volunteers. Except for the drywall, all work on both rooms was done by our own construction crew and volunteers. "The plumbing, electrical work, and carpentry were all done by volunteers," Nichols explained.

In addition to piano and art classes, the drama department will also benefit from the rearrangement of these rooms. They have always had to store props and costumes in areas removed from the chapel. Now drama will be able to take over the space vacated by the piano lab, so costumes and props can be much closer at hand.

OBI Student Places Second in State Art Contest

Sophomore Min-Jee Park earned second place in a state-wide art competition in December. The contest was part of the Touchstone Energy All "A" Classic, which includes the All "A" Classic state basketball tournament, an art contest, and other competitions.

The art entries were taken to Eastern Kentucky University for judging. Min-Jee won a cash prize of $300 for her pastel and charcoal rendering of a basketball in motion going through a hoop.

Art teacher Sandy Anderson said, "Min-Jee is a natural artist and her schooling in Korea accelerated her to the level of artistic ability that she has right now. In one quarter with me she accelerated in every assignment. She has proven to be a top artist for her age group."

Min-Jee has been doing art for 10 years. Her favorite media are pen and watercolor.