Sibling Family Party

Sibling Family Party

Grace Miller, Esther Hughes, Evelyn Gerber and Leah Bontrager

Hillcrest Academy hosted its annual all-school Sibling Family Party this past Friday evening. The party—organized by our student government (Y-CO)—began outside on the practice fields. Y-CO president Mia Graber and representative Gabe Bruns started things off by leading everyone on a “walk-a-mile” through the campus timber where students had the chance to converse with one another, switching conversation partners every minute to ensure that they talked with friends and new acquaintances alike. The walk ended at the concession stand where sponsor Marcus Miller was busy cooking popcorn. Students were also treated to cookies, brownies, and lemonade before heading into the Hillcrest Union Gymnasium for activities and games. 

This portion of the evening began by splitting everyone into one of six sibling families. The families were first tasked with choosing a totem animal to represent themselves, and then designing a sibling family crest. The Lions, Cheetahs, Elephants, Goats, Swans, and Polar Bears all emerged from this activity. The families then had a chance to prove how well they could work together through the game Survival, and the Lions, the Swans, and the Elephants each took a turn as champions. The families then paired up for a school-wide dodgeball tournament. At this, the Lions and Cheetahs were undefeated champions, and the Swans and Polar Bears won the consolation prize in a hard-fought battle against the Goats and Elephants. 

The last game pitted student against student in a massive game of musical chairs. After a number of close calls, countless falls, and at least one broken chair, sophomore Evelyn Gerber (a member of The Swans) emerged the victor. We ended with a school-wide photo and prayer led by Marcus before dismissing everyone to either head home or to spend an additional half-hour with open-gym time. Students played nine-square, volleyball, basketball, and soccer, or they tested their dexterity with giant Jenga (courtesy of Crooked Creek Christian Camp). Cleanup was remarkably brief with many students sticking around to help out, and everyone was out the door safely by 9:45.