Andrews Academy Alumni
News & Announcements

September 2023

Welcome to our newest alumni, AA Class of 2023!

Fall is almost here, and that can only mean one thing—ALUMNI WEEKEND! We are so excited to host AA Alumni weekend on October 20 & 21! The main events are on Sabbath, October 21. Career Seminars presented by alumni for current students are held on Friday morning. Friday evening vespers is being planned by the class of 2003.

Plan to attend all of our events and catch up with classmates. In case there are any updates to the weekend's schedule, please visit our reunion information page before alumni weekend. Events are hosted at the Academy unless otherwise stated. Some honor classes may have additional gatherings to attend. Many of the honor classes have a Facebook group page where classmates may be planning activities for the weekend. See our list of FB groups for links. If we don't have yours listed, please reply to this email and let us know.

This year, we are planning to have basketball games for Shydepoke. Challenges have arisen over the past couple of years regarding Shydepoke, and we are seeking to make AA Alumni aware of them and potentially develop some possible solutions that will be agreeable to most. We would like to keep the spirit of Shydepoke alive and request your feedback in this matter.

The Shydepoke planning challenges are as follows:

• The Berrien Springs High School field is no longer a feasible option due to time constraints and costs.
• The athletic field at Andrews University is still under construction. 
• AA's field doesn't have lights, which are cost prohibitive to rent.

Alumni Weekend Events:

• Friday, October 20: 8-11 AM - Convocation and Career Seminar Presentations by alumni for current student body

• Friday, October 20: 7 PM - Vespers by the Class of '03

• Sabbath, October 21: 10 AM - Tribute Sabbath School & Alumni Proceedings (Roll Call)

• Sabbath, October 21: 11:30 AM - Alumni Worship Convocation: Doug Taylor '98, Speaker

• Sabbath, October 21: 12:45 PM - Honored Class Alumni Photos & Haystack Luncheon (food provided) - Honor Classes will have a classroom to meet in for lunch and the afternoon.

• Sabbath, October 21: 2-6 PM - Academy building open for extended mingling.

• Saturday night, October 21: 8 PM - Shydepoke (Basketball games hosted at the AU Andreasen Center for Wellness gym); the AA Commons will also be open for visiting.

Sabbath School and church are typically live-streamed on AA's Facebook page and YouTube channel. If you are unable to join us in person, please join us virtually!

If you do not receive the above postcard in the next few weeks, we may not have your current mailing address. Please send an email to AAalumni@andrews.edu with your updated information so that we can keep in touch. Thank you!

Teacher Legacy & Honored Alumnus Awards

Shydepoke 2023

Hello AA Alumni,

I have created a Google form for all alumni (those who graduated or attended) to complete. It will only take you 5 minutes, and it will give me great information on how to plan for the evening. If you get a chance, please complete the form.

The female basketball game starts at 8:00 PM, and the male game is immediately following. I will provide the game balls for both games. I will also provide the jerseys for the alumni to wear. We will be playing in the AU Andreasen Center for Wellness gym.

If you have any questions, please email me at samantham@andrews.edu.

~ Samantha Mills, AA PE Teacher

2023-24 AA Family

We are pleased to announce that our school enrollment is currently 245 students.

Please keep Andrews Academy in your prayers during the 2023-2024 school year. May each student think deeply, live fully, serve unselfishly, and trust God completely.

Andrews Academy would like to invite our Berrien Springs community and Andrews Academy alumni from far and wide to attend as we celebrate this year's 50th anniversary Feast of Lights on Friday, December 8, 2023. Dr. Orrison began this "Gift to the Community" fifty years ago. We invite our community and alumni to return to PMC for this special program as recent former music directors, Mr. Becker, Mr. Boward, Mr. Flores, and Dr. Graves will be returning to AA to direct some songs as we celebrate this year's Feast of Lights. We would love to fill the front of PMC with alumni and current singers as we sing the Hallelujah Chorus together to conclude this year's Feast of Lights celebration.

HodgePodge 2023

HodgePodge occurred on Friday morning, August 18. This activity is designed to be a mixer to help students learn each other's names, as well as to have a fun time. This year there was a game of Jeopardy about AA facts before the students went outside. It was a picture and temperature perfect morning for group challenges outside, which included the first class to line up according to age, height, then birthday, etc., as well as a balloon challenge.

Everyone then went to the Academy parking lot, and each class used chalk to draw a symbolic representation of our 2023-24 school theme, “Eternity starts here.” A lot of creative ideas were expressed with the seniors winning, then sophomores and juniors, with freshmen coming in fourth place. There was also a frozen wet shirt challenge where four frozen shirts were given to each class that had to be thawed out and put on.

Students then returned to the back of the school where there were pools filled with water, and a path to run on with a plastic sheet with soap and water for a relay race. By late morning, the temperature had risen and was perfect for enjoying pool relay races! Many smiles could be seen as students jumped into the pool. Various other activities were available as one at a time, classes were served their lunch.

The Student Association planned the event, and PPI (Parents Positively Involved) prepared and served a great meal. There were a lot of smiles as students enjoyed the morning and made new friends.