Students Receive High School Diplomas

"This May represents a milestone in the lives of many students at Turning Winds because of the accomplishment they have achieved in anticipation of the completion of a high school diploma.

 

The greatest challenge in life each of us faces is the management of our own selves, not others. For if we can control our own actions, speech, thoughts, and ideas, we have the potential to be available to others and to learn from them. Earning a high school diploma represents one of the major steps in this life long challenge of personal attainment.

 

It is with much appreciation I present to you

 the following students: 
Ryan A.

Evan R.

Kevin I.

Robert W.

Abigail S.

Stefan B.

Logan W.

Austin R.

Alex S.

I am proud of your accomplishments and you have a right to be proud of yourselves. I encourage you to take the discipline, work ethic, and structure of a daily routine with you into your future. Know that every great accomplishment comes with sacrifice. Self indulgence has no good end because it is never satisfied. Seek truth, do good acts, and live well. "

Janet Hanson

Academic Director
Turning Winds Academic Institute

Turning Winds Academic Institute Sponsors Tim Tebow Event

 On March 07, 2012, John Baisden invited a group of students and a teacher from Turning Winds Academic Institute to attend a fundraiser hosted by Stillwater Christian School. The theme for the event was, “For such a Time as This, an Evening with Tim Tebow.” What a wonderful opportunity this was to visit with, and listen to Tim Tebow discuss overcoming adversity in his life and instilling hope, faith and perseverance while speaking to a crowd of over 2000 people in Kalispell, MT. 

 Along with tickets to attend the event, I was given a single pass that afforded the opportunity for someone to have a personal conversation and photo shoot with Tim Tebow. I decided to give that opportunity to our only eighteen year old student, Logan W. I hope that that event made a profound impact upon Logan as well as the rest of the students. Those in attendance from our school were Logan W., Brian S., Matt M., Kevin I. and Steve K. Also, in attendance was our longest standing teacher (nine years) at TWAI, Scott Bertsch.  

 One of the great stories that Tim Tebow shared with us surrounded the events of the BCS National Championship when Florida beat out Oklahoma 24-14. Coach Meyer set the tone that football season with the mentality of not winning the BCS National Championship but, instead he had preached all season to his team that they needed to “finish strong” in everything that they did both on and off the field. When Tim Tebow had just scored another touchdown to put Florida up by ten points, he knew that he had sealed the deal and that they would win the national championship. As Tim walked off the field, Coach Meyer walked over to him as he took off his headset. He grabbed Tim, hugged him and said, “You finished strong, I love you and I am proud of you!”

That is what we hope for with every student that is enrolled in TWAI.  That when they have completed their stay at our school, they are received by a parent, grandparent or guardian and are able to say as Coach Meyer conveyed to Tim Tebow, “You finished strong, I love you and I am proud of you!”  Let us all be a little better in our lives that we may be an instrument for good and finish strong!

Fun in the Snow....

In February, a group of young men from Turning Winds Academic Institute hiked out to the Upper Ford cabin in Yaak, Montana.  There were many first time experiences during the trip as many of the students at Turning Winds Academic Institute have never experienced snowfall like this in their young lives.

The students enjoyed sledding, snowshoeing, and even built an igloo out of snow.  Many team building exercises were played each evening as well.  Below are two of the student’s reflections on the trip:

 

From the pen of Ryan A.:

“The venturing trip was a lot of fun but also very educating.  Along with the fun we had the trip also taught me so much about myself and reassured me on the progress I have made while being at Turning Winds Academic Institute.  We were given a lot of freedom compared to our everyday life at the school.  There were many chances to make the right or wrong choice throughout the trip and I made all the right choices.  In some situations I was in, I would have made the wrong choice before coming to Turning Winds Academic Institute.  It was nice to know I was trusted and it was even nicer to know that when I was trusted I was able to make the right choice.  We were also given a ration of food for our lunch throughout the week.  I learned that I have to work on saving things and using my resources wisely.  Although it was just food this time, I know now that in the real world it could be money and if I don’t spend it wisely I might not be able to pay my bills.  I understand that this could then lead to whole mess of other problems.  All in all it was a great trip with lots of fun and good lessons.  I feel as though I learned so many valuable lessons on this trip while also being given a great opportunity to reflect on the progress I have made while being here at Turning Winds Academic Institute.”

 

From the pen of Brian S.:

“A couple of weeks ago I went a super venturing.  This was a huge privilege for me because super venturing is usually for graduates only.  I was given the opportunity to attend because of my good performance in the program thus far.

We went to a cabin that was a few miles outside of Yaak for a week.  There was no electricity or running water, so we had to boil our water or filter it. 

There were a lot of activities we participated in.  One day we went snowshoeing up in the mountains.  It was fun going through the deep snow.  We also went sledding one of the days.  We made ramps and found anyway we could to gain speed. 

We had a lot of freedom during venturing, and it was a great opportunity for me to see how I would handle freedom at home.  I am proud of myself that I continued to make good choices and did not abuse the freedom I was given. “