US history students who daily step into Mr. Dennis Buchmiller’s US history class were recently greeted by an atmosphere that was anything but routine. With tables turned on their sides, loud, strange music playing, lights low and air conditioning off for a stuffy atmosphere, Buchmiller greeted students in a serious, demanding voice, saying things like “Get over there! Down on the floor! Put down that backpack! No talking!”.
As students arrived he divided the class into two sections, telling boys to lay on the floor on one side of the room and girls to lay on the other with no talking allowed. They were packed close together to give them a cramped feeling. Though students at first felt confused and disoriented, they gradually clued in that their teacher was out of character for a reason, and that he was in fact “welcoming” them to a virtual slave ship—complete with cramped quarters, a hostile crew and a sense of not being in control of their surroundings.
He then proceeded to describe in great detail the conditions on a slave ship. “Before I knew what was going on my first thought was, ‘Did we do something wrong?’ But I remained silent and obeyed his commands,” said Jamielyn Cabral. Brianna Santos agreed, saying, “It was shocking to walk in the classroom having Mr. Buchmiller yell at us to not talk and to get down on the floor. I was very nervous and confused.”
Buchmiller has been using some very creative teaching methods in order to make history come alive for his students. “My purpose was to try to get the students to get a feel of what the initial shock must have been to these people (slaves) to have their world as they knew it to be so violently transformed in a moment’s time. There is no way to truly recreate that in a classroom but I was able to create some real discomfort for the students. They did not like what I was doing to them and I might have had a rebellion if I had pushed it much further,” he said.
The desired effect was achieved, as students felt the impact. Serena Aartman said, “It made me realize how utterly terrifying it would have been to be a slave on a slave ship, when you have no idea what’s going on.” After enduring just 10 minutes of this simulation, along with disturbing and disheartening descriptions of what the journey entailed for those who became sick or had to use the restroom, the students were more eager than usual to take their seats for the lecture. “This technique was very effective and really helped me think about how it might have been. I never really thought about it until that day,” said Amy Lambdin.
Buchmiller felt that the lesson was successful because of the questions the students were asking and what they wrote down about the experience. “They all said that as uncomfortable as they were for just the 10 minutes (and they all said it felt much longer) they simply couldn’t conceive how the slaves made it all the way to America. They had a new respect for the injustice done to the people from Africa,” he said.
Principal David Couchman, who visited the class to observe, was impressed with the impact the lesson had on the students. “Mr. Buchmiller really stepped outside of the box in order to make an impression. His goal was to give students a tiny sense of what it might have been like to be taken from their homes and shipped to a foreign land as a slave. It moved the students out of their comfort zones and forced them to deal with slavery on something other than just an information level. I thought the activity was extremely creative and effective. The students were very engaged in the follow-up lecture, asking questions as if it mattered to them. I think it really impacted the students,” he said.
About 25 JECHS students gathered at the cross on the morning of September 23 to pray for their nation, families, school and peers.

If you ask Jana Flaig-Brummett how she earned the credentialsfor being “number one” for a day at JECHS she will tell you the truth: “I bought my way into the job.”

After six years as the Robotics team advisor and upper level sciences teacher Tom Bray will be taking the trip of a lifetime as he leads close to 30 members of Team 1662, aka “Raptor Force”, to an international robotics competition in Israel in March 2010. This invitation is one that Bray takes personally.
When Elliot competed in Atlanta last year the Israeli General Consul, who was there to visit with the Israeli teams, inquired about the Israeli flag displayed alongside the American flag on the JECHS robot. After explaining that this was his way of showing honor and respect for Israel, Bray received another visit—this one from Brigadier General Asaf Agmon from the Israel Air Force Center, who invited Elliot to compete in Tel Aviv in 2010.
Doug asked, “What’s stopping you?” I said, “$6,000.” He asked, “When are you going to need it?” I told him, “In three weeks.” He said, “Oh, three weeks. I can do that.”
Dottie Henry
Michael Tackett
Dennis Buchmiller



The cross country team hosted the 5th Eagle Invitational on Saturday, October 24 at JECHS. Elliot students helped and organized many parts of the day: front gate parking and safety, team registration and welcome, starting line, course monitors, direction, finish line assistance with congratulating athletes, and passing out awards.

Gabby Hausauer, Jamie Cabral, Bri Santos, Serena Aartman, Christian Canepa