Hinkletown Mennonite School
Aubrey Kurtz
7th Grade
“I’ll try it,” says Aubrey Kurtz, a 7th grader at Hinkletown Mennonite school. These words are how Aubrey discovered many of her favorite hobbies and activities. Her parents Brandon and Sheila Kurtz support her in her many interests. She attends Weaverland Anabaptist Faith Community where she furthers her relationship with God. Aubrey is always ready to take a leap of faith and try something new and adventurous.
Aubrey has many hobbies like the flute, camping, biking, and cooking, but one of her favorites is sports. She has played both volleyball and soccer for three years for the Hinkletown Hawks. Once she enters high school, Aubrey hopes to continue playing volleyball for Ephrata, and a new team is always an adventure. She also enjoys being outside. Whether it is a relaxing bike ride or plunging into a freezing cold swimming hole, she is ready for the adventure of something new.
Travel is another way Aubrey is adventurous. Every year she and her three siblings go to Cape Henlopen in Delaware. In fact, the farthest she has been from home is Florida, which is a 14-hour drive!
After high school Aubery hopes to take a leap of faith and go to school to become a teacher. She enjoys spending time with kids and getting to know them. There is still much adventure in Aubrey’s life. Anyone who meets her can tell she has a lust for adventure and a heart for God, and with that she will accomplish great things.
Written by: Brooklynn Martin
Jayden Bauman
7th Grade
If someone is looking for Jayden, they will probably find him caring for children or helping his community. Jayden is the son of Myron and Bethany Bauman, and he has four siblings: Jada, Austin, Alicia, and Ava. He goes to Ephrata Community Church and loves pizza, puppy dogs, and sports. He is in 7th grade and goes to Hinkletown Mennonite School. Jayden enjoys getting involved with his community.
Jayden loves to play with children, so he likes to help with day camps at his church. He has already gone on one mission trip in Honduras and plans to go on more! He loves to help children grow closer to God. Jayden finds children very energetic and full of life, and that is why he loves them.
Jayden also loves getting involved with sports. Last year Jayden played soccer through school, and they were undefeated champs! He also played volleyball and basketball with HMS, and baseball with the Bowmansville league. He even played all the sports he could in fifth grade.
Jaden also participated in the HMS Robin Hood play, and plans to act in the play this year. He even participated in a special role in Charlotte’s Web when he was in fifth grade that no other fifth grader was allowed to do.
While he is not sure what he wants to do exactly when he grows up, he thinks he might want to be a professional chef. Jayden is sure he plans to attend the HMS Venture Program for high school and continue to be involved in his community.
Written by: Trent Weaver
Ashlyn Martin
8th Grade
Ashlyn Martin: an amazing athlete, friend and artist. Ashlyn is in 8th grade and attends Hinkletown Mennonite School.
She also goes to Weaverland Anabaptist Faith Community church, which she attends with her family. Ashlyn has three siblings and is the daughter of Jeff and Hannah Martin.
She likes riding four wheelers and playing sports, all with her friends.
Ashlyn likes basketball and soccer, but her favorite sport is volleyball. She is on the volleyball team at Hinkletown and is one of the captains. She is very uplifting and encouraging to all of her teammates and friends. Ashlyn’s volleyball position is the setter on the A team where she is excellent at getting good sets to the hitters.
Ashlyn also likes riding four wheelers in her woods with her friends. She especially likes going on rough terrain. She also likes horseback riding on nice flat trails with some fallen trees to jump over. Looking at all of this, it shows that Ashlyn is a very active girl who loves sports and also loves animals, especially her cats.
Finally, Ashlyn has not figured out what exactly she wants to do in the future. She does know that she wants to go to Garden Spot for high school and, who knows, she might even try out for their volleyball team!
Written by: Adreah Horst
Jason Kalash
8th Grade
The ball seems to dance along beside him as he dribbles up the court. The shot clock is ticking down and the Hawks are running out of time. Six seconds, five, four… Jason Kalash, number five, shoots the ball. Three, two, one…and he scores! Hinkletown Mennonite, the school Jason attends, just won the game! Jason is a fun and energetic 8th grader, and he is the son of Edward and Alla Kalash. He attends Petra Church and is an excellent leader and team player in sports and music.
Jason has participated in three sports in his middle school career: basketball, volleyball, and soccer. His favorite of those is basketball, which he started in seventh grade and plans to continue this year. Jason is good at many aspects of basketball, but his strength is ball handling. This year, he is hoping to lead the team as point guard, the player who brings the ball up the court. Not surprisingly, Jason’s favorite subject in school is gym class, and he participates in a gym extension elective to get more chances to compete. Jason is a good leader everywhere he goes whether on the court or off.
Another example of a place where Jason displays his leadership is in music. Jason plays the piano, which he has done for eight years. His favorite style of music is classical, however he also likes to use his gifts in Hinkletown’s worship team and jazz band, where he leads the group with his piano skills. No matter what Jason is doing, he is excellent at guiding others.
On the court and off, Jason Kalash is an excellent athlete and musician who is good at leading a group. He is funny, kind, and outgoing, and his love of Jesus shines through everything he does.
Written by: Riley Ament
Nathan Smoker
8th Grade
If someone wants to find Nathan, there is a good chance they would find him doing something musical. Nathan is in 8th grade at Hinkletown Mennonite School and attends church at The Living Room. Nathan’s parents are Ted and Julie Smoker, and he has five siblings. He has a cat named Persephone, and his favorite color is green. However, his favorite thing to do is play music.
Nathan grew up in Guatemala with his family for seven years, which is where he gained his love for music. He left the United States when he was five with his parents and two siblings at the time. They went with the organization Eastern Mennonite Missions in hopes to help the indigenous people. When they settled in Guatemala, they served by helping the local people with the work on their farms and also helped them build churches. Being around the indigenous people on a daily basis, he learned to love their music, which sparked his interest in music.
Nathan is involved in multiple music groups inside the school. He participates in the worship team and the percussion ensemble. He first joined the worship team in sixth grade and has been playing the piano with the team ever since. They perform songs during chapel every other Wednesday for the middle school. Also, in sixth grade, he joined the percussion ensemble. In the ensemble, he plays multiple instruments, and some of the instruments include the triangle, cymbals, and drums. He performs with the ensemble at school programs and performances at other schools. Doing all these musical activities, he always has something to look forward to throughout the week.
Even though Nathan is not sure what career he wants to pursue, he knows that he will use his musical talents to glorify Christ Jesus.
Written by: Rae Good