Two Wentzville Christian School Students Win 'Top 6' Honors At International Competition

When Tom Rodriguez and Kristen Fuentez of Wentzville Christian School attended an international competition of the Accelerated Christian Education Association recently, it was the culmination of an entire school year of preparation.

It paid off for both of them, as they left the competition involving 2,700 students from around the world with three "Top 6" medals each. Pastor Scott McNees of , the church that operates Wentzville Christian School, said Tom and Kristen’s experience at the event was tremendous.

"The international convention was the highlight of the year for these two kids," he said. "It’s something that will follow them the rest of their lives, as they grow up and realize what they’ve accomplished."

The competition was held May 22-25 at James Madison University in Virginia.

The Wentzville students qualified at a regional event in Springfield, MO., where they each earned Top 6 honors in all the events they entered. Moving on from the regional to the international level was a significant accomplishment.

"It’s a major event for these kids to get to go to this and compete with kids from all over the world," McNees said. "At their opening rally, ... there must have been 80 flags out there, on the floor of the arena, representing the many, many countries."

Kristen, 18, and Tom, 14, each raised $800 to pay for the trip. McNees and his wife Lorene McNees, the school’s principal, accompanied them on the 10-day trip, which also included visits to Gettysburg, Hershey Park In Hershey, PA., and Washington, D.C.

During the international competition, Tom won medals for dramatic poetry, colored pencil art, and special effects photography for a picture he took of a water balloon bursting. The photography award came in his first year of serious work with a camera.

"It’s always been cool. We always liked to mess around with my grandma’s camera," he said. "But to really try to win and take it to a competition like this, (I) just (started) this year."

He really enjoyed the opportunity to attend.

"It makes you feel good. It makes you feel thankful," he said. "It’s really quite cool being in the midst of 3,000 people and just having fun with them. You get to meet all sorts of people. These competitions help us a lot, to prepare for next year. And I think they’re supposed to help us find out what we’re good at, and how to use those skills for God."

A Top 6 finish at a competition this well-represented is a big deal.

"If our students win in the Top 6, that’s a huge accomplishment," McNees said.

For instance, Kristen finished in the Top 6 in Power Point presentation.

"To put that in perspective, there were over 70 Power Points from around the world," McNees said. "For our student to win something – to get in the Top 6 of that elite group – is quite significant. And they get a medal for the Top 6. ... You get a huge medal around your neck and you get to walk across the platform. It’s something they never forget. It’s an honor that they’ll never, never let go of and they will cherish for the rest of their lives. And our two students here, at our little school in Wentzville, they did phenomenal."

Kristen, who just graduated from the school for students in grades 1 through 12, is a talented artist. In a regional competition two years ago, she entered a pen and ink drawing in a pointillism competition.

"It was so good, the judges were a little skeptical," McNees said. "They actually took the picture out of the frame to inspect it, to make sure it wasn’t photocopied. She got a 300 score – a perfect score – off that."

Students are eligible to compete in 150 events falling under five categories – athletics, arts, academics, platform and music.

Wentzville Christian School has four teachers – two volunteers plus McNees and his wife. Enrollment is just under 20, but growing, McNees said. Lorene McNees is a talented artist and taught Kristen what she knows about drawing. For the competitions, they split the teaching duties.

"I handle the drama, and she handles the art and the music," McNees said.

These annual competitions, which McNees and his wife have been helping students prepare for over the last 20 years, enables the students to discover new talents.

"This competition allows our kids the opportunity to branch out into areas that they normally would not," he said. "I’ve had kids over the years ... who’ve participated in these kinds of things, and they went on in the ministry because this afforded them the opportunity. Or it might bring out the sports talents in them."

The arts category is another area where young participants can see their talent blossom.

"We have kids who probably would never taken up pen and ink, or sketching, or colored pencil art, if it hadn’t been for something like this," he said. "Now we have some very good artists up and coming."

Across all the competition categories, participants learn about themselves as they learn new skills.

"These are opportunities that they normally wouldn’t pick up and run with, but because the competition is there, they get involved," McNees said. "And they learn these different talents that they have."