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The Best of the 2004-2005 Worthington ALC Insider
Volume 3, Issue 1 September 1, 2005
My farewell to the ALC By Heath Kane Judging from the many stories I have written, you’ve probably noticed that I tend to dislike alot of things, so this might surprise some, but I really did like the ALC. Since coming here, I’ve met several interesting people and also made a lot of friends. I’ve also met teachers that are here to teach not here just to get paid. Now many of you probably don’t agree, but you didn’t go to the high school that I went to, where everything was dictated by participation in extracurricular activities or your last name. When you come to a place like this, you learn what a school is really supposed to be like. When you go to the school where I used to go, you realize how stupid people can be – how they can take one thing that you do and blow it completely out of proportion. Some ALC students say that teachers are hard on you here, but when you wear a hat here you get warned. At my other school, you would get an automatic ISS (in-school suspension). Tell me, what sense that make? (Continued à)	And if you use your phone at my old school, you get it taken away because it’s what they call “drug paraphernalia.” My other school also has a thing known as a restriction cube where during lunch you must sit in a room for an entire hour and eat and work. Why does one go to the restriction cube? You have to go if you’re failing a class. Fun HUH! Not really. Teachers at my other school fail you if they don’t agree with your ideas – unless you play sports. Is that fair? So maybe now you understand why I came here for a few quarters. So the next time you talk about how bad the ALC is, be glad you don’t go my other school. Oh yes, my other school is the …. Okay, okay. Ask me later and I’ll tell you.

The Insider September 1, 2005 Page 2

ALC Science teacher wins “Teacher of the Year” award ALC science teacher Kathy Schreiber was as surprised as she could be when she was presented with the 2005 Worthington Wal-Mart Teacher of the Year award last spring. Amidst applause and cheers, Schreiber was presented with a $50 gift card and a $1,000 check to be used for her classroom at an ALC awards ceremony. Wal-Mart representative Diane Scheitzer presented the gift card and check to Schreiber, along with a blue “Wal-Mart Teacher of the Year” vest similar to the vests worn by Wal-Mart associates. Schreiber’s name will be forwarded to the state contest where the winner gets $10,000 to use in his or her school. State-wide winners go on to the national contest where the prize is $25,000. “I had no idea,” said Schreiber, who has taught science at the ALC for the past two years and has been employed by District 518 for four years. “I am as pleased as can be,” she said as she accepted the gift card and check. (Continued à)

Kathy Schreiber was presented with Wal-Mart’s Teacher of the Year award by Diane Schweitzer Staff and students were as surprised by the award as was Schreiber. But they were all very pleased. “She really deserves it,” said former ALC Dean of Students Paul Langseth. “She’s no-nonsense, but a lot of fun.” “She’s one of the best teachers here,” said student Sergio Chaparro. “She teaches a lot, yet makes the class fun at the same time.” Wal-Mart chooses its Teacher of the Year recipients from applications submitted by the public. Someone in the community – and no one at the ALC knows who that someone is – submitted Schreiber’s name along with an essay on why she deserves the award.

The Insider September 1, 2005 Page 3

Quinceañeras By Carla Cazares A quinceanera is a celebration of a girl's fifteenth birthday. It’s a special occasion because it is when a girl becomes a woman. Hispanic girls all over the world celebrate this occasion. The difference between a quinceañera and any other birthday party is that it is fancier and you invite more people. The first thing you do is go to church the day of your quinceanera. You invite your closest relatives like aunts, uncles, parents, godparents, grandparents, brothers, sisters, cousin, and close friends. The priest talks to you about becoming a woman. Once the spiritual ceremony is over you move on to the social part of the quinceanera. At this time your many invited guests come to celebrate your becoming a woman. This is where you celebrate by having a band play live music and dance all night. (Continued à)

This is like a sweet 16 party, but we do it on the fifteenth birthday. In a quinceañera, the girl has to do alot of things because she must have fourteen ladies representing each year of her life. The girl turning 15 represents girl number fifteen. If you want, you can get partners but it is not necessary. You don’t have to have fourteen girlfriends, you can get seven girls and seven boys and that would make fourteen. For a quinceñera you need a lot of things. You must have people to be your godparents and you must also choose the dresses for the ladies and tuxedos for the guys. Long ago the tradition was different because when you were fifteen you where a lady and you were ready to get married. Now it is different because almost all people wait to get married.

ALC Insider September 1, 2005 Page 4

VERY Deep Thoughts By: Naythen Gross Have you ever wondered why you never see mimes and clowns in the same place at the same time? Well, you probably think that mimes and clowns get along, but I beg to differ! Clowns and mimes used to get along just fine, until something drastic happened. It all started many millions of years ago, when the mimes and clowns lived in perfect sanctity. This is also way back when mimes and clowns were alike, and both were very colorful. Then, one day, a clown decided to pick a fight with a mime, thus starting a chain of events, and eventually the clowns won the first battle of the ever-famous Clown-Mime battle. At this point the clowns imprisoned them in invisible boxes that are VERY small, and tight. They also stole the color of the mimes, and also their voice boxes, thus making them mute, and colorless. In many years, there will be another huge battle between the mimes and the clowns. And the battle will rage on for countless amounts of minutes…and who knows maybe you will be in the midst of the epic battle. The question is, which side will you choose the mimes or the clowns?

Naythen Gross, a mime or a clown? Fun facts about clowns Clowns have existed for thousands of years. A dwarf clown was known to have performed as a jester in the court of Pharaoh Dadkeri-Assi 4,500 years ago! Court jesters have performed in China since 1,818 years before Christ. Throughout history most societies have had clowns. In the year 1520, Spanish Conquistador Hernan Cortes discovered that Moctezuma's court included jesters similar to those in Europe. Aztec dwarf clowns and hunchbacked buffoons were among the “treasures” Cortes presented to Pope Clement VII upon returning to Europe. Most Native American tribes had clown characters. These clowns played an important role in the religious life of the tribe. In some cases, clowns were believed able to cure certain diseases.

The Insider September 1, 2005 Page 5

Black is Just a Color,

Goth is Just a Word

By Alie Paine

What do you think of when you see people who wear black nail polish, black clothes, fishnets, spikes, and chains? “Goth”right? But what is Goth really?

When people say the word gothic, they are usually referring to a type of person. In terms of people, there is no such thing unless you’re talking about the Gothic warriors who fought the Romans in an uprising because they were being persecuted.

There certainly are a lot of stereotypes about present-day “Goths”, like they are all Satanists, suicidal, violent, wannabe vampires, or are mixed up in crazy animal sacrificing cults. In reality, these things are not true, maybe for a very few people who are into the “Goth” thing, but not all of them. Even “normal” people are into all those things.

People think “Goths” think weird but who doesn’t? “Goths” just aren’t afraid to speak their minds and they like to talk about all sorts of different things with each other no matter how weird it may be. They are open minded and less judgmental than the majority of people and don’t care what everyone else thinks about them.

Enough about that, I must get back to the point. The whole “Goth” thing isn’t about people. The word gothic actually refers to literature.

(Continued à)

Grant Woods’ famous painting is entitled American Gothic. What’s up with that?

Dark literature yes, but literature none-the- less. Edgar Allen Poe and other such people were authors of gothic literature.

In the dictionary, there are many ways the word gothic is defined. The dictionary says gothic refers to the Goths or their language, the Middle Ages, an architectural style derived from medieval Gothic art forms… I don’t recall seeing any real definition that refers to a style of clothing or type of personality.

This whole thing of calling people gothic started in the 80s and it should have ended there. It started as part of the punk subculture. The word was first used in terms of people by the band manager of Joy Davision, Anthony H. Wilson, who described the band as “Gothic compared with the pop mainstream.” The word just stuck. Anyways, after punk eventually died out, Goth survived and became it’s own subculture.

So there you have it… a whole mess of words all put together to get my point across. Did you get it? I sure hope so because that was hard!!

The Insider May 23, 2005 Page 4

Wilderness Wild and free

By Michael Denison

Wilderness wild and free so beautiful and serene.

When you are in it you can’t help but feel happy and free.

Beautiful trees and stream, I lay down under the trees,

And listen to the trickling of the stream as it runs its course down the mountainside.

The trees swaying in the wind put your soul to sleep.

It takes you to an alternate world where you have no worries:

Where you are as carefree as a bird in the air, as a leaf in the wind.

Just living to be living.

All you think about is how much you don’t want to leave;

How all you want to do is live in this place forever.

To live the remainder of your years surrounded by God’s country.

Maybe you would like to live next to a waterfall or sit in hot springs.

So relaxing and refreshing, taking in all the fresh air knowing

that it is not polluted because there are no cars.

All that exists is the pure beauty that you find in nature that surrounds you.
You hear the birds chirping and singing their beautiful songs of spring

with the roar of a waterfall in the background.

Me, I don’t care where I am because as long as I am in nature I have a free spirit,

A wandering soul and a peaceful mind.

I love the noise a stream makes as it goes barreling down the mountain

As it clashes over the rocks making the beautiful sound.

To me that is the perfect life.

To live off the land that was created for us.

To not have to be surrounded by the greed and daily hustle and bustle

of everyone trying to make it big.

In the forest there is no need.

All you do is live and live for the moment

And that is why I loved my first camping trip and why it won’t be my last.

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