Masthead EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Riatta Fields
FEATURES EDITOR Jack Yioutas
NEWS EDITORS
Mattie O’Brien & Jack Bhattacharyya
SPORTS NEWSLETTER EDITOR Amrith Chandra
FICTION & POETRY EDITOR Kanik Wilton-Green
COLUMNISTS Kanik Wilton-Green & Jack Yioutas ARTS EDITOR
Katelyn Calderon
LAYOUT EDITOR Riatta Fields
FACULTY ADVISOR Graeme Mullen
Holiday Issue
announcement
EDITOR’S NOTE
Riatta Fields
column
HISTORIA LITTERATUM
Jack Yioutas
3
4
poetry
IS THERE A BETTER WAY?
Amrith Chandra
fiction
NOVEL EXCERPT
Riatta Fields
6
8
feature
NUCLEAR RADIATION
13
Dillon Kirchner
feature
KANIK'S KOOL KIDS KONCERT KORNER
Kanik Wilton-Green
news & views
NEW TEACHERS IN THE SPOTLIGHT
Mattie O'Brien
news & views
MODEL UN HIGHLIGHTS
Mattie O'Brien
poetry
EDUCATION (PART TWO)
Adva Hurwitz
Cover Photograph by Riatta Fields
17
20
27
27
ANNOUNCEMENT
EDITOR’S NOTE Riatta Fields
W
elcome back, AESA! As winter break approaches, we present the final issue of our school magazine for this semester. The content in this issue includes some of the features that you know and love, an excerpt from an ongoing novel, and updates on the latest Model UN debate. Good luck to our students on their exams! Remember to take care of yourselves and your mental health. We encourage all students to submit their work to our magazine next semester. We want to hear from you! Have a happy and safe winter break!
3 RIATTA FIELDS
COLUMN
HISTORIA LITTERATUM #7
HOW THE BRITISH RUINED CHRISTMAS
Jack Yioutas
M
any assume that Christmas traditions like feasting, Christmas trees, and watching your divorced blue-haired aunt and conspiracy theorist cousin get into an argument that violates Article 4 of the Geneva Convention are ancient Christmas traditions. In actuality, two out of three of these traditions were Victorian-era fabrications of the [REDACTED] British. Yes, your life is a lie, but as shocking as it sounds, the [REDACTED] British didn’t entirely mess up– at least not this time because without them, we might not be celebrating Christmas at all. Before the Victorians, Christmas had become a relatively subdued affair. Christmas dates back to at least the 4th century AD and during the Middle Ages, Christmas had been regarded as the most important and most festive of the four great feast days that the Church used to break the calendar up into four roughly-equally sized segments. But by the mid-19th century, Christmas, like the other three of the feast days, became known only as a holy day of obligation. You’d go to mass, you’d go home, and that was about it. It was just another normal day. Some religious groups, including the famous Puritans, even went as far as banning Christmas, viewing the festivities as being incompatible with religious solemnity. But everything changed in the Victorian Era. The 19th century marked a period of profound upheaval in [REDACTED] British and, for that matter, Western society. The de-facto agnostic Victorian aristocracy sought to revive and reinvent Christmas as a family-centered, joyous celebration. The influence of Queen Victoria, known for her family values, played a crucial role in the invention of new Christmas traditions. One of the most significant additions was the Christmas tree, which was unironically plagiarized from the Yule tree (Yule has been a long-extinct German Pagan holiday). Prince Albert 4 JACK YIOUTAS
can be thanked for this one since he was German and brought it over from continental Europe. The Victorian era also witnessed changes to the foods of the Christmas meal. While a Christmas feast had always existed in some form (it is a feast day, after all), the Victorian era made the meal the central focus of the holiday and established roast goose as the main dish of the meal. Going out on a limb, my guess is that if you were to randomly break into the average American’s home on Christmas day, odds are you wouldn’t see any roasted geese; the tradition is still kept in many parts of Britain. Another modification came in the form of the Christmas card. In 1843, a [REDACTED] British bureaucrat by the name of Sir Henry Cole commissioned the first Christmas card to save himself the time of writing individual greetings. The concept soon boomed in popularity, causing the mass-manufactured Christmas card to replace the more intimate hand-written letters of previous eras. This brings us to the most controversial aspect of the Victorian Christmas: commercialization and consumerism. Before we judge too harshly, it should be noted that the Victorian Era coincided with the peak of the Industrial Revolution and the rise of Capitalism. But we should also remember that these are the [REDACTED] British we are talking about, and thus, no judgment is too harsh. The transformation of Christmas into a marketable holiday began with the commercial success of Christmas cards and festive décor and was only accelerated by the consumerist period of the 1920s, 1950s, and 1980s. The notion of gift-giving was also transformed into a commercial activity, with the emphasis being put on elaborate presents, leading to the commodification of Christmas. While the Victorian Era breathed new life into the celebration of Christmas, it also led to negative modifications that irrevocably altered the holiday’s essence. As we celebrate the holiday in the 21st century, it is imperative that we recognize both the contributions and damage the [REDACTED] British, particularly the Victorians, have given us and that we reflect on how their influence has shaped our contemporary festivities.
5 JACK YIOUTAS
POETRY
IS THERE A BETTER WAY? Amrith Chandra
Stress: an emotion like the ocean. Overwhelming, boundless. No one can even think to count it. The noise it makes is soundless. The void it creates is boundless. Overwhelming, bury it deep. Overflowing, don’t let it leak. My desires, mixed with mud, Pushing ahead, I see blood. I keep working as sweat drips to the ground, Not knowing if I am going up or down. Life is like mud, unclear and thick. But there’s no other way to make a brick. Stress: an emotion like the ocean. Blue, limitless, and awesomely gorgeous. Makes you sink, makes you dive, Lets you live, lets you die, Embrace it, for it is life. Is there a better way?
6 AMRITH CHANDRA
Artwork by Mattie O'Brien
7 MATTIE O'BRIEN
FICTION
NOVEL EXCERPT
CHAPTER TWO - CHUGIAK, ALASKA - NEW YEARS EVE
Riatta Fields
A
s Jasper sat on the bench looking out over Mirror Lake, he thought about physically becoming a bench. He wondered how many people sat on it and how many sunsets it had watched. His mom would ask him, “If you could be anyone for a day, who would it be?” but he never had an answer. He wouldn’t want to be the bench during the winter like it was now. He was cold, and although he wore three layers of clothing, he was freezing. He wanted to watch the fireworks. The fireworks were the best from this view. Trees surrounded the area around the bench except for the area closest to the lake, which opened for a perfect view. Not many people knew about the bench. No trail led to it, and Jasper had to walk 25 minutes to get to it. He didn’t mind the walk. So, Jasper sat on the bench and waited for the fireworks, his hands buried deep in his jacket pocket while shuffling the snow with his feet, and he wondered what it would be like to be a bench. Jasper couldn’t be out for much longer. He didn’t want to be here any longer. It was late, and he snuck out to come out here. He continued to shuffle his feet in the snow anxiously. “Are you waiting for the fireworks?” Jasper whipped his head around so fast he knocked himself off the bench and onto his back in the snow. His first instinct: someone’s here to get him. He looked up and saw someone walking towards him, and he panicked, shuffling away until his back hit a tree. His breathing was too fast, hands trembling too much. He shut his eyes and put his hands over his ears. 8 RIATTA FIELDS
He felt a touch on his shoulder. His eyes shot open, and he was about to scream again, but he held it back. It was a girl. She looked confused. It was not the scared kind of confusion that he expected to see. It was a pitiful look— a look that reminded him of his mother— but softer. Once it seemed she knew he wasn’t going to scream anymore, she slowly began to back up from him. He was glad she didn’t come any closer but was surprised she hadn’t run away from him. “I’m not going to hurt you,” she said, turning around. She looked to be around Jasper’s age, maybe slightly older. Her hair was blonde and curly, and she wore glasses that took up her entire face. Her puffer jacket was light blue, and he could see about two layers of clothing beneath it. Jasper still sat on the ground, watching the girl look from him to the lake and back. Oddly, someone he’d just encountered wasn’t gone in the first couple of seconds after meeting him. Jasper’s rare but common encounters would happen almost the same way: someone would come up to him, they would realize he didn’t talk and would walk away. It would happen exactly like that— every single time. But, for the first time, she hadn’t left. She was looking out onto the lake. “I love fireworks,” the girl said. “Don’t you?” She walked to the edge of the lake, picked up a rock, brushed the snow off, and then put it in her jacket pocket. Jasper studied her as she continued to pick up the rocks and pocket them, and he wanted to ask her why she was collecting them, but like all his inquiries, it stood unasked. Besides, Jasper could usually find out just by looking at her longer. However, this girl, he could not easily read. From the moment they met (if you could even call it that), she did the opposite of what he thought she would do. It was an unpleasant feeling. When she got done pocketing rocks, she spoke again. “What’s your name? My name’s Harper. I’m probably named after the instrument. I don’t play the harp, though. My mom did.” She looked over at Jasper, who was still sitting in the snow. “You can sit back down on the bench, you know.” Jasper sat right where he was. The only thing that moved was his chest’s slow rise and fall as he breathed. He didn’t know what she wanted from him 9 RIATTA FIELDS
and why she was still here. “No name, then?” Harper seemed to understand that he was hesitant. Jasper didn’t move, blink, shake his head, or nod. He didn’t give her any indication that he was going to answer. She walked over to a large rock not too far from the opposite side of the bench and wiped the snow off it with her hands. She took great effort into plopping herself on top of it, but when she found a comfortable position, she sat there crisscrossed, facing him. “You sit right there—” she pointed at the bench, “and I’ll sit right here.” She didn’t wait for him to answer as she sat. He was hesitant. He looked from the ground to the bench many times. He got up and slowly walked over to his bench, sitting at the farthest spot away from her and her rock. “You do have a name, right?” He tilted his head up and then slightly down. It wasn’t quite a nod, but it was something similar. Harper’s smile was now bigger than her glasses. She looked accomplished. “Ok,” she said, beaming, “does it start with an A?” Jasper did nothing, but she took it as a no. She went through the different letters of the alphabet and nodded at which letters spelled out his first name. “Your name is Jasper? I like it. Our names both end . . .” He watched her go on another tangent about her name and music, and he took in the way she used her hands when she talked and constantly pushed her glasses back up her nose with her finger. At first, he thought the bridge of her nose was red because she was cold, but after closely watching, he realized it was from her glasses when she slid them back up. The edge of her lips was slightly chapped, and he knew this because she would lick them after every sentence of her rambles. Sometimes, she talked too fast and would slur her words together, making it difficult to understand. Harper ended off her rambling with the topic of beetles, even though Jasper had no idea how she had connected the two subjects. He enjoyed watching and listening to her because it was odd. Jasper could relate to her rambling, and although his thoughts were not the kind he talked about out loud, he thought like Harper spoke. Harper said what he wished he could say, even if it 10 RIATTA FIELDS
were nonsense. But if Harper talked how he wished he could, that was enough. For now, at least. The fireworks started a minute after Harper transitioned into the topic of stars and constellations, and the noise startled Jasper. Jasper was so focused on her topic that he didn’t even see the fireworks go in the air. He didn’t usually like to listen to people speaking for long periods, but it felt different because she was talking to him and not at him. So, when Jasper saw the first fireworks pop in the air, his mouth tipped up into a microscopic smile, and Harper fell quiet for the first time in many minutes. Jasper watched the fireworks explode, and the sparks floated down from the water’s reflection from the lake. He watched the fireworks like that until they stopped, and when he took his eyes off the lake, he looked over to Harper, only to see that the rock had no girl with poofy hair or big glasses sitting on it and that she was gone. CHAPTER THREE – GROVLEY MIDDLE SCHOOL A desk in one of the classrooms is where Jasper takes his pencil and carves a divot into the wood. On days when the desk is taken, some guy named James and his girlfriend take turns carving inappropriate words and distract the class with their giggling. Jasper tries to scratch them out after they leave class. Jasper watches Harper exit a classroom across from his first class. She’s with a group of other girls and walks in front of them like their leader. She’s deep in conversation and, of course, uses her hands like her story couldn’t be told without them. She doesn’t see him. She turns a corner and is gone. The next day, Jasper is sitting and carving at the desk. He notices more writing and grabs his pencil, preparing to scratch it. He pauses. He looks around. He looks back. There’s a bad drawing of fireworks and a note saying, “Hi, Jasper.” It’s signed at the end with a dash and a drawing of a harp.
11 RIATTA FIELDS
Artwork by Abbie Hughes
12 ABBIE HUGHES
FEATURE
NUCLEAR RADIATION Dillon Kirchner
A
s many of you know, I failed to release an article for the last issue of the Aussie. This is due to my federal suspension and restriction in publishing articles because I attempted to publish an article in a journal more real than the Aussie about how George Washington was an international terrorist. I claimed this suspension was unconstitutional and was merely using my First Amendment rights, but the court said the First Amendment was a privilege that I was abusing, so I was stripped of that privilege. Once I returned to professional writing, I attempted to convince the school to let me publish the same article on Washington, which got me in federal timeout, but they claimed it was offensive and I was abusing my First Amendment rights. So, instead, I shall discuss a much more boring and depressing topic, which is nuclear weapons. As I’m sure many of you know, or at least hope many of you know, the topic for our annual Model UN was nuclear disarmament, and as I’m sure you remember, I, of course, won the entire debate (as of this writing the debate has not yet occurred, but I plan on winning). It is clear that nuclear disarmament has its pros and cons. I had planned on discussing the pros and cons of this issue, but the school said it was “opinionated,” “biased,” and “controversial,” even though we had an entire debate on it already. So, instead, I shall discuss a much more boring and depressing topic, which is the stupid things the U.S. has done with nuclear weapons. Unfortunately, there are only a few cases of the U.S. forgetting that nuclear weapons give off radiation that can kill us, so instead of making a long list, I shall stall and expand my essay with filler terms such as Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia or nuclear radiation. Our first incident is one that could have been entirely avoided, and it is the 13 DILLON KIRCHNER
infamous Demon Core incident (and I cautiously use the word infamous because I heavily doubt any of you have even heard of it). At first Demon Core may sound like a heavy metal genre, like metalcore or deathcore, except I also heavily doubt any of you have heard of those either because you all have poor music taste. Nevertheless, Demon Core was a really unfortunate yet somewhat funny incident that led to the fatality of at least two scientists. That may sound unfortunate at first, but you will see that it is somewhat funny because not only did they deserve it, but the incident actually happened twice. The first Demon Core incident was in August of 1945 during the Manhattan Project. The young Harry Daghlian was in charge of experimenting with a small nuclear reactor known as the Demon Core. He had the nuclear core sandwiched between neutron-reflective tungsten carbide bricks. Obviously, the more tungsten carbide bricks you add, the more fragile the core is. The number one rule was to be very careful and not add too many bricks. However, Harry graduated from Purdue University, so he, of course, had to screw it all up and accidentally dropped one of the bricks on the core, witless little dunce. The core was destroyed, and Harry took in 110 rads of radiation and died of acute radiation syndrome 25 days later. A security guard was also at the incident and took in 0.1 rads and died in 1978 of leukemia, which can possibly be related to the incident, but I find it unlikely because I have taken in much more radiation by eating bananas, yet I live to tell the tale. The Manhattan Project came to an end that same month; make your conspiracy theories if you wish. The next incident was in 1946. The Los Alamos laboratory was filled with mindless fools who hated themselves and chose to do the same exact experiment on the same exact core. This time, Louis Slotin was in charge. Louis Slotin got his PhD at King’s College in London, so this experiment was bound to fail. This experiment included containing the core in two half spheres of beryllium. It is very common knowledge that if the two half spheres were to touch, big boom, big dead. Louis Slotin was told to use shims to separate the half spheres, but Louis decided a flat-head screwdriver would do the job. The screwdriver, of course, slipped, and Louis took in 1000 rads of radiation and died 9 days later. This was a massive mistake that I would never make, a mistake so massive that it eventually may have caused the death of six other scientists in the room. It’s really funny how it happened twice, and it almost happened a third time when reenacting the second incident but almost accidentally caused it to happen for real, which is also 14 DILLON KIRCHNER
really funny. The next few stupid actions by the U.S. I shall discuss are stuff that didn’t actually occur but almost occurred. The first is Project A119, otherwise known as President Dwight Eisenhower, who tried to nuke the moon in 1958. A stupid idea that the Air Force decided was a stupid idea because it would negatively affect Earth’s tides. That’s it, really. Nothing else to say about that. I know I said I’d have filler, but I can’t really go more into it because it was so simple, so I’ll just say Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia again. Last, and certainly least, when the U.S. tried to nuke itself and blame it on Russia or Cuba so they could go to war. The entire Pentagon agreed that it would be a good idea to drop a nuke on a populated American city and then pin the blame on the Russians or the Cubans, which would justify a massive invasion of Cuba. President John Kennedy, however, was famously against an invasion of Cuba and, therefore, stopped the movement of nuking his own country. The whole thing about that issue, however, is that I could not find any sources to back it up and I could not find the documentary which I heard it from, so I may have accidentally made this up. So instead, I shall discuss a much more boring and depressing topic: when the U.S. accidentally dropped two nukes in North Carolina and almost detonated them. This is called the B-52 incident, and it occurred in the sad, sad year of 1961. A Boeing B-52 Stratofortress was flying over Goldsboro, North Carolina, and was carrying two nuclear bombs with eight crewmembers. The plane had a fuel leak and that led to the entire wing falling off. Six of the crew members jumped out, four of them with their parachutes. One of them forgot their parachutes and died. Two of the crew members forgot to jump out of the plane and died in the crash. The entire crew forgot the plane was carrying two Mark 39 nuclear bombs, and the bombs flew out of the plane and landed near Goldsboro. Federal Agencies forgot about the three dead guys and put all of their manpower into containing the bombs, which actually is really reasonable. The containment was successful, and then they realized three crew members died. The point is that the U.S. has had at least three nuclear accidents, but how many has Iran had? None, excluding when foreign countries attacked their facilities. That’s different.
15 DILLON KIRCHNER
Artwork by Dillon Kirchner 16 DILLON KIRCHNER
FEATURE
KANIK’S KOOL KIDS KONCERT KORNER I LOVE BRIAN SELLA
Kanik Wilton-Green
I
t should come as a surprise to no one when I say that my favorite band is The Front Bottoms. I bring up Brian Sella at any opportunity, and I’m usually wearing a piece of merch. I’ve seen them three times so far, and although the first two shows were a bit underwhelming, the latest one did not disappoint. The Front Bottoms are a midwest emo band from New Jersey, made up of Brian Sella (vocals and guitar) and Matthew Uychich (drums). They released their first album in 2008, titled I Hate My Friends, and their second one in 2009, titled My Grandma vs Pneumonia. However, they are no longer available online. The oldest album listed on their Spotify is self-titled from 2011. While it was their official debut album and had some fan-favorites like “Maps” and “Flashlight,” most fans will agree that their second album released two years later, Talon of the Hawk, was better. Talon of the Hawk featured many certifiable bangers, like “Skeleton,” “Lone Star,” and their best-known song, “Twin Size Mattress.” The next year, The Front Bottoms started the “Grandmother series” of EPs with Rose, one of my personal favorite releases from the band. In 2015, they released their next album titled Back on Top, and in 2017 they released Going Grey. The next year, they released the next installment of the “Grandmother series” titled Ann. In 2020, they released the album In Sickness & In Flames, one of the most controversial releases. It started to shift away from their usual sad-man-complaining-about-life vibe and felt more upbeat and hopeful. I’m not against that vibe, and I think it’s great that they’re moving in a more positive direction, but the album sucked. The lyrics were 17 KANIK WILTON-GREEN
cringe, the music was upbeat and poppy, and was overall not what a lot of fans wanted to listen to. In 2022, they released the latest “Grandmother” EP, titled Theresa, and regained some trust in their fanbase, but this August, they released the You Are Who You Hang Out With album, leaving fans excited and wanting more. You Are Who You Hang Out With seemed to be returning to that more upbeat and hopeful sound but remained true to its iconic sound. The first time I saw The Front Bottoms was at ACL last year, so their set consisted of their best-known songs to increase their popularity. It was fun, but it didn’t have the more intimate feel that a concert has compared to a festival. A few months after that, they came back to Austin to promote their In Sickness & In Flames album, which is my least favorite. I didn’t know half of the songs they played, and while it was fun, it was kind of boring. After their latest release, The Front Bottoms started the “You Are Who You Hang Out With” tour to promote the album. You Are Who You Hang Out With is one of their best albums, with songs like “Emotional” and “Brick” becoming fast favorites. Spotify kept recommending the concert to me as if I hadn’t already gotten tickets the second they went on sale. The show was a few days before Halloween, so there were a few people dressed up in costumes. Slothrust opened for them with a decent set, but I didn’t care too much. I was just waiting for The Front Bottoms to come on. The lights went out. Red strobe lights started to flash onstage. Brian Sella, my favorite man, walked on stage to the main theme from Halloween. I was screaming and losing my mind, and before I knew it, the opening chords to “Emotional,” the first song on the You Are Who You Hang Out With album, were being played. The rest of the show was incredible. At one point, Brian held a costume contest and handed out a few $20s to his favorites. At one point, they had to stop the show because Katherine Freeman passed out, but aside from that, it was amazing.
18 KANIK WILTON-GREEN
Artwork by Zadok Bendandi
19 ZADOK BENDANDI
NEWS & VIEWS
NEW TEACHERS IN THE SPOTLIGHT Mattie O'Brien
Another wonderful semester at Aesa Prep Academy! This year we have many new faces. Not only ones of bright young minds but also some educators who are new this year. Glen Meyer, teacher of mathematics, Tracy Garcia head of Middle School and 8th and 9th English teacher, Kurt Hausheer, Science teacher, and Laura Wooley, Middle School Science, engineering, and computer science. Our team at the Aussie News has compiled a few interview questions to get to know these fine professors, asking the questions we are all dying to have answered.
GLEN MEYER Why did you decide to become a teacher? I became a teacher because I love learning and sharing what I learn. Teaching is an opportunity to share a part of yourself. 20 MATTIE O'BRIEN
What is your teaching philosophy? Challenge the students with difficult, meaningful problems, but give them help when they need it. That’s what I aim for, at least. Students build confidence by solving difficult problems. How have you liked working at AESA so far? Any memorable moments? It’s been wonderful! I’ve never been around a greater group of K-12 students. You’re all so kind to each other and engaged with your learning. It’s all been memorable - but playing games with the students on Fridays brings back great memories. We always played a lot of games growing up in my family. I also remember whenever a student works hard at a problem and then finally solves it. What’s the most delicious color, in your honest opinion? Why? Green is the color of mint, and mint chocolate is the best kind of chocolate. What is your greatest talent? My greatest talent is sleeping in and making coffee on Saturday mornings. What is your favorite season and/ or holiday of the year? Autumn up in the Midwest with the cool, dry air and the changing colors. And college football, of course. My favorite holiday is Halloween-Thanksgiving-Christmas-New Year. That’s all one holiday, right? They kind of bleed into each other. Have you read anything good lately? I’m rereading the Foundation Trilogy by Isaac Asimov. I read it for the first time when I was in high school. I like works that require a lot of imagination. Do you believe in ghosts? Only on Halloween-Thanksgiving-Christmas-New Years. The rest of the year, I’m a skeptic.
21 MATTIE O'BRIEN
TRACY GARCIA Why did you decide to become a teacher? I love working with young people, including teens and middle school. I also love English literature and writing, so teaching English combines two of the things I love! What is your teaching philosophy? I believe that school should be enjoyable. I hope to foster a love of learning for a lifetime. I believe in mutual respect, thinking outside the box, and creativity and my main job is to encourage students to “think for themselves” and believe in their own unique abilities so they can dream big and try, fail, and try again in life! I hope students learn to enjoy the adventure of learning & life! How have you liked working at AESA so far? Any memorable moments? I love being back here! I taught here for 2 years in the past, and it feels like I am back at a place I love! As for memorable moments, yes! I loved climbing the ropes course at Pinstack with the middle schoolers. What’s the most delicious color, in your honest opinion? Why? Pearl white! It’s transcendent! 22 MATTIE O'BRIEN
What is your greatest talent? Story-telling off the cuff, spontaneously (even when I sleep!) What is your favorite season and/ or holiday of the year? Christmas! Music, lights, cookies, etc... Elf movie! Have you read anything good lately? Yes! 4 novels for English 6-9th! Do you believe in ghosts? Sort of
KURT HAUSHEER Why did you decide to become a teacher? I became a teacher by accident. A former player I coached in volleyball was teaching at a school where they just fired someone. They were in a bind, and she said she knew the perfect person for the job. I enjoy helping others, so I could not 23 MATTIE O'BRIEN
refuse to help their school out. I loved working with kids. What is your teaching philosophy? A chameleon style. I try to blend and adapt to my teaching environment. Each class of students learns differently. Also, I believe what is taught goes beyond the classroom and into life. I will know if I did a good job as a teacher if my students grow up to be good people. How have you liked working at AESA so far? Any memorable moments? So far, I love it! The small classrooms are great. It is much easier to connect with students and teachers here. (1)As for memorable moments, in our first debate class, one of the kids really got into it. He pointed at his opponent and almost fell into arguing rather than debating. It was hilarious! What’s the most delicious color, in your honest opinion? Why? Clear...haha, just kidding. I also love to joke, perhaps too much. Delicious color. The most delicious color is a blend of gold, red, and green. What is your greatest talent? Staying calm and thinking clearly during a crisis. What is your favorite season and/ or holiday of the year? Fall is my favorite season. My favorite holiday is July 4th. Have you read anything good lately? Solomon Kane by Robert Howard. Do you believe in ghosts? If ghosts are real, then why aren’t there any ghosts of dinosaurs and ancient peoples such as Neanderthals?
24 MATTIE O'BRIEN
LAURA WOOLLEY Why did you decide to become a teacher? I was a class facilitator for Education Psychology while attending college and found that I loved every aspect of teaching (research, presentation/ lecture, helping students, etc.) What is your teaching philosophy? I tend to lean into many different teaching philosophies. My experience in the classroom taught me that students thrive when you give them the opportunity to nurture their curiosity and engage in challenging, meaningful work. How have you liked working at AESA so far? Any memorable moments? I absolutely love AESA! I am really enjoying getting to know the students, parents, and teachers! What’s the most delicious color, in your honest opinion? Why? I prefer rainbows to just one color. I have maintained this opinion and have never waivered since childhood. What is your greatest talent? I can wiggle my ears. 25 MATTIE O'BRIEN
Artwork by Ezra Neighman
26 MATTIE O’BRIEN
NEWS & VIEWS
MODEL UN HIGHLIGHTS Mattie O'Brien
Wow... that was not the conclusion I thought we would reach. After weeks of research and long debate, our students in the Model UN have come to a solution for the problem of global nuclear disarmament. But first, here are some highlights from the debate. Starting off strong, many hands were raised right off the bat. The floor goes to Japan (Slaten Fields), where shots were fired at the United States for their past use of Nuclear weapons. United States (Faith Carolan) rebuttal targets countries that have a desire to gain more nuclear weapons. China (Caeleb Lee-Wen) enters the argument with a short history lesson and some shade thrown back at Japan. Ukraine (Caye Paier), who has given up all its nuclear weapons, jumps in, calling out Russia (Toro Baidyldaev) on the ongoing war between the two. Russia, the current number one in compiled Nuclear Weapons globally, proceeded to colorfully support their stance on nuclear disarmament in their mother tongue. A good percentage of the council comes to the agreement that nuclear weapons are too destructive for human hands, and the energy should be used for a more productive solution to global problems, such as better energy use. This argument circulates for quite a while, cementing the overall opinion but not getting much closer to an answer. Australia (Mattie O’Brien) takes the floor, stating all the points said so far and pushing the debate forward. After long hours of discussion, nuclear disarmament was agreed on worldwide. Under the suggestion and future rule of North Korea (Ian Cornick), ending the Model UN debate of the year 2023.
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Artwork by Abbie Hughes
28 MATTIE O’BRIEN
POETRY
EDUCATION (PART TWO) Adva Hurwitz
I wrote a poem on the stresses of school, but not on the joy of making friends, the people you can rely on the most. I didn't write about how it challenged me to learn and grow, because what is life without something pushing you to work harder? And I never mentioned how so many kids still today would kill for my education, not to mention the generations of women before me who wished they could've shown how intelligent they were, but never got the chance. The glass always seems half-empty while you're blinded by your stress, but when you finally get out, can you see the glass in a different light?
29 ADVA HURWITZ
Photograph by Ella Thomas
30 ELLA THOMAS