Author: Madalena Larkins

Madalena is a freshman at Alliance Charter Academy, and a News Editor for The Charter. Outside of school, she enjoys reading nonfiction political science and listening to NPR News.
news

What Will Be On The Ballot For Oregon’s May 19th Primary Election?

Madalena Larkins  The Charter News 5/7/20 Statewide primary and general elections happen every two years in Oregon, and the contents of Oregon’s May 19th  primary election ballots will vary, as voters will receive different ballots depending on how they’re registered to vote.  The state of Oregon has closed primary elections, which means that those registered as a member of a political party will be able … Continue reading What Will Be On The Ballot For Oregon’s May 19th Primary Election?

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COVID-19, News Brief

What Will Graduation Look Like For ACA Seniors?

Madalena Larkins The Charter News 5/4/20 The COVID-19 pandemic has thrown graduation ceremony plans up in the air, leaving school administrators around the world to figure out how best to celebrate their graduating classes.  ACA sent out a survey to seniors and their parents, asking for their opinions on how best to celebrate ACA’s class of 2020, given the unprecedented circumstances of the pandemic.  Respondents … Continue reading What Will Graduation Look Like For ACA Seniors?

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COVID-19, News Brief

ODE Releases New Guidelines for Awarding Grades And Credit to Students

Madalena Larkins The Charter News 4/30/20 State officials released new policies for awarding grades and credit to students in grades K-11, amid the ongoing school closure.  Oregon Department of Education (ODE) released an announcement on April 15th, stating: “Students who demonstrate evidence of essential learning by the end of the spring 2020 term, shall receive a ‘Pass’ and the corresponding course credit.” During the second … Continue reading ODE Releases New Guidelines for Awarding Grades And Credit to Students

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COVID-19, news

Governor Brown Lets Seniors Graduate Amid Ongoing School Closure

Madalena Larkins  The Charter News 4/15/20 “It wasn’t our choice to start a pandemic our senior year, and we don’t deserve to not graduate because of it,” announced Paige Stickney, an ACA senior. On April 8th, Governor Brown announced that all schools in Oregon would remain closed for the remainder of the academic year, and distance learning would continue for all students not in the … Continue reading Governor Brown Lets Seniors Graduate Amid Ongoing School Closure

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COVID-19, News Brief

ACA Student Creates Group Chat With More Than 150 Students

Madalena Larkins The Charter News 4/9/20 Twelve year old Levi Reynolds was at home without much to do after schools closed due to COVID-19. This resulted in him creating a group chat on Google Hangouts, which ended up having 167 members. “I made it because I was bored,” says Levi. It started out with around 12 kids from ACA that he knew, and one former … Continue reading ACA Student Creates Group Chat With More Than 150 Students

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COVID-19, News Brief

Students React to School Closure

Madalena Larkins The Charter News 3/19/20 Nearly 600,000 public school students in Oregon are out of school. This comes on March 17th, after Governor Kate Brown announced that all public schools must close and remain closed until April 28th, due to the COVID-19 outbreak. The decision of whether or not to reopen schools will continue to be re-evaluated.  ACA students had mixed feelings about the … Continue reading Students React to School Closure

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news

Oregon Legislative Session Adjourns Prematurely After Republican Legislators Boycott Cap And Trade Vote

Madalena Larkins The Charter News 3/9/20 On Monday February 24th, Republicans in the Oregon state legislature participated in a walk out in an attempt to kill the cap and trade bill, a piece of climate legislation that would require fuel companies to pay for greenhouse gas emissions. They have not returned to the Capitol since. This prevented the chamber from voting, as two thirds of … Continue reading Oregon Legislative Session Adjourns Prematurely After Republican Legislators Boycott Cap And Trade Vote

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features

Border Wall Creates Unintended Consequences for Wildlife

Madalena Larkins The Charter Features 2/20/20               Whether or not a wall should be built at our southern border is an intensely debated topic, however people often overlook the effects doing so would have on wildlife in the area.                Around half of the official 1,954 mile long U.S.-Mexico border is made up … Continue reading Border Wall Creates Unintended Consequences for Wildlife

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opinions

Why Students Should Never Opt Out of State Testing

Madalena Larkins The Charter Opinions 1/22/20 Just like other public schools, ACA students in grades 3rd-8th and 11th participate in state testing. There’s one difference.       ACA is required to meet or exceed the test and participation scores of conventional public schools in our district, and if we don’t we are required to create a School Improvement Plan, and failure to create or comply with the … Continue reading Why Students Should Never Opt Out of State Testing

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Chartered Territory

Do You Read The Charter? Why or Why Not?

Madalena Larkins Natasha Fedosov, 11th Grade ACA Student: “No, Because I don’t have time for it.” Diana Brainerd, Associate Director: “I read it like two weeks ago, because I like to see what students are writing about.” Abigail Reynolds, 8th grader: “No, it just doesn’t seem necessary to me.” Kathleen Ballard, ACA Parent: “Yes, I suppose because I was a journalism student in high school, and … Continue reading Do You Read The Charter? Why or Why Not?

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features

Inside The Charter Newsroom

Madalena Larkins The Charter Features 12/20/19 The class of nine and their teacher, Michael Lancaster, gather in the dimly lit media arts room for the last time before winter break. Kailyn and Cheyenna toss a half full plastic bottle back and forth across the room, Jack and Tazwell seem to be absorbed in something on their Chrome books, and Mr. Lancaster pauses in his explanation … Continue reading Inside The Charter Newsroom

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news, News Brief

ACA Holiday Bazaar

Madalena Larkins The Charter News 11/18/19 ACA is hosting a holiday bazaar—on campus—on Friday December 6th and Saturday December 7th from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm.  There will be a variety of vendors,  both student and local, as well as a bake sale, kids crafts area, raffle, food, and live music performed by ACA musicians.   There will be 30+ vendors (as of 11-11-19) who will be … Continue reading ACA Holiday Bazaar

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news

Stephanie Young Takes School Pictures

Madalena Larkins The Charter News 10/28/19 School pictures were different this year. Stephanie Young—a longtime ACA parent—took school pictures, instead of someone outside of ACA, like we’ve had in past years. It seems that there was an overall positive reaction to the new photographer and backdrop. Young chose to take the pictures outside in front of the bricks instead of doing them inside with a gray … Continue reading Stephanie Young Takes School Pictures

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featured, news

Other Jobs ACA Staff Do

Madalena Larkins The Charter Features 10/2/19      A recent poll of ACA staff members was conducted and sixty eight percent of staff polled had additional sources of income outside of ACA. Only thirty four percent said that they wanted only one job, so about half the staff polled who had another income enjoyed doing two jobs.  Also, sixty seven percent of staff polled said that they … Continue reading Other Jobs ACA Staff Do

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