Cheyenna Hall Featured News 12/20/2019 Teachers and students alike have heard many excuses at school. Even if they aren’t the ones making the excuses they still remember them. “There was homework??” and “What’s today?” are both excuses used by Kailyn McKay who is a ninth grader at ACA. These excuses make it sound like she was oblivious to the homework that was due and makes … Continue reading Excuses Used at School
By: Chloe Lute ACA’s Gender Sexuality Alliance, or GSA, has recently been reinstituted for the 2019/20 school year. The founder of the club believes it is perfect for anybody looking for somewhere where they can express themselves comfortably. Gender Sexuality Alliance would be defined as the state of everyone, regardless of gender or sexuality, being joined or associated. The GSA meets Tuesdays during lunch, in … Continue reading Gender Sexuality Alliance (GSA) Club at ACA
Tazwell Brandabur The Charter Features 12/21/19 Charter schools have long been the center of an intense debate at the local and national level– a debate that’s intensified with the coming presidential election. At this point, the three frontrunning Democratic candidates, former Vice President Joe Biden, Senator Bernie Sanders, and Senator Elizabeth Warren, have openly called for a ban on charter schools. Sort of. Daunting as … Continue reading Is ACA Safe?
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
It’s noon, and most of ACA is going on break. Ann Heppner isn’t. Instead, she’s preparing for what many ESes describe as a “tremendously helpful” class, one that can be “miraculously beneficial” for students’ grades. Mrs. Heppner walks into the classroom and greets her two-person class. This is business as usual for any one of ACA’s “Lunch and Learns.” The Lunch and Learn program has … Continue reading Underused Power-up Hiding in Plain Sight
Jack Taggart The Charter News 11/18/19 ACA’s Lego Robotics club got started when Tara McLaughlin, Lego team coach and mother of two ACA students considered starting a Lego team at ACA, similar to the one she and her children had participated in at a school they previously attended. “I thought a homeschool environment could really benefit from [a] robotics outlet… I know how many kids … Continue reading ACA’s Lego Robotics Club
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 … Continue reading ACA Holiday Bazaar
Haladar Wright The Charter News Feature 11/18/19 You may hear the musical sounds of wind instruments emanating from room 114 on Mondays and Wednesdays. ACA has created a new class, the Beginning Band. It’s purpose is to teach students wind instruments and bring Band music to ACA. Valerie Johnson, the director of the class, created it to teach more instruments. “There was no music class … Continue reading Beginning Band Class Created
Cheyenna Hall The Charter News 11/18/2019 ACA has many committees that staff members are involved in. Some are for the staff and some are more beneficial for the students. Staff members are the people who run the committees. There are many committees and each of them are different and do different things. “The purpose of committees are to focus on school improvement. To support the … Continue reading ACA’s Many Committees
By Oliver Heimbigner The Charter News 10/28/19 ACA has a new archery club coming soon, and many students are interested in joining. “The Archery club will be cool because I used to do archery, and archery is cool,” said Seth Ellicott, a 10th grader at ACA. Drew Holland the creator of this archery club says: “I think it is important to have a different variety … Continue reading Archery Club
By Rebecca Burton The Charter News October 30, 2019 You can now see dragons, elves, and witches roaming the halls of ACA! This year the school has added a new club, the dungeons and dragons club where people can discuss their favorite characters and levels. Come as you explore the world of dungeons and dragons. This club is for the inspired dungeons and dragons players … Continue reading Student Starts Dungeons & Dragons Club
By Kailyn McKay Oct. 23, 2019 Charter News The Harvest Ball was held in the cafeteria at 7:00 pm on Friday, October 25. Twenty tickets were sold from the study hall in advance of the event, according to Merrie Miller, our study hall teacher and ticket salesperson. She said that usually kids don’t start buying tickets till the last week. Sophomore Haladar Wright was one … Continue reading 2019 Harvest Ball
By Kailyn McKay The Charter NewsOct. 2, 2019 ACA has seen some new faces, since 2007. This year there are 70 new students that registered, according to Mrs. Diana Brainerd. So many family and friends of other current students want in and start a new schooling life here, she added. Alliance can accept, at most, 395 students each year and as of late September we … Continue reading Taking in new families
The second most common cause of death people ages 10-34 in the U.S. is suicide. Ranking 15th in the U.S., Oregon has one of the highest percentages of deaths due to suicide. This sobering statistic is all the more disturbing when it is brought into consideration that it is a subject that hits close to home, as some students at ACA struggle with suicidal ideation. … Continue reading The Issue of Suicide
On October 21st, Mr Holland’s PE class found the gym invaded by a faintly humming silver dome, 20 feet in diameter and 10 feet high. Fortunately, this was no alien invasion of ACA, but rather the Starlab, a mobile observatory and planetarium, brought in by Mr. Lancaster’s Astrobiology class to teach constellations and planetary science. “Constellations serve as a…sort of map that astronomers use to … Continue reading Astrobiology Brings Strange Visitor To ACA
By: Chloe R. Lute Over the summer a few of Alliance Charter Academy’s rooms got refurnished to be more functional and appealing. Some of the biggest changes include the Guitar room and the Study Hall. The Guitar Room, room 116, got a new paint job and is now completely reorganized. There’s now a board on the back wall which holds all of the smaller instruments … Continue reading Changes to ACA Building
Jack Taggart The Charter News 10/2/19 It’s that time of year again, as teachers, parents, and students set the ball rolling with the new 2019-2020 school year. And with more than fifty million students enrolled, (according to the National Center for Education Statistics), this is not only a big adjustment for the public school system, but also an adjustment for many students, parents, and teachers. … Continue reading Back to School
Tazwell Brandabur The Charter News – 9/30/19 Much of success, both in school and later life, depends upon a set of critical skills known as executive functioning. These skills include scheduling, time management, and prioritization, which are all essential for staying organized. With this in mind, ACA hired Karin Bright, an executive function coach based in Portland, to help students, and to help teachers help … Continue reading Student Planners: So Far, So Good
Rachel Shulikov The Charter – 4/22/2019 “The fact that if you are really good at something, then you can take a harder class, and its not weird.” Madilynn Reynolds, Freshman. “The math program.” Kathryn Taggart, 7th grade. “The flexibility in learning.” Aliona Shulikov, Parant “The students.” Kathleen Cantrell, ES Continue reading What is Your Favorite Part of ACA?
By Matthias Armstrong The Charter News – 4/5/19 The Poetree has been given new “life” and decoration through Hercules, a taxidermied squirrel whose purpose is to get more students of all ages interested in the writing poems. The squirrel was placed on the poetree, which is just outside room 210 in the main hallway, around a month ago, and his purpose is to intrigue students … Continue reading Hercules Livens Up the Poetree
By Matthias Armstrong The Charter News Feature – 1/23/19 What is the National Honors Society (NHS)? Many people do not know the answer to this question, and the truth, according to members, is that their society is motivating students to achieve amazing things within their community. It is more than just a club or meeting point for kids; the NHS is the leading organization, according … Continue reading The National Honors Society at ACA
Listening with music while taking tests should be allowed at ACA. Teachers typically say that testing with music distracts students from learning or reaching their full potential. Although I believe that’s true for some students, music should still be allowed for students who want it. Some famous writers listen to music in their everyday writing routine. One of them is Stephen King who has written … Continue reading Is Testing with Music Really Bad for You?
By Matthias Armstrong The Charter News – 12/10/18 The volunteer-run organization FIDO is working vigorously to combat the problem of animal hunger and ACA is helping out. The problem gained attention when volunteers involved in the Meals On Wheels program noticed people feeding their food to their pets instead of themselves. This sparked the creation of the Animeals program and later the Friends Involved in … Continue reading ACA Battles Animal Hunger Alongside F.I.D.O.
By Hailey Fox Charter Newsroom – 11/14/2018 Last year when the students at ACA took the science OAKS test, the 11th graders fell short of the district by 0.2 percent. According to administration, the charter by ACA has a clause that states ACA will always exceed the OCSD (Oregon City School District) in state testing scores. Since the scores were lower compared to OCSD’s scores, … Continue reading ACA’s Testing Scores
By Evalina Shulikov The Charter News- 11/15/18 Did you know that our school actually has a mascot? Have you ever wondered what our school mascot is? Well, our school mascot is an eagle! We have a big banner in the gym with our mascot on it. “I like the eagle because it’s a symbol of strength and majesty and that’s encouraging to me.” said Kristen … Continue reading School Mascot
By Matthias Armstrong The Charter News – 11/09/18 A new Spanish speaking group has formed at ACA, and its goal is to build a learning Spanish speaking community within ACA. Starting every Tuesday, at lunch, the new spanish group will be meeting in the speech room to converse and learn new things, for instance grammar and vocabulary in Spanish. People already in the group have … Continue reading New Spanish Speaking Group
By Evalina Shulikov The Charter News- 11/14/18 Looking for a good place to study? This year our school has a family study hall. It is located downstairs, the room next to the preschool classroom. It is the perfect place for students and parents to study and do their homework. It is available Monday-Thursday from 9:00-12:00 in the morning. According to parents and students that … Continue reading Family Study Hall
By Matthias Armstrong For almost a year ACA has been helping with The Father’s Heart Street Ministry to tackle the problem of homelessness and people in need around Oregon City, but our contributions and involvement are just beginning. Many people at ACA are unaware of our involvement with the Father’s Heart Street Ministry but this amazing story and cause deserves the attention of … Continue reading ACA and The Father’s Heart Ministry
Sydney Starr The Charter News In June 2019, Chad Wynne, ACA’s Social Sciences department head, will be leading a small group of two students and one mom, on an educational tour through Spain and France. This tour group is unusually small, Wynne says “We are a very small group, and so it’s just me, two students, and one of those student’s mom’s. I was hoping … Continue reading EF Educational Tour to Spain and France
By Hailey Fox The Drama Club at ACA has done many plays, some original, and some classics. This year, they will be performing The Tempest, a play written by William Shakespeare. There are a lot of students in the play this year, Liberty Cox is one of those students. Cox plays Miranda, the main character’s daughter. According to Cox, “My Boo” is Ian Sofich. He … Continue reading ACA’s Next Drama Club Performance
By: MIRIAM LEE 10/24/18 ACA’s annual Harvest Dance—previously organized by parents—has been taken over by the students. Get ready for a night of music, dancing, treats, and spooky decorations. The ACA newsletter states that this year’s dance will be held in the ACA cafeteria from 7:00-10:00pm, on October 26th. According to Hallie McMillan, one of the student organizers, grades 7th-12th can pre-order tickets for $5 … Continue reading Harvest Dance 2018
By RYLIE YOUNG – 08/03/18 On August 13th, at approximately 2 am, the Oregon City Police Department and Clackamas Fire arrived at Park Place Elementary to find the school’s playground engulfed in flames. The fire was contained and put out quickly. However, it wasn’t before an estimated $15,000 worth of playground equipment was burned, along with two picnic benches. After further investigation, the authorities discovered … Continue reading Arsonist Burns Down Our Playground
by: Rachel Shulikov There is a staff member, a teacher, an ES, that not everyone knows, because she was doing something that not everyone knew about. Her name is Denise Dille. Dille was born in Oregon, then she moved to Arizona, and lived there for eight years, until she moved back to Oregon. She likes dogs and cats. She got married to her high school … Continue reading Who is Denise Dille?
By: MIRIAM LEE 10/03/18 Suzanne Edwards is taking over all the choirs, piano and marimba. Valerie Johnson is teaching drums and creativity. — Seanna Bloemer, ACA Director Alliance Charter Academy (ACA) has lost their multi-talented music teacher. Students are at a loss, missing their beloved teacher, but also missing their friend. Margie Phillips, former instructor at ACA, now works full-time at Elmonica Elementary School … Continue reading Farewell, Phillips
By: Hailey Fox – 10/03/18 If you’ve been at this school for a few years, you might know that bug control at ACA has been a problem, from the wasps that invaded the boys bathroom to the ladybug nests in the ceiling of the gym. Unlike those problems, yellow jackets aren’t a big threat as long as you are careful. If you were around last … Continue reading Yellow Jackets at ACA
By: Evalina Shulikov A new Educational Specialist and teacher just joined the team at ACA this year! Marcus Yonce is a quiet and independent person who has a love for writing. He has experience with vast cultures which will be beneficial to our diverse school. Mr. Yonce went to a university in Seattle and got a four year degree for accounting, but realized he didn’t … Continue reading Marcus Yonce
By Alyssa DiLoreto Meet Seanna Seanna Bloemer is not just the new director of ACA, she’s also a friend, wife and mother of two ACA graduates. Her favorite pastimes are hiking and reading. Bloemer has been working at our school for twelve years, and an Education Specialist (ES) for eleven years before her new position. She absolutely adores helping, guiding and working with her students … Continue reading New Director: Seanna Bloemer
By COLIN HUGHES The process of making a master schedule and a course catalog for a school is a huge project. Here are some of the people who worked behind the scenes at ACA and all about how hard they work and how much they care about meeting the needs of their students. Director Nic Chapin says he’s excited about when their teachers teach courses … Continue reading ACA Admin team makes next year’s schedule
The new course catalog is coming soon, allowing kids to finally learn about the new classes next year. This story will review the Social Sciences section of the catalog. If you noticed in past catalogs, there aren’t very many Social Sciences classes. This is has to do with our part-homeschool style of the school. According to our schools director, Nic Chapin, many families tend to … Continue reading Social Studies in the Future
By OLIVIA SILBERNAGEL Elective options at ACA can seem fairly limited, especially for high school students. However, it is important for potentially frustrated students and families to understand why electives at ACA are not as comprehensive as are offered at traditional schools. Elective courses are important for a well rounded education. The state of Oregon requires high school students to take a minimum of six … Continue reading Understanding Electives at ACA
News Story by, Elizabeth Tarsia Starting next year our school is offering a program called the College Career Exploration Program. Rather than applying for the ACE program, there is kind of a stepping stone opportunity. If you are not ready for the whole college experience then the CCE program is the right fit for you! The CCE program is not set up the way the … Continue reading ACA’s new CCE program
By OLIVIA SILBERNAGEL Anger and sadness over gun violence in America is present even in ACA. This was apparent on Wednesday, March 14th when roughly thirty-five students walked out of class in protest of current gun policy and the toll it has taken on our schools. The walkout was prompted by the Parkland school shooting which took place on February 14th of this year at … Continue reading ‘Never Again’ – ACA Students Walkout
By Victor Heimbigner Have you ever done Yoga before? If you would like to, we have a Yoga class here at Alliance Charter Academy. Todd Ingham, a teacher who teaches art class and in his free time, comes to school every Tuesday at 8:00 o’clock in the gym to teach Yoga to anybody who stops by. Mr. Todd helps his yoga students to become more … Continue reading Yoga With Teacher Todd
By Nicole Engelke The Charter Feature Alliance Charter Academy (ACA) is a unique school for equally unique students and staff. It is a K-12 charter school created by parents that were dedicated to their children’s well-being and education. Lara Fabrycki, the founder and former director, principal, and “Queen Bee” of ACA, says, “We needed that choice…a choice for kids who didn’t want to go the … Continue reading Building Our Airplane While We’re Flying: A History of Our Homeschool-school
By Rylie Young Two years ago, the idea of Alliance Charter Academy having a school garden grew, and it all started with three humble garden beds in the front schoolyard. When numerous teachers said they wanted a space for their class, things got a bit crowded. Now they have upgraded to a larger space, made possible by a “Heal” grant that they received from Clackamas … Continue reading ACA Garden: Success Story
By Elizabeth Tarsia Kathleen Mixer-Cantrell, a greatly appreciated Educational Specialist (ES) and staff member. Cantrell has been working at Alliance Charter Academy since our program started in 2007. After so many years working at Alliance Charter Academy she says she enjoys it just as much as she did when she first started working here in 2007. Kathleen says she loves working with her ES students … Continue reading The Cantrell of Alliance Charter Academy
By Samantha Rands and Olivia Silbernagel We interviewed six students at ACA questions about their futures, school, and worries. The goal was to look at the diversity between what different age groups worry about; where an elementary schooler would have fewer worries, and a senior would worry more about the future. We interviewed two elementary students: Gwyneth Lute and Love Best. Two middle school students: … Continue reading ACA Through The Ages
By Samantha Rands The Harvest Ball was October 27th Organizers consider the Harvest Ball and Haunted House success despite some technical difficulties. The profit made from tickets sales was $111.02, which will go towards funds for prom. Beth Sugrue, a mom at ACA and the Harvest Dance coordinator, said, “I think overall the dance went pretty well. We had a lot of logistical problems that … Continue reading Harvest Ball/Haunted House reactions
By Mackenzie Waterman Sarah Head isn’t just a ES and teacher. She is a wife, mom, and farmer, as well. She enjoys reading, farming, and hanging out with her kids. Her favorite book is “ Pilgrim at Tinker Creek” by Annie Dillard. She has two kids (both girls), as well as a lot of animals. She owns around thirty through thirty five farm animals and two … Continue reading Sarah Head’s Many Faces
Nicole Engelke The Charter – News Although the students in this new club had probably never met before, or heard their parts, or even played a marimba, they were determined to learn their parts before the concert, and have lots of fun in the process. Margie Phillips, one of the music teachers at ACA, wanted it that way when she coined the idea before the … Continue reading New Marimba Club Welcomes All Students
The I Love You Guys is a safety protocol that Alliance Charter Academy and many schools in America use. Most people wouldn’t think that a foundation named I Love You Guys (ILUG) would be a safety program for schools and some businesses. Ellen and John-Michael Keyes lost their daughter in a school emergency in 2009, from that accident the I Love You Guys Foundation … Continue reading “I Love You Guys”
By Alyssa DiLoreto, The Charter News – This year, the Winter Concerts are being held in the gym at ACA. According to music teacher, Jonathan Cheskin, this year ACA has a new sound system, so we are able to do our own sound setup. There was also a temperature problem, at Jackson as we had no heat. In the past few years, ACA has held … Continue reading Winter Concert at ACA
