Features
Ryan Homistek, the new AHS Principal
Adjusting to the Bull Dog Environment
By Elias Salas
Ryan Homistek is Albuquerque High Schools New Principal in replacement of Tim McCorkle, who was previously the Principal for many years. I recently interviewed him to see what he thought of our school and what changes he wanted to make to improve our school or what’s going to stay the same for what’s already working. This isn’t Homistek’s first time being the head principal at a school. His other time running a school was at Ernie Pyle Middle School for about four and a half years. These are similar environments according to the location of both schools. The reason for him becoming a Principal was by total accident said Homistek. He was teaching at a charter school when asked to take on a grant and lead his team through turn around process and if he didn’t the school would’ve been shut down so he did it to save the school. Outside of administrating the school throughout the week Principal Homistek still finds time to work out and do weight lifting, boxing and wrestling also anything that involves his kids and their sports or activities. To describe the environment of going from one school to another Principal Homistek said “Something that overwhelmed me was the size of the school going from 641 students to 1900 students, that shocked me” which is just when comparing a middle school to a high school. Another thing he mentioned was the constant flow of students entering and exiting the school to go to CEC or ECA or even UNM. When asked what plans he had for the future of AHS, he replied with “One thing I want to see is AHS connecting more with the community. One plan I have is to broaden our community supports for internships and apprenticeships.” In many instances, change is a good thing and allows for improvement and we’ll just have to see what great things come with this change.
Interview with the Principal
Written by: Marissa Montoya
This past week, I went to interview the Principal and every question I threw at him he had an amazing answer. I asked what Our principal Mr. Homistek has planned for AHS. He “loves the diversity of the school and wants it to grow more”. He also wanted to get the graduation rate up to 100% which every principal wants, but he wants to send them off to college “ready and prepared for life”. Mr. Homistek loves hearing why the students came to ABQ high and not their district school if ABQ is not their home school. He used to be the principal at Ernie Pyle Middle School in the South Valley. He loved being the principal there, but he said becoming a principal happened on accident. He was informed if he didn't become a principal his school would be shut down he decided to be a principal. He was a principal there for a few years and came to AHS with a goal to make the school grad rate go up. I asked about his younger life and what “stereotype” he would be. He was an athlete who played sports such as wrestling, baseball, football and more. Our principal did go to college but he wasn't born and raised here in Albuquerque. Mr. Homistek was born and raised in Arizona and went to school in many different places for college. His family loves AHS and his kids want to attend AHS when they are of age.
The Cost of Supplies
The Economic Burden of Maintaining A Classroom
by Kaya Perce
With new supplies comes financial burden, especially for teachers. The stacks of paper, binders, and notebooks that teachers provide come at no small cost. Year to year, this can weigh upon staff, especially since APS receive an average starting salary that is $2,000 less than the national average, according the combined data of Niche and APS. But how great is that financial burden?
Though the budgets for each academic department vary, it is rare that teachers are not required to dip into their own pockets in order to maintain a hospitable classroom. Dr. Rafael Leckie, a Chemistry 1 instructor, has spent $300 on supplies this year alone, providing cleaning and safety supplies, writing tools, paper, and various other items for students who are not able to afford their own. He restocks the paper products “at least once a month,” and the others as needed, explaining that it all comes out of his “personal funds.” Kim Fisher, an English, Honors English, and Black Studies teacher prides herself on the functionality of her classroom. In order to maintain that standard, she purchases items such as paper, books, ink cartridges, hand sanitizer, and tissues for her class, in addition to the supplies she asks students to purchase, such as binders, whiteout, and highlighters. She adds that she spends “a little shy of $1,000 a year,” saying that “kids appreciate what they see their teachers doing.”
The New Mexico Public Education Department (NMPED) grades schools on the academic improvement of the students it educates. However, without the necessary supplies, students feel under-appreciated, and are unable to learn as other students can. The lack of funding for supplies is a blow to low-income schools that are not given adequate resources to educate their economically vulnerable students. Because of this, low-income schools often receive worse grades by the NMPED, creating a cycle of economic shortcoming.
Dr. Leckie believes that the department is aware of the ways in which teachers purchase supplies, and simply “do[es] not care.” He instead suggested that a supply cabinet could be kept so teachers could share supplies. Kim Fisher feels that NMPED “tend[s] to be adversarial in their relationship to teachers. They tend to lack empathy.” Fisher added that the communal supplies that teachers have access to arrived at the end of the six weeks, and believes that departments should receive the supplies before the school year begins. Though such solutions do not reach the root of the economic depravity in New Mexico’s education system, classrooms that are armed with supplies and eager students are more equipped to face such issues.
Image source: http://www.yeshivatheatid.org/school-supplies/
Advice From Seniors to Freshmen
by Bloom Welliver
As the second six weeks are starting anew, teachers and students alike are feeling the pressure of the everyday stresses of school. For many of you, high school is a new chapter of your lives. While for others, there is nothing new about the early mornings at Albuquerque High School. Freshmen are under a lot of pressure figuring out the new world around them while still keeping up in classes. After speaking with two AHS seniors one could gather that getting involved in school events, clubs, etc., Knowing, accepting, and expecting change for the duration of high school, and not stressing about the little things, rather learning from your mistakes are some tips that will set yourself up for success.
Becoming involved in the school’s community can help greatly improve your overall experience in high school.“If you don't take advantage of the extracurricular activities that the school offers and you don't became apart of it you’re not going to have a good high school experience just because you’re not going to find those friends, you’re not going to find things that you are interested in and you’re going to end up going off to college in the same mindset you were in middle school and that’s just depressing, honestly.” -Albuquerque High senior Diana Mullen. Joining extracurricular activities can help you branch out and find your group of people who may share the same interests as you as well as prepare you for the future by opening up new opportunities and possibilities.
Knowing that you will change over the next 3 years and making the effort to make that change in the right direction is a wonderful way to improve on yourself. “Freshmen year I really didn’t care about grades, I would just mess around and ditch. But as I went to sophomore year I joined cheerleading, Then I left cheer junior year. Ever since sophomore year I have been on honor roll” And “I matured. You eventually learn that, some people eventually learn that you gotta grow up, nobody else is going to do it for you.” -Delilah Herron, Albuquerque High School Senior. Change is inevitable in this stage of your life, make sure it is for the better.
Do not stress about the little things, in the long run one missed opportunity to succeed isn’t going to matter if you learn and grow from that mistake. “I think the most important thing to know is high school does not determine the rest of your life. Trying your best and doing a good job is important but failing one exam or losing one friend isn’t going to be detrimental to your life because in the long run, what you got on that chemistry exam doesn’t change all of your friends in life and the career you are going to have. And losing one friend doesn’t matter that much because you are going to make so many more.” -Diana Mullen
As you make your way through the next few years of high school keep in mind the following, get involved in school events, clubs, etc., Know, accept, and expect change throughout your high school experience, and not stressing about the little mistakes, instead try to learn from them. If you keep these three things in mind you are on your way to becoming a champion of highschool.
The Senate Officer Interview
By: Isabel Barajas
Out of the many clubs and sports we have at Albuquerque high school, one that does many things is student leadership. They put together fundraisers, school events, etc. From learning all this as a freshmen, I thought it would be nice to interview on of these busy officers.
With many people who suggested I interview Joe the Historian, I agreed. I set up an interview during sixth period on Monday September 24. I started the interview by asking "how long have you been in student leadership?" He answered by telling me has done all four years he has been in high school.
For early preparation, I prepared a list that had all the questions I was going to ask. I went down the list to my next question which was "what made you want to join at first?" He said that he just wanted to join for fun, just kinda of an elective to do. Thought it would be something nice to do.
As the historian, Joe has had to run for the position in the past year. I thought what would want to inspire him to run for that position. So I asked, he said that he felt under involved. Wanted to do something more for Student Leadership. This was his first year in any position for student leadership.
"All of the people" was the response to my question on what he loves most about student leadership. "What do you hate most about student leadership?" When people aren't getting involved in anything, when they blame you for something not going right.
"What is soon to come from student leadership?" We are going to try to get more people involved. It'll be more beneficial to everyone in student leadership. With this, Joe explained a bit more and told me how he is very excited to begin this new thing for student leadership.