Volume 63, No. 3
Albemarle High School Newspaper
311 Park Ridge Road Albemarle, N.C. 28001 982-3711
NOVEMBER 1997
CnQli/h 1/ o Second lon9uo9e
by Emily
Imagine if your family had to move
overseas within less than a year? Say you
were going to...France. A whole new cul
ture, set of friends, school, and language.
Communication is the center of a teen’s en
tire social life. Not being able to speak the
language would truly impede upon your ev
eryday activities. This hypothetical situa
tion is a reality for thirteen students at
Albemarle High School. Surprisingly enough,
these individuals are not foreign exchange stu
dents, but rather students who speak English
as a second language.
Miss Shelby O’Brien teaches a new
course, English as a Second Language (ESL),
which is a class that teaches students to speak
English. AHS is only one of the Stanly
County Schools where Miss O’Brien teaches.
Although she can understand many of her
students in their native language, she expects
them to use only English in class. Conse
quently, she only uses English with them so
they will gain a better understanding and be
able to function in the classroom with no
problem.
In order to gain a better insight into
the program, I sat and observed a class. Dur
ing this particular block, the students were
learning about contractions such as don’t,
Nance
doesn’t, and can’t. Then, they were asked to
describe the differences between a restaurant
and a fast food restaurant. Three girls who
were in the intermediate English class, Nou
Lor, Nou Lee, and Sheng Lor, seemed to en
joy themselves as they laughed with each other
and attempted to communicate in English.
These three are also enrolled in a regular high
school English class. This degree of diffi
culty is beyond my comprehension. Cast a
smile to these unique students and welcome
them to the world’s melting pot, America.
Nou Lor studies English as her
second language.
SeWdBS BecoeHfZeD fob
THefB acttieVeiieiiTS
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Albemarle High School’s class of 1998
's honored to recognize Stacy Sinclair and
■Jonathan Dry for their outstanding achievements.
Stacy Sinclair illustrated her service, vtorv ic a msi
leadership, dependability, and patriotism when my persona ity. , ji^jj^hairclari
nominatedbythehighschoolfortheDARGood
Q.i«n of tl,=Vc„ .ward. Moving .0 county Honor Soci
^petition, Stacy wrote an essay concerning the R ^ National Honor Society. Con-
preservation of patriotism in Stanly County, ety, an p
a tea on October 17. Stacy was honored by gratulations, b y- -_
r onnthpr senior, has re-
on the honor: “To be named Good Citizen of the
Year is an honor that not only recognizes my
own scholastic efforts, but reflects my family
and teachers as their support has helped to mold
my personality.” Stacy is a first lieutenant for
larching Bulldogs and plays first-chair clari
net Furthermore, Stacy is an active member of
the Rotary Interact Club, National Honor Soci-
a tea on October 17, Stacy was honored by
Daughters of the American Revolution as the
Good Citizen of the Year. At the recep-
Stacy read her essay and later commented
Stacy Sinclair and Jonathan Dry have
b^n selected for senior honors.
Jonathan Dry, another senior, has re
cently been selected to advance to *e semi-fi
nals in the John Motley Morehead Scholarehip
Competition. This scholarship honors students
Zlc active in academics, ath etics, co^u-
nity service, and leadership. TTie Morehead Schol
ars receive a full-paid education to the Univer
sity of North Carolina at Chapel
will travel to his second interview
11 in Charlotte. He will be competing agamj
219 other students from the surrounding
U .h. final scholars are chosen. Jonathan
where th'jhe Morehead is a great
commented, ^pding for this scholar-
opportunity and by mvself for the
Society, both Stacy and Jonathan
for theirhonorarycnd^vonsand encourages all
students to strive for the top.
Albemarle High School is honored to
be the home of Travis Caster, recently selected
as North Carolina’s Wendy’s High School
Heisman Scholarship program winner Sponsored
by Dave Thomas and Wendy’s Old Fashioned
Hamburgers, this extremely prestigious award
recognizes the top male and female who exem
plify scholastics, athletics, community service,
and leadership. Every school in the state nomi
nates their top boy and girl to compete at the
state level. This year, over 4,000 nominees sent
applications and only 1,062 males made the fi
nals. Among those applicants was Travis Gaster,
one of AHS’s finest athletes and leaders. Of the
finalists, one student was selected as North
Carolina’s High School Heisman Award winner.
Proudly, AHS’s own Travis Gaster was named
to this honor.
This All-American student participates
in three varsity sports while maintaining his 4.07
GPA. Travis is additionally president of the
Rotary Interact Club, which recently received a
Governor’s Award for community service. He
also serves as the National Honor Society vice-
president and an active member of the Spanish
Club. On the football field, Travis has proved to
be phenomenal. He is a four-year letterman and
captain and was named All-County all four years.
He made All-Conference honorable mention his
freshman year, second-team his sophomore year,
and first team his junior year. Also, in the elev
enth grade, Travis was named to the All-Pied
mont and All-State teams. He hopes to receive
the same honors this year. North Carolina Prep
News Magazine named Travis as one of the top
Baby Boomers, Sophomore Sensations, and Jun
ior Players. Of North Carolina, South Carolina,
Georgia, Virginia, and Tennessee, Fox Sports
South named Travis one of the top seventy se
nior recruits. Recently, Travis was selected to
play in the Shrine Bowl. He will travel to Char
lotte in December to spend a week with the
Shriners and other players. When winter arrives,
Travis joins the basketball team as he played
two years on the junior varsity squad and was a
letterman his junior year. Furthermore, Travis
gets out his baseball glove at the first sights of
spring and prepares to continue his outstanding
record on the diamond. He has received three
varsity letters and hopes to earn his fourth in the
1998 season. When asked how he felt about
being given this honorary award, Travis stated,
“To simply be AHS’s nominee was an honor.
However, to be the North Carolina winner puts
the icing on the cake. Ultimately, 1 would like to
thank my dad for allowing me to achieve my
goals. Without him, I would have never been
able to create a reality out of my dreams.” Con
gratulations, Travis, and best wishes in your fu
ture endeavors.
Travis Gaster exemplifies his skills on
the field and in the classroom.
Albemarle High School is honored to
welcome two new faculty members to their staff.
Familiar to the Stanly County School
System is Assistant Principal Charles Phillips.
A graduate of the University of North Carolina
Mr. Phillips and Mr. Ramirez are
welcomed to AHSI
at Charlotte, Mr Phillips received his BS in So
cial Studies and his MS in Educational Adminis
tration. From 1976 to 1995, he served as a
teacher, coach, and athletic director at South
Stanly High School. When asked what his goals
are for Albemarle High School, Mr Phillips re
sponded, “ I hope to work with students and
staff to provide the opportunity for success in
all aspects of both educational and co-curricular
activities at AHS. As a new leader of Bulldog
Pride, we welcome Mr Phillips to our staff.
Traveling all the way from the sunny
state of Florida is Mr Dennis Ramirez, a new
addition to the math hall at AHS. A graduate
from the University of Florida, Mr Ramirez
earned his BS in Physics and has been an instruc
tor of math, chemistry, and physics in a middle
school, high schools, and community colleges.
Mr Ramirez commented on his first impression
of AHS: “From the onset the administration, fac
ulty and students have been warm and cordial.
Your pride is reflected in both your conduct and
the manner in which the school is kept.”
We welcome you to our school and
hope your every day here is enlightening to your
career