Three of Macdonald's most respected teachers left this year after many years of educating the young minds of tomorrow. Two teachers from the Math department, Mr. Farr (the head of the department) and Mr. Hsia left Macdonald. Both of their careers combined, add up to six decades of instructing. Mr. Farr taught every grade level including the demanding OAC Calculus class. Always willing to help a student, Mr. Farr's warmth and compassion to teaching was greatly appreciated by his students.
Mr. Hsia taught most grade levels and his quick and efficient style was geared for the highly intellegent medallion students. This man loved mathematics and was truly devoted to helping students. Mr. Hsia was capable and patient to the degree where he could teach two very difficult OAC Mathematics courses; Calculus and the treacherous Algebra and Geometry.
Finally, the assistant head of the History department, who had taught for nearly 35 years, decided to retire. The one and only, Mr. Henricks. No one could match this man's teaching style. No one knew Baroque and Bach, Beethoven and the Boys, like Mr. Henricks. His devotion and love for teaching was evident beyond the halls of Macdonald. For most of his teaching career, Mr. Henricks was a respected University professor. The respect and admiration for Mr. Henricks was second to none. His expertise and thorough history exams, will be missed.
Three new teachers have replaced these exceptional men. The stand-ins will only fill the space of a teacher, they can never duplicate the love of educating that these three men displayed.
Bryan Gopaul
If a student parks in a teacher's spot, they get a ticket. What happens if a teacher parks in a student's spot?
Think about it...
Send in your responses to the MacNews box or e-mail me at karatebear@wwdg.com.
Karate Bear
For those of you who attended the Sports-All-Nighter a couple of weeks ago, you know that it brought out the best in people, but more importantly, the worst. Before I start I would like to commend the Athletic Council for a job well done. It took a lot of work and effort to put on such an event. Now we get to those hooligans that think winning is everything. There were a large number of students that gave Mac a bad name that night. I saw more slashing, pushing and shoving into walls than at a Madonna slumber party. Not that I would know what happens at a Madonna slumber party, but that's another story. There were more people walking out in the morning with battle scars than those who sat through the O. J. Simpson trial. Well, all I have to say is that some students are in a sad state if they resort to cheating, and rough play to win a friendly, fundraising event. At 3 in the morning, the last thing you should be thinking of is winning. To all you hoodlums out there, if your attitude is going to be as bad as the Backstreet boys imitation of the New Kids On The Block, then don't bother to show up.
Bronxx
It seems as though the Leafs are never going to get out of their warm-up mode. They continue to play o.k. hockey, but can't ever come up with a win. The worst two teams in the N.H.L. faced off this past Saturday, to see who would win the more prestigeous title of the worst and most pathetic team. Can you guess who won that title? Yes folks. It was none other than our precious Maple Leafs. They are now the worst team in the N.H.L., desperately trying to reach above the .500 mark; Heck, they can't even count to 500. But, didn't we know it was coming? After losing ten games in a row, you would think that the players would snap out of it, get their act together, and start playing hockey. But no. They are still playing like they are in their warm-ups. Come on! Our Minor League players are better than those guys. Heck, Minor hockey in general is better.
The inly good thing about Saturday's game? Well, when the two worst teams in the N.H.L. face off, you know it'll be a close game, really low scoring, and a lot of icing!
L.A. Tzekas
Sports Editor
It's Monday. You hope that you will survive another week. You're half-asleep when suddenly, you scream. Why? There's a paper on the wall headlined "Options Selection Schedule".
For Grade 12 students, one of the most agonizing decisions they will make will be OAC (Ontario Academic Course) options. Sure, 6 OACs are all-sets. However, it's the remaining spots that underline the agony. We would all like to take Law, and bird courses to inflate our marks wouldn't be bad either.
On the other hand, we do want to be alive at the end. I have OAC friends who are often burning the midnight oil because more than 6 OACs were too hard. Besides, I thought OACs were to prepare you for a life!
Then there are the "what ifs". What if I'm taking the wrong courses? What if my marks aren't 80%+? What if the teacher hates me? What if I fail one test? What if I change my mind? What if after all of that, I still end up delivering pizzas for eternity?
I can see it now: zombies entering Guidance, endless P.R from all departments, and mostly, students fighting for their life at Guidance at 3:15 on Judgement Day. So hit the books, and start looking! The key to a successful career is planning. Even if you do end up delivering pizzas for life, at least this wasn't all in vain. Besides, you may never know...
The deadline is on Valentine's Day. Don't you just love options?
OACbound
Hello. The Karate Bear is back after a brief hiatus. Here are this week's sites:
www.davidbowie.com - Excellent graphics, shockwave animations and the opportunity to order Bowie's cd's makes this site thetotal package. You can even download audio files from Bowie's upcoming album Earthling, as well as all of his older albums.
www.mayo.com - Send your friend a sandwich! (Thanks Andrew, I enjoyed my turkey club!) Plus, many recipes and other cool stuff. Check it out!
www.burton.com - In the mood to snowboard, but can't make it to the hill? Always wanted to snowboard, but too scared to try? Check out this page run by the best snowboard company in the world. With profiles and pictures of Burton sponsored riders, tips on how to do tricks and how to maintain your board and an online catalogue, this site is by far the best snowboarding site online.
e-mail - karatebear@wwdg.com
E-mail the Karate Bear with your favourite sites, comments, or random thoughts.
Well, that's it for this week folks. Have fun, and happy surfing!
Karate Bear
Next week, all of the councils will be selling goods so that you can buy a special something for that special someone. SAC will be promoting Candygrams, Inflato-grams and the Valentines' Dance. The Mac Reps will be trying to acquire a couple dollars by promoting their continual bake sale. The Music Council will be selling really cool aluminum balloons. These balloons are really special because they do not deflate. Finally the MAA will be selling roses and carnations. All councils will be depending on the students of Macdonald to support them. Try to contribute to all the councils. The school and the student body is only as good as you make it.
Bryan
The Junior Math Team made another astounding victory against the Math Team at Woburn (the gifted school). Against over-whelming odds, Mac won by a margin of 31 points. The final score was 89-58.
Thank you to Celina Chuang, who gave us hope with her "psychic powers." :-)+<
Also, I got 1 answer in the orals!!!
Nony LaSouris
Whoa baby. Whoa golly. Whoa baby golly. Damian Rhodes was AMAZING against the Leafs. He proved to the Leafs exactly why they SHOULDN'T have traded him. So....IN YOUR FACE LEAFS! Is it just coincidence that Rhodes has lead the Senators to three victories in a row, expanding the gap between tham and the Leafs? I think not. Damian Rhodes in a wicked goalie and I wouldn't be surprised if the Sens made the playoffs. Really. I mean that.
L.A. Tzekas
Sports Editor
(Webmaster's Note: Unfortunately the webmasters of this site do not have access to an internet compatible scanner, so the resume will not be in this week. If you are selling a cheap scanner or even want to donate one, e-mail us at macnews@wwdg.com. Thank you)
The Sexecutioner is now on-line.... Trash me at sexecutioner@wwdg.com.
I was confronted by many-a-smoker and thei friends who had a negative impression of my article against smoking on school property.
They made an understandable but wrong assumption that I was saying Mac students were the ones smoking marijuana on that particular Wednesday afternoon. I was aware that many of the students were not from our school. My point was that the staff doesn't do enough to prevent this from occuring. A simple matter of clarification. I'm done.
Bones
What is racism?
What is the purpose of this thing? Is it distinction between people that makes us unique in our own ways? The fact is that our ways of thinking are different from your perspective.
Is it a monster?
Is it a thing we can't eradicate but we can control?
YES we can control RACISM if we only look beyond the colour of one's skin. In something called the vein there flows unity and oneness. YES it is the blood and it is in all of us no matter who you are or who you want to be. We are all one-the same God that created you made me.
Racism is a sin and sin is in all of us. There's only one way we get rid of sin: if we all go back to our Heavenly Father He can wash us and make us whiter than snow. YES RACISM exists, and YES we can control it.