05/12/06 - San Marcos Academy

No one likes to say goodbye, but
Mr. Fleming is ready to retire
By Raji Gullapalli
When we have a big project
and we do not know what to
do, we always go to the library.
Who do we always go to and say
“PLEASE HELP ME, I am so
lost?” It is Mr. Mike Fleming.
Mr. Fleming has been at the
school for three years, and now
we have to say our goodbyes,
because he is retiring after 32
years in education.
Mr. Fleming has been a librarian
for 16 years. He taught
as a classroom teacher for 16
years in Uvalde and in San
Marcos at Goodnight Junior
High. Then he was a librarian
for 13 years in Seguin. He
changed his occupation because
he wanted to do something different
and he loves organizing
and books.
Mr. Fleming said he enjoys
reading detective and mystery
novels and some science and
biology. One trend that he
has noticed about high school
students is that they check
out more science fiction and
supernatural books. In general,
however, most students are not
reading as much as they used
to, he said.
“I am going to miss helping
students find information and
books to read,” Mr. Fleming
said. “But I will now have time
for my woodworking projects
and will work in the garden and
yard in my free time.”
When Mr. Fleming first
came to the school, he said he
met Mrs. Heidi Peltier. They
introduced themselves and he
told her he was the new librarian.
He said he remembers her
saying, “I’m glad to see the
Academy is hiring some young
guys now.” He said he thought
this was a rather strange thing
Mr. Mike Fleming
for her to say, because he is far
from being a young man. But
later when he saw Dr. Robinson
and Coach Mac, he said he realized
what she meant.
The Academy will certainly
miss Mr. Fleming’s good humor,
positive attitude and, of
course, his love of books.
“A life without books is like
a body without a soul,” Mr.
Fleming said.
May 12, 2006 The Laurel Page 3
Gregory’s novels becoming
popular with female readers
By Adelita Ayala
Isn’t it great to transport to some other place and create
your own world by just opening a book? It awakens your
imagination and your creativity starts working.
Librarian Mike Fleming estimated that about ten percent
of the student body could be classified
as regular or constant readers. Others use
the library more to check out books for
research or for a specific class.
The constant readers have their favorite
types of books or genres, but one of
the most popular is the category of science
fiction. This includes fantasy books as well
as those that explore real life problems.
It also includes the scary type of science
fiction.
“Kids choose the real life books because they are going
through something or they know someone who is having a
hard time,” Mr. Fleming said, “They choose the fantasy books
because they appeal to our imagination.”
Lately the books that many students
have been reading are historical fiction
novels by Philippa Gregory such as “The
Queen’s Fool” and “The Other Boleyn
Girl.” These types of books are popular
among the girls mainly because they are
historical novels and the positive side of
them is that while you read them you also
learn about history. “I just loved learning
about Henry the Eighth,” McKenzie
Fergus said.
Hailey Tuck, who is a very avid reader, said she enjoys this
type of fiction, too. “I read about a book a day,” she said.
She said she also likes fantasy and political books and has
grown up reading them.
So if students are planning on buying or checking out
books, they might want to look at these very popular ones.
“Laurie,” from page 2
would like to remind you that
cramming really doesn’t work,
so you should pace your studying
out over several days. This
way you can get plenty of rest
and be at your best when you
take your final.
Dear Laurie:
How do you relieve stress?
Signed, Frazzled
Dear Frazzled:
Your senior class members
suggest that you do exercise
that you enjoy, take a relaxing
shower, or take a break from
things and enjoy a good conversation.
Laurie agrees.
“Column,” continued from page 2
many people crying in one day, but I learned to ignore them
and move on. I guess I figured out that life wasn’t going to
be more complicated with a few tears.
I’ll miss the RA’s, Miss Carrie, Miss Leach, Miss Rhodes
and Miss Terry especially. I would like to give them applause
for been capable to handle all of us and not go insane. To
Mrs. Paul I would like to say that thanks to her, I’ve learned
to not roll my eyes anymore and to listen. I’ll miss some aspects
of dorm life, but not all of them. I hope when I get to
college, I won’t be having a bell to wake me up and another
one to tell me I have to go to bed.
As an end to my column, I would like to say that inevitably
I wouldn’t be who I am right now if it weren’t for all the
experiences of these past three years. Maybe I’ll be changing
schools, but the friends and the people I care about from this
school will be moving with me too, in my heart.
You really can have fun with math
Don’t tell your age—the Laurel staff will know!
Don’t cheat by looking ahead . . . this takes less than a minute.
Work this out as you read . . . be sure you don’t read the bottom
until you’ve worked it out!
1. First of all, pick the number of times a week that you would
like to eat sweets (more than once but less than 10)
2. Multiply this number by 2 (just to be bold)
3. Add 5
4. Multiply it by 50 – use a calculator if you need to.
5. If you have already had your birthday this year add 1756;
if you haven’t, add 1755.
6. Now subtract the four digit year that you were born.
7. You should have a three digit number. The first digit of
this was your original number (i.e., how many times you want
to eat sweets each week).
8. The next two numbers are YOUR AGE!
This is the only year (2006) that this will ever work, so spread
it around while it lasts!