Cruiser Chronicle Newspaper

GMHS' Favorite waffle house meal

Written by Amaya Warfield

When driving on South Hamilton Rd, there are many different buildings that one passes. Two that always stick out the most are Groveport Madison High School and Waffle House. Since Waffle House is so close to our school, it is not
unexpected for it to be a place that the students of GMHS frequent before or after school and extracurriculars. This raised the question: What is the most popular Waffle House order amongst
Groveport High School students?

Well, we’re going to find out today! A survey of 159 students and teachers asked people their favorite meal to order from Waffle House.

The individual items that are the most popular are waffles, hash browns, eggs, and bacon. Not
surprising, given Waffle House is primarily known for its breakfast foods.

Taking a look at what exactly is ordered, it seems as though the All-Star Special is everyone's
favorite breakfast. Sixty-three people stated that the All-Star is their order, which consists of a
waffle, two eggs cooked to your liking (scrambled, sunny side up, or fried), a meat of your
choice (bacon, sausage, or ham), one side option (grits, hash browns, or sliced tomatoes), and
toast with a bread selection of your choosing (white, wheat, or raisin).

An honorable mention would be the chocolate chip waffles. Even if these sweet waffles do not
get a specific meal, they still stand out for their popularity. Forty-seven students said they get
not just one but at least two chocolate chip waffles when they go to Waffle House.

Now, after pulling a few strings, I was very fortunate to be able to try this meal myself to give
my own review.

Typically, I’m a Texas Sausage Egg & Cheese Melt kind of girl, but I did get the All-Star Special
with one chocolate chip waffle, double hash browns, four pieces of wheat toast with butter,
three slices of bacon, and an orange juice.

I must say, I can definitely see why that is everyone’s favorite meal. Everything tasted good
together and was cooked to perfection; it was just a lot to eat at once. Overall, it was really
good, and I could for sure see myself getting it in the future!

The manager at our local Waffle House disagreed with our survey results. She said that most
high school students she’s seen come in order the Texas Cheesesteak Melt (hold the onions).

That meal was mentioned a few times in the survey, though journalism editor Mr. Hecht has a
few students who always get this meal. Of course, they get it with a side of one or two chocolate
chip waffles.

Students love Waffle House for its low-priced, delicious food that is just a short walk or drive
from our campus. It's close, tasty, and inexpensive; it’s almost like we hit the lottery!

 

GMHS Teachers:  What were they like in high school?

Written by Melat Yainemisa

You are sitting in a classroom on the first day of school, your teacher pulls up a “Get to know me” slide, and you are introduced to their adult self. They tell you how many cats or dogs they currently have, whether they are married or have any children, and what college(s) they attended. As a result, it’s likely you envision teachers only as adults. It becomes easy to forget that they too were once like you. Perhaps your teacher was a student sitting in a classroom, too shy to raise their hand and ask a question; part of a sport or a club; excited or anxious about their future and life after high school.

Teachers often ask their students on the first day of school to “describe yourself in three words.” The tables have turned, and now teachers at GMHS were asked to describe their high school self in three words.

Math teacher Connor Swartz, who teaches honors and AP statistics and honors precalculus, replied,
"Diligent, Studious, Active.” He went on to explain, “I really cared about my grades and always did extra credit. I took ‘college prep’ courses. My main goal was to get ready for college and challenge myself.”

Psychology teacher Abby Messerly described herself as "conscientious, hardworking, reliable.” She added, “I was a pretty conscientious and hardworking student with friends who were all similar. I took a variety of honors and AP classes – any class that was history/social studies related was my thing! I also was in a teaching professions pathway my junior and senior year that was a career-tech program for future teachers. I liked to challenge myself, and I liked to learn, so I was drawn to the higher-level courses; plus earning college credits was a nice bonus as well.”

Government teacher Jared Painter replied, “Massive political nerd.”

What a surprise!

He explained, “As you can tell by my three-word description, I was a nerd. I had friends in a lot of different social groups/cliques, but truly I was mostly with the other kids in the honors/AP track. I was pretty good at school, and I had a good relationship with most of my teachers. I definitely didn’t put in my full effort though, and I deeply regret that.”

A fun fact about Mr. Painter is that he ended up taking the most social studies credits his school had ever seen. As a result, they created an award for graduating seniors who have successfully completed the greatest volume of social studies classes.

English teacher David Hecht described himself in high school as "absurdist, outgoing, countercultural.” His explanation was, “I tended to really clash with teachers who wanted things done a particular way, as I wanted to be creative and outside of the box. As a result, I somewhat ironically did not usually get along with my English teachers; I had a run of them who wanted novels to be interpreted one particular way, and they (particularly Meg Crawford) did not appreciate when I would argue with their interpretations using textual evidence.”

Teachers were once like students. They had things they cared about outside of school, and they looked forward to things. Editor’s Note: We still do. Here’s what some GMHS teachers looked forward to when they were in high school.

When asked what you looked forward to the most, English teacher Gini Rogers said, “Football games on Friday nights – it was a great chance to spend time with friends, and since most of my friends were in the marching band, it was a good opportunity to hear them play and cheer them on during their halftime show.”

Mr. Painter, continuing to burnish his “massive nerd” credentials, said he looked forward to “AP Government. Sadly, my teacher didn’t really care about the class. That’s actually one of the reasons why I wanted to be a teacher. I believe that every student deserves a teacher just as excited about the subject matter as they are, especially in a course that asks so much from students.’’

Sam Sutak, another math teacher here at GMHS, said he looked forward to athletics. “I always looked forward to soccer season. Soccer was a huge part of my life growing up and the thing I worked hardest at.”

Social studies teacher Devyn Brunner responded, “I always looked forward to my psychology class and seeing my friends. I also loved marching band and choir, and I was in musicals every year of high school. I always looked forward to the musicals and practices. One year, I played Apple Tree #3 in The Wizard of Oz, and another year I was a secondary lead in The Pajama Game as an old lady secretary named Mabel.”

Before the lesson plans, endless grading, and the occasional “the bell doesn’t dismiss you, I do,” every teacher was once a kid with a dream. Some always dreamed of becoming a teacher, while others took a little while to realize that teaching is what they are meant to do.

Ms. Brunner grew up in a family where teaching was the standard career. It's no surprise that is where she eventually ended up.

She explained, “I have pretty much always wanted to be a teacher. My mom was a teacher, my grandparents were teachers, many of my aunts and uncles were teachers, and several of my cousins are currently teachers. We like to joke that it's the 'family business.' I've honestly never wanted to do anything else, and I have always loved learning about history and other cultures, so that's why I chose social studies as my discipline.”

Mr. Hecht's description of his dream job is a little different. “I think my dream job is to retire.”

He went on to say, “Other people frequently told me I should be a teacher though, and I eventually came around to the idea that they were right.”

Mr. Swartz has worked in fields as disparate as law, psychology, economics, and eventually here at GMHS. “For most of my high school years, I wanted to be a lawyer. I changed majors a lot in college - started in psychology and political science, and ended up in economics and math. By the time I switched to economics and math, I knew I wanted to teach, but I originally wanted to get a PhD in economics. That ended up being too expensive, so I worked for a few years and then went back to school to get my Master of Education degree.”

Mr. Painter wanted to explore a similar path to Mr. Swartz, but he stated, “I have always known in my heart I would go into teaching.”

He continued, “I briefly thought about going into law, but knew I wouldn’t be truly happy with that. Like all teachers, the thing that finally convinces you to become a teacher is having an incredible teacher that makes an impact on you – in my case, Mr. Harris for AP US History. Once you see the kind of difference that person can make on you, you want to be there for students and be that person for them.”

Deep down, Mr. Sutak also wanted to go into teaching despite not doing so immediately. “I always wanted to be a teacher, but my dad pushed me to be an engineer. I got my civil engineering degree in 2015 and worked as an engineer for five years before going back to school to be a teacher. I enjoy my job now because I get to give back to the community, rather than being a corporate robot.”

Ms. Messarily knew teaching is where she is meant to be since elementary school. “I knew I wanted to be a social studies teacher in fifth grade! Two things influenced me to want to teach social studies specifically: growing up, my parents took sightseeing/historic vacations (we never did any beach, tropical vacations, etc.), so from an early age I was interested in history. My fifth grade social studies teacher, Mrs. Fogle, also influenced me. She loved teaching history; it seemed like she was having such a fun time, and she made learning fun. Again, at an early age, it made me think teaching would be a fun job to have, and the social studies content really was my big motivation to teach!”

Finally, GMHS teachers were asked, “If you can go back to tell your high school self one thing
to do differently or are appreciative of something you did, what would it be?”

Mr. Sutak responded, “I wish I had worked hard in school to understand the material, rather than just to get a good grade on a test.”

Ms. Brunner replied, “I would tell my younger self to stress less and let loose a bit more. There are so many things I would get anxious about that, in the grand scheme of things, really aren't a big deal. Enjoy yourself and have fun, and don't worry about what other people think.”

Mr. Swartz said, “Don't overdo it! You should absolutely work hard on the things you care about, but there is more to life than school, and you should work hard on those things, too!”

Mr. Painter answered, “Actually study. Get off your butt and put in your absolute best effort. You could save your family so much money for college if you really tried your best. Just because people mean something to you, it doesn’t mean that you mean something to them. Life does not turn out the way you think it will. Make the best of it.”

Mrs. Rogers suggested, “Don't be afraid to put yourself out there and try new things. You never know what opportunities or interests might come up just by trying one club, activity, or through meeting new people.”

Teachers are more than people standing in front of a classroom. Before they became teachers, they were teenagers navigating high school themselves. Although their teenage years are long gone, learning about their experiences offers a whole new perspective on who they are today.

 

 

Lunch Food feelings

Written by Kiersten Mullen

Groveport Madison High School students eat approximately 1,200 lunches each day, according to Dan Magee, Director of Dining Services. Of those many lunches, which ones are most liked by students? Which are the least favored? The Cruiser Chronicle investigated which lunches students prefer.

One hundred and fifty-five students responded to a survey about school lunches. These students revealed their favorite and least favorite items. 

Most students say that they get school lunch every day, while some answered that they get it one to two times a week. The lunch favorite was pizza, which was mentioned as a favorite 79 times.  Some other favorites were subs, chicken sandwich, and grilled cheese, which received 47, 46, and 42 mentions, respectively.  

Sophomore Cassidy Gardner’s favorite is the sub. She said, “It has delicious sauces and good flavor.”

The least favorite lunch is the Carolina Slaw Hotdog, which received 89 mentions. Other notable least favorites were the Mashed Potato and Chicken Bowl with 51 mentions, and quesadillas with 40 mentions. 

Kaleb Hinkle, a sophomore who hates the mashed potato bowl, explained, “It is too bland and cold.”

Students made it clear what they want: more pizza and subs, and fewer lunches like the slaw hotdog.