hoover publications. 4800 aurora des moines.ia. 50310 515.242.7313 8.21.08 v.42i.O
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Inside:
As the ‘Wheeler’ turns p.2
Principal gears up for new year with new goals
Sports bring out rivalries p.3 Athletes find passion in competitive world of high school sports
From a puppy to a Husky p.3
Incoming freshmen look ahead to high school
Advice for freshmen p.4 Do’s and don’ts for surviving high school and being successful
RENDON ILLUSTRATION
Rock around the block
Administrators and teachers work to solve school wide problems through new block schedule
Teachers and administrators voted in 2007 to implement block scheduling at Hoover, and this year will see its initial effects. Principal Doug Wheeler said one of the main goals of block scheduling is to help students become more interested in class material. “What block is about is using a bunch of different teaching strategies,” Wheeler said. “The overall goal is to provide the structure to change the way we engage students.” Vice Principal Janine Schochenmaier was the main administrator involved in creating the new master schedule. One of the main benefits of longer class periods, Schochenmaier said, was teaching strategies like field trips, more extensive labs and more time to work on art and tech projects. “It offers a ton more opportunities to really do some creative and necessary things in the classroom,” Schochenmaier said. Schochenmaier also said she thinks fewer and longer class periods each day will better prepare students for college. “I think one of the biggest benefits is they’re only going to see four teachers at most in one day, and they’re only going to be focused on four classes in one day, and that’s more like college,” Schochenmaier said. Both Wheeler and Schochenmaier cited a new 45-minute lunch as an additional benefit for staff and students that came out of redesigning the master schedule. “Giving students a 45-minute lunch period, I think is the right thing to do,” Schochenmaier said. “It’s good for their health, it’s downtime, it gets you refocused for the afternoon.” Schochenmaier said the old, 30-minute lunch was both unsafe and unhealthy. “We make kids race to get off campus and race to get back on. I’m amazed that there aren’t more accidents,” she said. “It’s crazy.” Counselor Penny Weishaar said she believes students who work long hours will benefit from more homework time during school, which is a
and that’s just a long day.” Weishaar hopes block scheduling will help students with jobs and extracurricular activities. “I think longer class periods will help them, because they’ll probably be able to get some homework done during school,” she said. Wheeler said that while students now may face challenges with the new schedule, the payoff will become clear in the future. “You don’t want to sacrifice the students of today for better students of tomorrow, but then, if you don’t do something, the students of today and the students of tomorrow get the same mediocre experience,” Wheeler said. Wheeler said he believes the eventual results of block scheduling will be worth the struggle now. “If we do solve (problems with block scheduling), then I think we’ll see student achievement go up, I think we’ll see student engagement go up, and our success as a school will go up,” Wheeler said. Schochenmaier said she thinks longer class periods and the reformed homeroom will help form essential bonds between teachers and students. “I really am excited about seeing how students and teachers will, I believe, develop relationships better,” Schochenmaier said. “Every place I’ve ever been, it’s always the same message: If there’s a problem with a student in the classroom, the first words out of the student’s mouth are, ‘That teacher doesn’t care about me.’” Wheeler, who met with literally hundreds of students, said the most important goal of block scheduling is to make classes more engaging. “None of the students said, ‘I want school to be easier,’” he said. “All of the students said, ‘I want school to be more engaging.’” Schochenmaier reiterated the staff’s goal to maximize students’ school experiences. “We’ve got to try and work together to create the best possible world,” she said. “Because what drives us is what’s best for kids.”
change made possible by block scheduling.
Bea Rendon “We have a lot of students that have to work,” Weishaar said. “They go co-editor in chief to school seven hours a day, then they go work five to seven hours a day,
block SHOCK “(I hoped) that I would get all my classes in. I’m not able to take all the classes I want to because of Central.” -senior Abby Van Der Beek
“I’m worried that (during) the last half of class it’s going to be hard to stay concentrated, but I don’t think it’ll be too bad.” -junior Jason Reichenbacher
Students raise concerns, administrators respond
“I think most of it, by setting up (Central’s) times and our times, we’ve worked it out...I just really think the teachers will try to accommodate.” -Vice Principal Janine Schochenmaier
“We need to instruct students differently...I’m excited to see what teachers are going to do with the time that they have.” -Principal Doug Wheeler
RENDON SIDEBAR