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
features 2
jessica thrane page design
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As the ‘Wheeler’ turns Principal gears up for new year with new goals Jessica Thrane features editor Students and faculty will face a lot of changes this academic year. For one, Hoover has adopted a new block schedule, which is Principal Doug Wheeler’s second year as principal. “The decision for taking a block schedule was actually made two years ago, but won’t start until (this fall),” Wheeler said in May. A lot of these changes for the year revolve around the block schedule. “The changes ... are possible because the block schedule adds time to do things we didn’t have time to do before,” Wheeler said. The changes will tackle a lot of the problems that are faced specifically at Hoover. One of those problems is attendance. With the new schedule only having four passing periods a day, fewer tardies are possible. Last year was also the first year with a new Vice Principal, Janine Schochenmaier. “With only four passing periods you can only be late four times in one day, at the most,” Schochenmaier said. Another change made to address the problems at Hoover is implementing In School Suspension (ISS). “If you get suspended you have to serve at least one day in ISS with counseling, and it will help students get caught up with what they miss,” Wheeler said. There will also be more structure when it comes to homeroom.
Principal Doug Wheeler converses with a faculty member. Wheeler has a lot of changes in mind for Hoover next year. Some of these changes include block scheduling, ISS and THRANE PHOTO study hall.
“We want students and teachers to both take homeroom more seriously,” Wheeler said. One change that staff members will have to adjust to is more classes on developing their teaching skills. Teachers will also have team meetings, and more planning time. Incoming freshmen will also have more structure next year. Freshmen will have what are called “condos,” which are houses in the ninth grade. The condos will connect classes that relate to each other. Math will connect to science and English to history, making it possible to mix and match assignments. The teachers will have weekly meetings on progress. “We are focusing a lot on ninth graders because it’s students’ first year with more freedom, and access to driving and this is when a lot goes wrong. This is also when credits start to count,” Wheeler said. Most changes will be positive for students. Although there will only be one lunch, it will be 45 minutes long. There will also be study halls in students’ schedules, which will be helpful to students who “don’t have the right study setting at home,” Wheeler said. With block, students will also have two days to get their homework done. Wheeler also wants to change the kind of finals that students take. He would like to see more projects and presentations in the future. Improving the quality of food in the cafeteria is also on Wheeler’s list of changes. Despite all the changes, Wheeler thinks students will adjust. “Students are new to this, but they’ll adapt,” Wheeler said.
From a puppy to a Husky
Incoming freshmen look ahead to high school
Members of the Meredith soccer team play against Hiatt. As they come closer to high school, many middle school students are preparing for their first years in a new school. “I think freshman year will be fun. I know a lot of people are scared, but I’m not because it’s just a whole new place to be involved in,” freshman Amber Gaumer said.
Chloe Gamble opinion editor
With the new school year comes the next batch of newbies. Freshmen Amber Gaumer and Miranda Murr are looking ahead to the excitement and challenges of the next four years of their lives. Gaumer said her peers are talking about being in high school and they aren’t too excited. “Most have been saying that they are scared and they don’t want to go to high school. They think they are so small and everyone there will be so big,” Gaumer said. Gaumer thinks it is important to go into high school with an open mind and positive outlook. “I think freshman year will be fun. I know a lot of people are scared but I’m not because it’s just a whole new place to be involved in,” she said. Gaumer said that in eighth grade being the oldest was like being on top and she had a lot more freedoms. Gaumer believes that being the youngest group at Hoover will not be as hard as her peers think it will be. “I’m not really nervous. The older people are just people, and they’re not going to hurt you just for walking down the hall,” she said. Gaumer expects her first day to be confusing but not impossible. “I think the first day will be crazy. I will find an older person from my cross country team to show me where my first class is, but I will probably still get lost,” she said. Gaumer thinks that high school will prove to be more difficult than middle school. “I’m expecting the workload to be a lot harder, but I’m thinking there will be a lot of different kinds of people to hang out with,” she said With high school comes high school events and Gaumer said she is looking forward to being involved with these events most of all.
GAMBLE PHOTO
“I’m really excited for spirit week because you do some crazy stuff. Also homecoming, football games and soccer games,” she said. Gaumer plans to be involved in Hoover band, marching band, volleyball, soccer and a club of some sort. “I’m not really scared, more excited than anything. I’m excited to see what we can bring to Hoover,” Murr said. Murr thinks that some of her peers are nervous about being thrown into a whirlwind of change but not everyone feels that way. “A lot of people are scared to be freshmen, but most of my friends are looking forward to high school,” she said. Murr said that the thought of upperclassmen doesn’t scare her because she is excited for the change. “I think it will be an interesting experience, a good change of pace,” she said. “I’m looking forward to getting to know upperclassmen.” Murr plans to be involved in mock trial, drill team, Spanish club and Academic Decathlon. “I think I will be taking everything in, exploring new things,” she said.
“A lot of people are scared to be freshmen, but most of my friends are looking forward to high school,” -freshman Miranda Murr
Attention seniors!
Senior portrait photos and parent/baby ads for the 2009 Husky yearbook are due
Friday, Dec. 5 Get yours in today!
Submit digitally to timm.pilcher@dmps.k12.ia.us or publications room 172
sports 3
tanner buckley page design
Sports bring competition
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Winning a game is what drives her. “We want to win and when we loose we’re really bummed and really pissed because we knew we could’ve beat them,” Dolder said. But winning isn’t what the sport is all about for Dolder. “It’s mostly leaving everything on the field, playing your heart out,” Dolder said. “Not holding anything back.” When Dolder first started playing the sport, she didn’t imagine how much she’d get into it and how competitive it would become in high school. “When I first started it wasn’t that big of a deal,” Dolder said. “Over the year’s it’s become my passion. I can’t live without it.” Chol loves playing football and said that his team is pretty competitive. He believes that his coach likes the competition between schools. “He thinks it’s a good thing because it makes us want to work harder,” Chol said. Edward Rodriguez He said that the reason there’s competition between Hoover and Roosevelt is because co-editor in chief of a win a few years back. Three competitive athletes in three “We beat (Roosevelt) a couple years separate sports share one common ago,” Chol said. denominator: a rival that goes by the name of Lewis enjoys the competition in Roosevelt. basketball. Seniors Hali Dolder, Corey Lewis and Lam “There’s a lot of competitiveness,” Chol have played their sports of choice for years. Lewis said. “It’s crazy.” They each have their own stories of their love for Whether it’s on the court the sport and bring on the intensity when they play or on the field, competition will Roosevelt teams. continue to steam up between “It’s Roosevelt,” Dolder said, “and compared to Hoover and Roosevelt teams, but all the other conference teams, they’re normally the although this competitive nature hardest. We’ve always been rivals so it’s just a really makes team members work big deal.” harder, it’s not what the sports Dolder hates to lose, but what she hates even are all about. A soccer more is seeing players on her soccer team not play Lewis, Chol and Dolder will player to their full potential. Although she can’t do much all attest to that. headers about other players, she makes sure to take care of “It’s a little bit about during a game. herself. winning,” Lewis said. Athletes find soccer and “I come on the field and I play my ass off and if I do other high school sports “You want to win games, something not full on for the first twenty minutes of the game to be competitive. “There’s but you always want to I play triple as hard as I can to make up for the next part of the a lot of competitiveness. It’s go out there and have fun. crazy,” senior Corey Lewis game,” Dolder said. That’s what it’s all about.” said. CHALLENGER ARCHIVES
Athletes find passion in competitive high school sports
Which Hoover sport do you think is the most competitive? “It’s between soccer and basketball. Soccer because they do a lot of trash talking and basketball because they’re expected to do really well.” -junior Amy Uhl
“I think basketball, because not too long ago we won state.” -senior Corey Soulinthavong
“Basketball, because it’s the sport most of the students here like and students really get into it and try to win.” -junior Morgan Heintz
“Football, because even if nobody cares about the other sports, every one cares about football.” -sophomore Dylan Warren RODRIGUEZ SIDEBAR
Goals to be accomplished
Football, cheerleading swim programs share high hopes for fall season Tanner Buckley sports editor
Members of the Marlins swim team get ready for a meet. The meet was against the Lincoln Railsplitters. Getting pumped before meets motivates the team to work hard. LEVEKE PHOTO
Fall brings a new atmosphere to high school sports. As cool air sets in, athletes who have conditioned over summer finally get to put their practice to the test. This fall brings high hopes to the football, cheerleading and swim programs. Junior Chris Dickson has played football for eight years. Dickson believes the football program will make a huge improvement from last year. “The coaches are going to buckle down on us,” Dickson said. Dickson also said that the team’s confidence will bring more wins to their record. “We are confident, more talented, and much more driven,” Dickson said. Hoover’s first varsity game will be August 29 at Indianola. After cheerleading all of high school, junior Kylie Van Houten has finally reached her goal of being a varsity cheerleader. Van Houten said that she and other cheerleaders are all looking forward to the season. “Fall always brings out good times for cheering,” Van Houten said. Van Houten also said that drills have changed for this season. “We have a lot of new drills and cheers lined up for the football season,” Van Houten said. With summer practices being perfected, the cheerleading squad hopes to have a great season. The girls will ride along with the football team to Indianola August 29.
Junior Emily Dungan has been a lifeguard all summer and also kept herself busy with swim practice. Dungan has high hopes for the swim team this year. “We’re getting some pretty good freshmen on the team,” Dungan said. One problem the swim team has to face is the lack of swimmers. “We need more girls, our team is very small compared to schools like Roosevelt and Valley,” Dungan said. Dungan said having a new assistant coach this year has motivated swimmers to try their hardest. “It has inspired us to work harder,” Dungan said. Dungan says that with better leaders, Emily Dungan the team will be under more control. “This year will be better since we have a lot of experienced seniors,” Dungan said.
Dungan student profile Domination Junior Emily Dungan has been swimming at Hoover for two years. She was also a lifeguard over the summer at Northwest Family Aquatic Center. “I like knowing that if an emergency were to take place, I could save a life.” BUCKLEY SIDEBAR
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chloe gamble page design
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Advice for freshmen
Do’s and don’ts for surviving high school, being successful
Payton Quinn news editor
High school can be a stressful period if you’re not aware of the challenges you’re about to face. From completing homework to learning that skipping class is not going to benefit you, high school is a challenge. Coming into high school is definitely a change. Especially in the homework department. In middle school you could get by not doing six or seven assignments. In high school, missing six or seven assignments could put your grade from an “A” to an “F”. If you really fall behind in high school you’re basically setting up yourself up for failure.
Freshman year I thought I could get by without doing work and not dressing in gym but when it came time to get report cards I realized that I had a “D” in gym and my other classes were really on the brink of failure. It took a lot of hard work to get my grades back up to what I wanted them to be. Losing track of your grades and school work is the worst thing you can do. In middle school they would just hold you back, but in high school you don’t get held back; you miss credits and you have to go to summer school and waste your summer doing homework. High school could be the easiest years of your life or they could be the hardest. Gym is another class that you need to keep up with. Not changing and just sitting around is a good way to get an “F” in gym. Failing gym could make you not pass high school and it would be pretty embarrassing to have to tell your friend you’re not going to be able to walk with them at graduation because you failed gym. Being involved in school activities is a good thing. It looks great on your college applications and also benefits you depending on what you join. Some examples of clubs are Gay/Straight Alliance (GSA), High Schools Against Cancer
Meet the Editors co-editor in chief
If you could be any super hero, who would you be and why? “I would be Superman because he wrote for a newspaper.” If you could be any animal, which one would you be and why? “I would be an owl because it would be great to fly and my friends tell me I look like one.”
(HSAC), Student Council (STUCO) and Knitting Club. Respecting the teachers will get you a long way. You don’t want to be the kid whom all the teachers don’t want because they heard you have behavioral problems. You also look like an idiot arguing with the teachers about stupid stuff. There is no point in arguing with the teachers about not wanting to do your work. You’re at school to learn, not to sleep and goof off. The last thing to remember is NOT skip all the time. If you skip your classes the school will call and say your student was absent this period and that period. The next day when you come to class the teachers are going to ask where you were and you will either tell them a lie or the truth. Some kids just don’t even care. Some kids don’t go to class at all. Skipping is going to result in not doing your work and that will result in failing. At the last minute it’s really hard to get your grade up. There are some teachers that say, “You didn’t do anything in my class all year.What makes you want to work now?” The best advice is to do your work, respect the teachers and go to class. If you do all of that, high school will be a breeze for you.
Insight from the people behind the print
co-editor inIfchi ef you could be any super
hero, who would you be and why?
“I would be the Grinch because I like bringing misery into everyone’s lives, but in the end I would turn good.”
If you could be any animal, which one would you be and why?
“I would be a giraffe because then I would be able to reach high edward rodriguez places.” What is your favorite color? “My favorite color is blue.”
bea rendon What is your favorite color? “My favorite color is yellow.” What advice do you have for incoming freshmen? “Get involved in activities. There’s something out there for everyone!”
What advice do you have for incoming freshmen? “Don’t let your GPA drop!”
opinion editor
news editor
If you could be any super hero, who would you be and why?
“I would be Green Arrow because he expertly shoots arrows, people never see him coming, and he’s just plain sweet.” If you could be any animal, which one would you be and why?
“I would want to be a zebra because they stand out.” What is your favorite color? “My favorite color is turqoise because it’s just great!”
If you could be any super hero, who would you be and why? “I would be the Hulk because he is big, green and scary.” If you could be any animal, which one would you be and why? “I would be a monkey because they get to eat bananas all day.”
“Stay true to who you are even if people think you’re weird, because high school doesn’t last forever and self confidence is more important than what people think.”
payton quinn What is your favorite color? “My favorite color is blue.” What advice do you have for incoming freshmen? “Always do your homework and do your best. It is so important to keep up on your work so you can be successful in high school.”
features editor
sports editor
chloe gamble
What advice do you have for incoming freshmen?
If you could be any super hero, who would you be and why? “I would want to be Catwoman because I really like her cool outfit and her boots.”
If you could be any animal, which one would you be and why? “I would be a cat because they get jessica thrane to eat and sleep all day.” What is your favorite color? “I like burgundy.” What advice do you have for incoming freshmen? “I would say don’t take life too seriously and try to have some fun.
If you could be any super hero, who would you be and why? “I would be Batman so I could glide through the skies.” If you could be any animal, which one would you be and why? “It would be cool to be a shark so I could swim the deep blue tanner buckley sea.” What is your favorite color? “My favorite color is blue.” What advice do you have for incoming freshmen? “Don’t get yourself into a hole because it’s really hard to dig yourself back out.”
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Hoover High School Publications 4800 Aurora Avenue Des Moines, IA 50310 515.242.7313
co-editors in chief
Bea Rendon Edward Rodriguez news Payton Quinn features Jessica Thrane sports Tanner Buckley opinion Chloe Gamble chief photographer Sami Ricke copy editor Joanna Welter adviser Timm Pilcher, CJE timm.pilcher@dmps.k12.ia.us principal Doug Wheeler printer Wilcox Printing Publication dates for 2008-2009:
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