The
Growl
Bettendorf High School Vol. 48 Issue 1 Friday, September 9, 2011
New members join staff By Dana Waterman Staff Reporter
Cristina Zimmerman Cristina Zimmerman is a new Spanish teacher, replacing Ann Fagle. She worked at Pleasant Valley last year, and switched to Bettendorf because she like the block scheduling better. Her husband is a Marine and they have three kids: Grant (10), Macie (7), and Charlie (5) and a dog named Joey. She went to North Scott High School and University of Iowa for college. Zimmerman says she loves teaching because she gets to make and create different things all the time. Lindsy Blair Lindsy Blair is a new math teacher, replacing Dave Curlott. She grew up in Pella, Iowa, and went to college at Truman State University. Blair is going to be the assistant tennis coach for both the boys and girls in the spring. In her free time, she likes to read, run, and play tennis. She first worked as a Subway sandwich artist in high school, and also taught tennis lessons in the summer.
She loves teaching because there are always fun things to do and the days go by quickly. Mark Pisel Mark Pisel is a long-term substitute for Brian Barquist. He used to live in Chicago, and taught at Chicago Tech Academy High School, and also worked for a website called careerbuilder. com. He went to Roosevelt Universtiy for teaching and Bellevue University for business. Pisel is married and has one son named Brady, who is 17 months. He likes watching sports, playing with his son, and Harris Pizza is his favorite pizza place to eat at. Pisel likes teaching because he is interacting with the kids, helping them learn new things, and guiding them in their lives. Matt Degner Matt Degner is the new associate principal, replacing Dave Thompson. He last lived in Williamsburg, Iowa, and was the assistant principal at a 3A school. He went to the University of
Northern Illinois for college. He is married and has two kids: Jack (5), Liz (3), and is expecting again in November. In his free time Degner enjoys reading and keeping
up with the news, playing golf, playing with his kids, and is also a Chicago sports fan. Degner’s favorite thing about teaching is being around and working with all of the students. Melissa Nies Melissa Nies is a new social studies teacher, replacing LeAnne Wagner (who is now working in the library). She currently lives in Iowa City and is married; she commutes every
day to Bettendorf. Nies went to the University of Illinois for college. She loves reading historic fiction, watching comedy TV shows (like “The Office”), and traveling. She first worked as a lifeguard in the summer in high school. Nies loves teaching because every day is new and exciting. Angela Creighton-Greaves Angela Creighton-Greaves is a new Family and Consumer Science teacher, replacing Tina Johnson. She taught at Central High School for a semester, until a job opened up at Bettendorf, where she went to high school. Greaves also went to college at Grand View University in Des Moines. She is married and has one child, Gabriella, who is nine weeks old. In high school she had a paper route, the money from which she used to go to Mexico on spring break. Greaves loves to teach because she gets to know all the students and watch them change.
Students have been Googled! By Maddie GG and Dana Waterman Staff Reporters
As most already know, every student and staff member has been issued a Gmail account. These accounts can be used for e-mail, documents, presentations, calendars, and more. When working on the Growl, we found Google docs to be especially useful and convenient. One of the best things about Google docs is it can be accessed almost anywhere, because information is stored by cloud technology. So if a paper is written on Google docs on a school computer, it can also be accessed and edited at home without having to e-mail or store assignments on flash drives.
Group projects can also be done because papers can be shared with other students and teachers to view and edit them. We were able to share this article with each other, our editor, and adviser Connie King with just the click of a button. With this method, each person working on the project can do so from her home and communicate with everyone, finishing everything on time. It also eliminates most excuses for late work because everything can be sent to or shared with the teacher without having to print or bring a hard copy to school.
When working on papers or projects, there is a sidebar to chat on. The chatting feature is really great because students can type their input, suggestions, questions, and anything else concerning the project. Even while working on this article, we were able to finish it at home by chatting our ideas and writing together. Something else that is particularly helpful is Google automatically saves the paper or presentation. There is no way anything can be accidentally lost or misplaced; the “save” button does not even need to be pressed. Google docs is not just for students, it is also for teachers. Teachers no
longer have to correspond by e-mail all the time because they can share documents as well as presentations. King said, “On the first day of school I shared a PowerPoint with other freshman teachers; they could change it and modify it to fit their class all in the same program.” Ultimately this will save the staff a lot of time. Associate Principal Matt Degner, who has experience with Google docs, said, “My advice would be to try and play with it. It’s pretty self-explanatory.” Everyone should take advantage of the opportunity students have been given to use this technology.
How to use Google docs:
1. Username:(student ID)@g.bettendorf.k12.ia.us Password: bcs(student password)
2. Click on Documents.
3.
Create new document.
4. Share with teachers and peers.