CR Wash Surveyor April 2014

surveyor

cWr

Page 11: the takeover of standardized testing

Volume 57

Issue 8

28 April 2014

about us... mission

The Surveyor is established as a school-sponsored open forum dedicated to informing and entertaining its readers. The staff will report as fairly and well-balanced as possible. All activities and news will be covered to the best of the staff’s ability. The Surveyor accepts the Society of Professional Journalists’ Code of Ethics as the basis for good journalism.

Readers are encouraged to express their viewpoints through guest editorials. The Surveyor also welcomes letters to the editor, with these guidelines: it is not libelous or obscene, it explains the material clearly, it is not longer than 500 words, and that it is signed.

non-discrimination policy

It is the policy of the Cedar Rapids Community School District not to illegally discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, disability, religion, creed, age (employment only), marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, and socioeconomic status (students/program only) in its educational programs and its employment practices. There is a grievance procedure for processing complaints of discrimination. District employees with questions or a grievance related to this policy should contact Jill Cirivello, Director of Human Resources, 319558-2421; jcirivello@cr.k12.ia.us. Students and others should contact Rhoda Shepherd, Director of Student Services, 319-5582964; rshepherd@cr.k12.ia.us. The District mailing address is 2500 Edgewood Rd NW, Cedar Rapids, IA 52405-1015.

editors

MJ Kamin, Editor-in-Chief Hannah Jonasson, Managing and Photo Editor Michael Andersland, News Editor Eric Loeffelholz, Business Manager Michelle Zumhof, Arts and Entertainment Editor Andi Lawrence, Profiles Editor Ian Schweiger, Sports Editor Bridget Williams, Opinions Editor

staff members Elijah Wolter Cameron Williams Matthew Andersland

Lauren Barber Elijah Wedel Chris Harrington Brandon Cullen Mikayla Frye Betsy Smith Emily LaGrange Emma Cooper

adviser

Kyle Phillips

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Meet the Staff

Hannah Jonasson Managing Editor

what’s inside?

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news

Mock Trial MH-370 Search Momentum at Nationals PISA Test Debate

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Summer or Nah Standardized Testing PROM

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Softball / Baseball Preview Teaching and Coaching JV Men’s Soccer

sports

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Lollapalooza Preview Jamnesty 2014 Food Fair I Cry Wolfe Review

a&e

opinions cover story feature:

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Standardized The Age of Testing School Poll

FBOM Meet the Faulkners Families at Wash

profiles Managing Editor

Hannah Jonasson

Cover by: MJ Kamin

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Hannah’s Location of the Month

photo Table of Contents

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Mock Trial Is Back Elijah Wolter Staff Writer On March 18, among a sea of pantsuits and testimonials, the Washington High School Mock Trial team accomplished something that no current Wash student has ever borne witness to in their tenure at the school. By placing second in their regional competition, they qualified for the state tournament, which took place March 26 and 27.

This year, the Mock Trial participants prepared exceptionally hard. “We started practicing in October for a couple hours each week. Then in December, after we got the case, we met three times a week for one to two hours each time. We’d also try to meet on the weekends and practice for four to five hours,” said Bree Linville, ’15, who had two witness roles in this year’s trial: as the defendant, Tatum Woodley and the victim’s best friend, Landry Miller.

The case this year revolved around cyber harassment and stalking among a group of college students.

The Mock Trial Team also benefitted from the assistance of an attorney and from scrimmaging with two teams, Marion Homeschool and Corridor Christian, which helped to give the Warriors an idea of the level they would need to be playing at in order to perform well at competitions.

While competitions put a lot of stress on members of the team, they also managed to have fun and enjoy themselves at the State Tournament. “[We] had a lot of fun in the hotel eating six large pizzas for eight people,” said Emily Laverty, ’16.

Though their season is over for this year, hopefully their success will serve as a strong foundation for future seasons. They’re always looking for more members to join. “I do think people should join Mock Trial, it looks great on college applications and can be very helpful if you’re looking into law,business, or theater,” said Linville.

Nashville Nationals

Mikayla Frye Staff Writer

Few people believed that Washington High School’s varsity show choir, Momentum, would make it to finals at Nationals. Despite the odds, Momentum earned sixth place at the national competition.

This year was the first time Momentum participated at the national show choir competition. At the beginning of April, Momentum traveled to Nashville to compete against schools from across the country at the Grand Ole Opry. “[Momentum] is really laid back and the other groups are more into show choir as a whole,” said Julie Tucker, ‘14.

“The California schools had an a cappella ballad and someone directing them while [they performed], which is something we don’t have,” said Megan Muller, ‘14.

Despite the differences between the schools, Momentum held their own and qualified for the final round.

“We were ecstatic to make it to finals! We thought we would do fine, but not sure if we would make it to finals,” said Tucker.

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Not only did Momentum make it to finals, but Momentum band was named best band and Shawndell Young, ‘16, was named best male vocalist.

The family feel of Momentum and the support of the parents helped make their national experience.

Momentum is made up of mostly seniors and juniors, who have been performing together throughout their high school career.

“A lot of people got really emotional because it was our last performance ever for seniors. And to have it be in the Grand Ole Opry was amazing!” said Muller.

The seniors wouldn’t have wanted to end their high school show choir career any other way. “I’m very satisfied. In my varsity career, we never not made finals, which is a good feeling. Our whole group is friends with each other, it’s the best year to finish this out,” said Tucker.

From their start in Vivace, Momentum has grown to prove themselves as viable competition at the national level.

Michael Andersland News Editor

The Search for MH-370

Michael Andersland News Editor

On March 8, 2014, Malaysian Airlines flight MH-370 took off from Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Malaysia, headed for Beijing. The plane never landed. It lost all contact with air traffic control midway through the flight, and then simply disappeared.

More than a month has passed since this initial disappearance, and the plane has yet to be located. A total of 239 people were on board, 227 passengers and 12 crew members.

Throughout the past month many search efforts and techniques have attempted to locate the plane. The search began close to the point where the plane lost contact.

Nothing was found in the area, and although an oil slick was sighted nearby, upon investigation it was unrelated to jet fuel. Days later it was found that two passengers on board had been traveling with fake passports.

Over the following weeks more countries became involved in the search and the search area was expanded to include many thousands of miles of area in the Indian Ocean and South China Sea. The search became more complicated when it was discovered the plane had

Beijing

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1 Malaysia

1 - The plane first deviates from its planned flight path, shortly after taking off.

2 - The plane is last seen by radar, heading towards the Indian Ocean.

3 - Search area where black box pings were detected.

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News Editor

changed course away from its chartered flight path before it lost contact. Satellites spotted debris floating in the ocean, but when ships arrived they found the wreckage was unrelated to the plane.

Recently, however, search ships detected “pings,” signals which are signals broadcast by a plane’s black box. Josh Tinkham, husband of Washington teacher Carrie Tinkham, is a Rockwell-Collins engineer, believes this means the plane is going to be found.

“Finding those pings was a huge stroke of luck for the search effort,” said Tinkham. The only remaining challenge is the fact that the water where the pings were heard is over three miles deep, so it is difficult to search the ocean floor in that area.

The question remains, what happened to the plane in the first place? Tinkham believes the plane was brought down intentionally, and that this was planned in advance.

“When the flight first deviated from its normal flight path, it did so over an enroute waypoint,” said Tinkham.

Waypoints don’t correspond to any physical landmarks, but are just used by pilots to help steer their planes. “If a bad guy was flying the plane, he probably would not know how to make the aircraft turn directly over that waypoint,” said Tinkham. He believes the plane took a dive so that it wouldn’t be seen by radar and someone manually turned off the communications equipment, so it couldn’t be tracked.

Despite this evidence, some people have other ideas about the plane. “Aliens took the plane,” said Alec Nichols, ’14.

“The most ridiculous theory I’ve heard is that the plane is in space,” said Tinkham. In reality, jets like this one can’t function above 45,000 feet.

In the past, the longest a plane has been “missing” is two years, when a French aircraft crashed in the Atlantic Ocean.

Michael Andersland

News

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Wash Students Take PISA Test Matthew Andersland Staff Writer On March 19, some students were pulled out of classes to take the PISA test, which stands for Program for International Student Assessment. The purpose of this test is to compare 15-year-old students to their peers throughout the world. This year, Washington High School was selected to be one of the few schools nationwide to participate in this test. Students had to be within a certain age range to be tested, however administrators had no control over which of these students were selected.

“It’s an honor to be selected to take this test,” said Assistant Principal Michael Johnson. According to Johnson, schools selected are the six top AP scoring high schools in Iowa. Students took the American version of the test, the OECD, which stands for Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development.

“The student selection was random, and I am very

pleased that the students selected took it extremely seriously,” said Johnson.

He believes that the students performed very well, although we will not know the exact scores until the end of June.

Nationwide, however, Americans are not doing so well. The average student who took the test received a 508, far lower than top scoring Singapore’s 562 but still a lot higher than Colombia’s 399. This test has been administered to students since 2000, and tests students over reading, math and science. The students take a two hour handwritten test. There is a total of roughly six hours worth of content, but it is split up between different students.

Johnson says the test is very important and he was glad to have been a part of it.

The Great Debate Courtney Squires Staff Writer The opportunities at Washington High School are endless. Just ask anyone who’s part of a team. Wash’s teams don’t end in athletics, however. For example take the debate team. Debate is an extracurricular activity offered at Wash that many students love and participate in. “It’s a bunch of kids collaborating together to learn how to argue,” said Caroline Berg, ’15, a debater since her freshmen year.

The debate team is coached by Warren Sprouse.

Sprouse is a former high school debater himself.

Although he personally decided not to compete in college, Sprouse noted that many Wash debaters go on and compete at the college level. Sprouse said that he enjoys coaching because he finds that, “Debate teaches critical thinking skills better than any other class in American high schools,” said Sprouse.

This year’s debate teams have been very successful.

The varsity team finished as a semifinalist at the Iowa Forensic League’s State Tournament and the Iowa High School Speech Association State Tournament. At the

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District Tournament, the varsity debaters were runnersup. This year’s topic, received in August, was the increasing economic engagement with Cuba, Mexico, and Venezuela. “[Debate involves] learning about all the new topics and a lot more about world affairs than you normally would,” said Ali Lundy, ’14.

“I really just like how totally relaxed the environment is. It can be stressful, but it’s so different. It doesn’t feel like a class, it’s just something fun to do,” said Berg.

Debate competitions begin with 5 or 6 preliminary debates, each lasting about 90 minutes with 2 teams debating opposite sides of the topic. The top 16 (or 32, depending on the size of the tournament) move on to a bracket. “From there it’s like a basketball tournament,” said Sprouse.

The varsity debate team practices Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday after school. For novice debaters, it’s a class. The team is always looking for new members and encourages everyone to try it out.

Michael Andersland News Editor

Long Live Summer Summer is the time that all students live for. Staying up all night, sleeping until noon, being tan, going to bonfires, living in a swimsuit, biking everywhere, no homework, no worries.

Summer is a very Andi Lawrence important time for students.

Profiles Editor It’s a needed and deserved break. Going to school for 180 days in a year is more than enough. Students these days are stressed by school, homework, and extracurricular activities.

The American Psychological Association found in a survey that 45 percent of students are stressed by school pressures.

Especially this year, with school for non-seniors going until June 14, summer is a time for students to stop being stressed and relax. I would even push for a longer summer this year because of the snow make-up days. There should be a set number of days for summer as there is for school each year.

During the summer time students even do many productive things. Traveling during the summer gives teens experiences that they can’t get in a class room. Going abroad or even across the country gives students a chance to explore new things. Also, summer time is important for summer jobs. In the school year, it’s hard for students to balance working and going to school but the summer is a perfect time to get some hours in at the pool, the office, or your local Dairy Queen. With college prices rising these days teens need all the money they can get from summer jobs.

Of course summer time is also a needed break for teachers who enjoy spending time with their family, traveling, or preparing for the next year. Summer can also be important for the school. It gives the school time to do things they can’t when school is in session. They can work on more renovations, changes in the schedule, and other time consuming things that are hard to do with students still in school.

Opinions Editor

Bridget Williams

Get Down for Year Round Every summer, around the middle of July, after I’ve gotten my fill of swimming, lounging in the sun and general freedom, it becomes hard for me to appreciate summer. After a month or two of break, summer has Elijah Wolter entrenched itself into my life Staff Writer that the oppressive class work and school-related stresses are no more than a distant memory - hardly something I need a break from.

“Year-round school” is a bit of a misnomer.

Students at year-round schools don’t stay in school the whole year - or even the whole summer. Yearround schools vary in how they approach scheduling.

Some use the 45-10 model which equates to nine weeks of instruction followed by two weeks of break and around six weeks of summer vacation. Others have adopted 90-30 calendars with eighteen weeks of instruction followed by six weeks of break, repeating twice a year or 60-20 calendars, which cycle three times a year.

Year-round calendars help to alleviate the “summer slide,” the loss of knowledge and retention that occurs when students are academically disengaged for three months.

Having longer breaks incorporated throughout the year provides a chance for students and teachers both to relax and detoxify from the stressful environment of school. It does this more effectively than standard calendars, which provide four weeks of break total in the school year in two one-week stretches and a two-week stretch. These breaks hardly coincide with breaks in curriculum, making them ineffective as breaks as students stress over homework instead of fully enjoying the time off.

Though year-round schooling is not always the best option for every school district, the approach has many benefits that outweigh the reduction of summer vacation length that should definitely be considered and discussed.

Opinions

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STANDARDIZED A

B

C

A B C or D are some of the letters involved in planning out your F-U-T-U-R-E, or at least as far as standardized testing is concerned.

Throughout our schooling years we face the task of Lauren Barber taking multiple standardized tests, some being the Iowa Staff Writer Tests, the PSAT, the Plan Test, and so on. We all know when these tests are coming due to the overall dread that is coursing through the student body but to me, standardized testing has never been my thing.

Sometimes it feels like we’re all being compared to each other and our self worth is being based on the percentage of questions that we can get right, or at least make a good guess on, and I guess that’s partially true. All across the nation students are faced with the daunting task of being compared to thousands of other faceless students in a quest to get a high enough total score to be considered “proficient” in their knowledge of certain subjects. I don’t like to test this way because it puts kids in a very narrow box. With only four to five multiple choice answers, their exact knowledge isn’t being shown. Yes, people can easily happen to guess the right answer or plug in the given answers to find the right answer without having any idea how to really do it.

Also, some answers might have a grey area where to the student, two different answers might seem right, but they don’t have any way to explain their reasoning for choosing that answer because there’s no wiggle room, it’s black and white, no grey area.

The time limits put more stress on already worried students causing students to rush through their answers and not put as much time and thought into what they might usually have done.

Choose A B C or D and with your choice comes something that will influence the rest of your life.

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Opinions

D

ROSES • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

MoBand Jamnesty Bryan Cline Cute boys on the Quad Warm weather?????

Fake fire drills Dentals (Dentils?) ^shout out to Duer Being invited to grad parties Knowing all the words to “All Star” by Smash Mouth NPR Tiny Desk Concerts Driving from 3rd to 4th hour Half day on a Friday Being a senior during Iowa Tests Finally got my money right

THORNS • What happened to Gangnam Style?

• Stupid number game everyone likes with the 2 and the 4 and the 8 • Canvases painted completely blue counted as art • All proms are Gatsby themed • Not going to Lolla • Selfies that aren’t actually selfies • Underwhelming Promposals • Fish tacos • Pollen • Not enough turtles • AP tests in 5 seconds • Where’s Mitch? cc by en.wikipedia.org cc by commons.wikimedia.org

Bridget Williams Opinions Editor

Dance Your Pants Off

Chris Harrington advises on all things Prom from start to finish

Dance your pants off, It’s YOUR night.

It’s getting to be that time of year again. Classes disrupted by shirtless guys with the letters P R O M painted on their chests. Cars Chris Harrington covered in sticky Staff Writer notes and car paint, and even a rendition of Monty Python’s Holy Grail, all in effort to go to the big dance with that one special crush across the room. After he/ she says yes, there’s a mile-high pile of things to do to prepare, but the number one thing not to do is stress.

It’s May, graduation is near, the weather is great, people are getting outside to get tan and bring in the summer, so stressing about Prom should be the last thing on your mind. Get the dress/tux early, get your reservations in, get a limo if you can, and get ready to enjoy your night, because that’s what it is, YOUR night.

The dance will probably be like any other school dance, people will be dancing dirtier than preferred, a few will probably show up not in the right state of mind, and before they get to any of the good songs it’s already 11 pm and C.R.C.C. is kicking you out, but that’s okay because it’s YOUR night. Enjoying every second of dancing with that beautiful person across from you, smiling, laughing, eating great food, and going crazy will make all the other things fade to black, and the fun has only just begun.

Off to the bowling alley where the Post-Prom festivities are just getting under way. A word of advice to the ladies, and the men who are not used to wearing dress clothes all night, bring a change of clothes. Post-Prom loses its luster when you are uncomfortable in a dress or tux that is not made to be bowled and hypnotized in, the more comfortable you and your date are, the better YOUR night will be. Prom is awesome, so enjoy it. Don’t stress the small stuff, don’t get in trouble, and most of all, make it last. It is YOUR night.

Photo by Hannah Jonasson from last year’s Prom

Opinions Editor

Bridget Williams

Opinions

9

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Check out the updated Surveyor website

www.crwashsurveyor.com

Prom Saturday May 3 7:30 pm Tickets on sale now 10 Advertising

Full Issues, additional stories and photos Eric Loeffelholz Business Manger

Photo by MJ Kamin

It’s that time of year again: students at Washington High School and around the world are preparing to take AP tests, college entry exams, the ACT, SAT, and in the state of Iowa, students recently completed the Iowa Assessments. As students open their prep books and study their flashcards, The Surveyor takes a deeper look at the age of standardized tests.

Editor-In-Chief

MJ Kamin

Feature

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The Age of Testing MJ Kamin Editor-in-Chief Since elementary school, students in the Cedar Rapids Community School District have taken yearly standardized tests. According to Dr. Ralph Plagman, tests like the Iowa Assessments have been issued ever since he can remember. “I mean, I have been a teacher or principal in the Cedar Rapids High Schools since 1967, and for sure we were giving the ITED at Kennedy when I was a first year teacher,” said Plagman.

Recently, Plagman believes there is more pressure on students and more reliance on standardized tests. “The big reason is No Child Left Behind, that legislation, about 12 years ago now, that said that every state had to come up with its proficiency test, and had to define proficiency, and had to have 100% of its students proficient by 2013, that really elevated it,” said Plagman.

Near the same time when Iowa Assessments are taken at Wash, students are also gearing up for their AP tests occurring in early May. Frank Scherrman, a history teacher at Wash, works as an AP reader on the AP European History test during the summer. “My job in the seven days that we are there is I will read two essays. Everybody there spends the first day reading the DBQ, and then you’re divided up and then I’ll get one of the FRQs,” said Scherrman.

Scherrman applied to become a reader to get the inside scoop on the test. He believes knowing how the test is graded helps him teach the class. Although most AP tests include both a multiple choice and essay portion, Scherrman believes the essays are graded on a standardized scale, which is important. “We still have to be able to judge how these students across America are doing and so I think that’s still important for College Board. We’ve got to be able to find a way to compare kids in Cedar Rapids to kids in Washington D.C. and California. I don’t think that that aspect has changed but I do think that the format of the test is changing.

They’re looking for better ways to assess students,” said Scherrman.

At Wash, involvement in AP classes and taking the tests is one of the things for which the student body is known. For many students, the college credit is the reason to take the tests. Both Mike Eken, ’14, and Will Versteegh, ’15, takers of five and four exams respectively, both agree college credit is their major motivation. For Plagman, it also helps him measure the achievement at Wash. “It’s not so much me, it’s all the stuff I hear back from students. It’s so helpful to them in college. I couldn’t talk people into it if it didn’t work. If they didn’t hear the positive feedback from brothers and sisters and other students. But it’s important to me for a different reason, it’s important to me to know how we’re doing as a school,” said Plagman.

The AP test sign-up push is a familiar two weeks for students in early April.

Students may feel pressure to sign up for many tests.

“I think they are overexaggerated to a point but I think they’re still important,” said Eken.

On the other side, Versteegh doesn’t feel any pressure.

“It’s the student’s choice ultimately,” said Versteegh.

One of the major concerns with standardized tests is students who don’t test well. Scherrman believes there are ways to become a better test taker. “You gotta learn the game. I think there, especially on multiple choice, I think there’s clues on there, certain words that you know eliminate choices. Learning how to eliminate choices, I think, is the key. And then, there are clues within the test. I do think there are test taking strategies,” said Scherrman.

As for Plagman, he stated it simply: “We aren’t all good at the same things, but you’re not going to avoid tests.”

We aren’t all good at the same things, but you’re not going to avoid tests. - Dr. Plagman

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Feature

MJ Kamin Editor-in-Chief

School Poll:

How much should colleges weigh standardized tests in their selection process?

“More prestigious schools should take standardized tests into more consideration than lower ranked schools,” - Melissa Tormene, ’16 “Not too much. Only as a last resort,” - Geo Hunter, ’15 “I think they should be considered but they should look at other things like grades, awards, honors, and things you have participated in,” - Ella Wake, ’16 “Not much, one test should not determine your entrance,” - JJ Gray, ’15 “I think it’s probably only valuable to look at tests designed to gauge college readiness (ACT, SAT),” - Peter Klopfenstein, ’14 “50% standardized tests 30% extra curricular 20% GPA,” - Lincoln Ginsberg, ’16 “I think standardized test scores are important and a good indicator of intelligence, so I think they should [weigh them]” - Madelyn Carlson, ’14 “A moderate amount because they can help show proficiency and ability (kind of) but they shouldn’t be the sole deciding factor,” Zach Weston, ’14 “Not very much because I don’t think standardized tests are an accurate representation of someone’s abilities,” - Caroline Rossberger, ’14 “Colleges should weigh standardized tests very heavily in their selection process,” - Trey Brown, ’16

Editor-In-Chief

MJ Kamin

Feature 13

Peter Nassif, ’17 What do you participate in at Wash?

“Swimming, show choir, tennis, golf.”

First person in your family to go to Wash?

“My dad and his brothers and sister.”

What’s it like seeing your family here in the halls?

“Kind of interesting. I have them [Nick and Ben] in 3 of my classes.”

Favorite part of family at school?

“Messing around and knowing your family is around.

Teachers will give you slack if you’re messing with them. It’s also fun to have your grandpa work at school every once in a while.”

Least favorite part of family at school?

“Christian’s ego and if you do something bad it could get back to your parents.”

Ben Nassif, ’17 What do you participate in at Wash?

“Baseball, football, wrestling” Favorite part of family at school?

“Seeing them and talking about what we’ll do on the weekend.”

Least favorite part of family at school?

“Them finding stuff out you don’t want your family to know.”

What’s it like being in class with your family?”

“I don’t really mind it. I just treat him as a friend, nothing too special.”

The Nassifs Photo courtesy of Jeffrey Nassif From left to right: Ben, Peter, Nick, Jeffrey, Christian

Nick Nassif, ’16 Jeffrey Nassif, ’14 What do you participate in?

“Football, show choir, track” What’s it like seeing your family here in the halls?

“It’s comforting actually.”

Favorite part of family at school?

“I can make fun of them.”

Least favorite part of family at school?

“They irritate me.”

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Profiles

What do you participate in at Wash?

“Golf.”

Favorite part of family at school?

“Talking to Christian in the hall. Making fun of people and we can gang up on them. Also, our grandpa is retired and does security sometimes.”

Least favorite part of family at Wash?

“I have to see them there mostly Peter.”

Andi Lawrence Profiles Editor

Andi Lawrence Profiles Editor Additional reporting from: Lauren Barber Staff Writer

Christian Nassif, ’15 Cole Cooper, ’16 What’s it like seeing your family here in the halls?

“It’s cool because we’re close and not only cousins but good friends too.”

What do you participate in at Wash?

“Soccer but I’m really bad and cross country and show choir.”

Favorite part of family at school?

“When my grandpa is there I get a lot mints from him.

He has mad lifesavers in his pocket.”

Least favorite part of family at school?

“Peter.”

The Coopers

What do you participate in at Wash?

“Show choir, track, baseball.”

Who in your family has gone to Wash?

“Cole, Hallie, and I now and CJ graduated last year.”

What’s it like seeing your family here in the halls?

“It’s actually fun. I always mess with Halle in the halls and see Annee a lot at show choir and we’re in Mads together too.”

Favorite part of family at school?

“Being with Annee in show choir.”

Least favorite part of family at school?

“Always having someone looking over your shoulder and your family knows right away if you do something bad.”

Hallie Cooper, ’17 What do you participate in at Wash?

“Dance team, soccer, show choir, Committee WHS.” Favorite part of family at school?

“Annee and I are involved in some of the same things so we get to spend time together and its fun.”

Annee Cooper, ’14

Photo courtesy of Annee Cooper

Andi Lawrence

Profiles Editor

What do you participate in at Wash?

“Soccer, dance team, show choir, Mads.”

What’s it like seeing your family here in the halls?

“I like it. I liked going to school with CJ and Cole and it’s kind of cool seeing my sister now that she goes here too.”

Favorite part of family at school?

“Being involved in the same things they are is fun.”

What are you involved in that they are?

“Cole is in Mads and we all do show choir.”

Least favorite part of family at school?

“Seeing my twin walking around in the hall.”

Profiles 15

Meet the Faulkners

Courtney Squires, Staff Writer, sat down for a Q & A with Charlie Faulkner (security guard), Amy Faulkner (security guard), and Billy Faulkner, ’17, a student at Washington.

Q: How are you all related?

Charlie: Brother and sister Amy: Charlie’s my older brother, Billy’s my younger brother Q: What’s it like to all be at school together?

Charlie: It’s better than the Bjornsen’s Amy: Fine. I don’t really see Billy that much. I work closely with Charlie but it’s fine. We all get along.

Billy: Scary. ‘Cause they beat me up and abuse me...they don’t abuse me. They’re loving and caring siblings.

Q: Did you expect that you would all end up working and going to school at the same place?

Charlie: No Amy: No...Charlie coached here before I started working here. When we were both working here, we knew Billy would come here. It was a little awkward at first, but it’s fine now.

Billy: Yes, because they worked here three years before me.

Q: Is it weird to have to obey them?

Billy: No, I usually don’t see them except right now [lunch].

Photo courtesy of Amy Faulkner

Q: Favorite part about being at school with them?

Billy: I can get money.

Q: Least favorite thing about being at school with them?

Billy: They know everything.

Matthew Andersland Staff Writer Women of Washington, are you in search of a kindred spirit to light up your life and and spend time some quality time with, maybe sing a couple tunes with or play some catch? Then Marcus Coleman, ’17, might be the Mr. Right you have been searching for. Coleman is a man skilled in all ways of contending, being an amazing baseball player, having a voice of an angel when singing in the Wash Show Choir, Vivace, and his fingers appear to be on fire when he is jazzing it up on the trumpet in band or jazz band. He is also an amazing comedian, so if you’re looking for a laugh, seek him out.

He is interested in a girl that when hanging out, he could joke around with and have fun in general. “My ideal girl would have to be someone that I could be weird with,” said Coleman.

Coleman grew up in Maryland, and moved to Cedar Rapids around forth grade. If you want to spend a nice

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Profiles

Photo by Kyle Phillips

evening with this amazing gentleman, you could kick back with him watching “Blades of Glory”, his favorite movie. If you’re wondering when to confront Coleman during the day, a good time might be right before his favorite class, choir. So ladies, if you see Marcus in the halls, you should definitely walk along side him, start up a conversation and try to get to know him .

Andi Lawrence Profiles Editor

Finding The Balance Brandon Cullen Staff Writer and field and is the head coach of the women’s cross country team. She thinks the best part about coaching is getting to know students in a different way outside of the classroom. “I like watching them succeed after all their hard training,” said Nicol.

Nicol thinks that coaching and teaching get difficult at times because sometimes the schedule gets busy and she doesn’t get a lot of sleep. “I think that coaching and teaching are a great combination,” said Nicol.

Will Harte is the coach of men’s cross-country and men’s track and field, as well as a math and Russian teacher. He thinks about coaching and teaching at the same time is being able to do two things that compliment each other well.

One is teaching and learning in the

classroom, while the other being outside the classroom. Harte enjoys getting to work with students in both settings.

Harte says it takes time grading tests and putting scores into Powerschool. Because of this, he doesn’t get to devote as much time to both activities as much as he would like to. He also is the advisor for winter miles, an extracurricular running season that takes place between cross-country and track season.

Traci Mooney teaches Spanish and is also the women’s bowling and women’s tennis coach.

Mooney says the only thing she loses is sleep when balancing both responsibilities. Mooney thinks that coaching and teaching at the same time isn’t difficult, but it does take time organizing.

5:45 p.m.

5/7 JV2 vs. Jefferson at Kingston 5:15 p.m.

Men’s Tennis 5/1 Varsity vs. Jefferson at Wash 4 p.m.

5/2 JV and JV/sophomores vs. LinnMar at Wash 4:30 p.m.

5/3 Varsity at Waterloo West 8 a.m.

5/3 Varsity at Cedar Falls Noon Women’s Tennis 5/1 Varsity at Dubuque Senior 4:30 p.m.

5/2 JV/sophomores at Linn-Mar 4:30 p.m 5/2 JV at Linn-Mar 4:30 p.m.

Men’s Track 5/2 Varsity vs. Kennedy at Kingston 4:30 p.m.

5/5 JV CRANDIC Invitational at Prairie 4:30 p.m.

Women’s Track 5/1 Varsity at Iowa City West 4:30 p.m.

5/6 Varsity Invitational at Prairie 4:45 p.m.

Softball 5/28 Sophomores at Jefferson 5 p.m.

5/30 Sophomores vs. Marion at Franklin Field 5 p.m.

There are teachers that just teach, there are coaches that just coach, and there are teachers that also coach. They give up things, such as sleep, so they can coach and teach at the same time. Their duties as teachers and coaches include assisting practices and games, while trying to grade papers and tests on a nightly basis.

Lisa Nicol is one of these teachers. Nicol is a French teacher at Washington High School, who also coaches women’s track

Upcoming Sports Schedule

Women’s Golf 5/1 Varsity at Jones Park- 3:15 p.m.

5/5 Varsity MVC Supermeet at Hunter’s Ridge 5/7 JV @ Gardner 3:15 Men’s Soccer 5/1 Sophomore and Varsity vs. LinnMar at Kingston 5:15 p.m.

5/6 Sophomore and Varsity at Xavier 7:30 p.m.

Women’s Soccer 5/1 JV1 and Varsity vs. Linn-Mar at Kingston 5:45 p.m.

5/2 JV2 at Iowa City West 4:15 p.m.

5/5 JV at Kennedy 5:45 p.m.

5/6 JV1 and Varsity vs Xavier at

Sports Editor

Ian Schweiger

Sports 17

A Look Into Baseball

Ian Schweiger Sports Editor The Warrior baseball team starts off their season with a new coach at the helm of the program.

Washington teacher Scott Brune was named the new head baseball coach after former coach Tony Lombardi resigned. Although the coaches have changed, the expectations have not, and the Warriors appear to have a bright future. “We want to win more games than we did last year and we want to have a winning season,” said Masen Akers, ’14.

Akers says the team goals have not changed much since last year and is focused on helping the team improve after losing a large group of seniors, including University of Florida star A.J. Puk, ’13.

Some individuals to keep an eye out for include Matt Troendle, ’14, Landen Akers, ’15, Eric Loeffelholz, ’14, Chris Harrington, ’14, and Johnny Dobbs, ’16, who are all returning letterwinners.

Softball Starts Emily LaGrange Staff Writer This year’s Warrior Softball Team is off to a refreshingly engaged preseason. With the official start to the season beginning May 12, the Warriors are already committed to the upcoming season. “In the past six years, we haven’t had a very good turnout [for open gym] and now we’re getting kids every single night,” said Erin Jones, head coach.

This team has goals consisting of doing the very best they can and nothing less. “Of course state is always in mind, but I think we’re mainly going for a winning season,” said Caiti Peterson, ’15.

Bria Lenten, ’14 also has high hopes for her team.

“I would say my goal for our team is to work together, keep growing, and take it one game at a time and eventually make it to Fort Dodge,” said Lenten, who has signed to play softball for Loras College.

Making it to state isn’t all that matters for this team, though. “We want to get better everyday, show up, learn, and keep improving,” said Jones.

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Sports

The key to being successful for this team starts during the preseason. Open gyms are held three to four times a week. Once practice officially begins, the Warrior Softball Team plans to train even harder.

“Eventually we want to win the first district game and go to state. If we win that, we can be successful,” said Jones.

Some new players to watch for include Jessi Puk, ’17 and Emily Oler, ’17. The team also has 12 varsity players as well as many other players who have that potential. “I think the team as a whole is really something to watch out for,” said Lenten.

The preseason includes any eighth through twelfth graders who are interested in playing Warrior Softball.

“It’s a young team and I’m excited for the amount of talent these girls have to offer,” said Jones.

Their first game is May 27 against Jefferson High School at Franklin Field.

Ian Schweiger Sports Editor

Here Comes The JV

Ian Schweiger Sports Editor

When the phrase, “junior varsity team” comes to mind, most people think of a small group of kids that back up the varsity team. Although this generalization tends to be true, that is definitely not the case for the Washington JV men’s soccer team. “On the JV team alone, we have 40 kids total,” said Washington Head Soccer Coach J.P. Graham.

Graham says there are typically 65-70 kids out for soccer on all 9/10, JV, and varsity total per year. This year, there are over 85 players on the soccer roster.

Graham attributes this large amount due to two things.

The first being the success and fun of the varsity team and the second being seniors that have buddies that were on last year’s roster. “We have 15 extra seniors so it help big time [with leadership]” said Graham.

Among these players that take part of the JV team is Manvith Munagala, ’14. Munagala joined because of friends pressuring him to go out and the massive amounts of people going out. “And the women,” said Photo by: Chris Harrington Munagala.

Munagala says prior to his time on the JV team, Above: Dominic Rodriguez, ’14, reacts after scoring he played soccer back when he lived in England, but a goal in a game against Cedar Rapids Kennedy stopped when he was 9 years old. But since his return to the field, Munagala says he enjoys scrimmaging and Upcoming JV Soccer Schedule: being on a team with most of his close friends most.

Most varsity players would think these numbers to 4/25 At Jefferson 5:45pm be unreal and ridiculous, but others think highly of it.

Among these players in Mike Eken, ’14, one of the 4/28 At Prairie 5:45pm returning lettermen. “I think it’s pretty cool that more people are playing and it’s popular,” said Eken.

5/2 At Iowa City West 5:45pm Graham also likes the idea of the big group. “I think it’s great, I just wish I had more coaches so the kids 5/5 At Kennedy 5:45pm could have more attention. It’s tough having one coach watching 40 kids,” said Graham.

5/7 Vs. Jefferson 5:45pm Graham also says another issue with the large amount of players is getting players equal playing 5/12 At Linn Mar 5:45pm time. “What we’ll probably have to do is have JV A and B games, like how middle school worked,” said 5/15 Vs. Xavier 5:45pm Graham.

The JV soccer team continues their season on Apr. 5/19 Vs. Prairie 5:45pm 21 at Kingston Stadium versus Linn Mar.

Sports Editor

Ian Schweiger

Sports 19

Lauren Barber Staff Writer The most anticipated music festival of the year for a lot of Washington students is Lollapalooza, which is August 1-3 held in Grant Park inChicago. A lot of the headliners are Wash favorites such as Outkast, Arctic Monkeys, and Skrillex, but if you scroll to the smallest names towards the bottom of the lineup there are some bands you won’t want to miss. Even if you aren’t heading to Lollapalooza 2014, you can still enjoy these talented up-and-coming artists!

STYLE: Hip hop/turntablism/alternative rock artist who works most with turntables, drums, and a sampler SIMILAR TO: Rob Swift and Mix Master Mike WHY CHECK THEM OUT: Collaborations with Nas and Bassnectar SONGS TO HEAR: “Jay Z - Dirt Off Your Shoulder (Brillz & Z Trip Remix)”

STYLE: Indie pop/synthpop group from New Jersey SIMILAR TO: GroupLove and Foster The People WHY CHECK THEM OUT: Their song “Dreaming” has already reached 2,000,000+ views on YouTube SONGS TO HEAR: “Dreaming”, “Mason Jar”

STYLE: Mixture of genres featuring elements of folk, blues, rock and roll, punk and even country SIMILAR TO: Birdy and The Head and The Heart WHY CHECK THEM OUT: Not only is their music poetic and intriguing, they’re also highly outspoken on social, political, and economic issues.

SONGS TO HEAR: “Gypsy Woman”, “Moanin’ At Midnight”

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Photo from www.pacificsandiego.com

Photo from www.alt987fm.com

Photo from www.live4ever.uk.com

Michelle Zumhof A&E Editor

JAMNESTY 2014 Mikayla Frye Staff Writer

This year’s Jamnesty, Amnesty International’s annual musical event, was a hit with Washington High School’s students, parents, and faculty.

Held in the Little Theater on Friday, April 18, Jamnesty had some of Washington’s most talented students perform various musical acts. With appearances by 8 Guys with Mics, In the Closet, Summertown, and even two Promposals, there was never a dull moment.

“I’ve gone [to Jamnesty] for the past three years. I love seeing everyone from the school perform and it’s always a good time,” said Madeline Walker, ’14.

Jamnesty’s only goal isn’t to entertain the audience.

Amnesty International’s concern with human rights extends into the purpose of Jamnesty.

“Jamnesty helps Amnesty raise money to help end human rights violations around the world,” said Laurel Dusek, ’15, an Amnesty member.

Each year, Washington’s Amnesty members choose a different human rights theme for Jamnesty to center around. This year’s proceeds will allow Amnesty to help improve women’s education in especially oppressive regions of the world. Throughout Jamnesty, Amnesty members read statistics and facts about the status of international women’s education in order to help educate the audience and performers about the cause.

“I know Amnesty’s cause and I went to Jamnesty last year and I thought it was really good...so my friend and I decided to do it,” said Melissa Tormene, ’16.

Tormene’s performance, along with Emmy Lane, ’16, was one of the highlight performances at Jamnesty.

Their performance enthralled the audience from start to finish.

To make an event like Jamnesty work, there has to be a fair amount of pre-planning. Although this year’s preparations didn’t have quite the intensity as previous years, a lot had to be done before the event.

“We had auditions which took about four hours, group meetings to get volunteers to help out during Jamnesty, and meetings about the t-shirt design” said Chris Barnes, ’14.

The Amnesty members did all they could to successfully entertain and inform the audience at their biggest event of the year.

Amnesty members selling T-shirts during intermission

The folk band peachTea

Photos by Mikayla Frye

Cordejha Lewis singing “Make You Feel My Love” by Adele

A&E Editor Michelle Zumhof

Summertown playing their closing number of the night

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Around the World In Half an Hour

Emma Cooper Staff Writer

T

Graphic by Michelle Zumhof

he Ethnic Food Fair is an event held at Washington to represent the schools different cultures and ethnicities through a variety of foods from different cultures. The food fair will be held Friday, May 23 over first and second lunch. It includes entertainment, food, and knowledge of a variety of countries.

Madison Harriott, ’15, is in charge of setting up the Food Fair. She explained that the Food Fair is where people get in groups, choose a country, and then serve food that is represented by that country. Many countries are represented through the food fair, including Sweden, Lebanon, and China. This is Harriott’s second year planning the event. “The Food Fair is important because it shows all the different cultures and shows diversity,” said Harriott.

Some unique foods at the food fair last year included fried bananas and sushi. The event will be similar to last year, but different countries will be represented by different foods, and the entertainment is different too.

The main point of the food fair is to learn about all of the different cultures at Washington.

Harriott said some of the things she does to prepare for the food fair is ordering supplies like trays and utensils, and helping get volunteers and teachers to run the stands.

She explained that each country’s group has a budget to stay within, and the overall budget is around 60 dollars.

Harriott said that many students at Washington attend the food fair and each table serves around 400 to 500 people. The Ethnic Food Fair is a way that Washington represents the students’ culture through food and entertainment.

I Cry Wolfe

Elijah Wedel Staff Writer

“I

Cry Wolfe”. Some may think of the story of the boy who cried wolf when they hear this name, but instead it is a local band. I went to one of their shows and talked to the lead vocalist, founding member and lyricist of the band, Jake Schmid.

Some may wonder why or how the band got the name I Cry Wolfe.

It was a simple happening: “We were in a basement and our friend Connor said ‘I Cry Wolfe’ out of nowhere and we thought that was a good band name.”

Their sound is heavy and has brutal breakdowns every now

and then, causing some mosh pits. When asked what Schmid’s influences are he replied “Honestly I take influences from Devil Wears Prada, Asking Alexandria, Entering Shikari, and Bring Me The Horizon.”

If one listens to one of these bands and then I Cry Wolfe, you can notice they are truly influenced by those bands.

So far they have an EP and an album out. Good news for some of their fans who want some more material-- their future plans are to come out with either a new EP or an album before they start touring.

Photo from www.reverbnation.com/icrywolfe

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Michelle Zumhof A&E Editor

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