For the People by Foundations of Journalism

For The People

Feature Photo

CONTENTS

04-05 Profile

05-04- The One Of Many Talents

06-07 Profile

06- What They Carry On 07- Long Time In The Running

08 Profile

08- Finding Her True Self

09-10 Feauture

09-10- Humans Of West High

11 Entertainment

11- Root Beer Float

PHOTO BY ABDUL AHMED COVER DESIGN BY ABDUL AHMED

Letter From The Editor

TO ALL THE READERS OF FOR THE PEOPLE, I WOULD LIKE TO THANK YOU FOR TAKING TIME TO READ IT. THE WHOLE TEAM WORKED REALLY HARD TO MAKE SURE THIS WAS PERFECT FOR EVERYONE. THERE WAS A LOT OF TIME AND PATIENCE PUT INTO THIS, THERE WAS A LOT OF STRESSFUL DEADLINES BUT IN THE END, I BELIEVE THAT ANYONE WHO READS THIS WILL REALLY ENJOY IT!

N EWS FEB. 17,

The One Of Many Talents

JUlia Fink, a GIRL OF MANY TALENTS, THIS IS HER STORY ABOUT HOW SHE COPES WITH IT ALL

Witten by:Iman and Ke’Asia Designed by: Ke’Asia Photos by: Abdul

Julia Fink ’20 is very good at lots of different instruments such as the piano. She started to play piano around 2009 and has not stopped since. She feels that playing piano makes her excited and joyful and it’s fun to play. “I started with piano and it just helps me relieve stress and I have liked it ever since then,” Fink said. Other instruments she plays include the ukulele, guitar and moloko ocarina. She has ordered a band booth flute that she plans to learn how to play. Most of the instruments that Fink plays are self taught. “I am teaching myself to how play guitar,” Fink said. She plays instruments but she also like to sing and draw. Fink post most oil drawings that she does on instagram . Fink said “When I was little, I don’t know what drew me to the instruments I play but really when I get stressed out I play the piano and it

it would help me calm don’tdown and I worry as much.” What a stress reliever. Fink was asked what got her into music and she said, “Because of a love of all the disney movies that i used to watch and i really liked them, especially the little mermaid because she was all about singing and i wanted to be like her. “My dad set up drums and I would sing while he played drums, because he is in a band,” Fink said. That’s how you know that your family is supportive. Now Julia doesn’t just play all the time, she has her hobbies too. “I consider art and maybe piano to be a hobby because I don’t have time for it now that I am in high school.” You may be thinking, how does she find time to play all these instruments. Fink had an answer for that, “I really enjoys playing because at recitals I know that it will make the people happy so it’s a lot of fun and bringing happiness to others.”

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FEB. 17,

What really makes Fink happy is when people come talk to her about her performance. “I have had people walk up to me and tell me that it has made them feel lots of different emotions.” She has been taking lessons during the summer ever since 6th grade; people would tell Fink that they feel happy or cry when she plays piano. Personally it make Fink feel happy and helps get rid of stress. “You don’t even have to be good at it as long as it is fun and makes you happy.” It makes a person wonder how long it would take her to practice all of her instruments Fink said, “I feel that I should practice them more than I do but for piano I practice for 30 min or an hour depending on how focused I am.” As for singing Fink doesn’t practice as much but since she has an event coming up she must work a little more for clarinet. “I don’t play as much but when I

do have music to take home I play a lot more. I play most of the other instruments on my free time after I finish my homework and art; I would usually have lessons but I am taking a break from them.” Julia Fink is one busy girl but she always finds a way to have time to play and sing. She is a normal person just like the rest of the world.

PROFILE

MAR. 25, 2018

What they take with them These seniors have a lot of experiences but these are some of their favorite memories

Devon Halstead ‘18 Devon Halstead ‘18 has had some funny experiences here at West High, but one of the funniest experiences he recalls recently happened this year. Halstead was in his quiet success center class doing some homework when a student walked by and threw a firecracker into his classroom. The teacher in his success center class was startled by the firecracker and went into panic mode. Halstead said, “The teacher thought that we were having an active school shooting and we were trying to calm the teacher down because he was trying to lock and barricade the room.” Halstead says that this experience was, “more or less” something funny because he believes that throughout this year, nothing funny happened because “West is dry”.

Samir Suleman ‘18 One of samir suleman’s funny experiences at west was when he was trying to get to class faster but it all went wrong when the door closed behind him he didn’t know what he could possibly do but he had to think quick and find a way to get out. As he wondered if the door in front of him is locked then is the door behind him locked. He didn’t know so he wondered would he have to call someone and tell them he is in a restricted area and that he can’t get out. Willing to take a daring chance

PROFILE

MAR. 25, 2018

TEACHERS EXPERIence

These two people have been teaching for along time and these are their stories of how they got here. written by: Ke’Asia and Abdul Design by Abdul

There he is, in Room 26, teaching a bunch of students a lesson on biology. Some students are eager to learn while others are eager to leave. At first you see he wears a formal shirt and pants,. A pair of glasses cling to his face and a smile is painted on his face. What you might not know is that Brad Wymer has more to show than what he displays. Wymer has been teaching at West High for 23 years . He began teaching after his first job changed abruptly. Wymer also had some experiences with working with smaller groups of students in the classroom and really enjoyed it. “I fell back on the experiences that I had working with high school aged students and [thought it]would be a pretty rewarding job that I would enjoy,” Wymer says. In addition, since his father was a teacher and coach, many of Mr. Wymer’s interactions as a child were with teachers and coaches. That familiarity drew him into teaching as well. Some experiences that Mr. Wymer wants to carry with him for the rest of his life are relationships. “Relationships that I built with my colleagues and the relationships that I’ve built especially with some students [are valued],” Wymer says. “You hope to build a positive relationship with every student you interact with. There are some students that I had 23 years ago, and I still connect with them. We still talk from time to time and now they’ve got kids.” Although Mr. Wymer values relationships, there are many things that can break those relationships, things like being disrespectful and untrustworthiness. One of the worst experiences Mr. Wymer has had as a teacher is when students disrespect him and don’t treat him like a person. “Those have been really difficult moments for me to forget,” Wymer says. “I can still tell you the names of the students that have done that over the years.The things students say or do to teachers have an impact on them, so it is important to remember that teachers are people too. This all ties into relationships with students and how they function. It goes back to that building a relationship. ”

Beth Belding has been a teacher-librarian at West for [find out how many] years. She’s in the library, in classrooms helping students fulfill their full potential as human beings and more. Belding does so much for the school and everyone should really know what she feels. Belding has had a phenomenal career as a teacher and librarian teaching for close to 40 years. She had worked in a lot of different places but what made her come to West High? “I started out as an elementary teacher so I taught in Minnesota, North Carolina, and I’ve taught at public and private schools and church private schools and I’ve taught first and second, fourth and fifth.Then I went back to school and got my graduates degree in library science here in Iowa City you have to be teachers before you can be a librarian. Then I moved to elementary libraries and then when my kids were little I moved to here.” But she didn’t always want to be a librarian, she actually wanted to work with special ed kids. As long as Mrs. Belding has been teaching, there is one real experience that she would take through the years with her. “Coming to work each day because you know you have the potential to impact somebody’s life and you never know what they’ve been through, what they’re going through or whatever but you have the opportunity to stop it and be present listening to where they’re at,” Belding said. “Be that person to say, ‘I’m here for you, I care for you.’ Trying to address that everyday despite whatever unhappy and just resetting and say, ‘I have the opportunity to make a real difference and I need to be present enough to make that difference.”’Being able to come help children and put them on the correct path is something that any person would want to do.” Although teaching wasn’t her first choice, she would continue to do it all over again. Sure Belding had different thoughts about what else she has wanted to be before she even became a teacher or librarian. “I’ve often thought about that because there’s so many other things that I would be interested in doing but in the end I would choose this again. When I went to grad school I wanted to do something else, I thought I would end up being a single mom but I can’t imagine another job to be doing.” But she stuck with what her heart told her to and she’s been with her passion for 40 years.

Humans Of West

N EWS

FEB. 17, 2017

We walked around the west high building and stopped some random people whom we assumed would have an interesting story and they did!

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“Everyone looks stupid when they are dancing mainly the people who think they know the dance moves but then fail.” Grace Holdaway ‘20

“Overwhelming because I have a lot of internal opinions and it would be a nightmare even if it’s just one of me.” Madi Wehmeyer ‘18

“Did you hear about the blonde couple who were found frozen to death in their car at a drive- in movie theater? They went to see “Closed for the Winter.” Elizabeth Jenkins

Fadora’s used to be classy but now they are trashy because it used to be something you would wear with a suit but now it’s just worn with anything. - William Gleason ‘20

“The insults that sound like compliments are when people say either, “Thanks” in a sarcastic way or “Awwe that’s cute...Butttttt.” Keshawn Shaw ‘19

“The best purchase that I made would be my home because it fits my family’s personality and its 140 years old but it’s a work in progress.” Daci Witthof

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“The craziest thing that has ever happened to me is when I was in seventh grade and my teacher was writing on the overhead and he didn’t like something so he slammed down on it and glass shattered everywhere.” Megan Haman ‘18 “The most embarrassing moment in the kitchen is I was going to make dinner for my family, and I went overboard with the cheese and it was completely inedible.” Labb “The saddest moment of my life is when I was in sixth grade and my mom picked me up after school and told me that my dad was in a bad accident. We went straight to the emergency room but we couldn’t see him for hours. He’s okay now, but he is paralyzed from the waist down.” Harpur Barahona ‘20 “The most exciting thing I’ve done is when I went to see Beyonce on her Formation Tour in Texas. I’m seeing her again on her ‘On The Run Part 2’ in Paris, France.” Paul Amrani ‘18 “Teachers because they can be having a rough day and they won’t take it out on you. When I came to west freshman year, I was very skeptical. I wasn’t sure if I was gonna like this place. Turns out, it wasn’t that bad. I wish I would have gotten more involved freshman year.” Jayden Matthews ‘20

Root beer float

E N T E R TA I N M E N T

MAR. 25, 2017

Design by Abdul ahmed Photo by Keâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Asia Mullen Writing by Ivan Ramos

As summer rolls around, so does the hot and humid weather follow behind. Although some cold soda may seem like a good beverage for hot weather, a root beer float will combine the best two cold items, icecream and soda.

SUPPLIES - Vanilla Ice Cream Bucket - Whipped Cream - Root Beer - A cup and spoon

Directions: 1) Put 2 scoops of vanilla ice cream in a cup 2) Pour rootbear into cup and watch the magic happen 3) Top off your messy mountain with some nice

AND ENJOY!

SPOt the difference Good Luck!

How Many differences Did you Find? __________ TOTAL: : 12

COmpare your answers with others!