May 2009

BLACK WHITE the black and white. may 2009. volume 18 issue 9. 5152780449. 6501 NW 62nd ave. johnston. iowa one copy free

changes

for next year page 4

Ross siblings Jennifer and Brian page 16

exchange students pages 10 & 11

Black In this issue White 78 19 13 14 Opinion

{ NHS Hu Cares { Tolerance

News

3 4 5

Cell phone policy

Next year’s changes {Elective Committee Bike to school Riessen, Ward to Ankeny

Editorial

6

{Play the best first

10 { 11

Exchange students

12 {

Blast from the past

16 {

Ross siblings

Sports

Entertainment 17 { Sports Bits

Brittany Deal

Stephanie Ivankovich

Jeremy Mullen

Caroline Byrd

Lauren Gehrke

Julia Manning

Haley Johnson

Shawna Polen

Catherine Caracci

Kiera Morrill

managing editor feature editor backpage editor copy editor STAFF

huddle before beginning a home game. In April, the team crushed Valley’s 72-game winning streak by beating them 3-2.

Read more about girls’ soccer and other sports on page 17.

Dungeon

18 {

Archer Anna Kurns Value sportsmanship

Staff 2008-2009 editor in chief

Health

Summer at Harvard { Infinite On The { Juice Co. and Fuel Campus Cover: Tropical Sno { Farmers Backpage Julia Manning Market captured the girls’ Kyle Naig Myth Busters { soccer team in their 20 { 15 Weeks Farming

Review bands 9 { Foreign The Bookworm Doubletruck

News briefs

{ New Recycling Bins {

Feature

news editor

Kallen Kramer

double truck editor

5

Kiera Morril/BW

opinion editor sports editor review editor photo editor

WRITERS:

Lauren Coffey, Chris Caracci Evan Culbert, Jonathan Houp, Kevin Hu, Nels Engblom, Matthew Knoedel, Kelsey Kruse, Amy Lovejoy, Dwight Lykins, Kelly McGowan, Aaron Meyer, Scott Monroe, Philip Mortens, Brennan Winget Chelsea Nelson, Kyle Soyer, Ben Vander Ploeg, Jocelyn Schneider, Eric Oatts

9

12 http://niina.amniisia.com/Provided

14

Correction:

The football picture of Aaron Schultz on page 18 and the cheer leading picture of Allison Rawls on page 15 of the April issue were taken by Amanda Gabbert/Portraits By Deena.

Amanda Gabbert also took the TSA picture of John Puffett and Zach Buckley.

Kelly McGowan/BW

4Kids Entertainment Inc./Provided

“The Black and White” is published solely by the Johnston High School newspaper staff. Its goal is to inform, enlighten and entertain Johnston students. It is an open forum. In accordance with Iowa law and board policy, students assign and edit material. The paper is published nine times per school year.

The paper will avoid material that is libelous, obscene or an invasion of privacy. The law does not require parental permission to use student quotes. Ethically, we believe students can speak for themselves.

Staff editorials represent the opinion of a majority of the editorial board. Editorial and opinion pieces do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the adviser, school officials or the district.

Letters to the editor must be signed. Like all material, letters may not be libelous, obscene or an invasion of privacy.

Bring letters to room 413 within one week after publication to be considered for the next issue.

“The Black and White” strives to report accurate and timely information. If you believe that an error has been printed, please contact the Editor at bblosee@gmail.com.

“The Black and White” is a member of CSPA, NSPA, Quill & Scroll, and IHSPA. Recent issues of the paper earned these honors: Columbia Scholastic Press Association Gold Medalist, National Scholastic Press Association First Class rating, Quill & Scroll Gallup Award, IHSPA state placings.

NB

NEWS

09

MAY

Compiled respectively by Philip Mortens and Nels Engblom, staff writers

Recycling starts fresh The City of Johnston is doing its part in participating with the green revolution.

The city plans to switch to new 96 gallon blue containers, similar to the current trash cans used by the city, to take the place of the previous green ones.

“Metro Waste Recycling has decided to switch to single stream recycling, where you throw everything in one bin instead of separating,” Johnston city administrator Jim Sanders said.

“They anticipate the recycling totals The new recyto go up 20-30% it’s cling bins will re- because more convenient. place the old ones.

The new bins will begin being shipped to houses the week of May 14.

“The changes come into effect July 13 and 14 in Johnston, another change is that the pickup won’t be weekly but instead every other week to save resources,” Sanders said.

Late start implemented for collaboration Jon Houp

staff writer High school students might now be able to sleep about 40-45 minutes longer every Wednesday.

A proposal went to the school board for vote on May 18 and passed. This allows teachers to collaborate every Wednesday to have a consistent time to meet with their departments.

The downside to this would be some teachers would be excluded because they teach freshman first period, so they would not be able to attend, like journalism advisor Leslie Shipp.

“It’s unfortunate that I may not be able to collaborate with other teachers during this collaboration time,” Shipp said. “However, it’s crucial that freshman be able to take Journalism so that they can pursue communications all four years of high school if they want to, and the first priority must be the students.”

It’s considered to be easier for freshmen to take the class first period.

The tentative start time for school will be 8:40 a.m., with each class being cut about three or four minutes.

The idea came about 14 months ago when the administration was looking into what other schools were doing for teachers’ collaboration.

The meeting schedule was inconsistent, so teachers wanted something better.

Principal Bruce Hukee helped plan the proposal.

Currently Urbandale and Valley have early dismissal every week. Ankeny and Dowling have late starts every week. Waukee is also looking into implementing a late start schedule. “(We’ve) made sure to talk to teachers numerous times,” Hukee said Students are overjoyed at the idea.

5k for Karen registration and donations The Johnston Green Days will be holding a 5K run on Friday, June 19, the second day of the Green Days Festival, in memory of former school board member Karen Coaldrake.

Karen Coaldrake passed away on March 23 last year.

Mother of junior Justin Coaldrake and sixth grader Tristan Coaldrake, she passed away suddenly due to a brain hemorrhage.

The race will start in the Pioneer parking lot at 7000 NW 62nd Street. Entry fee for the race is $20 and is open to everyone, running or walking. The race starts at

7 p.m.; however, check in starts at 6 p.m.

Money raised from the race will be donated back to the school district. The application may be mailed to the listed address or turned in on race day.

Karen Coaldrake

Clip this out and turn it on race day or mail to the labeled address

newsbriefs

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Jon Houp/ BW

Students that rely on busing services would be the most affected. They would need an alternate form of transportation in order to take full advantage of this possible late start.

“I would absolutely, positively, no doubt about it, for sure, 100 percent with all of my heart, love it,” Sophomore Kara Anderson said.

Some members of the school board has been receptive to the idea as well. Tracey Orman is a member of the Academic Affairs that initially looked into the idea.

“Bruce Hukee and the teachers were very informative and have done their homework,” Orman said.

President of the board, Chris Sonner, is also a member of the Academic Affairs subcommittee. He feels the high school has a good idea going.

“Anytime we can get the high school excited about something, It’s worth a try,” Sonner said.

Sonner and Hukee feel a late start should be fine for most high school students because they either have or can provide their own transportation.

There would be no bus change; students that use the bus services would arrive as always. They would be expected to use the commons or the media center until the tentative 8:40.

Also there will be no change in the school calendar. At the end of the day, classes will still be dismissed at 2:55.

NEWS

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MAY

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Differences for ‘09-10 school year

Kiera Morrill B/W

The school board dicusses issues concerning the community. Some of these decisions have changed how things will work next year.

Eric Oatts

Ben Vander Ploeg

staff writer

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“We should be able to leave early. If we’re done with our classes, we should be able to go home.”

“I think if cell phones were allowed, there would be less distractions. Like if you really needed to tell someone something, you could.”

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21/2 Caroline Byrd ‘09

21 Megan Kellogg ‘10

The 2010 school year will look much different.

Rules for seniors in years past will be rendered obsolete as every student in the high school will be under almost the same schedule, that, of course, being a required minimum of six periods of class per day plus P.E. for seniors. Sophomores will be required to have a full eight-period schedule.

Previous to the 2009-2010 school year, the only “minimum” needed for seniors was two and a half periods a day. This would include a required English, Government, and P.E. class each semester. So, seniors could show up to school at eight in the morning and be done with school and home by 10:30 a.m.

The change to the required amount of periods can be attributed to increased graduation requirements.

“Truly, under the current amount of required credits each student needs, most will have to have close to six and a half periods anyway,” associate principal Jerry Stratton said.

Prior to the 2009-2010 school year, students had to collect a total of 21 credits to graduate. For future seniors, that number of credits has been increased to 24 credits, around six more classes total in high school. This averages out to students needing an extra one to two class periods per year, so the new required schedule will give students the ability to fit in more classes that they would have to take anyway.

Aside from scheduling changes, changes will be made to the student handbook.

“There will be a new cell phone rule change,” Stratton said. “This would present students with specific times to use their cell phones (in school).“ The school board voted to pass this rule May 11, which is included in the next year’s version of the student handbook.

Upcoming Changes at a glance...

Derek Shaver ‘10

Rule changes for seniors; cell phone policy revised

staff writer

“Tyler Buller sought me out to see if I would be on (the elective committee). I hope to be the voice for vocal music because that is the thing I did the most in high school.”

To further meet the needs of students, the school board organized an elective committee.

“The goal of the committee is to study the elective offerings and course options that students in grades 9-12 have,” Bruce Amendt said. “They will be working together to come up with recommendations and then submit these recommendations to the board in order for them to get passed.”

Of the 60 people that submitted applications, only 30 were accepted, but they later allowed more students to apply. Of those, 30 students got on the board and alumni.

“The goal is trying to gather more diverse input by broadening the categories of people who could join the committee,” school board member Tyler Buller said. “They wanted to involve more people and felt the committee was missing representation from alumni and students.”

One of these students was junior Joe Payne.

“I e-mailed Bruce and said I would be willing to participate in the committee, and he said he would consider my name for a nomination,” Payne said. “I thought it might be a good idea to help decide what electives we can take.”

Another student volunteer was junior Nate Ostiguy.

“I thought there should be a student voice, and usually I am pretty opinionated.” Ostiguy said. “Also, I have been thinking about going into education as a career, so this will be a good head start to getting different points of view and learning a little bit about how the system works.”

The committee’s first meeting will be held May 21, and they will continue meeting each Thursday through the end of the ’09-’10 school year.

09

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NEWS

MAY

PAGE

Bike to school continues Prizes, food, music and extra credit draw students out despite rain Kevin Hu

staff writer Despite the rain and confusion with where to place the bikes during the school day, Bike to School week still managed to gain 306 participants.

Though similar to the Bike to School Day last semester, this season’s event was managed by student council rather than National Honor Society (NHS). This is a return to old traditions.

“During homecoming week, we had NHS kids running the bike check,” student council adviser Chris Beguhn said. ”Last year, student council and (volunteers) ran the bike check.”

Similar to the previous Bike to School Day, students were encouraged to bike to school the entire week, with raffle prizes and extra credit incentives in certain classes. However, this time around, student council ran the bike check throughout the week. “(We did) the bike check all week, with the raffle,” Beguhn said.

Also, some P.E. teachers were offering to drop missed P.E. classes in return for participation in Bike to School Day. The science department offered extra credit to their stu-

Kiera Morrill/BW

Junior Justin Coaldrake bikes in early on Tuesday morning, May 12th. “I bike a lot during the summer anyway, so biking to school wasn’t too much of a hassle,” Coaldrake said. dents in exchange for proof of biking.

“I think that it’s a good way for teachers to promote participation in school spon-

sored events,” junior Tanner Gardiner said.

“I like it because I need the points, but even if (Beguhn) wasn’t offering points I probably

would still do it.”

In addition to the similarities, some things were new this year.

“We (had) a live (band) playing, morning and afternoon,” business teacher and former organizer Tim Brickley said. “In addition to that, we have breakfast in the morning.”

Snacks were provided at no charge.

“We had bagels, donuts, bananas, apples, and Gatorade,” Beguhn said.

“It was really (stupid) that they didn’t have cream cheese for the bagels,” senior Frank Niu said.

Some things didn’t go according to plan.

The originally planned weight room storage for bikes had to be changed.

“Larkin scheduled AP testing,” Beguhn said. “The issues is that there isn’t a great protocol during the day to reserve rooms. We talked to (Dave) Beason, he said okay. We talked to Hukee, he said okay. The (issue) is we need better protocol.

Student council ended up using the big gym for bike storage.

“The P.E. teachers helped accommodate us,” Beguhn said.

Attendance was ultimately influenced by the weather.

“Our goal was 800 students and staff. Last year we had about 600,” Beguhn said. “It depended upon the weather; if we had sunshine, then we might’ve (broken 600).”

When the rain came on Bike to School Day, the expectation of having over 600 students participate decreased.

“We were predicting (30 to 50) people, but we ended up with just over 300 participants,” Beguhn said. “We had hoped for more, but it was greater than we expected.”

Riessen leaves district for Ankeny schools staff writer

Beth Ward, middle school physical education teacher and high school volleyball assistant coach, will be taking over Brent Riessen’s current job as the middle school associate principal.

Riessen will become the head principal at the Ankeny eighth and ninth grade school, Northview Middle School, effective next school year.

“The position in Ankeny is a great one for me to grow... and be challenged as a building leader,” Riessen said.

Ward completed her master’s degree in administration last spring through Grand Canyon University.

“I have known for a while that I wanted to be an administrator,” Ward said. “I knew when a perfect job opened up that I would apply for it. This was the perfect job I was waiting for.“ Ward began teaching in 1997. “It is time to start a new chapter in my educational life,” Ward said. “Being in administration will present me with opportunities to help

students and teachers grow and learn.”

Ward has also served as the assistant coach for volleyball, softball and girls’ basketball since she began teaching.

“Without a doubt the kids are what I will miss the most about coaching,” Ward said, “They were, and still are, my inspiration.”

Riessen has three children: Morgan, freshman; Grant, seventh grader; and Nate, third grader. All three will remain in the Johnston School District next year.

“Ankeny has offered me this chance,” Riessen said, “and I am excited to help tackle the challenges that face their growing district.”

Riessen believes Ward will do a great job in his place, and he wishes Johnston nothing but the best. He enjoyed working in Johnston, but believes he will grow more in Ankeny.

“Ward was selected after an extensive interview process, and I believe her to be an excellent choice based on her relationships with students and staff,” Riessen said.

Ward will miss being in the classroom and on the volleyball court.

“I have truly enjoyed every minute of

“

Being in administration will present me with opportunities to help students and teachers grow and learn.

Beth Ward

“

being a teacher and a coach,” she said. “The memories will forever be embedded in my mind and heart.”

Ward is, however, looking forward to the challenges her new job will offer.

“I never want to become “comfortable” in what I do, she said. “This will definitely be a new challenge and make me get out of my comfort zone.”

“I always encourage my students and athletes to be risk takers,” she said. “It was time for me to listen to my own advice and follow my aspirations to become a member of the administrative team at Johnston.”

Chris Caracci/BW

Chris Caracci

EDITORIAL

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Illustration/Yiming Qin

Establish fair standards school sports should focus on fun for all

You’ve been training hard for four years, breaking sweats, sucking up to the coaches and never complaining about a thing. Senior year rolls around, and all the hard work is about to pay off.

For many, hard work and dedication is how we must earn our spots in the world.

However, nothing can be guaranteed when it comes to sports and playing time. Every year, in every sport, coaches are faced with the decision to play an underclassman that may be more skilled and have potential in the future, or to play a senior who is of similar skill and has been dedicated and worked for the chance to play all through high school. A standard needs to be established in all high school athletics to always play the players that are the greatest asset to that team in the given moment, yet to also give everyone an equal opportunity to play a sport on some level of team, regardless of skill.

This issue of playing time faces coaches and players often, and controversy usually arises from it. It becomes especially difficult if the two players are about equal in skill.

It would seem in this situation, playing the younger player would be the better choice.

That way the young player can get considerable amounts of experience and be an outstanding player in the future. As for seniors, if they are truly team players who want what is best for the team, then they will happily comply with the coach’s decision and be backups or play on a lower team.

If the senior is a bit better than the underclassman, the choice gets more difficult.

In this situation, if the coach is concerned with the here and now, as a high school coach should be, then he would choose to play the senior. The senior is a better player

and can offer the team greater success, and the younger player still has many more years to play and earn that varsity spot that they were already so close to achieving.

“There would be certain games where I would play the senior, games they have looked forward to, but if they weren’t getting it done, I wouldn’t hesitate to put a freshman in,” girls’ soccer coach Alicia Rollison said.

While a better freshman should prevail over a lesser-skilled senior on varsity, the senior should not be denied the chance to play on any team at all. This year a new soccer coach was introduced, and with his introduction came new rules. Head soccer coach Heath Weeks said if you are a senior, you are only allowed to play on varsity.

“This was a decision agreed upon by all four coaches within the program and approved by the A.D.,“ Weeks said.

Weeks said the goal of the JV team is to prepare players for the varsity squad, so letting a senior play JV is going against the goal of the program. However, a senior can surely help the development of other players on the JV squad. By letting that senior play with the JV team, the JV players may be playing with a bigger, more physical player, like the players at the varsity level.

There is another problem with this rule.

When asking people why they choose to play a sport, their first answer is almost always going to be, “Because I like it”. So why should players be restricted from doing something they love? They have put in three hard years, dedicated the time and effort and now are removed from the team simply because they are not good enough to play varsity. Being competitive and winning is a great thing, but if being competitive is taking away one

person’s opportunity to play a game they love, policies need to be re-evaluated.

Basketball also faces a similar problem.

Tammi Nelson said boys’ JV basketball teams will only get eleven JV games next year. This is not enough when varsity gets double the games. A policy needs to be set in place to allow all who want to play an opportunity to, whether it’s more games or an intramural league.

Also, a student should never be discouraged from trying out for a sport or trying something new. If a student moves to Johnston his senior year and decides to take a risk to go out for a sport he is interested in to make friends, he should not be discouraged from this. Making friends is a huge part of high school, and no one should be denied that right. Weeks said the rule is not meant to discourage players from participating in soccer, but rather encouraging them to improve their skills.

Coaches should not forget however that high school athletics are also about having fun playing a game. Coaches should always be looking to get more people to love the game as much as they do. High school is meant to be a time when a student gets an education, makes friends, makes relationships and makes memories.

Hard work is always rewarded in the classroom with grades. Smiles in the hall are rewarded with friendships. Similarly, one who works hard and is skilled at something should be rewarded as best they can, whether it is a freshman playing varsity, or a new student simply being given a chance on the JV squad. Johnston athletics should always exhibit success, fairness and, most importantly, fun.

OPINION

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MAY

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NHS requirements should be altered Catherine Caracci copy editor

As students approach the point in their high school careers when they focus more and more on getting into college, many join addition organizations as a way to attract attention from potential schools. Organizations such as National Honor Society (NHS) are excellent ways for students to stand out as well as be more involved in their school and community.

However, at Johnston, NHS is only offered to members of the senior class. In many other schools in the country, membership is offered to underclassmen as well. This allows members to be involved in the organization for a longer period of time. It looks better on a college application if students were involved in a program before their senior year. It could show schools that students focused on service and character long before they were thinking e feel much about college. including a I moved to Johnston from Pella percentage of the summer before my sophomore year. There, students are required the junior class to be enrolled at the school for would be very three semesters before they are beneficial.” considered for NHS membership.

There, I could have applied for - Jessica Webb membership the second semester of my sophomore year.

Pella NHS adviser and assistant principal Eric Nelson explained the process. Applicants must have a cumulative GPA of 3.6 or above and “write a self-evaluation on the four qualities of NHS: leadership, character, scholarship and service.”

Once students apply, a committee of teachers reviews the applications and selects the members.

The requirements Nelson explained are similar to our own application process. However, admission to the Johnston NHS chapter requires only a 3.4 GPA. Raising the GPA requirement would improve the scholarship aspect of NHS. Principal Bruce Hukee said that our chapter of NHS was designed to be a service organization for seniors. However, NHS advisers are now considering offering membership to juniors. Doing this will improve service in the program.

“This summer, Mrs. (Sarah) Moore and I plan on reviewing what other schools in the CIML do in regards to NHS,” adviser Jessica Webb said. “We feel including a percentage

“W

HU

CARES

Kevin Hu

staff writer

H1N1, unnecessary drama So maybe you haven’t heard, but there’s this thing called the “H1N1 virus” that’s ravaging the world. Otherwise known as the swine flu, the world is running amok as schools close, face masks are put on and everyone is lining up to get their immunities up to check.

Uh…OK. Calm down, world.

First off, I’d like to point out there IS TREATMENT available. News to you? In all the hype, the media has neglected to make the fact that they have treatments to manage symptoms. Tamiflu and Remenza are excellent treatments and will help relieve symptoms and prevent further damage.

Secondly, people tend to heal from the swine flu by themselves. That’s right, they chill out at home, play some video

Hannah Emmerson/Dragon

NHS students Alan Nagel, Alison Blakely and Erin Smalley play cribbage with residents at Bishop Drumm Retirement Center as one of their service projects. of the junior class would be very beneficial to continued leadership within NHS.” Webb believes students would be able to grow much more “if they have an opportunity to be involved for two years, instead of just their senior year.” The school can ensure this growth in students by allowing juniors into NHS. “This allows (students) to have more impact on the Johnston community, as well as the community at JHS,” Webb said.

If NHS does allow juniors to join, Webb believes that our NHS chapter “would be more closely in line with what the current NHS standards are in regards to leadership.”

While our chapter of NHS does address the four qualities, it would greatly benefit the school if more students, especially underclassmen, were involved in the organization. Bridging the gap between grades is vital to continued leadership in our school.

Des Moines Area Schools NHS Chapters Members

Additional application requirements

Dowling 3.7

About 50 juniors, 50 seniors

selected by faculty committee

Ankeny 3.5

23 sophomores, 37 juniors, 20 seniors

SE Polk 3.5

Sophomores- seniors

selected by faculty committee

Hoover 3.5

35 juniors, 25 seniors

essay on community service, two teacher recommendations

GPA (unweighted)

Johnston 3.4

108 seniors

active involvement in extracurricular and service organizations or groups

essay, teacher recommendations

games, eat some chicken noodle soup, and they’ll be up and about in no time.

Finally, don’t worry; pork is still cool. Even though beef is way better, swine flu is not contractible through the consumption of pork. So Egypt needs to stop killing harmless pigs. Although it is possible that swine flu can be transmitted by an infected pig, it is highly unlikely.

Any school in the United States that gets school off because of this flu irks me.

Why cancel a week of school?

Morals, ethics of test taking Just recently, I had my most recent ACT scores cancelled due to the fact that I violated time restraints and wrote extra after time had been called.

I know that what I did was wrong, but then just last week, when I went in and took the SAT Reasoning Test, I faced a moral issue: this one female in my room was filling in answers during the break.

Now, I asked myself if I should’ve been a total snitch and report her to the proctor. Clearly, it was the right thing to do, but was it my contempt for my cancelled ACT scores that motivated me, or was it actually the ethics that concerned me? It was a difficult decision to make, and I told myself that

Illustration/Yiming Qin

I would report her if I caught her cheating one last time. I never did.

So this girl went unpunished. I realized that reporting her wouldn’t bring back my perfect 36 ACT score, so I dropped it. Needless to say, I’m quite certain this girl was as dumb as a block of wood. Her extra answers most likely dropped her scores anyway. I am content.

OPINION

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09

MAY

The Day of Silence: weighing decisions

The 2009 National Day of Silence took place of April 17. It brings attention to anti-LGBT name-calling, bullying and harassment in schools.

Adam Helgeson guest writer

Equal treatment?

By allowing the Day of Silence the school administration appears to be crossing a line from simply allowing clubs to exist and freely meet using school facilities outside of official instructional time, to tacitly endorsing the views of one club by allowing an activity that promotes the club during official instructional time, and by extension, endorsing that club’s beliefs.

This year’s Day of Silence took place on April 17. It is observed by members of our Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA) and other students to raise awareness for the mistreatment of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people. They participate by choosing not to speak during the school day. Participants seek to get attention during school by silently protesting. Putting attention on the silent students during class requires taking attention off of the teacher and the learning process. Not only does this disrupt class, but every time a student behaves differently out of silent protest it sends the message to the student body that the administration is giving this particular group special privileges.

This is not only an issue in our high school, but students at the middle school level were encouraged to participate as well.

For example, students with parent permission at Summit Middle School, during sixth grade choir, did not have to participate while the rest of the class sang and followed normal day procedures.

“See You at the Pole” is a another day during the year that a group of students seek to raise awareness. These students meet one morning in September to pray over the school at the flag pole before the school day begins. Students ask those that they saw around the flagpole about what they were doing. This provides an appropriate time to share with peers. There is no need to ask the administration to accommodate in order to raise awareness. The biggest difference be-

Every JHS classroom features a poster with a triangle-shaped learning plan and district-wide belief statements. One of those statements is, “We believe the learning environment should embrace diversity and promote mutual respect.”

After this year’s Day of Silence (DOS), I’m left wondering if we really live up to the triangle poster’s words.

Just days before students participated in the annual silent protest, a concerned parent provided/Kevin VanWanseele/Day of Silence – the district redacted the parent’s name – sent an e-mail to all seven school board members and superintendent Clay Guthmiller.

The parent said that he/she would be removing his/her student from school on the Kallen Kramer DOS in protest. The parent called DOS “disdouble-truck editor ruptive to the educational process,” and a tween The Day of Silence and “See You at method to “advance the political aspirations the Pole” is that one is during class time, and of one group.” Citing the family’s Christian one is not. It is not necessary to disrupt class beliefs, the parent said that he/she didn’t time in order to promote a club. want his/her child to have the “promotion I do believe that we should talk with peers of the gay and lesbian lifestyle forced upon about the issues that the Day of Silence pres(him/her)” and said that the event “creates ents, but this day does not lend itself well to more division in our school.” discussion. It would be more influential to If only we could create more of a division bring up discussions about this out of class. between church and state.

The structure of The Day of Silence does April 17 marked the annual protest for the not enhance dialogue about the issue that nation. The Gay, Lesbian and Straight Eduit presents. Also, did these students concation Network (GLSEN) defines the protest tinue to refrain from as a nationwide, speaking when they student-led event hung out with their that is designed friends later on that to draw attention Friday evening? to the harassment This would be an a fair, objective, and permissive attitude to- of lesbian, gay, biappropriate place ward opinions and practices that differ from sexual and transfor it, and it would gender (LGBT) one’s own. be more influential students in school. and effective. Either synonyms: patience, sufferance, forbearance The Gay-Straight one of these options Alliance (GSA) would be preferable participated in the alternatives than what the administration event and discussed the day’s rules in plancurrently allows. ning meetings. Junior Kylie Kinsey attended By the administration allowing the Day of these meetings. “We were told the rules esSilence, they are giving the GSA preferential tablished by GLSEN, and as far as I know, we treatment. They are past tolerating, past acfollowed them exactly,” Kinsey said. cepting, and are now promoting the club’s After analysis, the GLSEN rules and the beliefs. We should be encouraging tolerance, rules of our district match. To demonstrate, not agreement. Tolerance assumes disagreelet’s use a hypothetical example. A minority ment, more or less agreeing to disagree. group at Johnston, say, kids with big noses, Disagreement and intolerance should not be feel that they wish to protest the harassment confused. they face. Guthmiller addressed this situaIn no way am I suggesting the disbandtion, saying, “The clubs that participate in ment of the GSA. I respect all of the differthese activities have to be approved clubs ent clubs at our high school, and I am proud at the school, and the Board approves those to be part of a student body where we can clubs.” express our different beliefs. However, the According to Guthmiller, approved clubs administration has gone so far to not appear by the district may create events such as the judgemental, and are now advocating the DOS and that DOS-type protest must be apbeliefs of the GSA, and choosing not to enproved. When asked why the administration dorse all groups equally. allowed DOS, Guthmiller said, “We abide by

. .

to ler ance (tŏl’ər-əns) noun

Natural rights? the Constitution in our district.”

Students were also instructed to inform their teachers that they wished to remain silent. The instructor decided whether or not to permit this. Under no circumstances were students to be silent during graded presentations or speeches assigned that day.

The day was not problematic. “I did not find it to be a disruption, because the students involved…made me aware that they desired to participate,” government teacher Jeremy Yenger said.

The event’s purpose is to bring to light the harassment that the LGBT students of this country face every day, and the subsequent silence they experience. The Iowa Pride Network 2007 Climate Survey showed that 80 percent of Iowa LGBT students reported being verbally harassed and 36 percent were physically harrassed because of their sexual orientation. “The Day of Silence is a wake-up call for everyone to just be tolerant,” Kinsey said.

Tolerance within our schools is widely variable.

For some, tolerance isn’t even a question.

Students like senior J.T. Minor believe the day is just like any other, but with a message. “People not talking is kind of the opposite of a disruption…I think it was pretty effective,” Minor said.

But some claim that the school environment becomes uncomfortable during the protest. They claim that the quiet kid in the desk next to them is disruptive and makes them uncomfortable.

When asked about the motives behind the day, senior Tyler Waltz said, “They claim it’s in honor of all the gays that have been harassed and can’t come out of the closet... when in reality they are promoting the gay lifestyle and trying to encourage kids to come out of the closet.”

I have to admit, I’m not entirely sure what a “gay lifestyle” is. (Doesn’t everyone who’s alive have a lifestyle?) I searched the GSA and GLSEN materials about the day, and couldn’t even find a mention of this ominous “gay lifestyle.”

Senior Gabe Tovar, a student absent on the Day of Silence, said, “(Day of Silence) is about gays being treated equally…if you want to be equal, don’t set yourself apart.”

Just like Waltz and the parent, Tovar seems confused about the purpose of the day he objected to – it’s not about equality, it’s about tolerance and protection from harassment.

Day of Silence and its tolerance is still up in the air at Johnston. It is unfortunate that students felt so uncomfortable with a free exercise of student rights that it was not a viable option to come to school.

REVIEW

09

MAY

[World MusiC] Four international musicians you may not know, but should plug into.

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If any band has ever captured a landscape and packed it into their music, it is Sigur Ros. Lead singer Jonsi Birgisson sings falsetto to tones ranging from rock to a quieter, unique style. Kjartan Sveinsson on the keyboard, Orri Pall Dyraason on the drums and Georg Holm on the bass compliment and help to create their sound. They bring their homeland and the landscapes of Iceland, both the thriving, lively sides, as well as the darker and slightly run down areas, to listeners. Sigur Ros truly has a sound all their own. This includes the lead singer, Jonsi, playing the

guitar with a cello bow, and music being performed in a language created by the band, Hopelandic. Basically jibberish, this language gives listeners the the opportunity to interpret the song and lyrics how they’d like and give it their own meaning. Sigur Ros is one of a kind and can appeal to all musical preferences.

Sigur Ros Provided/Eighteen Seconds Before Sunrise

The Ruby Suns

Justin Young

The Ruby Suns, from Australia, can be described as happy-all-over, feel-good music with some experimentation thrown in ­— a vacation from mainstream pop-rock. The band includes Ryan McPhun on vocals, guitar and keyboards; Amee Robinson on keyboards, saxophone, melodica, floor tom and vocals; Imogen Taylor on keyboards, bass, omnichord and flute; Mark Stebben on bass and vocals; Edward Castelo on drums and vocals; Gareth Shute on guitar, glockenspiel, keyboards and percussion; Harry Cundy on trumpet, tambourine and vocals; Olivia Kember on keyboards and vocals; James Dansey on drums and vocals and James Milne on drums, vocals.

Justin Young is a singer from Hawaii who takes R&B to the next level by incorporating his own guitar style.

Young recieved three Hawaiian Music Awards and has 12 number-one hits played on the radio. He toured with Colbie Caillat and even appeared on the Tonight Show. Find more information about Young at www.justinyoungmusic.com.

Provided/Kay Forster

Arctic Monkeys The Arctic Monkeys, from the U.K., can be described as a fusion of ska, jam and dance.

Each song, upbeat and with brass, brings the underground sound of the U.K. The band consists of Alex Turner on lead vocals and guitar, Jamie Cook on guitar, Nick O’Malley on bass guitar and backing vocals and Matt Helders on the drums and backing vocals.

Provided/Frida Borjeson

Compiled by Aaron Meyer and Kiera Morrill

Provided/memphis-industries.com

The BookWorm

From Far Away Kyoko Hikawa

A+

BY: Shawna Polen Graphic novels are becoming more popular by each passing year. Mainly from Japan, these books are translated into English and read right to left. They are falling into the hands of eagerly awaiting teens. Even though they have been here for years, they are just now gaining popularity. Even teach-

ers use them in class. One of Mark Schillerstrom’s contemporary literature circle choices is “Persepolis,” a two-novel manga series.

I have been reading graphic novels since sixth grade and have read too many to count.

One of my favorites is “From Far Away,” a 14-novel series with art and story by Kyoko Hikawa.

Turn the first page to see Noriko Tachiki on her way to school with friends. Chasing a stray ball that hit her, Noriko nears a bag lying on the ground. When the ball bumps it, the bag explodes, sending Noriko into a parallel universe.

Arising in a sea of golden trees, Noriko realizes that she is not in Japan anymore.

Scared, she starts to run around aimlessly and finds trouble. Just as she is about to be eaten by a huge worm monster, tall, dark and handsome comes to her rescue, killing it.

Expressing gratitude is harder than Noriko expected; to her dismay, they do not speak the same language. Managing a bit of sign language, Noriko is able to exchange names and get the man (Izark) to understand

that she is alone and helpless.

Straying from his original intent about killing her, Izark reluctantly takes to traveling with Noriko, slowly teaching her the language and how to survive in their world.

In this new and strange world, there is a prophecy that tells of the sky demon and the awakening, beings that can bring destruction or the opening of the way to the world of light. Many villains want to capture the Awakening (Noriko) so they can in turn use the sky demon (Izark) as a weapon to conquer the world! Insert evil laugh here. (Not really.) So it is up to Izark to keep not only himself, but also Noriko out of harms way.

Through the series, the bond between Noriko and Izark becomes stronger. Leading to mental communication and even a possible romance (hint...hint).

Hikawa has composed a brilliant combination of beautiful art and compelling dialogue. The depiction of each character’s emotions is astounding, like when Noriko is trying to speak with Izark when neither of them can understand each other. Absolutely

hilarious.

Authors of manga often add random boxes of conversation with the reader throughout the pages. Sometimes giving advise, things about writing the book or even stuff they just want to rant about. Hikawa does this, and it is interesting what she discusses.

In one book, she went from cats to stuff that happens to her at the bike park (haha).

The idea of someone dropped into a foreign land and having to survive on his or her own is interesting. The pressure to learn the language alone would be enough to drown in (though that is the best way to learn a language). Learning the customs and ideals could pose challenges also, making it easy to find trouble such as Noriko did.

On a side note, thanks so much to those who have read my column over the two years since its birth. It has been fun writing them, and I will miss it. Anyone in need of good books to read over the summer or in your spare time, e-mail me for suggestions.

For questions, comments or feedback, e-mail me at Batty_forlife@yahoo.com

09

MAY

Clara Humke

Stuttgart, Germany

For senior Clara Humke, a language barrier was only a minor setback during her first months as an exchange student.

“At the beginning, you just listen,” Humke said. “Then when you want to say something, it’s already the next topic.”

Humke, although frustrated at first, has progressed to become nearly fluent in English during her time in America.

As an exchange student, it took Humke about two months to become comfortable with her English, but she can now speak with “no problem.”

“Everyone just talks really fast and think you understand,” Humke said. ”So at first you just say yes to everything.”

It has been easier for Humke to talk to her host family than other students because they talk much more slowly.

Although Humke has nearly mastered the language, she has had difficulty learning slang terms and adjusting to the fastpaced speech of other students.

“I think I’m fluent in English with a lot of mistakes and an accent,” Humke said.

Fatima Musa

Kaduna, Nigeria

Senior Fatima Musa came to the United States because of her father.

“He just wanted me to experience going out of the country,” Musa said.

In Nigeria, Musa studies many of the same subjects as students here. Back home, Musa studies biology, chemistry, geography, and math.

A difference between school here in Nigeria is that she also studies religion.

“We have three main religions,” Musa said. “We have Christianity, Islam and traditional religion.”

Half of her school practices Christianity, and half practices Islam. Musa said the traditional religion is the religion practiced by the natives. She studies mostly Christianity and Islam, because the traditional don’t believe in education.

Muslims practice Salah, or ritual prayer - one of the five pillars of the Islamic religion - five times each day facing Mecca.

“I have to (pray during the day), but I don’t have a place to do it (at this school),” Musa said.

Even though Musa is Islamic and visiting a dominantly Christian school, she does not feel ostracized.

“We are all the same,” Musa said. “I just think everyone is the same.”

DOUBLETRUCK

Simas Petrauskas Utena, Lithuania

With little previous experience, Simas Petrauskas is in an advanced art class and has an award-winning T-shirt design.

“I just took a class and decided I liked it,” Petrauskas said. “There’s opportunity here, opportunity there; I wanted to try everything.”

Petrauskas had almost no art experience before coming here. “It was just once a week for a couple hours,” Petrauskas said.

Petrauskas has taken Drawing and Design 1 and is currently in Design 2, which is an advanced class.

“It’s a lot of thinking, counting; everything has to be involved,” Petrauskas said.

Petrauskas has been able to showcase his work.

“I was in the downtown exhibition, so my picture was there,” Petrauskas said. “I also had the opportunity to design a logo for the Green Days T-shirt; there were like two or three (finalists), and I was one of them, and I won.”

Petrauskas wants to expand his horizons even more. “(There are) many things I haven’t tried, like photography and painting,” Petrauskas said.

Leyla Uzbekova

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Ufa, Russia

America wasn’t what foreign exchange student Leyla Uzbekova expected.

Des Moines, with a population of some 500,000 people, is about half the size of Uzbekova’s hometown.

“I thought America had lots of big cities, but I lived in a small city (Des Moines),” Uzbekova said. “New York and all big cities are stereotypes.”

Public transportation is also one of the biggest differences between Des Moines and Uzbekova’s hometown, where people use buses and subways to get around.

“We always use a car,” Uzbekova said.

The lack of public transportation has been the biggest change for her, in addition to missing her friends and family.

This is one of the hardest adjustments because she is constantly dependant on others for rides. One thing that has helped Uzbekova adjust to these differences is her host family.

Uzbekova quickly found out another perception of America is not true.

“A lot of people think America is a fast food nation and there are lots of fat people,” Uzbekova said. “But really it’s about the same as in Russia.”

The Faces from Far-Away Places Foreign exchange students share experiences

Students from all over the globe come to Johnston to stay with host families for one year and attend school. This year, five students from three continents and five different countries visited. Here, they share their experiences in America and reflect on the differences between Johnston and their hometowns.

In Russia, Germany, and NIgeria, it is the teachers who move from classroom to classroom. Students stay in the same room all day.

Sakura Nakishima

Hamamatsu, Japan

Sakura Nakishima makes it clear that Americans are very different from the Japanese.

“You have more freedom; you can go anywhere you want,” she said.

Nakashima said this because, in Japan, she has to be 18 before she can receive her license. Since Nakashima turned 18 while in America, she has yet to receive her license.

“I just have to ride my bike to school,” Nakashima said. “It just takes me 10 minutes, but for some of my friends it takes an hour. You go from station to station.

You ride your bike to the train station, and then take the train station to the bus station.”

To get a driver’s license, she has to go through a drivers’ education class, which she will have to pay for, as well as take a test.

“Sometimes there’s school rules saying sometimes you can’t get your license until after you graduate,” Nakashima said.

“You could get your motorcycle license when you’re 16, but if schools won’t allow it, then you can’t.”

The difficulty of not having her own car increases with weekends. “On the weekend, we ride our bikes or take the bus,” Nakishima said. “Sometimes we ask our parents for rides, but mainly it’s by yourself.”

Unfortunately, Nakashima cannot apply for a license in America.

“If I could, I would take my drivers license here, but I can’t,” Nakishima said. ”I don’t know how many times I wish I could drive; I can’t go anywhere without a car. It’s really frustrating sometimes.”

Humke and Uzbekova use the computer program Skype to communicate with their families back home.

The program allows the students to see a live video feed of the family while they are talking to them. The girls talk to their families every one or two weeks.

In these foreign countries, the students are not allowed to choose their own classes.

Compiled by Amy Lovejoy (staff writer), Lauren Coffey (staff writer), Brittany Deal (editor-in-chief), and Chelsea Nelson (staff writer). Photos of students taken by Amy Lovejoy and Lauren Coffey. Map provided by Travel Portal Web site.

09

ENTERTAINMENT

MAY

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Blast from the past

Page compiled by Shawna Polen Bill Nye photo provided by www.billnye.com Yu-Gi-Oh photos provided by 4Kids Entertainment Inc.

Pokemon TV

G

Yu-Gi-Oh TV

Y7

Bill Nye the Science Guy TV

Y7

TV Guide

Released in the US in 1998, Pokemon stormed the TV, store shelves and children’s minds. Everything was “Pokemon” this and “Pokemon” that.

Over the years, “Pokemon” has come a long way. In 1998, the first 151 Pokemon were born. In 2000, 100 more were added, 135 were added in 2003 and 107 were added in 2006.

So far, 11 movies have been created, with the twelfth coming in July of this year.

You can still “Catch ‘em all” on channel 31 (Cartoon Network) at 7 a.m. Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. on Saturdays and 6:30 a.m. on Sundays.

“I still play all the gameboy games; my favorite is Pokemon Gold. My favorite Pokemon would have to be Mew.”

The ever-popular Duel Monsters game of “Yu-Gi-Oh” surfaced in 2001. Card games seemed to be the money-making product in the ‘90s and early 2000s.

After watching the anime, children and teens built their own duel monster decks to compete with each other, and most still have and collect them.

The original anime ended in 2006 after 224 episodes, but “Yu-Gi-Oh” isn’t done yet. “Yu-Gi-Oh GX” came along in 2005. Next up, “Yu-Gi-Oh 5D’s” was created in 2008. “Yu-Gi-Oh R” is the newest addition set to release in October 2009.

Continue the duel on 4 Kids TV, channel 17/ 6 (non-cable/ cable). The original “Yu-Gi-Oh” can be watched online on the 4 Kids Web site and YouTube.

“I remember getting up at 6:30 a.m. on Saturdays to watch the 7 (a.m.) showing and then have to wait until 11 (a.m.) for the next episode. My favorite monster would have to be Dark Paladin.”

Alex Erb - 11

“Bill Nye the Science Guy” was insanely popular with the younger generations. Nye always made learning fun with crazy experiments and awesome adventures.

“Bill Nye the Science Guy” originally aired on weekends in 1993-1997, and later on PBS five nights a week. It was during this show that Nye won seven national Emmy Awards and 28 total Emmys in five years.

Schools of all grades and libraries still use videos/ episodes of “Bill Nye the Science Guy” in their teaching because you are never too old to learn from Nye. Currently, Nye hosts “The 100 Greatest Discoveries” (on the Science Channel), “The Eyes of Nye” (on PBS) and “Stuff Happens” (on the Green Network).

“In forth grade at Crossroads Elementary, all our homerooms would get together and watch Bill Nye every Friday. It was the highlight of the week. We would all sing along with the theme song.”

Joanna Kim, - 11

Adi Sehic - 12

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FEATURE

MAY

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Angeloni goes to Harvard Lauren Gehrke feature editor

Provided/Gabbi Angeloni

Junior Gabbi Angeloni watched the door of her dorm room in Cambridge, England, close. She curled up in a ball and waited for the tears to come. All alone in a foreign country, she did not have so much as a phone to call her parents. Luckily for Angeloni, her first-night experience did not re-occur.

“I went (to summer college) last year, so that is why I decided to go this year,” Angeloni said. “I get bored in the summer, and I hate sitting around and doing nothing.”

Angeloni said that Cornell, which she attended last summer, was easier because she was in the same country as her parents and could talk to them everyday.

“It was hard to be away from (my family),” Angeloni said. “England was bad because I had no phone. It was a lot harder than I thought it would be.”

Going to Cornell was different for Angeloni. She had a roommate, and they stayed up late talking all about their lives.

She has studied several different subjects, such as Introduction to Political Philosophy, Intro into Archeology, Latin I and British Culture. This year, she is studying Intro to International Relations and Archeology of Harvard Young.

“Intro into Archeology and Latin I were my favorites,” Angeloni said. “The professors were really cool.”

Angeloni’s professor for archaeology was one of her favorites.

“We went on this special trip to Stonehenge (where we got to go inside the circle) and Avebury,” Angeloni said. “While we were at Avebury, I was singing ‘The Raiders March’ (Indiana Jones theme song), and she joined in!”

While at Cornell, Angeloni met Professor

Far left: Junior Gabbi Angeloni takes a trip to the Roman Baths in England. Top left: Angeloni (center) and friends at Newnam College in Cambridge. Bottom left: In Avebusey, England, Angeloni (left) and friends jump a gate.

Kramnick. The very first day, the professor told something to the class that really stuck with Angeloni. “‘Of all the people there are in the world, only about one percent have the opportunity that you have today. You all make up the one percent that have the opportunity to get a college education,’” Kramnick said.

Angeloni’s Latin professor was another favorite. He was an old British man who knew about “a bajillion” languages.

So far, Angeloni has earned 16 college credits, and at the end of this year she will have 24. But going to college across the country is not as easy as it sounds.

She got to hang out and tour around the areas while she was there. Angeloni made lots of new friends, one of whom is going to Harvard with her. She keeps in touch with most of the people she met there.

Angeloni said that going to these colleges in the summer has made her want to go to college sooner.

“Going to these colleges has made me nerdier,” Angeloni said. “Harvard’s my dream school. I’ve wanted to go there since I was six.”

This summer, Angeloni is going to Harvard in Boston, MA. Last year she went to Cornell University in Ithaca, NY, and Cambridge University in Cambridge, England.

Angeloni spent three weeks at Cornell and three weeks at Cambridge, and this summer she is spending eight weeks in Boston.

Angeloni wants have a double major in history and natural studies and a minor in biology, political science, anthropology or classic civilization.

Infinite Campus helps students, teachers Matt Knoedel staff writer

You can find junior Alex Knee checking Infinite Campus multiple times each day, even during his Extended Learning Program class. Some students are obsessed with Infinite Campus, but others in the district have mixed feelings about the program.

The school began using Infinite Campus last year to help students with class schedules, assignments, attendance and course registration. Infinite Campus most directly affects students. Some students don’t like it, while others cannot imagine going without it. Junior Bailey Petersma thinks that Infinite Campus has been helpful.

“Before Infinite Campus, we had to ask teachers what our grades were or wait for the biweekly grade printout updates,” Petersma said. “Now we can see our grades whenever we want.”

Infinite Campus lets students monitor their grades to see how they are doing on a daily basis, not just at midterms or the end of each quarter. Sophomore Hank Mandsager uses Infinite Campus to check his grades whenever he wants.

“I like how it tells you your current grade for the quarter so you know if you need to improve or not,” Mandsager said.

Another way Infinite Campus benefits students is it can help them spot mistakes that teachers make while entering grades and can prevent the mistakes from becoming a problem early. Senior Linda Brown doesn’t like it when teachers incorrectly enter information in Infinite Campus.

“Teachers are usually really good about fixing mistakes, but if you don’t get on it every week, they won’t always fix

their mistakes if they happen a long time ago,” Brown said.

Another thing students don’t like about Infinite Campus is how some teachers won’t post grades until several weeks after the assignment is turned in.

“Infinite Campus is a useful system that isn’t being used to its full potential,” junior Tanner Gardiner said. “Some teachers update Infinite Campus hourly, while other teachers hardly post anything at all.”

One way that Infinite Campus isn’t being used to its full potential is the lack of an automatic dialing system. The computer automatically dials parents when students do not show up for class. Business teacher Kayla Bousum thinks it would help keep students in school.

“I wish they would have an automatic dialer which would call parents if you had an unexcused absence,” Bousum said.

“It would be easier on the attendance office.”

Infinite Campus has affected teachers. Some teachers like using it as a helpful tool. Gerald Hollingsworth uses Infinite Campus to inform students of their assignments, due dates and grades.

“I like Infinite Campus because it’s 24/7 access for both instructor and student, especially the absent student,” Hollingsworth said. “Students who are gone can get the work online immediately.”

While Hollingsworth likes Infinite Campus, it can be a hassle to update everyday.

“Entering descriptions of assignments takes a lot of time, and that’s not including grades,” Hollingsworth said.

Students and teachers all have likes and dislikes about Infinite Campus. It can either be helpful or a hassle and sometimes a bit of both. Whatever your perspective, Infinite Campus is here to stay, at least for one more year.

Matt Knoedel/BW

Junior Austin Clements cheecks his infinite campus account in the library.

{F.A.Q.}

Frequently Asked Questions

do I do if I forget or misplace my username and/or (What password after school starts?

Contact Ann Wiley to get your username and/or password reset. Ann Wiley can be contacted on the Johnston Web site.

Can I change my username and password?

User names cannot be changed, but passwords can be changed from the Change Account Info link (left frame).

How can I update my information?

Click on the Family Link to see demographic information. This information can be updated at the school level. Grade questions should be addressed by the course teacher. Attendance and fee questions should be addressed by the office.

( (

Provided/Johnston Web site

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PAGE

Farmers’ market offers food, fun Kelly McGowan staff writer

Waiting in line for my grilled potato and vegetable cutlet and cold lemonade from the stand named “Saloo’s Cooking” at the Downtown Des Moines Farmers’ Market, I had a moment to take in the atmosphere on Court Avenue. I decide that the farmers market is a great way to spend a sunny Sat-

Kelly McGowan/BW

An entertainer plays jazz at the Downtown Des Moines farmers market. A new program has been put in place called Grapevine Tunes, an opportunity for young entertainers to perform at the market.

urday morning, surrounded by five live bands, 30,000 visitors walking lots of dogs and nearly 200 vendor stands.

“It’s sort of like an upscale Iowa State Fair,” senior Nickie Meyer said.

There are places to buy food, produce, plants, crafts and other items from local vendors.

“It’s like going to the organic aisle at Hy-Vee, but cheaper, and there are lots of vegetables nobody has ever heard of, that most grocers don’t carry,” Meyer said.

Some benefits the farmers’ market has over a grocery store is that items are generally fresher, and healthier options, like organic and all-natural, are available.

“You get to meet the producer; you can ask them how it was raised, about additives, hormones, and what the animals were fed,” Kelly Foss, director of special events, said.

Along with the large selection of items, it offers a great opportunity get a feel for the culture of downtown Des Moines.

For example, many visitors bring dogs to the market.

“It’s a lot of fun. I bring [my dog] Scarlet all the time,” Meyer said. “It’s where people bring their dogs to show off, and it really adds to the fun atmosphere.”

Farmers’ markets are known for their environmental consciousness. Its saves on pollution due to shipping because all the vendors are local, and products don’t have to be shipped across the country. Re-usable bags are also available.

“We have re-usable shopping bags available at the information booth, which will encourage people to use fewer and fewer plastic bags,” Foss said.

The market has many ways for high school people to get involved. Along with recruiting volunteers for various tasks through out the market, there is a program called Grapevine Tunes. This gives elementary to high school age musicians a chance to play at the market for one hour each month.

“We created this program to energize youth to give it a shot and play for the community out in the open for an audience,” Foss said. “Many people do acoustic performances, but we do have access to power if necessary.”

For more information on auditioning and scheduling, have a music instructor call Kelly Foss at 515-286-4928.

Downtown Market Glossary *organic-

developed using diversity in the field to disrupt pest’s habitat. Synthetic pesticides and fertilizers aren’t used.

{PRODUCE & HONEYsoder apiaries *chemical free- did not have any chemicals such as artificial fertilizers added.

{PRODUCE boss bee garden center *free range- from an animal which was allowed to roam in the open air.

{EGGS westrum produce *heirloom- seeds have been passed through seasons for flavor, beauty and pest resistance. {TOMATOES coyote run farm

*all natural- no USDA definition, but usually has no false additives or preservatives.

{BEEF & PORK

the harvest barn

The downtown Des Moines farmers’ market had 30,000 visitors its opening day May 2, and will continue every Saturday from 7 a.m. to noon until Oct. 31.

There are also other local markets going on during the summer. Valley Junction has one on Thursdays from 4 to 8 p.m. at Fifth Street and Railroad Park. Local bands play live music at the end of the market.

West Glen has a new farmers’ market on Saturdays from 10 to 2 p.m. on the Avenue of the Arts.

Urbandale recently changed the location of theirs to Living History Farms. It takes place Mondays from 4 to 7 p.m.

Pic

A lot of high school students dream of owning their own business one day, but to senior Staci Smith, that dream is a reality.

The Tropical Sno stand was first opened the first week in June last summer, although this summer will be the first time Smith takes on the responsibility of her own stand.

“My brother has an internship, and he’s really busy with work,” Smith said, “so he can’t help me run it.”

Smith says the hardest part of running her own stand is trying to figure out where to buy supplies. “You have to call around a lot,” Smith said.

She believes the best part about owning her own business is making her own decisions.

“I can do it the way I want it to get done,” Smith said. “When I think of an idea, I don’t have to ask anyone’s permission; I can just try it out.”

Some of her new ideas include catering Tropical Sno at events like graduation parties and sporting events. Johnston Little League asked her to bring the stand every Saturday this summer during games.

ci’ s

staff writer

Smith also gets to hire her own employees. “I don’t have applications,” Smith said.

“I like to hire people I know because I know they’re honest.”

Some of Smith’s other duties include getting to work a half an hour early to set up ice and refill syrups. She is busy all day shaving ice and helping customers. At the end of the night she washes everything down, deposits the money and locks up. “I feel like I’m always on duty,” Smith said.

When asked about future business plans, Smith said she’ll run the stand a year or two into college, but she says she’ll end up handing the store off to her younger brother, freshman Andy Smith. She’s not thinking on going into business either.

This year there will only be one Tropical Sno location in Johnston. Last year, the Smiths owned locations in both Johnston and Grimes. Staci says it’s too hard to run both stands by herself. “Last summer, I had to open and close both locations every day,” Smith said.

Smith is planning on opening the stand the first week in June. Hours will be Monday through Saturday, 1-10 p.m. If you are interested in buying a Tropical Sno T-shirt, they will be available upon request.

Sta

Jocelyn Schneider

ks

Senior takes on own summer business Creamsicle

Candy Apple

Ocean Pacific

Peach Razmatazz

50% orange 50% vanilla

50% apple 50% cinnamon

50% blue raspberry 40% vanilla 10% lemon

80% peach 20% red raspberry

Provided/Staci Smith

Senior Staci Smith sells shaved ice cones from her portable stand temporaraly located at the Johnston soccer fields. Smith will cater Tropical Sno at other local events this summer.

15

FEATURE

09

MAY

PAGE

Kyle conquers keys exceptionally well Kelsey Kruse staff writer

On the left plays an orchestra, and to the right sits a large audience. Center stage, sitting up straight on a piano bench, plays sophomore Kyle Naig. Naig is no stranger to the keys of a piano, but being accompanied by an orchestra is new to him and a little unnerving.

On March 1, Naig received the honor of playing piano alongside the Central Iowa Symphony. Out of sixteen contestants, Naig was one of three winners to be selected by a panel of judges. “Whenever a pianist plays with the Central Iowa Symphony it is almost like they have a god-like status.

It is amazing to watch, and I thought it was cool to do that for myself,” Naig said.

In January, Naig competed in the Iowa Music Teachers Association solo piano competition. “The IMTA competition is the pinnacle of what you can win in Iowa for soloist pianists,” Naig said. “It is a very stiff competition.” Naig competed at the district level in Ames with the highest level of playing ability, level six, and won.

On March 14, Naig competed at the state level against high school pianists who had also won preliminary auditions in their districts. Naig was one of two pianists to win the Iowa Music Teachers Association State auditions.

Piano has always been in Naig’s life. “I was around it so much when I was little,” Naig said. “My mom taught me piano from when I was 3, up until third grade.”

Naig’s mom, Dana Quick-Naig, said that now she leaves the piano playing to him. “(Kyle) played with the Central Iowa Symphony in March. I have never done anything like that in my life. To see him get up on stage and play, was very impressive. He is only 15. I know adults that can’t do that.”

Picking up where Naig’s mom left off is Naig’s current lesson teacher, William David, Professor of Music at Iowa State University. “My piano teacher inspires me because he is always working on something music wise. I find it pretty amazing,” Naig said.

David thinks highly of Naig as well.“(Kyle) is eager to learn and to improve. He is always prepared for lessons and genu-

Kelsey Kruse/BW

Sophomore Kyle Naig records himself playing piano to sumbit for possible summer camp auditions and competitions. Naig played in the auditorium before school on Tuesday May 5. inely loves playing the piano,” David said.

Naig likes how music gives him a variety of choices.

“There are many different musical avenues to pursue. There are different aspects like accompanying, solo music, playing with an orchestra, jazz or even rock,” Naig said. “Now classical music I would put in quotes because there is a tough definition of what classical music is. Most people think of Mozart, but it’s more than that. Classical music can be turbulent, or late 1800’s romantic stuff, even just crashing on the

piano. I really do enjoy it all.”

However, Naig said, “I have a particular like for modern music, which lots of people would call weird. I like it because it doesn’t have an obvious melody.”

To challenge Naig, David said he assigns him music of ever-increasing difficulty.

“When tackling a new piece I get discouraged because I start thinking the music is far more difficult than what I can play. But I practice a lot and I like the end result.”

New life, experience for Weeks’ family Stephanie Ivankovich news editor

“

Provided/Heath Weeks

Do I know what I’m doing?

No, but I’m enjoying the learning process.

- Farmer Heath

”

(Above) Heath Weeks completes the clearing of roses on his first pasture of the farm. (Upper right) Part of the Week’s farm is a pond of mud. (Lower right) The “panda cow” on Weeks’ farm.

With a shovel in his hand, surrounded by 80 acres of nature, substitute teacher, varsity boys’ soccer coach and farmer Heath Weeks, digs up thistles as part of his day on his farm.

Last July, Weeks and his wife moved from hometown New Mexico to Iowa to inherit his grandfather’s 80-acre farm in Indianola.

“I have been around a farm all my life growing up, visiting my grandpa on the farm, this is something I wanted to do since I was a kid,” Weeks said. “It is nice to be in nature, away from traffic, the city and people. It is nice to be emerged in nature, this is a big draw for me.”

Week’s wife Adrienne, has never had any experience on a farm, but enjoys it.

“The pond and the hickory forest along the east side of the farm. They are both peaceful,” Adrienne said. Adrienne wants to help with the garden and planting this year.

When he lived in New Mexico he taught and coached for four years. “Biology was what I majored in, it is to move out of the classroom to use it,” Heath said.

Outside of being on a farm as a kid, Weeks has never farmed before. “I don’t know how

to farm,” Heath said. “I learn a lot from Grandpa, he lives on both farms. I want to learn as much about it as I could (from him).

Most farmers grow up on a farm so I have some catching up. The best way to learn is by doing.”

In order to remember his days on the farm, Heath created a blog: http://heathonthefarm.blogspot.com/. “I toyed with the idea to write a book,” Heath said. “I wanted a record of what happened on the farm, (I think) people would find it interesting. The farm is a big change, adventure, it was fun to chronic that.” Friends, family and anyone who knows about the farm read the blog.

While farming, Heath has three goals.

“One goal is to have a little vineyard for grapes in the spring,” Heath said. “I would like to turn part of the farm into a tall grass prairie. (I would also like) to have a large garden to sell stuff at the farmer’s market in Des Moines.”

Heath always wanted to be a farmer.

“When I was a kid I wanted to grow up to be a farmer,” Heath said. “I would run around it, it was a natural playground. I want my kids to experience the farm.”

Weeks does not live on the farm as of now.

“Eventually I will live on the farm, but that is in awhile. I would never want to sell the farm,” Heath said.

16

ross

DUNGEON

PAGE

Jennifer & Brian

09

MAY

are boss

Jennifer and Brian Ross have more in common than their blood. They both play soccer. They participated in state tournaments. They both dominate.

J

Olivia Schiefelbein/Dragon

‘10

ennifer

basketball. soccer.

Awards:

Basketball: Honorable mention in central conference, two varsity letters.

Soccer: Honorable mention in conference freshman and sophomore year, two varsity letters.

Are you and your brother competitive when it comes to soccer?

We play each other once in awhile and it can get pretty rough sometimes.

Is there much sibling rivalry at home?

We are competitive people. And when we play one-on-one in anything it gets pretty heated, but we still have a good relationship.

Were your parents athletic in high school? Do you think that is why you and your brother are athletic?

No my parents weren’t really athletic at all. My dad never started a basketball game even though he played and my mom ran throughout high school but was never a standout.

What made you start playing these sports?

B

‘12

Julia Manning/BW

rian

swimming. soccer.

Awards:

Hardest worker, Academic All-Conference, Member of All-American Relay Team, Rookie of the year.

Could Jennifer ever beat you in swimming?

How about soccer?

Jennifer could never really keep up in swimming. When we were little she would beat me in soccer, but it’s more competitive between us now.

Do your parents push you to be competitive?

Our parents always want us to do our best, but I think we put more pressure on ourselves than anyone else.

Are you and Jennifer competitive at home?

Yes we’re competitive at home. Random things like Ping-pong or PS2 games.

Do you look up to Jennifer? Do you aspire to be like her?

I look up to her for how hard she works at things, but I wouldn’t say that I aspire to be like her.

I enjoy playing them and many of my friends play also. So it makes playing much more enjoyable.

Compiled by Brennan Winget (Staff Writer) and Jeremy Mullen (Managing Editor); cut-out photos by Julia Manning (Sports Editor)

09

MAY

SPORTS

Big Hits & sports bits

17

PAGE

Spring/Summer Sports

(Jenny Ajluni ‘09) Kyle Soyer/BW

[Baseball/Softball]

5/26 Marshalltown @ home (B) 5/29 Mason City @ home (B/S) 6/2 @ East (S)

[Girls Tennis]

[Boys Tennis]

(3-4)

(5-5) 5/29-30 state

(Jacob Wood ’10) Kiera Morrill/BW

5/23 team regionals

Colin Schares and partner Ben Warrick will compete

[Girls Soccer] (9-2)

5/29 Ames @ home 6/11-13 State

[Boys Soccer] (6-7)

(Collin Schares‘11) Amanda Gabbert/ Dragon

5/28 Substate final @UHS 6/4-6 Substate final

(Meridith Freese ‘10) Kiera Morrill/BW

(Josh Dicken ‘12)

(Colleen Shannon ‘09)

Julia Manning/BW

Julia Manning/BW

(James Tran ‘10) Julia Manning/BW

[Boys Track]

[Girls Track]

(6th @ conference ) 5/22 state

(1st @ conference)

5/22 state

[Girls Golf] (2nd @ conference)

(Felicia Coleman ‘10) Julia Manning/BW

5/25--Districts @ Jester compiled by Julia Manning, sports editor

09

SPORTS

MAY

18

PAGE

Kurns dominates at state Brittany Deal editor in chief

Senior Anna Kurns entered the state archery tournament determined to win.

“I got my drive from Lindsey Tosch who graduated last year and won (the senior scholarship),” Kurns said. “That was one of my big reasons about doing (archery) this year because I knew I was a senior.”

On the day of state, it was raining. A crowded line of people lined up outside Vets Auditorium. When the doors unlocked, Kurns walked into the state competition and observed the “eerie” setting. She noticed a huge, open space for students to shoot in, with targets at one end and bleachers at the other. The bleachers were full of excited teams and anxious parents waiting to see their sons and daughters compete.

“I was in the first round, and not having Beason there right away when we got there was very unnerving,” Kurns said.

Coach Dave Beason had to stop by the school to pick up the equipment for the competition. When he arrived at Vets Auditorium minutes later, the team was able to focus on the competition ahead.

“There isn’t a lot of warming up to do, just making sure everything is alright with your bow,” Kurns said. “I’ve been using the same and I wanted to make sure everything was okay with it, because that would have affected me a lot.”

Kurns went on to score 273 out of 300 points at state.

However, Kurns was not able to stick around to hear how she placed overall. Immediately after competing, she went to Sioux City for a show choir competition.

“I was up in Sioux City, and after we got done with our first day show, I checked my phone and got a message (from Beason),” Kurns said. “I called him back and prepared myself to be let down again because I’ve never won anything like this.”

Her doubts were proven wrong. She was awarded the Iowa State Archery Association and Iowa Bowhunters Association $1,000

0:00 “

Overtime

Always keep an open mind and a compassionate heart.

”

- Coach Phil Jackson

Yet another quality column by Scott Monroe

Class Trumps Talent

The world of sports is evolving. There are many things that are common in 2009 that would have been viewed as absurd 30, 20, even 10 years ago. Isaiah Thomas, who played his last NBA season in 1994, would have been looked down upon if he ever decided to quit just because he wasn’t a start-

Scholarship for being the top ranking senior girl at state.

“I basically screamed and jumped like ten feet in the air and he was laughing and I was still screaming,” Kurns said.

Kurns wasn’t the only one to achieve success that day. The team as a whole qualified for nationals by shooting 3,038 and placing third at state.

The team began practicing archery in January during a unit in Beason’s Track 2 P.E. class. Students interested in competing met with Beason before school to prepare.

“I think we definitely have enough student interest here that it definitely warrants being a school activity,” Beason said.

Other students that scored well included brothers Drew Jackson, junior, and Dakota Jackson, eighth grader. Dakota placed third overall at the junior high level. Drew placed fourth overall at the high school level.

Although the team qualified for nationals May 8-9 in Louisville, Kentucky, it did not attend. Beason was unable to take the team, and the students did not find a replacement chaperone.

Members of the team felt disappointed about not having the opportunity to compete. Yet, there was a mutual understanding of the reasons why they could not go.

“I kind of wanted to go just out of senior year as a fairy-tale ending,” Kurns said, “but it would’ve cost a lot and we would’ve had to take 16 people, which would’ve been a charter bus full of people, which would’ve also been very expensive.”

Beason brainstormed ideas for the future.

“I would like to have a coach in place to take them to these meets,” Beason said.

Beason plans to hold the archery unit in gym earlier in the year “to give the students a little more practice time” before competition.

As for Kurns, she will be using her scholarship towards pursuing an English degree at Iowa State University. She also plans to join the ISU archery club.

“I’m really excited to come back next year and see who’s next in line,” Kurns said.

Anna Kurns won the Iowa State Archery Association and Iowa Bowhunters Association $1,000 Scholarship by scoring 273 points at state.

er. Yet Allen Iverson can quit on the exact same team 15 years later, and no one notices.

Although it is hard to ignore such eyesores, there is hope. They aren’t in the majority, but there are many players out there who set good examples every time they compete.

And those are the athletes that our generation needs to focus on.

Recently, a 24-year-old kid was presented with an award for his achievements during his basketball season. When presented with the trophy, he turned to his supporters, and emotionally thanked them for all they have done for him. His mom cried. She isn’t even 40 yet. He never had a dad. His family couldn’t afford college. And yet he looked all these obstacles right in the eye, and kept on practicing. Ever since he started playing basketball, he was set on being a good person, on and off of the court. All the hard work has finally paid off, and it showed as LeBron James accepted the Most Valuable Player Award from the NBA in front of 20,562 fans

at Quicken Loans Arena.

That is the type of person we need to look up to. Instead of talking about players who quit on their team, can we please focus on the bright side of sports? LeBron James, Derek Jeter, Colt McCoy; all of those players are great role models. I would do anything to be half of what they are when it comes to character. I don’t care if Ron Artest got in another fight. He averages two per game. What I do care about, however, is the fact that when approached by Artest, Kobe Bryant walked away, refusing to argue with the menace.

That is a perfect example of doing the right thing.

I remember five years ago, when Johnston played Dowling in substate. These games have a tendency to get physical, but this went overboard. There was a point in time when a Dragon player rebounded the ball, and immediately a Dowling player jumped on top of him out of frustration. At the time, I thought it was the sweetest thing I had ever

Brittany Deal/BW

seen in sports. But looking back, it was a horrible display of judgment. If I remember correctly, that game went into overtime, and Johnston ended up winning. Who knows what would have happened if that Dowling player hadn’t been ejected. Bad sportsmanship not only affects the fan base, it also affects the team, and at times very drastically.

Don’t get me wrong; I live for dramatic moments in sports. From Michael Jordan’s legendary buzzer-beater in 1989, to Johnston’s comeback state tournament win against rival Urbandale in 2009, I’ve cherished them all. But these moments are shadowed by poor decisions made by athletes. Professional athletes in a lot of cases. In this day and age, someone cheating makes 30 times as many headlines than a player donating to a community for the heck of it. And that is something that needs to change. Thank you, LeBron, for at least doing your part in trying to stop the madness. Maybe somebody, someday, will catch on.

09

HEALTH

MAY

juice HOW CAN

HELP YOU

Two employees at Fuel blend ingredients to make smoothies.

Certain ingredients are used with the purpose of enhancing your work out.

juice TRY A

BAR

FUEL HOURS

mon.-thurs. 10-8 fri. and sat.10-9 sun. 12-5

On Aug. 15, 2008, Fuel For Body & Mind opened its doors to the hip, young people in the West Glen area. Bomi Mistry, manager and store owner, chose that specific area in hopes that he would find a young audience who cared about their health, just as he did. His philosophy for the store? To promote health and wellness. Fuel focuses its menu around a daily workout with recovery and performance shakes, FUEL boosts and real frozen yogurt. Drinking a Fuel shake during a workout or 30 minutes after a workout will allow you to burn more calories than if you worked out on an empty stomach.

19

PAGE

Everyone and their mother knows that fruits and vegetables are good for you and can help the body stay healthy and help protect you from disease.

However, getting the nine servings a day experts recommend can be tough for most. Thankfully, juice can help fill some of the void in your diet. A simple 3/4-cup of juice can have an entire serving of either fruit or veggies.

How does drinking a juice stack up against its whole fruit counterpart?

Juice does in fact provide many of the same nutritional benefits one would get from eating the whole fruit or vegetable. However, what you can get out of each glass can vary and depends on what you add to the juice (i.e. sugar).

Sadly, you can’t get everything out of that fruit or veggie from the juice. A key loss when drinking a glass of juice is the fiber, which can be great if you have some cholesterol problems and can also regulate your digestive system.

Even when drinking 100% juice, the extraction of the fiber and other components not going into the juice leave you with a higher concentration of sugar.

But don’t let that steer you away from juice. On top of getting your servings, many juices contain potassium, which is great for balancing sodium in your diet and keeping your blood pressure down. Vitamin C is also a common find in fruits and helps prevent infection, builds your immune system and helps the body absorb iron. Vitamin A, which can benefit both your eyes and skin, is also in most drinks.

Try juice today to reap these benefits and more. You just might like what juice can do for you.

juice FACTS

juice

MANGO TANGO recovery shake CALS: 312.07 CARBS: 77.32 PROTEIN: .55 FAT: 0

BODY BUILDER performance shake CALS: 354.64 CARBS: 38.84 PROTEIN: 46.8 FAT: 1

BESIDES

Wheatgrass juice is squeezed from red wheatberry seed sprouts. Juice Co., located in Shops at Roosevelt, is best known for carrying this powerful drink. Its enormous health benefits make living healthy more convenient. There are countless advantages of taking wheatgrass, due to the high levels of chlorophyll, active enzymes and vitamins. Most people choose to take wheatgrass juice in shots, because of its strong earthy taste. Juice Co. also offers wheatgrass as frozen shots, for better availability, and smoothies to drown out some of the taste. Wheatgrass is proven to help prevent tooth decay, purify the liver, keep hair from graying, and aid in the prevention of cancer.

compiled by Haley Johnson (backpage editor), Caroline Byrd (opinion editor), and Kiera Morrill (photo editor)

09

20

BACKPAGE

MAY

Myth If the teacher is not in the classroom 10 minutes after the bell rings, the students are allowed to leave.

PAGE

] s r e st

u b [

“That is true in college, but that’s not allowed here. If a teacher’s not in a class, a student should go down to an office so that we can contact them.”

-Jan Bjurstrom

There is an underground tunnel that runs underneath the parking lot, connecting the high school and the middle school.

“I am 90% sure that the tunnel has to do with the heating and cooling system. I know that it is big enough for a person to fit down there because the custodians go down there.”

-Patrick Kearney

Students can call themselves in absent to school if they are 18 years old.

“That is something we get all the time, but no.

They can only (do this) if they are emancipated from their parents, but not if they are living at home.”

-Liz Sullivan

Fire alarms squirt out ink on the hands of anyone who pulls them.

If students do not use up all their lunch money by the end of the year the school keeps the money.

“No, we go through all the accounts each summer. If there is money left, we contact the parents, and it is either put into a sibling’s account or sent to the home in a check.”

-LaRae Doll

“The fire alarms do not spit out blue ink; however, there is a substance that can be put on them to avoid students pulling the fire alarms as a prank and getting away with it.”

-Randy Klein

compiled by Evan Culbert (staff writer) and Haley Johnson (backpage editor).