September 2008

one copy free

Buller wins one year term for board Stephanie Ivankovich

Elected members

Jackie Heiser

636 votes One-year term

929 votes Three-year term

Jill Morrill

Tyler Buller, 20, 2006 graduate won a one-year term to the school board by votes on Sept. 9th, “I was watching the results come in online with Jill Morrill,” Buller said, “and I was truly surprised that I had won. The precincts came in and I was down for about four precincts before the final precinct was called in, which put me ahead 16 votes. I remember having to call Jill’s daughter down to make sure that we were reading the results right. It was that close.”

Buller wants to make the communication between the school board and the students easier.

“I can bring a lot of perspective of what I went through and what my friends went through in high school,” Buller said. “I am easier to approach for students and it’s easier for me to approach students.”

Fellow 2006 graduates Brian Underwood, Peter Ostiguy and Eric Dreibelbeis helped Buller campaign.

“I have known Tyler for a long time and he has been active in the school board issues,” Dreibelbeis said. “He is really experienced in how the school board works and I am glad to help a good friend.”

Dreibelbeis helped Buller in a few different ways.

“I helped him organize an ice cream social event and helped get his name out to college students,” Dreibelbeis said. “I also knocked on doors to let everyone know about him.”

Buller contacted Dreibelbeis, Underwood and Ostiguy in the middle of July.

Tyler Buller

News Editor

982 votes Three-year term Dawn Kaosotia/Provided

Jeremy Mullen/BW

Glancing down at the voting machine, senior Ben Hjelmaas gets prepared to vote for the school board canadate he wants to be on the school board at the Johnston Evanendelical Free Church.

“We discussed the campaign strategy and Tyler’s message to the public,” Dreibelbeis said.

The candidates elected for the threeyear terms were Jackie Heiser and Jill Morrill.

This is will be Morrill’s third, threeyear term for the school board.

“I will be following up on a lot of issues,” Morrill said. “A big issue is the ninth grade electives.”

Although this is Heiser’s first year

being elected on the school board, she was appointed to it after the death of Karen Coaldrake and served for five months to fill in until the election.

“I want to see my role as being a positive communicator for everybody and work hard to say I do that,” Heiser said.

The first school board meeting will be on Sept.. 22, at 7 P.M. at the ARC.

District misses AYP, proficiency increases AMY LOVEJOY Staff Writer

The school district has failed to meet its yearly No Child Left Behind (NCLB) goal for the 2007-08 school year.

The high school failed to meet its Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) goal in math testing. 75.9 percent of juniors were proficient in math in the special education department, which is lower than the goal for the school year.

“The state trajectory for proficiency is 79.3 percent for the 2007-08 school year,” Principal Bruce Hukee said.

This means that 79.3 percent is the ideal proficiency in math testing for all Iowa school districts for the 2007-08 school year.

Although the department did not meet its goal, the non-proficiency rate of this group decreased by 2.23 percent in the last school year.

The district’s set of goals is based on the desired proficiency level of students. Students are deemed proficient when their tests scores lie in the 40th percentile or above.

Proficiency means that a student is adequately skilled in a certain subject area, and it is usually measured by a

score on a standardized test, like the ITEDS or MIALTS. It is NCLB’s goal that every student will be at a high proficiency in reading and math by the 2013-2014 school year. The state established a formula to reach 100 percent proficiency by this same time.

Right now Iowa’s proficiency level is at 79.3 percent in reading and math for all high school juniors statewide, according to annual ITED results.

Although every student in the district is subject to multiple standardized tests throughout the year, the NCLB program only pulls data from ranges of students. These ranges include students in grades 3-5, 6-8, and 11.

The ranges remain the same, so as students move throughout the district, a different group of students is tested every year.

NCLB requires that 95 percent of each subgroup within a school be tested. In order for a group of like students to qualify as a subgroup, there must be at least 40 students in that group.

Special education students, English Language Learning (ELL), and free and reduced lunch students are the main subgroups tested in the district.

The district’s goal over the past few years has been to reduce the number

of non-proficient students in all subgroups by 10 percent annually.

In order to attain this goal, each teacher is given a list of their non-proficient students, except students receiving free and reduced lunch.

The teacher is able to provide the student extra assistance or counseling, including tutoring or additional homework assignments, in hopes of improving the student’s proficiency level in the next year.

If the school falls on the watch list a second year, it will become a “district in need of improvement”.

If the district continues to produce lower proficiency rates, it will fall on the NCLB watch list.

This means the government will monitor our budget, and possibly even cut some of the district’s funding if it doesn’t continue to meet its AYP. The district will then need to look at ways to improve scores by changing classes or even the environment at the high school.

While the district may see changes if scores don’t improve, the average student may not be affected.

“The big picture is that some students are not proficient,” Hukee said.

“Our job is to make sure students have skills necessary to be successful.”

district goals Students will demonstrate increasingly higher levels of proficiency in math, science and reading.

math 95.7 percent

currently

87.43 percent

reading 94.3 percent currently

86.57 percent

science 95.5 percent currently

86.1 percent

These goals are set for the

2010-2011school year for juniors.

PAGE2

NB news briefs

Pennies for Peace Pennies for Peace is an organization that helps build schools in Central Asia.

Pennies for Peace was initiated at Johnston by history teacher Jason Jauron after he read Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortensen. Johnston is the first school in Iowa to take part in the Pennies for Peace Program.

The goal is 1,000 dollars or 100,000 pennies.

The fund-raiser is only taking pennies, nothing bigger.

“Everyone can contribute it’s just pennies,” Jauron said.

In three weeks JHS has raised 300 dollars or 30,000 pennies.

Promoting literacy in foreign remote areas is considered by Pennies for Peace, the first step to preventing terrorist recruiters , who often use the uneducated for their radical goals. The fund-raiser ends Dec. 12.

New JHS website

Johnston High School now has a new web site especially designed for students designed by webmasters.

On the web site it includes a calender of events, the daily announcements, activities, the Dragon TV segments, the lunch menu and other items located at the left part of the screen.

One can find that the site is located in the schools section of the Johnston Community School District web site.

Corrections & Clarifications The Black and White strives to be both accurate and fair. Readers who believe the paper has printed an error should call 515-278-0449.

In the August issue’s New Briefs the Students Active in Leadership (SAIL) leadership date was said to be set for the weekend of Oct. 3-5.

This date is incorrect. The actual set date is the weekend of Oct. 31rst. For more details, see page 3.

New briefs were complied by Jon Houp, Staff Writter and Stephanie Ivankovich, News Editor.

SEPT08

NEWS

Bike To School Day Lives on This time in pajamas and with fewer participants Jon Houp Staff Writer

This year’s Bike to school day was sponsored by The National Honor Society (NHS). This is mainly due to the fact that bike to school day took place the Wednesday of homecoming. The student council was being overcome with activities involving homecoming. ”The Student council was swamped and didn’t need an extra thing on their plate,” Chis Beguhn, student council advisor, said. This is where the NHS comes in. NHS was approached by teacher Kevin Schulte for some assistance.

“Mr. Schulte approached us (and told us) student council was busy this time of season with homecoming, so we saw a service opportunity,” Adam Helgeson, president of the NHS, said.

Bike to school day was created when Schulte saw bikeiowa.com do bike to work with many employers and saw the need for a healthier alternative to get to school. “(Our goal) was to show kids a healthier and cheaper alternative to driving their car,” teacher Tim Brickley, who assisted Schulte in organizing bike to school day, said.

In the springs bike to school day, Schulte and Brickley expected 200 participants and ended up with 575 participants. The event went smoothly.

“We were a little overwhelmed, but no real problems,” Brickley said.

Bike to school day will count towards NHS member’s service project quota. Their task was the logistics and planning. They helped park and keep bikes secure. The student council’s job was to promote the day and allow 200 dollars in prize raffles and give out any supplies needed. An extra twist includ-

Jordan Sandquist/ Dragon

Zach Swallow gets a braclet for the prize raffle on bike to school day. The student council gave out 200 dollars in prizes. “I got a lot of wierd looks from old people when i was riding down,” Swallow said. ed was that it was in pajama day.

“We’re hoping that people tie up their pajamas when they ride,” Brickley said.

Brickley predicted little issue with bikers in pajamas.

Bike to school day this fall had sig-

nificantly less attendance with about 200 people biking. Brickley thought this would happen due to the fall athletes needing gym bags and their other essentials There will be another bike to school day in spring like last year.

New computers take over school Kelsey Kruse Staff Writer

The high school received a total of 69 new iMac 24-inch computers. Thirteen of the new computers are in the journalism lab, 27 are in the library, and 29 are in the video-production lab. “(The new computers) are the whizbang version,” Jane Behrens, high school librarian said. “What I like about them best is that the monitor is flat and the keyboard is thin so kids have room to put their books.”

Tim Brickley, video-production teacher, said the students seem to like the new computers but have to move their heads more to see the screen at the front of the room. Behrens said the reaction she has seen from students is positive, using words like “sweet” to describe the new iMacs.

“These computers are weird. The keyboard is tiny,” sophomore Gaby Brass said when she entered the library and saw the new iMacs for the first time.

“I think (the new computers) are good for the high school because we needed our technology updated,” senior Nick Overton said.

In May 2008, Apple ran a special on 18-inch iMacs. By the time the technol-

Upgraded Computers for Downgraded Price Planned to order Actually ordered 20” iMacs 2 GHz 250 G Harddrive 1 G RAM Cost: $1099

ogy department called in the order, Apple was running low on the 18-inch model. Apple then offered the 20-inch model for the same price, but when the technology department went to order those they were also running low. Finally, Apple said they would sell the school the 24-inch model at the price of the 18-inch model.

In July the 24-inch iMacs arrived.

Horizon Elementary was due for a new lab. “District-wide it did not make sense to put those high-end machines in an elementary lab,” Anne Wiley, Instructional Technology Coordinator,

24” iMacs 2.8 GHz 500 G Harddrive 2 G RAM Cost: $1099

said.

“My staff and I got together and looked at where the needs are. We decided that the video-production and journalism labs would benefit the most,” Tom Porter, head of the technology department, said.

Along with the video-production and journalism labs, the middle school and high school libraries now have new 24-inch iMacs. Thirty of the old computers from the video-production and journalism labs are now at Summit Middle School for a new class called Media Literacy.

SEPT08

PAGE3

NEWS

Menu changes with the new cafeteria Kevin Hu Staff Writer

The scheduled date for the opening of the new cafeteria is Tuesday, September 30th.

The highly anticipated cafeteria has been in the working since spring.

Students have been eating in the temporary cafeteria, located in the new fitness centers, ever since construction started.

A change that comes along with the cafeteria will be the lunch menu and what it will offer.

“You will see a lot of the same things, along with some new things,” kitchen manager of the high school and middle school cafeterias, Boe Stoebner, said.

“Friday pasta bar will still be around, same as the soup and salad bar.”

“We will also be trying out a “Huhot” theme, called the rice bowl. We’ll have a lot of toppings and it’ll be great.

We also hope to add some new ‘hot’ items to the a la carte and other items as well, giving you a wider selection of items. We’ll be playing around with new ideas as they come.” *** “Much has changed with the new cafeteria design,” LaRae Doll, director of nutrition services, said. “The serving area is divided into 7 meal stations designed to accommodate many students during a busy meal time. There will be 1 Pizza station, 2 Classic Stations, 1 Grill (Hot Sandwich) Station, 1 Cold Sandwich Station, 1 Salad Bar, 1 Fruit & Vegetable Station and an ala carte window.”

The look and feel is different than what it used to be. “(The cafeteria has) 511 seats, combination of booths, long tables, small tables and high tables, colorful décor, many stations for meal variety and choices.” Doll said.

The cafeteria itself has been expanded in terms of service area. “The speed of everything will be much much faster,” said Boe. “The dining area will have quite a few different seating choices

The new cafeteria JD’s is coming with a new menu and design. (Above) The map of the new cafeteria. (Upper right) The dinning area of the cafeteria includes new booths and tables. (Lower right) There are different serving areas of the kitchen, the classics, soups and salads and deli. (raised bars, lined booths, etc.)”

“The cost for the (cafeteria) is estimated to be about $460,000 that also include kitchen equipment and cafeteria tables and signage,” Doll said.

The prices of food have also gone up to $2 per entrée, and $1.60 per extra entrée. “With fuel costs going up, shipping costs going up, and food prices increasing dramatically, we have done all we could to keep the prices down for quite a while,” said Boe. “We have to accommodate now.”

“We have seen the greatest increases with milk, cheese and bread items.”

Doll said. “ The new cafeteria has been in the making for several years now. “The dis-

trict has had a high school cafeteria upgrade/addition on the district facility plan for over 5 years. It takes time and money to plan for the growth the district has been experiencing. “ Doll said.

“There is much coordination involved with planning construction. Growth and money projections are forecasted.

Committees are formed to include city officials, community members, school board members, district and building administrators, teachers, students and staff of JCSD is all involved. Professional consultants are hired to help design the projects. Coordinating all of the groups and agreeing on a plan is challenging and exciting at the same time.”

“

Photobs by Dwight Lykins/ BW

We appreciate you guys being patience with all the work, and for everything you’ve put up with.We’re excited to present the new cafeteria with its new features and hope you guys like it.

“ Leadership retreat date finalized for Oct. 31 Catherine Caracci Staff Writer

The Students Active in Leadership (SAIL) retreat has been set for the weekend of Oct. 31 - Nov. 2, despite conflicts with the date.

“This is the date that works best for JHS and the Des Moines Area YMCA Camp this year,” SAIL director Dan Scannell said.

Traditionally, the retreat is held the first weekend of November. This year, athletic unions pushed start dates back, causing sports to end later than usual. Boys and girls’ state cross-country and regional swimming are Nov. 1, and club soccer tournaments also take place that weekend.

“It is difficult to find a date in the fall that doesn’t conflict with something,” SAIL director Alicia Rollison said. “The calendar didn’t present a great alternative date, so we decided just to keep it where it was.”

This is not a rare occurance for Scannell. “This happens every few years, and we always make the arrangements needed for everything to work out,” he said. “We just took a little extra time to review all the options we had to choose from and, with the help of administra-

tion, set the date.”

While making the decision, SAIL considered how many athletes would be affected each weekend and if they have been involved in the retreat before.

Last year, state volleyball players were unable to attend the retreat. “Our school’s gotten bigger; we have more activities, better teams, and tournaments every weekend,” student leader, junior Carly O’Keefe said. “We tried to find the weekend with the least conflicts.”

Rollison agreed. “We not only have to think about participants but the student population who would want to go to the event.”

Because of the conflicts, SAIL members, along with Rollison and Scannell, considered moving the retreat to the spring. However, the fall date was deemed necessary.

“We really want to make an impact on students at the beginning of the year,” Rollison said. “Our goal is to impact the building.”

The goal is also to get to know people around the high school.

“Maybe it’s an opportunity to make new friends, connect with teachers, and overall have a more positive view

Leah Kron/Dragon

Students participate in activities during last year’s SAIL retreat. This year, SAIL was faced with conflicts while deciding on the date for the retreat. towards other students and the building,” Rollison said.

Now that the date is set, leaders are able to begin planning the retreat.

“We’re still in the stages of forming a theme,” Rollison said.

Members of SAIL hope to include any interested student. “Students will be able to leave the retreat for any activities they’re involved in,” O’Keefe said. “We really want everyone to be able to come.”

PAGE4

SEPT08

EDITORIAL

Willing tech staff keeps problems to minimum When school started last year we were met with multiple computer problems. They refused to let us log in and once we got passed that, we ran into slow service, frozen screens, and disappearing files. “They were slow, and sometimes even when I had the correct name and password I could not log in,” junior Henry Prager said.

Students wasted valuable class time staring at their screen as a pin-wheel of colors spinned in front of their eyes. Outraged we turned our anger to the people we thought to be responsible for it all: the tech staff.

“As I recall the first two months of school it was just one problem after another,” librarian Cookie Cranston said, “It was very frustrating.”

When school started this fall, not only had we received several dozen new 24-inch iMacs, but everything was up and running smoothly. The problems with the computers were gone and new, better working technology took it’s place. “It was like the difference between night and day,” Cranston said.

Although there are many reasons for things going smoother it seems that it always comes back to the people we originally blamed. Tom Porter the tech specialist said that Tony Sparks, the new Director of Technology, plays a big part in this. “It’s the tech director’s different approach to how each of the people that work under him do their jobs,” Porter said.

Communication has improved and the staff is more open with each other.

“I sense a fresh air,” Ann Wiley, the Instructional Technology Coordinator, said. “All of our input is valued, and decisions are now based on curriculum and instruction.” A lot of hard work went into making sure the computers were ready for school to satart. “This summer, all the technicians (including those who serve the other buildings) came to the high school to help with the installation of the computers in the labs,” she said. This included setting up

six brand new labs, and switching computers in five of the labs. “And when we were done with that we started on the staff computers,” she said.

The new tech director agreed. “We made sure we were ready when school started,” Sparks said.

The willingness of staff to help out plays a big part in the success we have experienced with technology.

When senior Jeremy Mullen, Managing Editor of the Black and White was faced with technical issues, Porter was quick to help.

“He immediately put down what he was doing to help,” Mullen said. “He called the tech building, got my new password, and I was set.”

“I think we have a very passionate staff,” Wiley said. “They’re willing to work through troubleshooting.”

Even after they put in all their hard work to make sure the computers were ready for us at the start of the school year, they continually look for ways to improve it and to better apply it to learning. They plan on having class response systems set up with in a month. This system would allow students to respond as a whole during class using a clicker. They also are planning on adding blogging to writing classes, and teaching more about online safety.

As technology is becoming a part of our culture, the school is trying to keep up and use it to further our learning. “(Technology) is going to play a significant role in our curricular instructional planning in the future,” Superintendent Clay Guthmiller said. “which will ultimately serve our students better.”

“Technology is fostering learning,” Wiley said.

And the technology staff’s main goal is to make sure that’s happening.

Although they have been meeting this goal so far and it has been a lot better than the beginning of last year there are still a few problems. “Some of the tenth grader’s printer preferences were still set to the

Hu’s Happenin’s Our favorite quirks from our favorite AZN

Students have been eating in the makeshift cafeteria for the past few months now, and there have been many grievances. One student might say it’s too far away from their next class period, another may say that the flimsy silverware is a nuisance. But seriously, WHY ARE THE CHEESE SLICES SO HARD TO PICK UP? The cheese itself is stupefying. It has the grip worthy of spider-man to its surrounding neighbors, yet once you extract it from the pile (a heroic feat in and of itself) it proceeds to tear and fall apart. The new cafeteria’s debut is quickly approaching, and we can’t wait to see what new features await us, but let’s hope they find a better way to get us cheese.

The item that always persevered through this whole reform of “unhealthy foods = bad” was the Gatorade. Regardless of what soda pop was taken from us, what sweet snacks were restricted, what entrees would be changed on our menu, students could always fall back on Gatorade. Not anymore.

Not only have they downgraded to less than a half of an original bottle, prices look no different than what used to be able to get a big bottle of Gatorade, minus .50 cents.

Well, I’ll just go get an ice cream sandwich with that money then… oh wait, those are gone too.

middle school,” Cranston said. So when they tried to print it would show up at the middle school instead of the high school.

“We still have some log in issues,” Porter said.

They are also trying to continue making the software applications work better, and are in the process of switching the computers to a newer operating system for Apple. “We all try to do what we can when we can,” Porter said.

Overall, issues with technology have been much less evident this year. The technology continues to improve and so does the service backing it up.

Students still get angry when the Internet lags for a second or two, but behind the scenes the technology staff sweats away trying to meet the students wants and needs. We thank you for all your hard work.

the Black and White

Brittany Deal

staff 2008 / 2009

Jeremy Mullen

Steph Ivankovich

Lauren Gehrke

Caroline Byrd

Shawna Polen

Kallen Kramer

Haley Johnson

Julia Manning

Kiera Morrill

news editor

opinion editor

double truck editor sports editor

editor in chief

managing editor feature editor

review editor

backpage editor photo editor

Staff Writers:

Catherine Caracci, Nels Engblom, Jonathan Houp, Kevin Hu, Kelsey Kruse, Amy Lovejoy, Dwight Lykins, Kelly McGowan, Scott Monroe, Philip Mortens, Chelsea Nelson, Eric Oatts, Ben Vander Ploeg, Brennan Winget The Black and White is a publication produced solely by the newspaper staff. Its goal is to inform, enlighten and entertain the Johnston students, faculty and community. It is an open forum.

In accordance with Iowa law, students assign and edit material.

Publications are released monthly during the school year.

The paper will print nothing 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. Grammatical and spelling errors may be corrected and length edited. 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 or contact the school via phone at 515-278-0449.

The Black and White is a member of CSPA, NSPA, Quill & Scroll, and IHSPA. Recent issues of the Black and White earned these honors: Columbia Scholastic Press Association Gold Medalist, National Scholastic Press Association All-American, Quill & Scroll Gallup Award, IHSPA State Champion, IHSPA First Place Photography Second Place Layout/Design and Honorable Mention Writing.

SEPT08

PAGE5

OPINION

24 Credits: A just adjustment for students. {School Board plan might not be The Gripe

so bad after all}

At first this was an opinion about how upset I was that the junior class could no longer get an early dismissal in our junior schedules. I wasn’t aware of any of the new policies restrictions nor it’s positives. As I did my research my thoughts began to change. I learned the main reason why the school stopped letting us have early dismissal as junior’s was because we now have the 24 credit graduation requirement.

So instead the opinion is now aimed to educate students on what the new requirement means for them.

Dwight Lykins Staff Writer

What is the Policy

The new credit policy is as follows, The graduating class of 2010 and classes after them must earn 24 credits “Students [in the 2010 class] must be in school all eight periods, junior year and six periods plus a PE their senior year..” Sue Baker said.

So what does this mean for students who want an early out? Quite simply students who want an early out or late arrival will most likely not have one, unless they are reviewed and approved by Associate Principle Jerry Stratton. When your senior year comes around, early dismissal is only an option if you can fit it in to your schedule. Meaning you have the a study hall at the beginning of your day or the end of your day.

Why the Class of 2010

Baker said, “The board made the decision after meeting with parents, [former] students and faculty... the decision to have it start with [the 2010] class was because we had to grandfather in students who were already in the building.”

Hukee offered these reasons for the districts decision to go ahead and increase the credits “The Department of [education] was suggesting schools go to three years of math and science so we decided we should be proactive and begin those conversations now.” He also said. “The number one thing that colleges say to us is students were not prepared for the college workload because they were not taking a good schedule their senior year, and instead took a light schedule.

Basically this means that the policy passed the board vote while the class of 2010 was still in the 8th grade. Thus they would be the first class to enter high school under their new policy.

Dwigt Lykins/B&W

Junior Austin Finley grabs his bag out of the trunk of his car after returning from his criminal investigation class at DMACC. Read more about his class on page 12

So whats the good here?

So no sleeping in, and no going home, what positives could anyone find.

“We really want to stress to students the opportunities they have to take postsecondary classes at DMACC and other college campuses while in high school.” Said Hukee.

These classes are college credit classes offered off the JHS campus that students can attend and have count towards there six period day. How cool is that.

Plus these classes which can cost in the hundreds of dollars after high school are completely free to students.

“This can give students the opportunity to find out if a field of study is fit for them.” Stratton said.

One of the things that administration stressed to me is they have to do a better job of helping students found out about these opportunities. I’ll admit I don’t read though the course book when I’m signing up for classes. I didn’t realize all the postsecondary classes that are offered. We almost need a completely separate book outlying the other classes we can take at DMACC or other campuses.

Other availible classes Classes not availible here can be taken at local universites, DMACC, and also other high schools as long as counsolers deem the class educational.

• • • • • • •

Foreign Language, such as German, Japanese, and Arabic Intro to Philosophy Criminal Investigations classes Auto Tech Culinary Classes from DMACC Advanced Film and Journalism Marine Biology

Early Graduation

Just to clear up any misunderstandings those students who want an early graduation who are in the 2010 class and those after will still need 24 credits.

Government class needs more; Government Jeremy Mullen Managing Editor

With the recent school board elections having high voter turnouts among younger people, and also having a broad range of candidates running, an open forum for students to learn something about the candidates would seem well fitting. However, the lack of understanding between school board candidates and the teachers, as well as the students and teachers left me upset that I missed third period.

On August 27, during third period, school board candidates participated in an open question forum in front of the entire senior class. Government teachers Ben Knight and Pat Hennes conducted the forum which allowed any senior, time permitting, to ask the candidates a question. All candidates were then given 30 seconds to respond to each question.

The hard work of the government teachers, as well as the willingness and availability of the school board candidates is greatly appreciated. Unfortunately, what I had envisioned for the school board open forum was not acheived, while Knight believed the forum went well.

After having an open forum in newspaper with all of the candidates, I was excited to see what more of my peers and the government teachers could come up with to challenge the candidates next. However, the school board candidates were left with to little time to answer some very thoughtful and interesting questions, while some questions did not even apply to the school board. In addition, by having a smaller open forum, like the one in my newspaper class, there wasn’t the obvious distraction of kids constantly talking and laughing. Also, I got a better

Mindy Dickerson/Dragon

Senior Joey Gowdy receives an answer to his question at the school board open forum. The forum was held Aug. 27. feel for which candidates were more open and willing to answer our questions, unlike the senior open forum where all the candidates had to answer.

For students to truly understand how America’s outstanding government truly works, I believe we need to get the students out on a more up close and

personal level with local, state, and national governments. No matter what year it is, volunteers are also always needed for political campaigning and work.

By devoting five hours of service learning time to a political person, event, or meeting, students would get a better more first hand experience of how they can get involved and actively participate in government.

As far as current service learning requirements go, they could be left just about unchanged. Currently, students are required to complete 20 hours of volunteering at one organization. For every hour volunteered, students have to write a half page essay on what they did. With the five hours devoted to government, students could just journal about what they learned about the government on a more local and up front level, since currently most of that is taught through the books.

Also, during the senior open forum, now school board member Tyler Buller asked the crowd if we knew we could appeal a rule in the handbook. To his surprise, no one knew this. This could also be an interactive activity where students are required to make a mock appeal, and present it to the class.

Government class is the class that is supposed to get students to actively participate and understand our government and also to understand and benefit our community. However, after a greatly envisioned but poorly executed school board open forum, I was left wanting more. Changes to the government curriculum to add more involvement in our government rather than book work should be considered. Especially after the buzz the new changes in the English department have created, changes in the government department would most likely be successful.

PAGE6

SEPT08

OPINION

Burn! on the Jonas Brothers Eric Oatts Staff Writer

The Jonas brothers might possibly be the most over rated musical group of all time. They’re just straight up not good. Nothing they have accomplished in their short careers so far has been amazing enough, or good enough to justify for how extremely famous and idolized they are.

Sure, it’s been a few years since boy-bands like the Backstreet Boys and N’sync have been driving little elementary school girls wild, and I’m sure many of these girls wanted that void to get filled in some way, but the Jonas brothers? Really? They aren’t even the first trio of pop-singing brothers to hit the air-waves, Hansen did it years ago.

Sure Hansen could technically be considered a “one-hit wonder” band, but last time I checked, the Jonas Brothers aren’t exactly dishin’ out hit after hit either. When I hear people call them this generation’s Beatles, or the next big thing in music, it makes me want to vomit. They just don’t even come close compared to the Beatles. Realistically, they don’t even come close compared to pretty most of the bands in today’s music, on a basis of straight-up musical talent.

Yet everybody in the universe has heard of the Jonas brothers. We really don’t have a choice or not if we want to hear about the Jonas Brothers new made-for-cable movie they’re starring in, “Camp Rock”, or about their new CD. Even Burger King, I repeat, Burger King, throws images and advertisements for the Jonas Brothers at their customers, most of which are probably males who aren’t exactly in love with the Jonas Brothers. Almost every teenaged or younger girl in America, it seems, is in love with these guys. Saying one bad thing about the sacred Jo-

Illustration / Yiming Qin

nas Brothers can get you the stink eye or the silent treatment from a majority of young girls, who decide what kind of music to put on their iPod, not by the musical quality of songs by, but by how cute they think the members in the band are.

This brings up a huge point... Musically the Jonas bros are both awful and unoriginal; awfully unoriginal.

Not one song in their new album, “A Little Bit Longer”, contained any original chord progressions, challenging or exciting instrumentation, original guitar tone or chords, or even good lyrics.

After suffering through listening to the album, I can honestly say I would give it two thumbs down. The overall receptiveness of the album and the songs

all sounding like the same song, almost cast me to sleep, which would have been a huge issue since I was driving at the time.

Everybody also makes a huge fuss about how all three of the Jonas Brothers wear “purity” rings, and about what great morals they have. But what have they done besides simply wearing a ring to actually prove their innocence? (Besides, of course, if you were to look at their song lyrics, which give off the perception of being written by first graders.) Anybody can wear a ring and say that they are pure, that doesn’t mean you should buy their album for that reason alone.

If you aren’t into young, curly– haired, dreamy boys, then there could

not possibly be anyway, that I can imagine, that you would like the Jonas brothers. Out of all the great music and all the talented artists there are out there, such as John Mayer, James Morrison, Soulive, and Los Lonely Boys, just to name a tiny amount of all the actually talented ones, the Jonas Brothers could never stand up to any of them.

If you’re like me, you don’t want to be listening to a boy trying to go through puberty and singing at the same time on the same album.

Granted some people apparently must love the sound of a voice cracking several times through a song, I’m not a fan. Not with all the good stuff out there. No chance, sorry, Jonas Brothers.

School shootings require response Brittany Deal Editor in Chief

The intruder alarm sounds.

Students run into the classrooms.

Teachers shut and lock the doors.

Lights turn off. Silence.

Then they hear a shot. Gunfire.

At one school in northern Texas, this scene would look slightly different. Rather than all of the teachers hiding along with their students, some teachers would run towards the gunfire, ready to protect. At Harrold School, teachers carry concealed weapons.

Schools need to make safety an issue now more than ever. Although concealed weapons may not be the best answer, Harrold School is doing the right thing by responding to school shootings. Rather than simply discussing the shootings, the administration and school board are taking measures to prevent a similar event happening at their own school.

Before the district decided to take drastic measures by allowing employees to carry concealed weapons, the school implemented other security measures. Security cameras were installed. Exterior doors could only be accessed by electronic entry, which can be compared to what hotels use. The district also installed a lock-down switch. When pressed in emergencies, sirens would sound and the exterior doors would automatically lock.

However, the administration and school board of Harrold School felt that more had to be done. Superintendent David Thweatt, spokesperson for the board and school, said that safety is number one.

Harrold School is located about 500 ft away from

highway 257. Thweatt said that this four-lane Highway brings heavy traffic pass the K-12 school filled with 100 students and 25 employees. The police department is located over 30 miles away. He added that the Brady Act, which states that schools are a gun-free zone, makes schools vulnerable to attack.

Then the school board unanimously passed the policy allowing approved employees to carry concealed weapons. They required frangible ammunition to be used. This ammunition hits the target and breaks apart upon impact, preventing ricocheting.

Each employee has to be approved individually by the board. Thweatt emphasizes the need for individuals who would run in the direction of the gunfire rather than away from it. The approved individuals then undergo extensive training. This training, designed for the school specifically, includes gun safety. Thweatt did not provide further comment on the training due to “security reasons.” Harrold School chose not to hire a resource officer, as they felt it would make the officer the obvious target.

Thweatt said that few in the district have fought against the new policy. Harrold School has only 20 in-district students, while all of the other students are open-enrolled. Thweatt emphasized the importance of knowing what the parents think.

“We don’t ask the students their opinion,” Thweatt said. “We are the adults. We make the decisions.”

Now other schools need to take action. Although guns are not exactly appropriate for the Johnston district, there has to be more that could be done to prevent future shootings like Columbine.

Johnston employed a resource officer and held assemblies in the past to discuss school shootings.

Thankfully, unlike at Harrold School in Texas, the

Illustration / Yiming Qin

police department is right down the street from the high school. Johnston has cameras installed and a lock-down procedure with required drills. The school also educates extensively about harassment and bullying to prevent violence.

The district needs to continue exploring ways to create a safe environment within the schools. Hopefully this district will never have to take as drastic of measures as Harrold School.

SEPT08

REVIEW

Ruby: great dining everyday

7

The BookWorm

After initial setbacks, Tuesday serves well Scott Monroe Staff Writer

B

Ask yourself, and don’t lie, when referencing Ruby Tuesday, have you ever referred to the establishment as Ruby Tuesday’s? Ever made it possessive? I certainly have. Don’t do that! I was corrected almost immediately after I walked in the door. Good start.

Before I let you in on the quality of this recent addition to the Johnston area, let me clear something up. If there is any doubt, Ruby Tuesday is NOT only open on Tuesdays. Don’t roll your eyes yet, this is no joke. I actually overheard someone asking that very question, and they were nothing but serious. Now would be an appropriate time to roll your eyes. Yeah, I couldn’t believe it either… Here’s your sign.

For a nearly brand-new restaurant, Ruby Tuesday is not only holding it’s own, it’s dominating. On a Thursday night, we were forced to wait 45 minutes just to sit down. One of the few downsides to eating here is the space.

Most likely, the customer quantity will die down in a couple weeks. But until then, there is almost no room to stand.

Once we eventually sat down, I took a gander out the window. Picture a mosh-pit at a concert. I even witnessed an elderly lady lying up against the curb scanning the menu.

Parking during normal dinner hours is not always easy. The lot fills up rather quickly. Employees aren’t even allowed to park in the parking lot. Just to get your name down, you have to weave in and out of traffic, which is aggravating. The bar is usually packed, but again, anticipate this mess to lessen in upcoming weeks.

Once we were finally seated, it was picture-perfect. We were immediately

Into the Wild

BY: Shawna Polen

CJon Krakhaure

Scott Monroe / BW

greeted and asked for drink orders, along with appetizers so as to speed up the process. Those made it to our table in a timely manor, and it we were ready to order, just like that.

If you are a flavor-fanatic, Ruby Tuesday is the place for you. Practically everything ordered had some sort of seasoning or spice added to create zest.

After downing the classic sampler, I was amazed when my coleslaw arrived untouched, nothing sprinkled on top. The added substances to be honest may be a bit overboard, or maybe I just ordered a ton of food. Either way, I’ve probably tried every spice in the book after that visit.

My recommendation would have to be one of the many burgers available.

They range from about eight dollars to fourteen, but not one would disappoint. If ribs are on top of the list, let’s just say looks can be deceiving. In reality they are delicious, even if it looks like McDonald’s threw them together.

Maybe a big meal is not in the cards; well the salad bar is excellent. Especially the croutons. Amazing.

Overall I give Ruby Tuesday a solid B. I’ve had better, but I’ve also been to New York. If quick is important, hit up a drive-thru. Time on your hands? Go for it; I promise Ruby Tuesday is worth your while.

Z’Mariks uses it’s noodle and succeeds Haley Johnson Backpage Editor

A-

Noodles, rice, soup, salad: not things that usually fall together in the same genre of food. At Z’Mariks noodle café it is all on the menu.

Coming to this restaurant on a couple of occasions, I have been in the mood for something different, and no trouble finding something to order.

The restaurant has a very urban feel to it, with neutral colors and modern art on the walls. Walking in, the cash register and place to order is the first thing seen. There are usually no lines, so ordering is a quick process.

There are three main menus; the Noodle Bowlz, Rice Bowlz, and/or the Salad and Soup Bowlz. The Noodle Bowlz can come with a multi-grain substitution of penne noodles and the Rice Bowlz can come with the choice of whole-grain brown rice, allowing for a healthier pick.

It pleases many tastes by having Italian, Asian, and salad options. Chicken, shrimp, and tofu can all be added with a fee of around two dollars. There is also a selection of Kidz Bowlz to order from, which I would recommend looking into considering the fact that I have yet to finish a whole bowl by myself.

Everything ordered off the menu comes in a white ice cream style bowl.

My first time going, I ordered the Teriyaki Rice Bowl with chicken and I was pleased. The service was speedy but

they could have taken longer time on the vegetables. I was stuck chomping on what seemed like raw broccoli.

Besides the under cooked veggies the food to sauce proportion was perfect and the amount of food given was plentiful.

I have had many encounters with the Noodle Bowlz menu, where my favorites lie. If you like rich, creamy homemade style macaroni, then the mac n’ cheese bowl would please you.

The marinara bowl is great if you like a traditional taste, but if looking for something more exciting try the zesty Lemon Saute. It has a tangy taste to it and the sauce is light so it doesn’t fill you up as quickly.

My most recent order and what has moved to the number one spot on my favorites is the pesto bowl. Pesto is a basil and pine nut sauce that has a unique taste. The sauce was very thin but packed a lot of flavor. The dish was topped with Romano cheese that melted into the noodles after stirring.

The only thing that could have made it better would have been if Z’Mariks served bread with their meals.

Everything that I have tried at Z’Mariks has had a very fresh taste to it. It is mixed together upon your order, so the temperature is always pleasing, if not too hot. The service is quick and friendly. Z’Mariks is a unique restaurant that has many choices requiring a return to try more.

Marinara Bowl $5.49

Alfredo Bowl $5.59

Lemon Saute $5.69

Jon Krakauer’s, Into the Wild is currently on the English curriculum’s pilot list, meaning that it can be added to the curriculum if decided.

Into the Wild is a biography of Chris McCandless, a young man who disconnected himself from society and chose to live in the wild.

The book starts at the point in McCandless’s life when he was traveling in Alaska, where he was going to “live off the land for awhile.”

Four months later, his body was found in an old bus. Seemingly perishing of starvation.

This fact is revealed in the second chapter. That threw me, I kept thinking, “How can this book even continue? The man is already dead, why keep reading?”

Krakauer starts with the end, and then slowly page by agonizing page goes back and explains how McCandless got to where he was.

I have to admit that McCandless turns out to be an interesting man. If the book was just about him, I think I would enjoy this book. But Krakauer had other plans.

The majority of Into the Wild talks about all the people McCandless came in contact with in great detail. The reader gets to know McCandless from other people’s perspectives. But it gets to be too much when Krakauer drones on and on about a side character for a whole chapter. What happened to McCandless?

Though I may not like the book as a whole, I have to admit that Krakauer does a wonderful job of painting the scenery of all the places the McCandless traveled.

It takes talent to write a biography about a man who was dead when you started. It is obvious that Krakauer went above and beyond as a writer.

The English curriculum chose Into the Wild to fit within it’s “search for self” lesson.

From my view as a student, I agree that the lesson is getting across, but the book itself is tedious and students won’t read it.

Interesting story, yes; curriculum book, no. If the English teachers want us to get a lesson out of this, have us watch the movie.

101

Reading

When reading a book that’s difficult to get through, go find the audio version of it and read along side.

Pesto Bowl $5.99

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

PAGE8&9

SEPT08

DOUBLETRUCK

STOP procrastinating Piers Steel, Ph.D. found that 95 percent of students report having postponement problems.

“People who procrastinate tend to be less healthy, less wealthy, and less happy,” reports psychologist Piers Steel, Ph.D., at the University of Calgary after a five-year study of procrastination.

Many students don’t realize the ramifications of procrastination. Waiting until the night before a paper is due to start writing it, isn’t only going to result in a mediocre paper at best, but also a habit that can lessen quality of life. Is it possible to overcome a problem that the vast majority of students claim to have? Certainly!

Here are a few tips that Steel and other psychologists give to those that have postponement problems.

Getting started on an undesirable task, whether it’s long or short, is the first hurdle when there is a tendency to procrastinate. The trick that psychologist Nell Fiore, Ph.D., author of The Now Habit: A Strategic Program for Overcoming Procrastination and Enjoying Guilt-Free Play, advises is to concentrate on getting started rather than finishing. Although not much might get done, just try starting over and over until it eventually is done. This way there is less intimidation in finishing the long, boring project. That’s just what Fiore advises: Think of big projects as a series of beginnings; and remember that no failure is final.

The second strategy to use when confronted with a long, monotonous task is to “run a dash”. This is what Merlin Mann, founder and editor of the personal productivity Web site 43folders.com, calls committing a ridiculously short amount of time to a dreaded task.

When stressing over a ten-page paper that is due in a few days, simply just spend five minutes focused on it. Set a timer and when it goes off, go do something else for a while.

This way no stress is involved. More work gets done this way in a shorter period of time than would get done in a longer period of time if Facebook was up.

Assignment notebooks can be very beneficial for procrastinators, or they can be a drawback. Writing intimidating goals that are far-fetched or cannot be completed in a couple days sets up a sure failure. Goals such as “start working out” or “study for next week’s chemistry test”, have good intention but need to be narrowed down. At times, making the list takes more time than actually doing what needs to be done. “We trick ourselves into

d

t

Sophomore

WAIT, THE

1 start over and over

procrastinator are you?

1. Do I have difficulty starting or completing tasks because my standards are too high?

2. Am I reluctant to delegate tasks or work with others unless they do things my way?

3. Do I get preoccupied with details, rules or schedules that others don’t care about?

MORE DREAMER PROCRASTINATOR

2 run a dash

IT STACKS

3 set realistic goals

1. Do I think a lot about what I’d like to accomplish but rarely get projects off the ground?

2. Do I wait for opportunities to drop into my lap rather than take an active go get ‘em approach?

3. Do I long to be able to go from A to Z without having to deal with all the stuff in between?

PROCRASTINATOR UP... WORRIER 1. Do I hesitate to leave my comfort zone, avoiding situations that

4 remove distractions

cause stress or anxiety?

2. Do I paralyze myself before starting work on a project, wondering about “what ifs”?

3. Do I maximize the difficulty of tasks and minimize my ability to deal with them?

5 plan fun first

CRISIS-MAKER PROCRASTINATOR 1. Do I ignore important tasks, then, at the last minute work frantically to get them done?

2. Do I believe I work best when I am under pressure?

3. Do I enjoy or pride myself on a lifestyle of taking risks or living on the edge?

strive for excellence, 6 not perfection

DEFIER PROCRASTINATOR 1. Do I become irritable or argumentative when asked to do something I don’t want to do?

2. Do I feel that others make unreasonable demands on me?

3. Do I avoid obligations by claiming that I’ve forgotten them or that they’re not important?

OVERDOER/PLEASER PROCRASTINATOR

Psychologists say...

1. Do I have difficulty saying “No” to people who ask for help but feel resentful later on?

2. Do I frequently complain about not having enough time, being too busy or having too much to do?

3. Does my attention easily get diverted from what I’m doing to something else?

provided by: Linda Sapadin, Ph.D. Kallen Kramer/BW

t

t

“One time I was suppose to do a project in Welter’s class, it was five days late because I was out of town.

I should have just brought it with me.”

Jamerris Holder Sophomore

What kind of

YOU PERFECTIONIST PROCRASTINATOR

STALL?

“I know that I have homework to do, but instead of doing it I go outside or go on Myspace until 12, then I decide to wait until the bus, then I decide I wait until 6th period Speech and finally do my Spanish homework.”

La Bria Gates

LONGER

right now

thinking our planning is actually doing, but it’s really just part of the procrastination,” Timothy A. Pychyl, Ph.D. said, a psychologist at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada.

“Planning substitutes for real action.” Try writing only what can get done in a 24hour period.

By doing this, little pieces of the bigger project are broken off, allowing more work to actually get done. Ask, “What is the one thing I would feel best about achieving today?” and plan the day so that you can get it done and move on.

Students have more distractions now more than ever that keep work from getting done.

Media such as T.V., Facebook, texting, and iPods, are constantly begging for attention and prolong the homework process without notice.

The best way to solve this problem is to simply remove the distractions. If there is a paper to write on the computer, don’t have the Internet up at the same time.

Music can be a major distraction as well, if music lessens productivity than don’t have it playing while homework is being worked on. As wonderful as easy access to technology can be, it has a huge impact on motivation for actual work.

When bogged down with homework, not only is schoolwork put off, but also actually having fun. In his research with graduate students at the University of California, Berkeley, Fiore found that the people who made time to play sports, hang out with friends, and enjoy themselves were the ones who actually got work done faster.

Time should be set for leisure hours before time is set for doing hard work, this way it works like a reward. Perfectionists often don’t reward themselves for work that gets done, because there is always something else waiting to get done. Decide to commit to a reward system, or there won’t be pleasure in success.

For perfectionists, chronic procrastination is usually a result of fear. By not spending a good amount of time on a task there is a better excuse for not having it done perfectly.

Be reasonable about how much can get done in a period of time, and don’t only settle for the extremes.

Reflect on past problems that have surfaced as a perfectionist procrastinator and there will be an understanding of how those problems interfere with happiness and productivity. Striving for excellence is a much more achievable goal than perfection.

what makes you

THE

t

“I started procrastinating in middle school. I’ve tried in the beginning of the year to stop, but it doesn’t work, because I am so busy.”

Allison Rawls Junior

t

“I procrastinate until the day before it’s good. Sometimes I’ll do it if I know I am busy. When cheer leading and tennis comes, whenever I find time to do it, I will.”

Amanda Korkow Junior

t

“Sometimes I try to stop, but it really doesn’t matter, as eventually get it finished.”

Jessie McClanahan Senior

“I generally put off projects until the period before they’re due and get A’s on them”

Zac Stevens Senior

Compiled by: Kallen Kramer(Double-Truck Editor), Stephanie Ivankovich (News editor)

Entertainment

Review Editor

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12

Oct.

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Event: Reefer Madness/ the musical Business: StageWest theatre Time: Wed.-Sat.7:30pm; Sun.3p.m.

Admission: Varies Phone: 515-246-2300 10

Oct.

16

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19

23

Oct.

26

Oct.

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Event: Night Eyes at the Zoo Business: Blank Park Zoo Time: Evenings Admission: See Website Phone: 515-323-8333 25

Name of the September moon:

Luna/ Spanish Maan/ Dutch Other names:

Event: Ride for the Cure Business: 81 NW 49th Place, DM Time: 11:30a.m.

Admission: $20- $30 Phone: 515-265-4444

Event: Last Comic Standing Business: Hoyt Sherman Place Time: 8:00p.m.

Admission: $45- $55 Phone: 515-243-1888

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18

Oct.

19

Event: Great Iowa Pet Expo Business: State Fairgrounds/ 4H bldg.

Time: 10:00a.m- 5:00p.m.

Admission: $5 - adult/ $3 - children Phone: 515-778-4762

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25

Event: Dracula (comedy act) Business: Hoyt Sherman Place Time: 3:00p.m. & 7:30p.m.

Admission: TBA Phone: 515-244-0199

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2

Oct.

Event: 17th annual race for the Cure Business: Grand & E. 9th St. Time: 9am.

Admission: $20 Phone: 515-309-0095

Event: Metallica/ Death Magnetic tour Business: Wells Fargo Arena Time: 7:00p.m.

Admission: $76.50 & $56.50 Website: www.iowaeventscenter.com

Event: The Beatles Experience Business: Civic Center Time: Varies Admission: Varies Phone: 515-246-2300

Summer seemed far too short. Not unlike every previous break, but this specific one was different. Some wise soul once informed me that the more excitement involved in an activity, the faster it passes by in one’s life. I used that theory to conclude that the Olympics really made my summer fly by.

I have never experienced an event quite like the Olympic games. Never have I been so eager to leave the fair and sit in front of a TV for hours on end. Never have I hated every country excluding the United States to that extent. By rooting on athletes like Michael Phelps and staring at gymnasts like Alicia Sacramone, I actually felt

When no moon shows.

Full moon:

When the whole moon shows.

Quarter moon:

A half moon.

Blue moon:

The second full moon in the same month.

Event: Edgar Allan Poe Reading Business: Terrace Hill Time: 7:00p.m.

Admission: $40 Phone: 515-280-3450

Oct.

0:00 Overtime

New moon:

25

Oct.

Olympics create character in youth

Friut moon/ English Harvest moon/ Native American Corn & Barley moon/ Other

Oct.

-

Oct.

Oct.

-

16

Oct.

Oct.

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Sleepy Hollow Scream Park

Oct.

The Moon

10

4

Event: Event: World Food Festival Business: DM East Village, E. Locust St. Business: Sleepy Hollow Sports Park Time: Fri./Sat.11-10pm; Sun.11-5p.m. Time: 7:00p.m.

Admission: See Website Admission: Free Phone: 515-262-4100 Website: www.worldfoodfestival.org

Oct.

New

Oct.

10

12

Something

Oct.

Oct.

Oct.

-

Learn

Fall

Shawna Polen

Sep.

B&W

into

Fall

10

September 2008

Nov.

-

a feeling of patriotism. And if that’s what it takes to feel like a true American, well I’ll take it.

From the mind-blowing opening ceremony, to Phelps’ unimaginable eight gold medals, the entire series of events was extraordinary. By the end of the day, I was craving to be in Beijing, to not only see and hear but also FEEL the atmosphere.

While watching the women’s gymnastics team win the most disappointing silver in Olympic history, I felt for Alicia, the invincible 21 year-old who finally let the pressure get to her. I honestly can admit that I was more into the drama surrounding the competitions than some Iowa State games, and I actually attend those.

You may be wondering exactly what I’m getting at. You’re asking,

Harvest moon:

The name of the full moon closest to the Fall Equinox/ first day of Fall.

Blood moon:

*

* * * * *

The October full moon in honnor of the animals killed for food.

The Lunar Scoop

The next lunar eclipse is Dec. 21, 2010, lasting one hour and 13 minutes.

A total eclipse occurs every three centuries.

The moon makes 12.38 lunar cycles per year.

The moon shines one millionth of the sun’s brightness.

The moon moves approximately .5 degrees per hour, or 12 degrees per day.

We see the man of the moon, the rest of the world sees the rabbit.

Brush up The

Old

“Scott, what are you getting at? We understand. The Olympics are fantastic. Cool.” Stop right there! Reflect on what emotions were extracted during these athletic trials. Hope, excitement, anticipation, maybe even courage. For a couple weeks, every four years, your character elevates a few notches.

So watch the Olympics! Instead of doing something stupid and immature like oh I don’t know pouring pancake mix and syrup on a friend’s already saran-wrapped car, think twice. Save someone the grief. They thank you.

OUT OF BOUNDS Tom Brady is gone. Out for the season. At first it seemed like the Pats would survive, then came the worst team in the NFL. It’s going to be a great season for me to enjoy. Go Dolphins.

SEPT08

FEATURE

Senior struggles with depression

PAGE11

Student shares his story of overcoming the obstacles.

Caroline Byrd Opinion Editor

Feb. 11th, 2:15 pm. Keaton Schuck walks through the parking lot of a place he has come to know well.

He climbs in the car with his most beloved, mom Sandi, dad Ken, and older sister Kendall. He buckles his seat belt and takes one last glance at the building he is leaving behind, the building that has kept him stable for the past four days: Mercy Franklin.

Schuck was entered into the facility for a problem that some teenagers face every single day. It was not for a drug issue, or for early signs of alcoholism.

After trying to cope with depression for about nine months, Schuck attempted to take his own life, and Mercy Franklin seemed to be the right place to give him the help that he needed.

Although Schuck said the center helped, it wasn’t an easy ride. A day at Mercy Franklin consisted of three meals, anywhere from 3-6 hours of group therapy, one hour of alone time in your room, about three hours to watch a Disney movie, the Discovery channel or Nickelodeon and two opportunities for family to come and visit. Every patient had a bedtime of 9:30 pm.

“They made it unpleasant so you wouldn’t have a relapse and get sent back,” Schuck said.

During his four days at Mercy Franklin, Schuck was given a name for his familiar feelings. He was diagnosed with depression and high anxiety.

“I just felt alone and I was upset a lot,” Schuck said. “I kept to myself. I knew I was changing but I didn’t really know what to do about it.”

According to Roxanne Dryden-Edward MD and Dennis Lee MD at medicenet.com, a depressive order is a syndrome that reflects a sad and/or irritable mood exceeding normal sadness or grief. People like Schuck might be experiencing some of the most common signs of depression: feeling lonely, unloved, empty, helpless and extremely sad. Getting upset

about little things and not enjoying things you used to do can also be signs.

When someone is experiencing symptoms of depression, action needs to be taken right away.

Like many of the people in Schuck’s group therapy courses at Mercy Franklin, when depression gets to a certain level, thoughts and attempts of suicide seem to be the only answer.

“I had [suicidal thoughts] sometimes, but I just thought they’d go away,” Schuck said.

As his depression started to get worse, his friends started getting concerned.

“Sometimes my friends would ask me what was going on but I wouldn’t say anything, I kept to myself,” Schuck said. If this happens the best thing a friend can do is tell something that can get the person help.

“It’s not tattling if your friends tell your parents, it’s just them caring about you,” Schuck said.

Schuck returned to school Tuesday, Feb. 12th, and his anxiety was pretty high.

“It was good to see people and talk to them, but I was very nervous. I didn’t know who knew and who didn’t,” Schuck said. “If I was feeling down or I was just struggling I would just go down [to the guidance office] and chill with Mr. Larkin.”

Although Schuck is back at school and seems to be back to his normal self on the surface, his depression has not gone away.

“There’s days where I’m doing good and there’s days when it’s a battle for me to stay happy,” Schuck said, “But just because I’m still depressed doesn’t mean I want to kill myself anymore.”

The thing that seems to be keeping Schuck feeling happy the most is spending time with his close friends.

“I try and hang out with people that have a positive affect on me and that aren’t doing stupid stuff,” Schuck said, “you can’t beat depression by yourself.”

“ “

Photo Art/ Kierra Morrill

Lithuanian lives and learns about life in Johnston Lauren Gehrke

I don’t lose a year, I’m blessed a year.”

-Simas Petrauskas

Feature Editor

“Do you like green beans?” Teresa Ikeda said. Simas Petrauskas looks at her like she is crazy. They get on the computer together and Google a picture of beans so Petrauskas knows what they’re talking about. He then shakes his head no.

Petrauskas is a foreign exchange student from Lithuania. He decided to come to America after a presentation at his school. But when he heard the cost he thought it was going to be impossible. Not only that, Petrauskas has to skip a year of high school. This year does not count for him.

“I don’t feel like I’m skipping a year because I’m learning so much here,” Petrauskas said. “I don’t lose a year, I’m blessed a year.”

Petrauskas also gets to be a senior here. He would technically be a junior, but Johnston has every exchange student be a senior to get that experience. “(When I found out) I was going to be a senior, I thought, ‘Wow, I get to graduate twice!’” Petrasukas said.

The Ikeda’s decided to have a foreign exchange student on a whim. They did not talk about it much they just went for it. It happened when Martin Ikeda got E-mail from a friend at work. There was Japanese student looking for a family to live with for the school year. Since Martin is half Japanese, the Ikeda’s decided it would be fun to have the student live with them. It turned out in the end that the student already had a home. Since the Ikeda’s had their hopes set on having a student they kept their commitment and chose a different student from a list of about five.

They choose Petrauskas.

The Ikeda’s were ready to invite Petrauskas into their family. They greeted him with a Lithuanian flag and balloons at the airport. When they reached the house, there was a big sign on the garage saying,

provided/ Simas Petrauskas

Left Petrauskas’ talks with a friend at his going away party in Lithuania. Above, his family, in Austria for vacation, do not talk to him much. They do not want to talk a lot and cause him to miss home. They talk about once a week on the phone or by Email.

‘Welcome Home Simas!’

Though it’s their first experience with an exchange student, it is turning out well so far.

“It’s been awesome,” Teresa said. “Simas fits in so well. We’re having fun learning about Lithuania and showing him about life in Iowa.”

Petrauskas has had a great time in Iowa so far. He has been to Jordan Creek Mall and the Iowa State Fair among other things.

“(The far) was big, beautiful, and cool,” Setrauskas said. “That’s one thing you have to do in Iowa, see the fair.”

So far, Petrauskas is enjoying his high school experience in America. He had a homecoming date and participates in marching band by playing percussion.

In the future, he is considering coming back to the United States to go to college.

“I really like it here,” Petrauskas said.

PAGE12

SEPT08

FEATURE

Students pursue police career Jeremy Mullen

The Bjurstrom Bio

Managing Editor

Sitting in the office of East High School, 2004 graduate Doug Fuller hears the call on his supervisor’s radio. Two students are attempting to break into a car in the parking lot. Fuller and the Des Moines police officer he is shadowing rush outside and start pursuing the suspects. As Fuller pulls down the suspect a knife is drawn and Fuller is cut on the shoulder.

Fuller, a 2004 graduate, completed his schooling at DMACC and continued to UNI where he received his bachelor’s degree in criminology this spring. Senior Nick Smith and junior Austin Finley are also pursuing a career of becoming a police officer.

Smith and Finley are both taking the CRJ 100, or Intro to Criminal Justice, class at DMACC to prepare for a career in law enforcement. The class is free for Johnston students, and they earn credit for both high school and college.

“It’s a very good opportunity for students,” Larry Naber, district chair for criminal justice at DMACC, said.

Naber said students learn the basics to any field of the criminal justice system. This prepares them to be lawyers, probation officers, juvenile probation officers, prison guards and security, forensics or a regular law enforcement officer. Instructors in the DMACC program are previous law enforcement officers.

Smith said they have learned various things like how to lift fingerprints, write police reports, take notes, and also watch autopsies.

“In the first week, I’ve learned a lot more than I ever thought I knew about law enforcement,” Smith said.

The students also get to participate in interactive labs doing nearly real police work.

“In a lab we worked on taking pictures, notes, and drawing sketches at a mock crime scene where a victim had been stabbed,” Finley said.

Although both are very excited to start their careers early in law enforcement, their inspirations are derived from completely different places.

“I’ve been wanting to do law enforcement since I was around seven. I have a couple of family mem-

Monitor Jan Bjurstrom has lived {Campus the fast life as a Des Moines Police Officer}

Training: Law Education, Boxing, Firearms Police Work: Murder investigations, undercover drug buys, search warrants, traffic enforcement Best Part: “Finding out that you helped save a life and being a positive influence Provided/Jan Bjurstrom in people’s lives.”

Jeremy Mullen/ BW

2004 graduate Doug Fuller recieves a call while patroling the Regency West Campus. Fuller attended both DMACC and UNI for his degree bers in law enforcement and they’ve told me no day is the same as any other,” Smith said.

Finley said he decided to go to the law enforcement presentation at career day last year for fun. At the end of the presentation Officer Agan asked Finley if he would like to ride along with him that Saturday while on duty. He also went on ride alongs with Agan over the summer. Finley said he sat in the passenger seat of Agan’s car while Agan completed traffic stops and calls. Agan would then explain to Finley the process of traffic stops and what procedures to do.

Fuller like Smith, had pretty much always been interested in law enforcement, but did not decide for sure until his sophmore year of high school. Fuller was not aware of any law enforcement preparation classes at Johnston during his time here, but says he regrets not looking into the possibility of taking a

ride along or assisting with operations.

“My main inspiration comes from seeing officers doing their job,” Fuller said. “As lame as it sounds, it makes me want to get even more involved when I see an officer making the world better.”

Over the summer, Fuller interned at the Des Moines Police Department, making relationships with officers and getting experience for his future career.

“So far, I think the most fun I’ve had was at the bomb range with the bomb squad. We disposed of old evidence, ammunition and other contraband.

Watching three sticks worth of dynamite blow a hole in the ground is a great way to spend the day,” Fuller said. “My experiences during my internship have only served to further inspire me.”

Although he has completed his internship, Fuller is currently working as a security guard at various locations around Des Moines. He is waiting until the Des Moines Police Department starts taking applications in the summer.

As far as the future goes for Smith, he hopes to attend DMACC for two years and then transfer to Drake University for a degree in criminal justice. He then hopes to be a cop in Des Moines and maybe move to Texas for a big-time job.

Finley said he would like to take his next criminal justice class at Drake University to further boost his resume.

Kids/Teen Connection connects families Chelsea Nelson

Kids/Teen Connection student Brandon Hymer puts the chess set in place for a game against Marc Thies. Thies works at KTC by watching over kids and helping to keep them entertained.

Staff Writer

Teacup in hand, senior Marc Thies pretends to chew the plastic hard-boiled egg a little girl had given him to eat. Thies and other volunteers watch and play with the children who stay after school for Kids/Teen Connection.

Kids/Teen Connection (KTC) provides a before and after school care program for kids. Most of the people that work there are students at college and the high school. Some of them went to KTC when they were younger.

“It’s nice to see some of (the people) come back and help out here,” On-Site worker at Lawson Rob Wisniewski said. “Two or three that I used to watch over are here working for me.”

Thies is one of Wisniewski’s former KTC members working at Lawson.

“Me and my brother went there for five or six years when we were in elementary school,” Thies said. “My sister Nikki used to help out there when we started going.”

Thies started working at KTC with encouragement from his sister. “(Nikki) told me it was a good job, and I had experience from going there,” Thies said. “I thought it would be fun because I like to work with kids.”

The staff at KTC help entertain the children and strive to set good examples for them.

“We are helping role models for children,” Wisniewski said. “That will hopefully, in turn, have them become role models to other children.”

Thies mentors the children during KTC and outside of it.

“I walk around and play games with the kids, make sure they’re not doing anything bad, but most-

Chelsea Nelson/B&W

ly I have fun with them,” Thies said.

Students are not the only ones to be recruited into KTC. English teacher Rachel Mullen, a 2003 graduate, had worked during high school and college.

“I worked (at KTC) my senior year in high school and when I came back from college breaks, like Christmas and Spring break,” Mullen said.

Mullen became involved in KTC when friends who worked there suggested the job to her.

“I heard from other people that it was pretty fun and it’s better compared to most jobs a teenager can get,” Mullen said. “I like kids. I think they’re hilarious. I thought that all I had to do was show up and

be entertained, but of course it was harder than I expected it to be.”

Mullen now teaches some of the kids that she used to watch in KTC. “A lot of the students that are in 10th grade, the last time I saw them was when they were in fifth or sixth,” Mullen said. “It was really interesting to see their personalities start to develop and see that some are exactly the same.

Mullen feels that she has a greater bond with some of these students.

“It was really a neat thing that I got to jump back into their lives.”

SEPT08

DUNGEON

Q: How would you describe your relationship with one another, as teammates &friends?

T: We get really close during the season. She drives me a lot because I know were the same level, I want to beat her, but I always support her, I want her to do well and if she beats me its okay, I’m happy, and I want us both to make state.

D: Last year she was so far ahead of me, but I now I try to think of it more like we need to get the places that Shari expects us to, and when one of us isn’t having a good meet the other steps up, and being close friends we can give advice and it makes us better in the long run.

Emma Billerbeck

[Divers junior Taylor Erwine and sophomore Dahlia Gordon, who have been compared to Oly mpic gymnasts Shawn Johnson and Nastia Liukin, train together, compete together, and have become good friends through it all. Along wit h Urbandale freshman Emma Billerbeck, they make the core strength of the diving team which is amoung the best in the state. They have already placed 1-2 in numerous meetes and invit ationals this year and are looking forward to a season of success. I sat down to chat wit h two and these here's what they had to say. T (taylor) D (dahlia)]

Emma Billerbeck

T: Freshman year in 2006. Some swimmers asked me to start and I thought it would be good because I didn’t want to swim. I had no experience what so ever, I just went into it, not knowing it all. I was nervous but excited to start something different. Gymnastics at like 8-10.

D: I started freshman year. I was there for swimming meeting, because I was going to do swimming but then coach asked me to dive. I had never thought of it before but it sounded like a good idea.

T: Probably the invites and the improvement I get to go through, and every meet wanting to do better.

D: The challenge of learning new things and being successful and the hard work I have to put into it.

Dahlia Gordon

Q: Goals for the season?

T: I want to beat the Johnston record for 6 dives, make it to state and place in the top 10.

D: My goals are to stay 1-2 with Taylor and score a lot of points in the crucial meets when we need it, and to go to state and score top 10..

T: I do a lot of visualizing on what the dive is supposed to look like,I just replay it over and over, I just say I can do it and do it right so I can get the score I need.

D: I try not to think about the dive, the longer I am up there, the harder it is to go, so I just try to relax and have faith in myself to do it. I know I can since I do it all the time in practice.

Taylor Erwine

Q: Being the oldest, and leader for the team, do you feel any pressure?

T: I feel pressure in being able to beat Dahlia, I feel like I need to beat her because I’m older,but I support her to push me to beat her. I’m still happy when she beats me because we’re equal. I also feel pressure to go to state since I was expected to last year and failed a dive at regionals, I’ m definately using that to push me this year. all photos by Matthew Courtney/Dragon

Emma Billerbeck

Q: When and how did you start diving?

Q: What's your favorite thing about diving?

Q: How do you stay focused during meets?

Taylor Erwine

PAGE13

Q: What was your state experience like last year?

D: It was intimidating, there were a ton of seniors there that had been above me in power rankings, since I went in ranked 22nd. But I had to get confidence and had I just had fun with it and I ended up placing 13th.

Dahlia Gordon

< compiled by julia manning( sports editor), kiera morril' (photo editor) & lauren gehrke (feature editor)

sports spotlight & briefs Girls XC

Boys XC

THIS MONTH... very young team compeating

Boys Golf

THIS MONTH...

THIS MONTH... varstiy won meet at Central UPCOMING: 10/2 Ankeny Invite @ DMACC, 10/16 CIML invite @ Walnut Ridge KEY MEMBERS: Anna Belner, Moli Kipp, Brittany Trow, Ashlee Hulbert “We’ll see how we do, but we miss Obsie Birru We’ll do pretty well.

-Anna Belner

Girls Swimming & Diving

Volleyball

THIS MONTH... beat Hoover, tied Ames, and lost to Valley.

UPCOMING: 9/30 @ Dowling, 10/7 @ home, 10/11 @ home (Johnston Invite) 10/14 @ SEP, 10/21 @home, 10/30 (diving) regionals, 11/1 regionals, 10/8 state @ Marshalltown KEY PLAYERS: Steph Furgeson, Maddie Mandsager, Janelle Galang, Hannah Dankbar.

“I’m really proud of the girl’s that have come in. The rest of the team has been working really hard and we’re really confident in ourselves.”

-Meredith Luksetich THIS MONTH... undefeated until losing first match to Valley 9/17 UPCOMING: 10/7 Urbandale @ Johnston, 10/30 Re

gionals KEY PLAYERS: Kari Queck, Abby Sonner, Kate Nielson, & Taylor Knuth “We have a lot of returning players and have been working really hard, so hopefully it will pay off.

-Kari Queck

Football

against experienced seniors UPCOMING: 10/2 Ankeny Invite @ DMACC, 10/23 Regionals/Districts KEY PLAYERS: Drew Jackson, Ben Jacobson, Mike Faley, & L.J. Lipscome “We’re looking a lot better than we did last year and we ran over the summer. We’re a young team with no seniors and that will help next year.”

-Jake Perington

UPCOMING: Dual with Indianola at Jester Park(V/ JV) on Sept 25, and the second part of conference @ Echo Valley on Sept 30 KEY PLAYERS: Mike Slavin- top 3 in state.

“Come support us at districts and state”

-Dain Opland

THIS MONTH... 5 games left in the season

UPCOMING: 9/26 Urbandale, 10/10 South East Polk, 10/17 Ankeny KEY PLAYERS: We’ve got about 6 individuals that have been 3 year starters that we’re looking for for leader ship.

“Keep continueing the great support we’ve had. It also helps when you’re winning, but we do have an exciting team and people need to get out and watch.”

-head coach Brian Woodley

PAGE14

SPORTS

SEPT08

State champs make pressure motivation Kelly McGowan Staff Writer

With off-season weight lifting, Sunday night scrimmages, Grand View league, and team camp, the volleyball team has been working hard over the summer with the hope of the state championship in the back of all of their minds, said senior Amanda Paszkiewicz.

Before last year no girls’ sport team had won a state title. After last season, one has to wonder what the pressure is like the following season.

“They enjoy expectations, and love to play up to the level expected of them,” head coach Rick Brooks said.

The pressure they are feeling now is different from last year. “Last year, nobody expected it, it was a huge surprise,” senior Taylor Chestnut said, “but this year, they want us to do well again, because now they know it’s possible.”

They are being affected in different ways by the pressure. “I think the pressure is for us to do well, not necessarily to win, but we are all pretty focused, and everyone just wants to do good.” Chestnut said.

Paszkiewicz said the pressure is never negative, it pressure doesn’t affect some of the players in a bad way.

“I’d say it helps, it keeps us motivated to get to where we want to be,” junior Kayla Ross said And some players, like sophomore, Tory Knuth, are not affected at all by it.

“We just take each game at a time, and focus on that game, not what’s to come,” she said.

Players agreed that the main source of pressure is outside sources like peers, not coaches.

“The pressure is from the fans and media just expecting us to do well again this year,” senior Abby Sonner said.

On September 16, they lost a game to

Kelly McGowan/B&W

Players warm up with passing and recieving drills to music like Rihanna’s Disturbia to get ready for a game. They won this game against Hoover.

Valley, their first loss in 22 matches. The media’s reaction was a Des Moines Register article on the front page of the sports section saying how Valley “neutralized the height advantage.”

Last year, two big contributors to the team graduated, Colby Lindsey (outside inter force) and Leah Embrey (defensive specialist), which could put more pressure on the ones new to varsity. Like Kayla Ross and senior, Taylor Chestnut.

“There will definitely be some more pressure (on the new players)” Brooks said. “We try to work with them on that, and sometimes, they see it as a no end situation, coming into a state title, not wanting to let it down. We as coaches and players try to help them through that.”

Coach Brooks does not change his workouts based on the previous season.

“We have been doing the same things state champs or otherwise, we work as hard as

we can each year. But how hard you work has little to do with your talent,” Brooks said.

Returning to Cedar Rapids to contend for another state title is something the girls are excited for. “The players realize it’s a legitimate goal to try to play for state champs,” Brooks said. “They know it’s a process, and not to take one day for granted. We want to make sure we are working hard to improve on things we need to, and now we have a good sense of the effort needed to make a run when tournament time comes around.”

“Obviously, there will be some pressure from people and their external expectations, but these girls just love playing and competing, they always play hard, and whatever happens, happens,” Brooks said.

The state tournament will be November 13-15.

Kelly McGowan/B&W

Senior Taylor Chestnut congratulates Abby Sonner with a high five after a play.

Like father like sons, keeping tradition Philip Mortens Staff Writer

Like father like son. Brian Woodley, the Dragon’s head football coach has been coaching for the past 16 years, seven of them have been at Johnston. An on top of that he grew up surrounded by coaching, his father Mike Woodley, has been coaching football for 31 years.

“We were always around games and sports, so that it just kinda sparked a interest,” Woodley said. Growing up Woodley and his brothers never received any pressure to become coaches from anyone, especially not there father.

“Nope, not one time,” Mike Woodley said, “I think being around it helped, I think that they liked the kids I coached and all my assistant coaches made a good impression on them.”

Woodley is currently in his first season coaching football at Grand View College where he gets to start fresh and build the team up from the ground.

“Well there’s a couple reasons (for moving), the biggest part was that we were down in Houston far away from our kids and all our grandkids. I also got to start from scratch, I don’t have to clean up someone else’s mess, I get to make own.”

Woodley said.

Just like Brian Woodley, the rest of his brothers are all coaching as well, Joey

Woodley is the defensive coordinator for Grand View, Matthew Woodley is an assistant basketball coach at Washington State University, and Andy Woodley is an assistant basketball coach at Creighton University.

“I’m proud of them all, especially Brian who has been a head coach and been more successful than the rest,” Mike Woodley said.

Woodley is now living in Waukee after a four-year stint in Texas being the athletic director and Head of the football program and Sam Rayburn High School in Houston, a big school of over 3000 students.

He has been coaching for 31 seasons, have 26 of them in Iowa. He was given one year to build and construct his new team at Grandview.

“He’s definitely recruiting Iowa kids, and four came from Johnston; David Temple, Taylor Young, Daren Davis, and Phil Cooper(Evans),” said Brian Woodley.

“I watched a lot of the games last year, they had a lot of good players and some good recommendations from Brian,” Mike Woodley said.

In addition to recruiting kids from Iowa, Woodley is also heavily recruiting from Texas. They have around 30 Texans on there roster so far this year.

So like father like son, the coaching legacy continues to live on in with the Woodley family.

Provided/ Molly Brown

The Grand View Vikings celebrate their first football win in the history of the school by attempting to dump the teams water bucket on head coach Mike Woodley. The Vikings won against Briar Cliff universty 20-7 in their first ever football game. Currently the teams record is 1-2 in after 3 games.

SEPT08

PAGE15

SPORTS

Coaching from the outside Nels Engblom Staff Writer

Nels Engblom / BW

Assistant freshman volleyball coach Dan Borich observes as the team scrimmages. This practice was on Sept 19 in the small gym. Their next game is on Sept. 30 at Dowling Catholic. Varsity also plays that night.

About Dan Borich Borich started coaching voleyball when he moved to Johnston. His wife was offered a coaching position and he stepped in as her assistant He started coaching his kids when they played sports and he stuck with it as they got older

Borich has coached for over thirty years in every major sport including football, baseball, soccer, golf, basketball and ice hockey He moved to Johnston six years ago with his family.

Borich feels working outside of the district works in his advantage as a coach because he builds less bias towards any particular player

Squeaking tennis shoes, volleyballs falling on the hardwood floor and a group of freshmen athletes practice in the gym. Along side them is assistant Dan Borich.

Borich is an assistant coach in several sports, including volleyball, girls’ golf and basketball.

Of the over 130 total coaches in the district, Borich is one of 23 that do not work in the district. “My passion is helping kids no matter what it is I am helping them in,” he said.

Despite the majority of teacher-coaches in the district, Athletic Director Gary Ross said that the goal is to find the best coach for the job regardless.

While Ross does search for the best coach, there is a preference towards coaches that also teach.

“If I have two equal coaches and one does not work in the high school, the preference is to take the one that works in the high school,” Ross said.

Ross said coaches that work in the high school can sometimes make an easier transition to practices because they are used to seeing and communicating with kids all day.

Becoming a coach requires more than just basic knowledge of the game or given activity. First-time coaches are required to complete a series of four classes offered through the Iowa AEA to become qualified.

In addition, they must pass online tests covering athlete health, blood born pathogens and mandatory reporting (regarding abuse). Coaches that have completed those steps are also required to take renewal classes at least a year.

Teacher-coaches however, complete all of the required training in the process of becoming an educator.

One problem that coaches from outside the district can face is getting to practice after working. Girls’ soccer coach Matty Smith is a full time coach for the Johnston Soccer Club. Smith said that scheduling and getting to practices or games has not been a problem.

“Gary (Ross) is really good when it comes to scheduling,” Smith said.

Coach Borich does not have a problem getting to practices. He works in customer service for DECO Tools and Supply.

“If I need to catch a bus to go somewhere with the team I will leave work early and then work on the weekends or come in early another day to get the hours in,” Borich said.

Volleyball works particularly well with his schedule also because the freshman practices are often later in the evening.

Four games, 14 touchdowns by Larpenter Brennan Winget Staff Writer Before the first football game of the year it was clear that Johnston would win, but once the game got started it was evident that something had changed. Senior, Greg Larpenter, scored five touchdowns in one game.

Truly an amazing accomplishment for a senior that just helped the baseball team to an undefeated season this past summer and becoming the 4A State Champs.

“Coming to the first game I was excited,” Larpenter said, “ I just didn’t think that would happen.”

Obviously a little shocked with how well he played. Coach Brian Woodley said he always knew that he had the talent but Larpenter never had the chance to really show what he could do until this year.

“The difference between this year and last year is that Larpernter has more opportunities,” Woodley said, “I told him this year he’s the guy and he

will have a lot more touches.”

Last year there were three people including Larpenter playing the same position so he didn’t have as much playing time. This year Larpenter is in almost every series giving him more chances to play.

“Larpenter is very good and he was good last year,” Woodley said, “but he has defiantly taken it to a different level.”

As of last week Larpenter was leader in scoring for State 4A football.

While Larpenter is a very good football player and has a lot of talent, baseball is the sport her really enjoys to play.

“I defiantly want to play baseball in college,” Larpenter said, “I have been talking to different colleges but haven’t committed to anyone.”

The Football season has just started and Larpenter showing his talent early makes for the more exciting games to come as Johnston tries to make it to state, a dream that was seemed so close last year.

Amanda Gabbert / Dragon

Senior, Greg Larpenter scoring a touchdown in the second half of the homecoming game on Sept. 19 against Marshalltown. The final score was 52-13.

Bold and Blind

[

]

The Black and White paired a senior and a sophomore and a senior and a junior together to embark on blind dates. The goal was to get students to meet new people, and also to laugh at the humor and slight awkwardness of dating.

Senior Drew Wilson

&

Sophomore Dahlia Gordon

Q: Where did you go?

DG: El Mariachi Q:Did you know Dahlia at all before the date?

DW: No I did not but I learned that she’s real cool.

Q: Would you normally have gone on a date with a sophomore?

DW:No, because I am 18 so that’s kind of creepy.

Q: What were your feelings going into the date?

DW: I wasn’t very nervous, I just didn’t want it to be awkward. I was sitting there eating chips at 6:40, hoping that she wasn’t going to stand me up.

Q: Were you nervous?

DG: A little bit, but we were talking the whole time. If he wasn’t so nice it would have been more awkward.

Q: Who paid?

DG: He did.

Q: Did that surprise you?

DG: No, he seems like the kind of person that would do a thing like that because he is so nice.

Q: Would you ever go on a blind date again?

DW: I think I would, it was a good experience and it was fun.

DG: Probably not in high school.

Senior Abbey Nelson

&

Junior Caleb Wagner

Q. Where did you go?

CW: Panera Q: How did you figure out who your date was?

CW: Well i was waiting outside on those little tables, and then Abbey Nelson showed up. I knew it was her right away, so we ran up and gave each other a big hug.

Q: What did you guys talk about?

AN: School and stuff, and how we both thought that we stood each other up because I was inside and he was outside. We didn’t figure it out for like fifteen minutes.

Q: What were your feelings going into the date?

AN: I was really pumped, and then I started thinking that it might be awkward, and then I started freaking out because I didn’t find him right away.

Q: Who paid?

CW: I did but she didn’t want me to.

AN: He did, I didn’t want him to but then he told me it was his mom’s money so then I let him.

Q: Would you go on a blind date again?

CW: Oh yes definately, but probably outside of high school. I don’t think you should get wrapped up in dating, just take it as it comes.

AN: Yeah it was way fun and you get to meet new people.

q

compiled by: Haley Johnson (backpage editor), staff writer Dwight Lykins, and Hannah Emmerson (cartoon)