The Oracle: A Community Issue

�

TAKE IN THE NORTH BREEZE: A COMMUNITY ISSUE

Volume 120, Issue 1, Fall2022

STUDENTS WANT TO KNOW:

WINTER SPORT SEASON:

Chok Majok, Journalism Contributor

Imagine being one of the most talented and gifted student athletes in your class and having to go home to a place that isn’t “home.” Well, this was the life of Alexis Ross, campus moni tor and alumnus of North High.

Ross was separated from her parents at a very young age due to her par ents not being able to take care of her and her sisters. She was adopted and raised in Des Moines, receiving a dif ferent last name, which went against her birth mother’s requests.

“I always wondered what life would be like if I never got adopted, would I even be alive to tell my story?” she said. Her mother had the choice of raising her and her siblings with her own crisis going on, put them into foster care, or send them all to Nigeria with their father.

Foster care was the decision that was ultimately made, and she and her sisters were legally adopted when Ross was just two years old.

Her adopted parents later got legal ly divorced which “ruined the family dynamic and threw everything off,” she said.

Her adopted father later got remar

ried causing much more turmoil in the home.

In middle school, Alexis was facing more issues at home yet her academ ic and athletic ability hid her harsh childhood. She dealt with hunger and clothing issues along with verbal and mental abuse all while being an out standing student.

‘‘Although I was going through mayhem at home, I loved school be cause it felt like a safe spot,’’ Ross said.

When Ross first went to kindergar ten she was immediately labeled as “talented and gifted”and because of this new label, she was invited to be one of only three kindergarteners who were allowed to stay for a full day of school, instead of just half days. She felt more loved in school by her teach ers than she did at home, and that’s when she fell in love with school.

“I was seen as the smart, athletic kid who all the teachers loved and cared for,” she said. She felt special as soon as she entered Oak Park Elementary.

She really missed not being able to know about her African culture until later, getting to really know her bio logical parents more. When asked if she would change anything about her upbringing, Ross said she isn’t sure because her life has made her who she is today.

Ross missed out on certain things because she had responsibilities that most students her age didn’t have.

“I had to purchase my own car, my own phone, and even my own grocer ies,” she said. She described herself at the time as “a broke high school kid who just wanted a normal childhood.”

Just recently, she legally took ac tion to change her name back to her biological family’s last name like her bio-mother’s wishes stated originally and in that gained a huge part of her identity back. “My identity is more important than a last name.”

Ross advises students who say, “You’re doing too much” that they’re not doing enough. “It’s a blessing to be able to live life, so try your best to make it your best,” she said.

“Des Moines North is a huge part of my identity; I don’t know where I would be without the Polar Bear community. I was even offered a job back at Goodrell with a higher pay rate, teaching I-JAG, but I turned it down because I love the Des Moines North environment and I can relate to the students because I’ve been in their shoes before,” she passionately said.

“Maybe I’ll consider another place, but for now I believe North is where God wants me to be, and my job is not finished!”

Get to know the NEW

Solana Pozzoli, Staff Writer

Garret Merle

This is Merle’s first year at NHS; however, it isn’t his first-year teaching, it’s his 14th! He teaches Latin American History and Modern U.S. History. His wife also works for the Des Moines dis trict, and he has two little boys, Jack (4) and Owen (2). When he was in high school, he loved his Spanish class and wanted to be a Spanish teacher. Even though he taught Spanish a little bit, he would rather teach history than Spanish!

Q: What led you to pick North High School?

SW: “I didn’t really intend to pick NHS if I’m entirely honest. I’ve spent all my career working in Interna tional Baccalaureate Schools and I originally really wanted to keep working in an IB school. However, there wasn’t an opportunity that made sense for me, so, I started looking into which high school looks the most like where I was before in Indianapolis, and I think NHS is the best fit for me in that sense.”

Q: How is your experience currently at NHS?

SW: “So, I think it’s been a couple of things that have been really tricky for me to adjust, for example, major shifts and the way the schedule works here. Doing 8 45-minute periods in a day, I haven’t done that since lit erally my first- or second-year teaching. Is a huge change for me and it’s definitely a challenge to think about it. It’s a lot of things happening all at once, but I think I finally feel like I’m a little bit more settle and getting into a routine.”

Q: What made you want to become a teacher?

SW: “I didn’t even mean to become a teacher, honestly. After I graduated from college, I got accepted into a program called ‘Teach from America’ and I was supposed to go and teach in Denver as a bilingual elementa ry school teacher. However, the week before I was supposed to leave, I backed out and ended up living with my parents for a year. I met a guy in the next summer who was recruiting teachers for a Charter School in Dallas and I kind of fell back into it. I didn’t really ever intend to.”

Q: What advice do you have for students this year?

SW: “It’s hard because I think the culture of high school and education in general are so different than when I was in high school. I think the advice I would have is like your teachers are gonna kinda hunt you down about stuff and kind of be annoying sometimes, but assume that your teachers have the best intentions for you. And just be a better communicate with them, if you need something, ask for what you need!”

Q: Goals for this year.

SW: “I think getting better at the assessment system here and I’d like to engage a little bit more with some of the community events, but it’s hard when I have really young kids. Sometimes I feel guilty for not being able to get to a game or to a day like homecoming. As well, finding ways to better engage with the student body and then also with my coworkers. Making sure I’m getting to know them and feeling comfortable and confident with both.”

Photo Credit: Mr. Merle

teachers AT NORTH

Scott Weinheimer

Weinheimer has been teaching at East for the last 10 years and this is his first year at NHS. In fact, he graduated from North 20 years ago. He’s married, his wife’s name is Ainslee and she’s from Australia. He has 3 little boys who are two, four and six years old. He went to five different colleges, has three college degrees, and spent eight years in the marine core. At NHS, he’s a PE teacher and Swim Coach.

Q: What led you to pick North High School?

SW: “My first job here in Des Moines was at a place called the charter school and that was just an opportuni ty that I had, and I took it. After one year, it closed and I ended up getting a job position at East, which I was grateful for. However, I wanted to be at North and so I’ve spent the last ten years trying to get to the place I graduated from and where I coach. As well, I really wanted to be around the kids at north on a full-time basis and now I get to do that.”

Q: How is your experience currently at NHS?

SW: “North and East are very similar. What I can say about North is that there’s a lot more involvement, teachers tend to be more involved, the administration is more involved, and the staff tends to be more in volved with the students. It’s a smaller community and it’s a lot like I said, more involved and engaged with what they’re doing.”

Q: What made you want to become a PE teacher?

SW: “I went to school knowing that I wanted to be a teacher. My mom was a teacher, and it was just something that I was very interested in. I knew I wanted to coach; I’ve been coaching actually for a long time before I decided to be a teacher. So going back to school and getting my degree in education and looking at PE it was just something that meshed really well with being coach and getting to be involved more in the school rather than just being in a classroom. I got to do what I like to do!”

Q: Goals for this year.

SW: “Make it through the year! First year in any place it’s new, it’s different, just trying to get settled in. As far as PE goes, just trying to get some routines and procedures in place so that kid’s kind of know and under stand what to expect from me and what to do in my class. And then, outside of the class, with swimming just kind of trying to get more kids involved and get a bigger team and have more contact with those kids so that they feel like it’s something that they want to do.”

Q: What advice do you have for students this year?

SW: “Get involved, be engaged in what you’re doing, you can be here and go through the motions but if you’re not actively involved and engaged in what you’re doing it’s not really going to mean very much. It’s a lot more fun, a lot more interesting if you actively participate than if you just sit there and let life pass you by.”

Photo Credit: Scott Weinheimer

By Solana Pozzoli, Staff Writer

Carlicia Davis: 9th Grade

SW1: “A white tiger because they’re pretty” Carlicia said.

SW2: “Either South Korea or Bora Bora because they are both pretty” Carlicia said.

SW3: “Going to the Keshi concert, March 25th in Den ver, Colorado, because I love Keshi” Carlicia said.

Sarah Breidenstein: 10th Grade

SW1: “A duck! They’re amazing, they can fly, walk, dive, swim, and they’re cute” Sarah said.

SW2: I would travel to India because it’s a really different culture and I would like to experience it” Sarah said.

SW3: “I would go skydiving because it’s really adventurous and it would be something different” Sarah said.

Q1: If you could be an animal for a day, which would you be and why?

Q2: If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would it be?

Q3: What would be your dream field trip? Why?

Jon/Alaina West: 12th Grade

SW1: “I would like to be a dog because they are so cute, and it wouldn’t hurt to be a dog for one day” Jon/Alaina said.

SW2: “Japan because I want to try their ramen sponsored by Naruto and also because I do wanna make my own manga” Jon/Alaina said.

SW3: “It has to be Walt Disney because my favorite character Zet went there and so did my brother’s favorite character from the Zombies movies” Jon/ Alaina said.

Ubah Noor: 12th Grade

SW:1 “I would like to be a Cougar because they are at the top of the food chain, and I think they really kill it!” Ubah said.

SW2: “I would like to go to Egypt to see the pyra mids” Ubah said.

SW3: “Probably to travel to another country, for like anything, just to have fun!” Ubah said.

Photo credit: Solana Pozzoli

Photo credit: Solana Pozzoli

The 2022 Iowa elections

Assome of you may be aware the 2022 Iowa elections are upon us. This year it is espe cially important that we speak about a candidate in particular running for governor. Her name is Deidre DeJear; she is a Democratic candidate. Ac cording to Emily’s List.org, “Deidre DeJear is a small business owner and community leader running for governor of Iowa.” She has attended Drake University and has received a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism.

Why is she so important?

She has also been the first African American women in the state of Iowa to be nominated by a major party, the Democratic Party statewide. She is a strong believer in bettering the Iowa school system and in her campaign, DeJear has stated that if she were to be elected as governor, she would send 300 million dollars to public schools in Iowa. Which is much needed due to the lack of proper funding under the campaign of current governor Kim Reynolds. Dejear is planning to go beyond for all Iowa students and families.

Dejear has already met with teachers from Capital View, an elementary school, about students’ mental health and how to help them in any way possible. It is important that we as students know what candidates are running for office because our school’s funding and our education could be put in jeopardy by certain candidates while other candidates are fighting to help better our schools and our education.

This past year many of North’s fa vorite teachers quit due to a number of reasons, one being the lack of care for them and funding teachers and schools received.

Someone like DeJear who wants to help school funding is doing what’s best for teachers and students of all backgrounds and social classes unlike Reynolds who worked to fund pri vate schools instead of public schools which 97% of students attend.

What are her views?

Another great thing about Dejear is that she’s pro-choice after the Supreme Courts ruling on abortions and whether they are a human right are not. Iowans with a uterus need someone like DeJear who believes in the freedom of one’s body as a governor to secure safe and legal abortions.

Also, DeJear would work to make Iowa a safer place with requirements on firearm purchases and licenses to carry with the minimum age to buy a firearm being 21. This does not mean she is trying to get rid of all guns in Iowa, she is just trying to make Iowa a safer place so not just anyone can purchase a deadly weapon. Which is exactly what Iowa needs after the amount of homicides that have occurred in the past year.

Overall, it is incredibly important that we speak and inform ourselves in the North High School community especially since some North students and all North staff are eligible to vote in this election, but also all Iowans because Dejear is planning on doing what’s best for all of Iowa and a woman like her is exactly what we need in office. REGISTER

WHO IS DEIDRE? DEJEAR

Lizbeth Gonzalez, Editor