the little hawk Iowa City, IA
Vol. 82
December 17, 2021
Issue 2
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ICCSD Implements New Testing Policy The Iowa Community School District decides to re-design testing policies By Aala Basheir
ABOVE: Students walk out of City High to participate in protest after 6th period. PHOTO BY ARAMINTA SIEGLING
Student Walk Out Protest Approved protest organized by the Iowa Freedom Riders and ICCSD Black Student Unions takes place with students from all Iowa City high schools By Sophia Lusala & Araminta Siegling After 6th hour, students from three Iowa City schools walked out of class to participate in an approved protest, organized by the ICCSD Black Student Union and the Iowa Freedom Riders. West High’s Black Student Union sent
this statement to the district in an email. “The goal of tomorrow’s planned protest is to bring the three high schools together to inform them of the conversations had with the district administration and equity department so we all know what steps are in place to move forward.” continued on A5
ABOVE: Students walk off City High front grounds. PHOTO BY ARAMINTA SIEGLING
In August of this year, the Iowa City Community School district updated their grading policies. Stating that a grade communicates a student’s current understanding of content standards, the updated policy includes six practices, Late Work, Redos and Retakes, Grading Homework & Formative Assessments, Zeros, Extra Credit, Grading Behavior/Compliance and will officially go into effect beginning third trimester. “The policy came directly from the district, but it’s similar to standards based grading, which I’ve been familiar with for a long time,” City High teacher Robert Crawford said, adding that the policies are fairly close to the current practices in his classroom. Similarly, City High Alumni, Michael Ayers, who teaches both English and AP Capstone and has been working to practice the updated guidelines over the past six years, emphasized his agreement with the late work policy. continued on A5
New Voters Share Their Experince City High students share their experiences and opinions on voting By Rebecca Michaeli & Diego Loria-Eivins According to the Iowa City Press-Citizen, 19.3% of Iowa City voters participated in the 2021 School Board election. City High students share their experiences and opinions on voting. Jocelyn Ankenmann ‘22 was one of the City High students who
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were eligible to vote for the first time this November. “Up until the day before, I had no idea [who I was going to vote for]. I didn’t even know what topics I would be voting on. I had heard about the tax [levy extension], but that was the only thing. I didn’t know who was running for school board.” continued on A6
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ABOVE: Signage directs students to the location for voting. PHOTO BY REBECCA MICHAELI Facebook.com/thelittlehawk
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A2 NEWS
THE LITTLE HAWK THELITTLEHAWK.COM DECEMBER 17, 2021
LETTER FROM THE EDITORS
DEAR READERS, Welcome, and thank you for picking up a copy of The Little Hawk. This issue would not be made possible without lots of energy seltzers, soup, and Red (Taylor’s Version). It’s December, so Happy Holidays to anyone who celebrates this month! If you stop into 2109, you will see that we have strung even more festive lights around our room…thanks Rog. This issue is filled to the brim. In our News section, we discuss the ICCSD’s new testing policy, student voice and activism, and the results of last month’s local election. Our Opinion and Culture sections have everything from education inequalities in America to a (very) entertaining take on the new movie Dune. We are so proud of our Arts and Sports departments here at City High. Do we sound like Mr. Bacon? Flip to A&E and Sports to hear from artists and athletes themselves. Last but not least… our Features magazine. We could never forget about you, Features. Check out our magazine for fashion inspo, book recommendations, and information about online activism. We hope you enjoy this issue! Stay warm, and we’ll see you in February!
ALL THE LOVE,
Haileigh Steffen, Aala Basheir, Rebecca Michaeli, & Sophie Wagner
THE LITTLE HAWK THELITTLEHAWK.COM DECEMBER 17, 2021
NEWS A3
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A4 NEWS
THE LITTLE HAWK THELITTLEHAWK.COM DECEMBER 17, 2021
ABOVE: Trained therapy dog Groot greeted students during a morning visit to the NESTT. PHOTO BY HAILEIGH STEFFEN
Groot the Therapy Dog Visits the NESTT By Haileigh Steffen Guidance counselor Mary Peterson brought Groot the therapy dog to the NESTT (Navigating Emotions and Stress Through Training) for students to meet this past November. Peterson explained Groot will make surprise visits to
the NESTT room in the mornings and to classrooms during this academic school year. Groot passed a therapy dog evaluation through Pet Partners, a national therapy animal registration foundation. According to Peterson, Groot’s role around the school is to make people feel better and contribute to positive
energy. “Groot is a young dog and likes to explore. So he doesn’t like to stay in one place for very long,” Peterson said. “I’m getting him used to being in this big building with 1600 people. What he likes to do is wander around and I’ve had a couple of teachers and students
say, ‘Hey, the next time groups here can they come to my room?’ So I started going into some of those rooms.” Groot is not the only therapy dog at City High. Orchestra director Megan Stucky’s Weimaraner dog, Davis, is a therapy animal also. Whereas Groot visits many
classrooms, Davis stays relatively put in the orchestra during class times. “[Groot] is a goofball. He loves being the center of attention. But he’s also just like a weirdo. I think his name sums him up,” Peterson said.
NEWS A5
THE LITTLE HAWK THELITTLEHAWK.COM DECEMBER 17, 2021
Students Protest Racial Inequality and Walk Out Approved protest organized by the Iowa Freedom Riders and ICCSD Black Student Unions takes place with students from all Iowa City high schools By Sophia Lusala and Araminta Siegling After 6th hour, students from three Iowa City schools walked out of class to participate in an approved protest, organized by the ICCSD Black Student Union and the Iowa Freedom Riders. West High’s Black Student Union sent this statement to the district in an email. “The goal of tomorrow’s planned protest is to bring the three high schools together to inform them of the conversations had with the district administration and equity department so we all know what steps are in place to move forward. We also would like to publicize our demands, promote Black Student Unions to ensure that every school has an opportunity to start their own. Students will be able to speak about their experiences so we can create a collective message of what has been happening in the district and let black students know they’re not alone and we are here for each other,” West High’s Black Student Union. City High’s walkout was led by Naeji Washington ‘22, who is hoping to have a Black Student Union similar to West High’s. “I’m hoping to bring the BSU back to City, and get some open-minded people willing to get comfortable with the uncomfortable,” Washington said. West High’s Nisreen Elgaali ‘22, Co-President of the ICCSD Black Student Union,
was a leader in organizing Friday’s protest alongside the Iowa Freedom Riders, and other members of the Black Student Union also referred to as BSU. “Our motive is to have our voices heard, our voices have barely been heard in school, we need them to be heard in our community, we want schools to be safe for anything black, anything brown, anything queer, anything minority, for everybody that can’t be heard,” Elgaali said. Elgaali alongside her peers wanted to organize a walkout after experiencing and noticing injustices throughout their community and school. “We chose to do that walkout to send a message to teachers and the school, walking out of the teachers’ classes will force them to acknowledge what’s happening,” Elgaali stated. Students at West High School, including the Black Student Union, and the Iowa Freedom Riders used social media to spread the word about the protest. Even coordinating a bus from Liberty High School to the meeting location. After students walked out of the three schools, organizers of the protest planned for them to meet at the Old Capitol. “The Iowa Freedom Riders set up a couple of mics for everyone to speak and share their stories. We want everyone to be heard, not just the leaders,” Elgaali said.“Sometimes like when the bell rings we’re so conditioned
ABOVE: Protest organizer Naeji Washington ’22 holds a “Black Lives Matter” sign in City High’s lobby. PHOTO BY ARAMINTA SIEGLING to just respond. Everybody stands up like it’s time to go,” Bacon said. The new sounds weren’t very popular with some students. “I really do not like them every time I hear it. It’s just very odd and weird,” Stumbo said. Mr. Bacon says that things with the bells
and schedule are always subject to change, but he hopes for the new schedule to stay this way for the remainder of second trimester before reevaluating. “Certainly my hope would be we stay this way throughout the trimester and evaluate how things are going,” Bacon said.
The ICCSD Implements New Grading Policy The Iowa Community School District decides to re-design testing and grading policies district-wide By Aala Basheir In August of this year, the Iowa City Community School district updated their grading policies. Stating that a grade communicates a student’s current understanding of content standards, the updated policy includes six practices, Late Work, Redos and Retakes, Grading Homework & Formative Assessments, Zeros, Extra Credit, Grading Behavior/Compliance and will officially go into effect beginning third trimester. “The policy came directly from the district, but it’s similar to standards based grading, which I’ve been familiar with for a long time,” City High teacher Robert Crawford said, adding that the policies are fairly close to the current practices in his classroom. Similarly, City High Alumni, Michael Ayers, teaches both English and AP Capstone, and has been working to practice the updated guidelines over the past six years, emphasizing his agreement with the late work policy. “I do think that having these guidelines legitimizes [the late work] policy so that instead of it
being ‘this teacher is a pushover about late work,’ It’s ‘Oh, the district is moving in a direction where they want us to view when some-
whether or not students did exactly what we asked them to do.” “Over time there became too much of an emphasis on grades.
thing is turned in, as less important than the quality of the work,” Ayers explained. “All of this seems aimed at making grades represent what students know and are able to do, rather than emphasizing
Penalize where your grade becomes more of a reflection of, Did I do the basic bare minimum of what I was asked and turned it in at the time that it was due? Rather than do I understand the concepts?”
Ayers stated. Arguably one of the most debated updates, states that formative assessments may account for
ART BY ROSE FLORES-RUBIO 15% of a students grade, whereas summative assessments will cover the remaining 85%. Some Departments, such as mathematics, are able to measure this with as-
signments representing formative assessments, quizzes and tests representing summative assessments. While other departments may be required to redistribute the weight of summative assessments. “I think it’s a step in the right direction towards turning our school system into one focused on education rather than conditioning complacency and mindless subordination,” Cooper Brown ‘22 said. “But honestly, in order for that to happen we would need a complete overhaul of our education system as a whole.” Ayers sees the updated policies as an opportunity for reflection, as educators are essentially being asked to take a step back and reevaluate whether their current practices are sufficient. “The problem, when you’re asked to rethink something as big and fundamental in high school as what grades mean, and therefore how they’re supposed to be calculated, There is never an appropriate time,” Ayers stated, “The metaphor of ‘the plane is always in midair.’ There is never a good time to stop.”
A6 NEWS
THE LITTLE HAWK THELITTLEHAWK.COM DECEMBER 17, 2021
First Time Voters at City High City High students share their experiences and opinions on voting
ABOVE: Frances Bottorff ‘22 poses with her “I Voted” sticker. PHOTO
By Diego Loria-Eivins and Rebecca Michaeli
feels voting is critical because the subjects being voted on have a direct impact on the Iowa City comAccording to the Iowa City munity. Press-Citizen, 19.3% of Iowa City “It’s nice to know that even if it’s voters participated in the 2021 small, I do have somewhat of a voice School Board election. City High and an impact. It makes me happy students share their experiences and that I can have some influence on opinions on voting. things that are happening. Even Jocelyn Ankenmann ‘22 was one more so, because this was a local of the City High students who was election, I felt like my vote would eligible to vote matter even more for the first time in this scenario,” this November. Ankenmann said. “Up until the Matisse Arday before, I had none ‘23, presno idea [who I ident of the was going to vote Young Demofor]. I didn’t even crats club at City know what topHigh, organized ics I would be a non-partisan voting on. I had ABOVE: A sign displaying voting voter registration rights at a polling location in Iowa City. drive at the City heard about the PHOTO BY REBECCA MICHAELI High versus West tax [levy extension], but that was the only thing. High homecoming football game. I didn’t know who was running for Arnone contacted people from the school board. So the day before I Johnson County Democratic Party, looked up what I would be voting looking for guidance in regards to on and I did a little bit of research,” the voter registration drive. Ankenmann said. “The Johnson County DemocratThe Iowa City Community ic Party has someone on their board School District took November 2, who also works for the auditor’s of2021 off of the 2021-2022 school fice and had access to registration calendar due to the city-wide elec- papers, clipboards, and pens, and all tions. that we needed. We sat at the table “I would say [voting] was kind of at the homecoming football game anticlimactic honestly. I was very ex- versus West High with adult voluncited and proud of myself for doing teers and also student volunteers,” it, but it took five minutes maybe. Arnone explained. “We got close to I just filled out a few bubbles, and 20 people [registered to vote]. I felt that was that,” Ankenmann said. like that was a success.” In a local election, Ankenmann The goal of the Young Democrats
BY REBECCA MICHAELI
club is to bring politically active “It was nice to be able to vote and students together to talk about all to feel like you’re making some sort things politics. Local elections, pol- of a difference, even if it’s for a small icy issues, and candidate platforms election,” Brown-Rodriguez said. are some of the topics discussed at Brown-Rodriguez’s family votes the weekly club meetings. The club in all elections, and she has been encourages all students to become inspired to follow their lead and to educated and involved in politics, participate in democracy whenever regardless of party affiliation. possible. “The reason that we did the reg“A lot of people vote without fulistration drive non-partisan is be- ly educating themselves on the difcause the City High administration ferent [candidates]. They just vote wanted that. I feel like it was good based on what other family membecause depending on the person, bers think or what their parents beit could turn them away if they see lieve,” Brown-Rodriguez said. that a political party was behind the Brown-Rodriguez encourages registration. Even voters of all ages to do if there are polititheir own research and “It’s nice to know that research a topic from cal party members behind [the regboth sides of the poeven if it’s small, I do istration], as long litical spectrum before have somewhat of a as they encourage voice and an impact. It forming an opinion. more people to Brown-Rodriguez recregister and get makes me happy that I ommends visiting neuinvolved,” Arnone can have some influence tral, unbiased websites said. on things that are hap- to form an opinion on Although Arcontroversial topics. pening.” none is not yet “It’s cliché, but evJOCELYN ANKENMANN eligible to vote, eryone’s voice does CITY HIGH SENIOR he believes it’s immatter. There are so portant to make a many people who difference in whatthink ‘oh, I’m just ever way possible and to vote when one vote, I’m just one person’. But eligible. when you add all those people up, “I’m very excited to vote in two [voting] is a really, really important years when I can. Even though it thing,” Ankenmann said. [won’t be] a presidential or midterm To register to vote in the state of election, it will still be cool to vote Iowa, one must be a United States for the first time,” Arnone said. citizen, Iowa resident, and at least Helena Brown-Rodriguez ‘22 18 years of age. You can register to also voted for the first time in the vote online at vote.gov. 2021 School Board Election.
THE LITTLE HAWK THELITTLEHAWK.COM DECEMBER 17, 2021
NEWS A7
Sustainability at City High: The Composting Dilemma City High’s Garden and Environmental Clubs merge together to implement a composting system at school By Aala Basheir As a result of increased student interest, City High has restarted Garden Club, combining it with Environmental club. Earlier this year, members worked in the recently renovated Greenhouse, as many were hopeful to grow their own foods. One of the most recent projects launched, in efforts to make the school more sustainable, involves implementing a composting program. “The need for composting has always been there. It makes sense to compost organic waste instead of throwing it in the landfill. The Environmental and Garden Club have recognized the need and last year implemented composting the brown paper towels being used to clean tables each class period,” Mary Lestina, City High science teacher, began. “We were composting 2-3 large garbage bags full of paper towels each week, but had to take them home to
compost with the City of Iowa City since the district does not have a composting project in place.” The club is currently in the process of writing a proposal that will be presented to the school district. Having identified the necessary materials and contacted administrators, janitorial staff, and district ground representatives, the club plans to present to the district in the upcoming weeks. “We’re hoping that more students will want to be involved now that we have a plan going forward,” Garden Club leader, Nora Gibson ‘23 stated. According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, composting wasted foods holds many benefits such as reducing methane emissions otherwise largely generated in landfills. “My passion for sustainability comes from my passion for science. Because I love science and learning about the world, these super negative things, such as climate change give
ART BY DIEGO LORIA-EIVINS
the passion to do something to help,” Gibson explained. “One High school in a district doing one composting project might not seem like a lot, but I’m hoping that if we can get this pilot program started, then it will go to the other schools in our district, and
that could make a difference.” Environmental and Garden Club meetings are held in room 2102, each Monday at 8:15 a.m. Contact Mary Lestina at Lestina.Mary@iowacityschools.org for more information regarding the club.
New PBIS Initiatives Introduced in the ICCSD With the beginning of a new school year, City High administration implements new initiatives to foster communication and respect in the classroom By Lulu Roarick “The School That Leads” is City High’s motto, but has now taken on a new meaning. In classrooms, laminated signs with the acronym “TSTL” hang on bulletins or taped on walls. In a new PBIS (Positive Behavior Intervention Support) initiative, the acronym has been updated to also stand for “Tremendous Kindness, Supreme Respect, True Responsibility and Leadership.” “We’ll use our acronym and find things that we can do within the building to show leadership and be responsible and respectful in the classroom,” Gerry Coleman, Dean of Students, explained. PBIS is a set of initiatives that are part of Iowa City Community School District (ICCSD) guidance guidelines for all K-12 schools. On the City High level, this is a team of
administrators that decide what reThis year, PBIS hopes to foster wards and programs should be used kindness in the classroom through to model and encourage positive be- promoting individual acts of good. havior. At the beginning of the school year, “I think that we can preach it as students got lessons during Advisory much as we want to as adults, teach- explaining the PBIS initiative, and ers and administrators in the build- what it should look like for students ing, but ultimately and educators. it’s going to come “We want to know as an edNew district back to the students ucator that you understand level initiatives to hear when it have been introthe [academic] material comes to discussion duced, which are that’s been presented to on what mutual restill being imspect will look like you, more so than whether it plemented and in the classroom,” discussed. These happens exactly on time.” Coleman said. would include late GERRY COLEMAN CITY HIGH DEAN OF STUDENTS In previous years, work not being dePBIS has been imducted for points, plemented as the “Big 3” which had a commonly used tactic by teachers signs and lessons monetizing the to get students turning in work at a three main principles of City High timely date. School. The main idea was to be in “Ultimately, we want to know as class on time, everyday, in an effort an educator that you understand the to stop unexcused absences. [academic] material that’s been pre-
sented to you, more so than whether it happens exactly on time,” Coleman said. As Dean of Students, Coleman works on student advocacy and helping students find accommodations in the classroom if needed. Student advocacy is also prioritized in PBIS, with administrators encouraging students to reach out when in need of assistance. This comes at a time where the guidance department for the ICCSD is under routine review during the 2021-2022 school year, taking community input on what further should be implemented and done to assist students. This input is being done through meetings with school representatives, families, counselors, and administrators in a focus group, as well as surveys being sent to families, faculty, and students later this year.
A8 NEWS
THE LITTLE HAWK THELITTLEHAWK.COM DECEMBER 17, 2021
Humanize My Hoodie Co-Founder Visits City High Andre Wright spoke with students about the relationship between fashion and political activism
ABOVE: Andre Wright speaks to students in the Little Theatre. PHOTO
By Aala Basheir and Rebecca Michaeli During third period on November 2, Andre Wright, co-founder of the fashion activism brand and movement Humanize My Hoodie, visited City High as a guest speaker for the newly founded Drip Club. Wright spoke in the Little Theater, explaining the connection between social activism and art and emphasizing the lack of BIPOC representation in the fashion industry. The message behind the brand and movement is intended to challenge negative stereotypes surrounding BIPOC individuals wearing hooded sweatshirts. “This is about decriminalizing Black people when they wear hood-
ies, ” Wright said. Wright explained the meaning of Black Americans make up 13% the “Ally of the Humanize My Hoodof the country’s population, yet only ie” apparel, which white allies can 3% of the comreceive after munications incompleting dustry. One of the Ally TrainWright’s goals ing provided is to increase on Humanize Black represenMy Hoodie’s tation in the inwebsite. dustry. “White “A majority people have of everything no idea what that you see is we experiABOVE: Co-founders of Drip Club, not made for ence. We Erin Liebig ’22 and Faith Odhiambo ’22, pose for a photo. [Black Amerihave a target PHOTO BY REBECCA MICHAELI cans], but we’re on our backs, consumers of it. I want to get more that’s why we have to stand up and people represented in the industry,” speak the truth every chance we get. Wright said. It’s important for us to be seen as pro-
BY REBECCA MICHAELI
ductive, constructive, human beings in society, so we can eliminate the threat perception of who you guys think we are,” Wright said. “We’re not criminals.” Humanize My Hoodie has previously been involved with the Iowa City Community School District, hosting an informational session on the MLK Day of Learning. Wright encourages students to speak up for what they believe in, and get involved. “When I leave this room, you guys are the future leaders,” Wright said to students. “This is an open invitation to all of you. If you’ve ever looked back in history, youth have always led every single movement.”
Celebration to Name Choir Room After Dr. Greg Grove The City High choir room was named after Dr. Greg Grove, former City High teacher and choir director of 29 years By Rachel Marsh and Rebecca Michaeli Dr. Greg Grove retired following the 2019-2020 school year after teaching and directing choirs at City High for 29 years. The choir room was officially named after Dr. Grove on November 23, 2021 in appreciation for his impact on the school. “[The recognition] was incredibly humbling. I never in a million years thought something like this would take place. It was wonderful to celebrate with some of my family in attendance and many of the students that I taught in my final few years,” Dr. Grove said. City High Principal John Bacon attended the small ceremony and spoke about Dr. Grove and his con-
tributions to the music department prior to the unveiling. Mr. Hagy also recalled memories of working with Dr. Grove, and emphasized how much he deserves this honor. “It’s very important to understand that this recognition would in no way be possible without the remarkable students, faculty, and administration that I have been blessed to work with over the past 28 years at City High,” Dr. Grove said. “While I will always cherish the performances and awards the students have earned, it’s the dayto-day music making in the classroom, and the relationships forged with hundreds of students over the years that has molded me into the teacher and person that I became.” The Concert Choir attended the recognition ceremony and sang the
City High Alma Mater, which Dr. Grove arranged during his time teaching. “Truly, this award is really a recognition of what teamwork, talent, and
commitment can accomplish. Thank you to my music colleagues, administration and wonderful students for making this possible,” Dr. Grove said.
ABOVE: Dr. Grove and Mr. Hagy pose with the plaque. PHOTO
BY RACHEL MARSH
THE LITTLE HAWK THELITTLEHAWK.COM DECEMBER 17, 2021
NEWS A9
Raw Bacon Robotics Plans for a Competitive Season Raw Bacon has been making strides to develop a high scroing robot before preliminary meets
ABOVE: Ferguson Ward ‘22 and Nathan Bradford ‘22 prepare a robot for a school pep assembly. PHOTO BY HAILEIGH STEFFEN By Haileigh Steffen
teams compete to solve technical obstacles to attain game points. Raw Bacon, FIRST Tech Challenge “Teams and their robots must navigate a (FTC) team #8743, has responded swiftly in complex transportation system by traversing team meetings to the recently released game barriers and racing against time to load and challenge information for their competitive deliver essential items to those who need robotics season. According to senior member them most,” states the FTC official website. Robbie Thibodeau ‘22, Raw Bacon is using In Thibodeau’s words, this game chalthis month to genlenge translates to erate robot designs, “We are preparing to meet the moving small spheres use computer assistand cubes to desired challenges of the game by being locations within the ed design (CAD) for chassis prototypes, very thorough with our design robotics game arena. and brainstorm Additionally, there strategies to maxi- and making sure that our robot is are smaller ways to mize game points. gain points such as as good as it can be.” “We are prepardeveloping hardware FERGUSON WARD ing to meet the chaland software that reCITY HIGH SENIOR lenges of the game spond to challenges by being very thorough with our design and such as balancing plates. making sure that our robot is as good as it “During meetings, we just hang out and can be,” Ferguson Ward ‘22, senior member, talk and write stuff down. And through all said. of the conversations we generate pretty solid This year’s FTC challenge incorporates ideas and then we work on making it real. UN Sustainable Development Goal #9: Our plan for the rest of the month is startIndustry, Innovation, and Infrastructure. ing over from scratch and taking all of the Broadly, the UN Sustainable Development lessons we learned to build something better Goals are a set of internationally recognized than we did at the start of the season,” Ward guidelines for fostering global citizenship. said. Within the FTC 2021-2022 game challenge, Thibodeau reports that there is a diverse
ABOVE: Marcus Miller ‘23 works on a line of code. PHOTO COURTESY OF THE ROBOTICS TEAM range of skills students can develop while participating on an FTC team such as Raw Bacon. Thibodeau reports that the team includes builders, programmers, an outreach committee, game strategists, drivers, a business committee, and an engineering notebook committee. “There are the three Cs: CAD, coding, and communication,” Thibodeau said.
In late November, the team proceeded to preliminary competitions. These meets act as qualifying matches until around the middle of December. Next, Raw Bacon will move to regional competitions where they will gain the opportunity to acquire awards. Regular meeting times are Tuesdays and Wednesdays after school until 6:00 pm in the Hoover annex.
Students Create Medical Club Students Ashley Bentler ‘24 and Hattie Conover ‘25 created a medical club for students to explore interest in medicine By Lucy Thompson City High students Ashley Bentler ‘24 and Hattie Conover ‘25 co-run the newly founded Medical Club. As of now, they meet every Wednesday during advisory in the Big Theater. Medical club is where like-minded students come together to express interest in medicine.
“Right now we are focusing on teaching a lot of the students about opportunities in and out of the community and what they should be doing to further their medical career,” said Hattie. “We want to give a sort of foundation for students to base their studies on, because a lot of things they do not cover in school or only cover once.” According to Bentler a typical medical
club meeting consists of targeting a specific study, disease, or diagnosis… and a weekly snack. “The City High Medical Club is a great way to have fun, engage, and learn about all scopes of the medical field,” said Bentler. “We also talk about opportunities that high schoolers have to contribute in the medical field through our community.”
ABOVE: Hattie Conover ‘25 and Ashley Bentler ‘24 pose after a club meeting. PHOTO BY LUCY THOMPSON
THE LITTLE HAWK THELITTLEHAWK.COM DECEMBER 17, 2021
A10 NEWS
AP Exam Dates Decided for Registration and Exams Students weigh the benefits of registering for AP exams as the dates are released
ABOVE: A stack of college admission and AP course prep books. PHOTO BY LULU ROARICK By Lulu Roarick With the first trimester coming to an end, discussion on whether students should take their AP exams is rising with the upcoming decision date on November 1. The fee to take the exam is $96 and a $40 late fee is included in addition to the baseline fee if the deadline is not met. This is a price increase from previous years, where in 2019 the fee to take the exam was $94. Students who qualify for the Free and Reduced Lunch program can get their AP exam fees covered by ICCSD. The forms to apply are in the guidance office on the second floor of City High School. Taking an AP exam is not required, with
students being encouraged by teachers to have an account with the College Board. A weigh the benefits and neutrality of the test. College Board profile is free, but additional “The biggest benefit, I think, is having a services cost more and can be purchased on three and a half hour an individual basis. “The biggest benefit, I think, is subject based exam; so “Our teachers are it is going to prepare having a three and a half hour amazing, and they do you for a college type a really good job of exam,” Mary Peter- subject based exam; so it is going making [AP courses] son, guidance coun- to prepare you for a college type interesting, but you’re selor and AP coordinot going to be good exam.” nator commented. at every AP course,” MARY PETERSON The College Board Peterson said. CITY HIGH GUIDENCE COUNCELOR is the program that AP courses at City runs AP exams naHigh start being oftionally, and prides itself on helping students fered freshman year, with AP U.S History, find a college fit and apply with AP scores. informally known as APUSH. Starting sophAll students registered in an AP class must omore year, AP World History is offered, but
Bell and Advisory Changes for Second Trimester City High principal and students share their thoughts and opinions on the Advisory time change for Second Trimester
By Matisse Arnone
10 students; it’s pretty great to have a small advisory class,” Stumbo said. “People who Due to extra time for morning announce- do have seventh open I know are really anments and in the interest of keeping students noyed because we can’t go home early.” at school, a new bell schedule has been put Mr. Bacon sees more pros than cons when in place for second trimester at City High. having advisory earlier in the day. “We shifted advisory back to after fifth “When a bunch of kids get to stand up hour, which is how it always used to be for and leave because they have seventh open, several years,” Principal it makes it more challengJohn Bacon said. “We do think advisory is im- ing to the kids that have During the first trito stay,” Bacon said. mester of this year, stu- portant because it’s a chance In addition to movdents were seen leaving to get homework done and ing advisory time to after school during advisory fifth, the announcements because they had sixth it’s a chance to connect with also got moved to the start period open, and Mr. Baof first period along with teachers.” con wanted to see more the Pledge of Allegiance. JOHN BACON people using advisory for Bacon did not want the CITY HIGH PRINCIPAL its original purpose. daily announcements to “We do think advisointerrupt the transition to ry is important because it’s a chance to get advisory, and he also did not want them to homework done and it’s a chance to connect cut into instructional time at the beginning with teachers,” Bacon said. of first period. Sophie Stumbo ‘23, however, does not “I’ve gotten some feedback of concern love these changes made to the schedule for about moving announcements. I’ve had a this trimester. few students say that they’re not here yet “I prefer advisory after sixth period be- first hour or they participate in a regional cause the class I have sixth period only has academy class at Kirkwood regional acade-
my in the morning, and so they don’t hear announcements,” Bacon said. In response to this, daily announcements are now posted in Infinite Campus as well. Another change that took place for second trimester is new sounds for the two minute bell and the bell that releases students for advisory. The advisory bell sound was changed so that students would not want to immediately stand up and leave. “Sometimes like when the bell rings we’re so conditioned to just respond. Everybody stands up like it’s time to go,” Bacon said. The new sounds weren’t very popular with some students. “I really do not like them every time I hear it. It’s just very odd and weird,” Stumbo said. Mr. Bacon says that things with the bells and schedule are always subject to change, but he hopes for the new schedule to stay this way for the remainder of second trimester before reevaluating. “Certainly my hope would be we stay this way throughout the trimester and evaluate how things are going,” Bacon said.
Junior and Senior year have the most options for AP subjects. “Any student who’s interested in a certain subject can do an AP course for sure,” Peterson adds. The AP exams are held at the end of the year, close to the summer season. The 2022 exams will be held during the second and third weeks of May, but the specific subject will determine the date of your test. All information on dates is available on the College Board website. For specific questions regarding AP exams, visit your guidance counselor in the guidance office.
SCAN THE QR CODE BELOW FOR INFORMATION ABOUT THE PAST AND PRESENT USAGE OF THE HOOVER ANNEX
THE LITTLE HAWK THELITTLEHAWK.COM DECEMBER 17, 2021
A11 NEWS
Sushi Day in Culinary Club City High students spend the day making sushi in Culinary Club ALL PHOTOS BY ROSE FLORES-RUBIO
ABOVE: Jennifer Tran’s plate of sushi.
ABOVE: Hassanatou Diallo ‘24 and Jennifer Tran ‘25 cooking together.
ABOVE: Jeanica Mbuyi ‘25 putting together her sushi.
ABOVE: The final product.
THE LITTLE HAWK THELITTLEHAWK.COM DECEMBER 17, 2021
A12 NEWS
Revived
The Review facilitates future projects to reimagine publication into an interdisciplinary student-run program that fosters both artist community and improves student mental health
By Haileigh Steffen & Hattie Conover
demic. Online learning posed an additional level of difficulty when the Review not only Taking her seat in astonishment, execu- scouted for submissions but scouted for new tive editor of the Review, Rachel Tornblom members. As a result, the Review ceased to ‘22, scans the room as more students file in to publish their biannual magazine. Unfortutake their seats for a Wednesday after-school nately, the challenges the Review faced as meeting. Simply put, of last year also trickled the Review scouts and down to the current ac“I wasn’t sure how many publishes art and litademic year. Almost all erary work for their interested students would staff are new to the club, biannual magazine. organization and show up at the beginning so making However, according to prioritization a challenge. the editor, submissions it was a little scary starting. However, new staff view and staff at the Review For the first few meetings, this as an opportunity to have faltered for years, reimagine the Review’s hitting an all-time we had two people show up. place at City High for low over the peak of That was better than none. future generations of stuthe COVID-19 pandents. Then it took off. I think it demic. Yet that after“Since a lot of peonoon proved to be the was just getting people to ple don’t know how we Review’s largest staff it’s given us some come to the meeting once run, turnout yet in two freedom to look towards years. because once they come to other literary journals “I wasn’t sure how and see what new things the environment and see many interested stuthey are doing,” Tornwhat it’s about it’s easy to blom said. “We have a dents would show up at the beginning so it lot of projects happening come back.” was a little scary startnow that wouldn’t have RACHEL TORNBLOM ing. For the first few been possible without the CITY HIGH SENIOR meetings, we had two amazing influx of interpeople show up. That ested students. On top of was better than none,” that, we have been able to Tornblom said. “Then it took off. I think it reimagine what role this magazine can fill at was just getting people to come to the meet- City since there are very few pre-established ing once because once they come to the en- traditions.” vironment and see what it’s about it’s easy to Previously, Tornblom recalls a feeling of come back.” frustration by lack of staff and awareness of According to Tornblom, the club’s ac- a historically productive publication. Activities suffered during the past year due to cording to her, many students were unaware obstacles presented by the COVID-19 pan- of what literary journals were and equally
uninformed about the Review itself. While comics. Tornblom reports that the magazine Tornblom had many creative ideas to in- is aiming for two print editions, though a crease staff, submissions, and awareness, the third print edition is in question depending editor had little help to initiate them. To on whether the number of submissions reovercome this obstacle, Tornblom started mains consistent. While not all submissions a unique method of end up in the print student recruitment magazine, Review staff that sparked the revivhave been working on “Once we had started this al of her publication. a website and newly re“I just started ask- crazy recruitment web, it was branded social media to ing my friends to ask a domino effect. At meetings, publish student work in around and those ways to showcase we asked new people to either other students started askthe talent of students at ing around. Once we find three art/writing submis- City High. had started this crazy “The second way to sions or bring someone new become recruitment web, it involved is to to the club. I think students attend Review meetwas a domino effect,” Tornblom said. “At immediately saw how open ings. Our staff works meetings, we asked together in arranging to new ideas the club had new people to either potential events, refind three art/writing become, which caused a lot viewing submissions, submissions or bring editing literary work, of especially new students to designing print pages, someone new to the club. I think students immediately start contributing and managing both immediately saw how website and soto group discussions and to the open to new ideas cial media,” Tornblom the club had become, feel like they had a place at said. “The Review which caused a lot of meets Wednesdays City High.” especially new stuafter school. As staff RACHEL TORNBLOM dents to immediately increased, new ideas CITY HIGH SENIOR start contributing to and projects followed. group discussions and This year, the Review to feel like they had a place at City High.” has created a website, designed a new logo, There are two main ways for students collected nearly 70 submissions, and raised to become involved with the Review, Torn- $900.” blom explains. The first involves submitting However, one of the biggest project ideas, student work. This year, the Review will be a student-run programming initiative, has accepting a broader range of submissions, yet to come according to Tornblom. This encompassing art, photography, poetry, potential new project idea was sparked short stories, comics, music, podcasts, and when the Review’s programming director
THE LITTLE HAWK THELITTLEHAWK.COM DECEMBER 17, 2021
ABOVE: Review staff memebers participate in baked goods sale. Students had the option to buy or share an art and writing submission to recieve a treat. PHOTO BY RACHEL TORNBLOM
6 5 4
2
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1 ABOVE: Review art submissions from student artists from baked goods sale. 1. Joseph Basinski 2. Jocelyn Harte 3. Chloe Froeschner 4. Sarah Lindower 5. Rowan Boulter 6. Samantha Hopson
NEWS A13
Review’s programming director Lulu Roarick students are left in an uncomfortable grey ‘24 first saw the Little Theatre space, a large- area while at school, essentially hindering ly unused backup theatre within City High their potential to start their creative projects. School. Roarick explains that many students Roarick suspects that not every passionate do not feel they have a space for themselves, high schooler has the confidence, support, a sentiment reflected during Student Senate or the footing to find a sponsor, a space, and discussions. Following her involvement with a group of students to achieve their vision. the Review, Roarick broadened her vision to “I think this is something that needs to be include student-run projects encompassing done,” Roarick said. “I want students to have the arts as a way to foster community and a space to foster whatever they’re interested mental health at City High School. in. [The Little Theatre] has a green screen, “I care a lot about stuit has lights, you can move dents’ voices. It’s something equipment there. You can “I care a lot about that motivates a lot of my do tutoring, you can invite students’ voices. work. When I saw the Little speakers. I think the possibilIt’s something that ities are endless.” Theatre, I was like, ‘this is a place where students could motivates a lot of my In addition to being a go. This could be a stumedium of self-exploration, dent-run space.’ And that work. When I saw the art-making can aid in both made me feel very motivatLittle Theater, I was emotional and cognitive proed,” Roarick said. “When cesses, according to Linahon’s like, ‘this is a place research, in two ways. The I went in there it had so much potential. It looked where students could first is through the physical very nice but everything act of making art or writing. go. This could be a When a person does somewas falling apart. [Resources] such as the video equipstudent-run space.’ thing with their hands or ment took me 45 minutes such as writing a poem And that made me feel body, to even figure out how any down or even pacing, inforvery motivated.” of it worked because it was mation will process at a much all scattered about. I think deeper level because it will be LULU ROARICK right now, [The Little Theconnected to more than one CITY HIGH SOPHOMORE atre] is used for club meetpart of your brain. The secings during advisory. But I ond way is through the crethink that that space can be utilized more.” ativity that creating art or writing fosters. Arts Program Coordinator Lauren LinaAccording to Linahon, imagination dehon for United Action for Youth (UAY), a velops as a child whereas it dwindles when non-profit that provides for the welfare of entering teen ages. Linahon reports that youth in the community, asserts that spaces when we do not foster this creativity during like these can equip students with tools to this age, we miss out on a lot of potential crenavigate the emotional turmoil associated ativity that can show us when problem-solvwith their age. Linahon’s work practices art ing outside of the artistic domain and in the education that incorporates social-emotional classroom setting. Luckily Linahon notices a learning through a culturally responsive lens changing dialogue among educators. and a trauma-informed “If you don’t have lens. In other words, creativity, or the abilLinahon is interested in “Prevention works. Giving peo- ity to use your imaghow to use art education ination to think outple a place to come to hang side the box, you’re to respond to current youth mental health out, to mess around on the not going to improve challenges. get anywhere. And guitar, or learn the drums or or “At UAY, we have init’s cool that our sotervention programs and play the piano. Giving someone ciety is starting to prevention programs. in this way. space to be themselves and change Prevention programs Things like the 21st be genuine, to who they are. I Century Skills are are things for people to be around like good inthink that’s super important. what is going to help fluences and are there to people succeed in the And it helps build confidence workforce because it prevent crises from happening. However, that’s is more about teamfor life. So that in itself is not to say only people in work, collaboration, crises should have access prevention work. When some- innovation, and beto these programs. Pre- one feels confident about who ing creative. So when vention programs must we’re not funding they are and safe and who be for everybody,” Linathe art programs or hon said. “And our inthey are - that’s prevention.” cutting that out of tervention programs are schools, then people LAUREN LINAHON the ones that go in and aren’t going to have ARTS PROGRAM COORDINATOR intervene when a crisis an opportunity to comes up.” practice their imagiUnited Action for Youth prevention nations,” Linahon said. programs include art programs, youth cenTeacher sponsor Haley Johannesen feels ter space, a music recording studio, writing that there are broad assumptions about clubs, pride groups, music playing room, teenagers’ creative activity coming out of and many more. Linahon believes art pro- COVID-19 isolation. In reality students vides a catalyst for self-expression which can are creating more, just in new and differbe a therapeutic aid. ent ways. To Johannesen, submitting to the “Prevention works,” Linahon said. “Giv- Review is a way to prove that teenagers are ing people a place to come to hang out, creative. to mess around on the guitar, or learn the “A lot of students can have a hard time drums or play the piano. Giving someone with there not being a correct answer in writspace to be themselves and be genuine, to ing, therefore, it’s a scary thing to do. Writwho they are. I think that’s super important. ing is vulnerable, the fact that there isn’t necAnd it helps build confidence for life. So that essarily a correct answer gives you the other in itself is prevention work. When someone side of it, the glass half full, the leeway to be feels confident about who they are and safe creative in what you write and what you exand who they are - that’s prevention.” press,” Johannesen said. “The Review is not Regardless of the type of programming just a place where you’re submitting your art, at City High School, Roarick believes that you are taking a stand for art. I encourage students must set ground rules together to students to push limits, be vulnerable. Try foster trust and open conversation through- something even if they’re not sure how it will out the building. She believes that City land, just so that you can get the feedback High, as with many public schools, lacks that you need. Writing is for everybody. You the transparency of what rules are and what just have to put the time in.” discipline looks like. According to her, some
A14 OPINION
THE LITTLE HAWK THELITTLEHAWK.COM DECEMBER 17, 2021
New ICCSD Grading Policy Prioritizes Content Understanding Little Hawk Journalism Staff Executive Editors Aala Basheir & Haileigh Steffen
Digital Execs
Rebecca Michaeli & Sophia Wagner
News Editors
Rebecca Michaeli, Alice Boerner & Callista Robertson
Feature Editor Greta Stanier
Sports Editors Max Berry-Stoelzle & Lauren Koch
Opinion Editors Isaac Bullwinkle & Julius Perez
A&E Editor
LH STAFF EDITORIAL
Sophia Wagner Anastacia Laux
Culture Editor
Lead Writer: Isaac Bullwinkle
Photo Editors
The new ICCSD grading policies will be beneficial to students
Araminta Siegling
YES: 11 NO: 3
Anna Gayley & Rachel Marsh
Art Editor
Rosangel Flores Rubio
Copy Editors
Araminta Siegling, Alice Boerner, Callista Robertson, & Isaac Bullwinkle
STAFF
Matisse Arnone, Oliver Booth, Frances Bottorff, Ava Brewer, Sophia Brenton, Kaitlyn Brown, Isaac Crawford, Jack Degner, Marina Escandell, Forrest Estes, Benjamin Horwitz, Ash Jimenez, Rachel Johnson, Tristan Johnson, Lauren Koch, Kaelyn Langdon, Wisdom Konu, Diego Loria-Eivins, Anastacia Laux, Sophia Lusala, Parker Max, Oliver Palmer, Lulu Roarick, Sebastian Robertson, Noah Seebeck, Coleman Shumaker, Tommy Simmons, Eviann Smith, Aaron Stalkfleet, Lucy Thompson, Jacob Williamson
Mission Statement The Little Hawk, student journalism newspaper and website of City High School, aims to inform, educate and entertain readers. LH journalists follow the code of the journalist by seeking truth, doing no harm, being independent, and working toward balance in all news stories. All student voices are enouraged to be part of an LH journalism class. To join the class talk to your guidance counselor today. Letters to the editor may be submitted to: LittleHawkPage@gmail.com ICCSD Equity Statement It is the policy of the ICCSD not to discriminate on the basis of race, creed, color, religion, national origin, gender, age, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity,veteran status, disability, or socioeconomic status in itseducational programs, activities, or employment practices. If you believe you have(or your child has) been discriminated against or treated unjustly at school, please contact the Equity Director at: 509 S. Dubuque Street (319) 688-1000
T
he idea of what a grade should actually represent has become a question for both students and teachers in lieu of the release of the new ICCSD grading policy. Covering six different topics including test retakes, the percentage of a grade that homework should represent, extra credit, and three others, the new grading policy will certainly change both the composition of the grade and what the grade represents. The objective of measuring understanding with 0-100 is an exceptionally flawed concept, especially in common cases where grading is subjective to the teacher’s preferences, such as essay writing or discussions. Therefore, attempting to measure a student’s understanding of the course material as accurately as the letter-grade system tries to be is impossible. The measures that the district is outlining intend to establish more objective guidelines for grading to minimize the effect of this. Part of the new grading policy outlines the percentage of a student’s grade that should be represented by day-to-day exercises, stating that homework and formative assessments can only account for 15% of the grade. For classes like Math and Language, where homework likely represents a large percentage of the grade, changes are going to have to be made to lessen the extent of homework’s effect and greaten the effect on the grade of more influential tests and quizzes. Dr. Michael Ayers, who teaches various English classes such as US Literature and AP
Language, does not use traditional homework or assessments to grade his students. Instead, he grades on participation in discussions, annotations, and essays. “The 85% clause (referring to the percentage of the grade not represented by homework and formative assessments), requires that departments have those conversations again about what the important things are that we want students to take away from our classes and to understand when they’re done with those classes,” Ayers said. In many cases, assessments are the most efficient and accurate way to measure a student’s understanding of material. While grading systems in which homework represents a large percentage of the grade prioritize the work that is put in to complete that homework every day and on time, the district is essentially saying they believe that the ultimate understanding of class material is a better characterization of a grade. Another important guideline issued by the district in the new policy is that test retakes must be readily available and give full credit. This change is another one designed
with the idea of understanding in mind, as in classes where tests represent such a large percentage of the grade, just one failed assessment could completely tank a student’s grade on its own. Therefore, students will be able to retake tests whose grades they were unsatisfied with, gaining full credit for their understanding regardless of whether that understanding was present during the time of the initial test or not. Similarly to the test retake policy, late work will be accepted without a penalty under the new guidelines (unless it is turned in with less than seven days left in the trimester). Overall, the changes in the grading policy will be a net positive for students. While there are certainly tangible negative effects to some of the changes, grades that more accurately reflect understanding should lead to a consistent system where students are encouraged to ask for help in understanding the material and are provided with the resources they need to do well, and the time and leeway to achieve their desired grades.
THE LITTLE HAWK THELITTLEHAWK.COM DECEMBER 17, 2021
A15 NEWS
ICCSD Should Implement A Vaccine Mandate Undervaccination has already cost lives all over the US, ICCSD must take steps to prevent this in City High by implementing a vaccine mandate ART BY ROSANGEL FLORES RUBIO
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By Julius Perez
t is not up for debate that undervaccination is a problem costing lives. The New York Times estimates that between July and August, 16,000+ preventable deaths occured due to lack of vaccination. An analysis from the Associated Press highlights that nearly all lives lost to Covid belong to the unvaccinated. The various reasons why Americans are refusing the vaccine are not well-kept secrets, and it’s surely not due to any lack of doses. The deep politicization of vaccines has greatly contributed to a distinct absence of more vaccine mandates. Just look at how hysterical conspiracy theories are teaming up with a lack of trust in institutions, underestimation of COVID-19, and miseducation on how the vaccine works to plague the minds of many Americans into selfishly rejecting the jab. This could all be so conveniently solved by a vaccine mandate. Whether or not you trust or accept the CDC, it remains the best, most credible option for medical information on COVID. The CDC stands by the vaccine as completely safe, regardless of variant and now almost every age as Pfizer has officially asked the FDA to approve its vaccine for kids ages 5-11. This means that soon, nearly every student enrolled in ICCSD will be eligible for
a vaccine. The fact that receiving a vaccine is safer than going without one is backed up by an ever-growing mountain of evidence, dedicated to debunking misinformation on the topic. It really is true that only a fraction of a fraction of people that received the vaccine had severe symptoms. A representative for the CDC has noted that only 11 out of one million people report having an anaphylactic reaction to the vaccine. The bottom line is that the vaccine is safe. ICCSD definitely has the facilities to conduct and enforce a vaccine mandate. Although legality is another potential concern, ICCSD definitely has the legal ability to do so. Code 641.7, the existing immunization law passed by the Iowa Legislature, outlines the legality for a school district to establish a vaccine mandate . All US public schools already have required immunizations for students, this shouldn’t be, and isn’t any different. This is great for all advocates of public health and those who wish to keep kids safe. Various school districts across the country have already started to take measures to increase vaccination numbers in their schools. The Los Angeles United School District has put in place a vaccine mandate for staff and students that are 12 years of age and older in early September. Those who are eligible in the LAUSD have until January 10, 2022, to get vaccinated. The Sacramento Unified
School District has adhered to their motto of “keeping children safe,” and has also implemented a vaccine mandate which will come into effect November 30. New York City has also already mandated the vaccine for educators, having all teachers and staff vaccinated would undoubtedly be a win. Unfortunately, that would only be the bare minimum. The well-being and health of many other students would still be in jeopardy, making it a sacrifice we cannot afford. When we consider the doability of mandating vaccines in our district, it’s important to note that these examples are all far larger than ICCSD. For example, LAUSD is a district that serves over 600,000 students. If districts of this magnitude have the ability to establish and enforce a vaccine mandate, ICCSD certainly can as well. Again, there are already vaccination requirements in place for students in public schools: it’s required for evevwwry student enrolled in kindergarten to have certain immunizations before they begin school, and students must get more vaccinations before they start in junior high as well. The Covid vaccine should be no different. As obvious as it may seem, the question of whether vaccine mandates actually result in more vaccinations must be decisively answered: they do. This can be seen through the positive results of such precaution. The efficacy of these vac-
cine mandates is clear in data collected by the CDC/NCHS and Census from efforts to reduce the prevalence of the varicella virus (chickenpox) in people ages 17 and under. These endeavors were successful, as the number of cases decreased from well over 2 million cases in 1999 to just under 280,000 cases in 2015. This overwhelming success can be attributed to mandated immunizations from schools, as with the introduction of the chickenpox vaccine and school mandates of immunization cases dramatically decreased in students. This is not an isolated incident; vaccines for smallpox, polio, tetanus, rubella, and many others have shown significant reductions in cases in schools. COVID-19 is a once in a lifetime level of efficiently contagious virus that requires an appropriately efficient response. A Covid vaccine in our school district has the potential to save student lives by preventing and reducing Covid cases, just like so many school vaccine mandates have done in the past. The need for a COVID-19 vaccination mandate in the ICCSD is supported by comprehensive scientific research and a plethora of successful historical examples of school-mandated immunizations. The question is no longer whether or not we should implement vaccine mandates in schools, in all honesty it should never have been. We must now ask, when, and how.
Educational Inequality In America: Democrats Must Be Held Accountable Educational inequality in America is a problem whose importance can not be understated.Despite Democrat’s promises, both parties are to blame as well By Isaac Bullwinkle One of the most important factors to ensure a successful and happy future for children in the United States is education. The opportunity to learn should be one available to all children, despite their socioeconomic status, race, ethnicity, or simply the affluence of the area in which they live. Despite this, educational inequality is still one of the most pressing issues in this country, and those in power, even in Democrat-controlled states, are not doing enough to address it. In the United States, school funding is largely controlled by the state government rather than the federal government. In many states, the amount of funding allocated to schools is essentially based on a combination of the property and income taxes of that school’s district. School districts whose property and income taxes raise a higher amount of money will receive more funding for their schools than districts with a lower amount of tax money raised. The students who need
additional resources the most get the least funding, while students who need the least get the most. It gets worse. Because of this structure of resource allocation, rich people can essentially create a district around a concentration of wealth and that district will receive a large amount of funding because it is only composed of wealthy people who live in expensive houses, an egregious example of this being in Cook county, Illinois. One of the largest and most populous counties in the country, Cook county houses 168 different school districts. One district, Oak Park-River Forest, which is home to one school which enrolls 3098 students, received $82 million in funding for fiscal year 2020. Directly south of this district is the Berwyn North district, which houses four schools and 3317 students. Berwyn North, which is a geographically significantly smaller district, received just $44 million in funding in fiscal year 2020. According to Zillow,
the average property value in Oak Park is $445,492. In Berwyn? $278,455. Race must be taken into consideration in this issue as well. Black and Hispanic students are disproportionately affected by educational inequality as they attend lower-income schools a startling 60% of the time, while white students attend lower-income schools just 18% of the time. This inadequacy in funding leads to tangible learning impacts on lower-income schools, with graduation rates for low-poverty schools being 23% higher than that of high-poverty schools. Minority students are being set up to fail, and those in power are not doing anything close to enough to change that. Both the executive and legislative branches of the Illinois state legislature are controlled by Democrats. The Governor of Illinois, JB Pritzker, is a Democrat. In their 2020 Party Platform, Democrats wrote “it is the government’s responsibility to ensure that every child, everywhere, is able to receive
a world-class education that enables them to lead meaningful lives, no matter their race, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, religion, disability status, language status, immigration or citizenship status, household income or ZIP code.” And yet Democrats in power in Illinois aren’t doing anything to change the system that directly contradicts their “platform.” This issue cannot be blamed on Republicans, it is simply pure inaction and hypocrisy on the part of the Democrats. The burden of inducing actual change does not just rest on the shoulders of politicians. It also rests on those who are fortunate enough to be a part of affluent communities who can fight for the people who don’t have a voice to those in power. For too long the sentiment of upper-middle class liberals has been “I believe in X policy, but it doesn’t work in my neighborhood for Y reason.” If we want to create actual change, this must end.
THE LITTLE HAWK THELITTLEHAWK.COM DECEMBER 17, 2021
CULTURE A16
ART BY ROSANGEL FLORES RUBIO
The French Dispatch By Araminta Siegling Described as a “love letter to journalists”, this film has many of today’s most popular actors such as Timothee Chalamet, Elisabeth Moss, Bill Murray, and Saoirse Ronan. I would go as far to say that it is one of the best films of the fall, with beautiful visuals, and an amazing sound track. One of the issues I had with this film was the stylistic choice of jumping around to different stories, each of which could have been their own full-length film. This makes the film hard to follow along with, but I can understand why Anderson made this choice. The film is split into sections, like that of a newspaper. Each section has its main story portrayed in the film, such as a dramatic kidnapping of a police commissioner - in the tastes and smells section. In most of the stories, pretentious writers get carried away with the story until it does not identify with their section at all. I was excited for this film because of its cast, and because of the director. I love Wes Anderson’s other films, because of his signature visuals. When you go to see a Tim Burton movie, you expect pale characters with a sickly and sullen appearance, and when you see a Wes Anderson movie, you expect something charming and beautifully crafted, maybe even with stop motion animals. This movie lacked the animals, but still had the beautiful color scheme that makes Wes Anderson films so recognizable and iconic. I love many of the actors in this cast, particularly Bill Murray from his performance in Sofia Coppola’s Lost in Translation, Saoirse Ronan in Little Women and Ladybird, and Timothee Chalamet from those same films. I had a suspicion that Timothee and Saoirse would interact in the film, as they have been love interests in two previous movies, but that did not happen. They have beautiful chemistry, and are great actors on their own, but I think if Wes Anderson had incorporated them together in this it would have added to the film.
Spencer By Araminta Siegling The newest film nurturing everyone’s current obsession over Lady Di is finally out. Starring Kristen Stewart as the late princess, this dramatization of Princess Diana’s marriage to Prince Charles. Chilean Director Pablo Larraín, known for his 2016 academy award nominated biopic “Jackie,” brings a horror-like twist to the biopic format. With perfect costuming and on-point casting, Surprisingly, she hit the this movie has virtually nail on the head with the no flaws. I particularly appreciate what Larraín film’s opening scene. Krisdid with the color scheme, ten Stewart decked head and how he was able to to toe in Chanel, walking balance the tragedy of Dithrough a muddy field in ana’s life with amazing coher spotless black heels, medic moments. Powerful shots, like Diana wearing a to take a tattered coat off Chanel Christmas gown, of an old scarecrow. collapsed on a bathroom floor with intricate tiles, show the artistry that went into this film. Costume designer Jacqueline Durran, known for Little Women’s catastrophic costuming, was given the responsibility of capturing Princess Diana’s unique Sloane-Ranger style. The film’s serious tone, punctuated by well written jokes that highlight the late princess’s personality that made her so beloved, create a unique atmosphere. Larraín’s newest film should definitely be on your watch list.
Dune
By Eviann Smith
Stepping through the doors of the TCL Chinese Theatre, with stars under my feet and metal dragons above my head, my excitement for the newest premiere escalated. Filled with an astonishing cast, names such as Timothee Chalamet, Rebecca Furguson, Zendaya, and Iowa native Jason Momoa, Dune has fans going hungry in anticipation for action. This illustrious setting heightened my hopes for the film but ultimately I was disappointed in Dune. This snail-like film allows for it to be summarized into one sentence: a young boy, Paul Atreides, needs to keep his planet afloat and somehow manage to survive a sandworm all in a span of 150 minutes. While the audience was baited with occasional glimpses of the sensational Zendaya, the overall inclusion of the young Hollywood star was little to none. I find it astonishing her $300,000 paycheck came from her appearance in only seven minutes of a two-and-a-half-hour film. Where might I find myself this good of a gig? Additionally, the forming argument of the much shorter but equally action-filled 1984 version of Dune may have been too overloaded with too much of the book and not many unifying transitions within the film. Whereas the new rendition is split in two, in hopes to solve this conundrum. Negatives aside, the authentic visuals within the cinematography and the diversity of languages allowed for some pleasing aspects of Dune. With a substantial amount of languages throughout the film, including those defined by finger movements or by using the voice, the diverse forms of speech did allow for entertaining and unexpected parts of the film. As the ending credits rolled, I recapped the minutes of my life that I will never get back. If you do find a sudden urge to see Dune for yourself, you might want to lower your expectations or bring along some caffeine to prevent any urge of dozing off.
THE LITTLE HAWK THELITTLEHAWK.COM DECEMBER 17, 2021
CULTURE A17
Fashion & Music McBling This style sported by 2000s celebs is back By Wisdom Konu
ART BY WISDOM KONU
Low-rise jeans, velour tracksuits, and bedazzled tank tops are back on the rise along with McBling fashion. The style of the 2000’s is back. McBling has sprung back into style as Gen Z looks at past decades for fashion inspiration. Often mislabeled as Y2K, McBling is back and is trendy as ever. The McBling aesthetic and the Y2K aesthetic are often confused for one another, but are distinctly different. The Y2K era is what jump started the McBling aesthetic after it died down around 2003. The term was coined by Evan Collins of the Y2K Aesthetics Institute in 2016. The Y2K aesthetic is technology based and relies on futuristic looks. According to the Y2K Aesthetic Institute, some of its aspects include tight leather pants, silver eyeshadow, and shiny clothing.
McBling is unmistakably different from the spacey and futuristic fashion of Y2K — an era of juicy couture tracksuits, celebrity scandals and bedazzling. The McBling aesthetic revolves around excess and luxury. The perfect film to watch for a McBling introduction is Tina Fey’s “Mean Girls.” The film’s characters strive to appear wealthy and effortlessly cool. The aesthetic started gaining real momentum on social media last year, when quarantine caused Gen Z to resort to TikTok, where vintage fashion and pop culture thrive. Gen Z’s knack for thrifting, upcycling, and reselling has also become an important factor to consider in the return of early 2000s styles. According to Lyst, a global fashion search platform, Juicy Couture searches are up 179% this year versus last year. Want to dress in the McBling style? First, acquire an OG set of the Big Bling Velour Tracksuit. Then, style your velour with matching tube tops, bralettes, and chunky sandals. For an extra touch, choose some bright colored shades and pair your outfit with a mini Von Dutch bowling bag.
Read full album reviews at the QR code
Album cover by Tinashe Music
Album cover from MSFTMusic, Roc Nation, and Polydor Records
Sneaker Culture
A look into the world of expressing yourself through unique shoes By Sophia Lusala
Besides your reason behind the sneakers, sneaker culture can build The rise of sneaker culture be- a community that appreciates the gan to breakthrough in the 1980s materials and craft of sneakers, mayspecifically because of the release be it is the chase of finding a sneaker of famous basketball player Miche- nobody else can have, or the search al Jordan and his personal branded for a pair of sneakers that represents sneakers which are known today you enough for a person to look at as “Jordans.” While not all sneak- your shoes and have an idea of your erheads admire personality. Jordans, through Multi-colored basketball, hip- “Sneakers go far beyond Jordans to all-white hop, and magaAir Forces, many just shoes we wear zines, we saw a different colors, rise in popularity to protect our feet, to styles, and patterns for the sneakers you can choose to some people they are simply individuthese basketball players, rappers, yourself. You shoes you wear to rep- alize and famous figcan keep them in resent yourself.” ures had on their the box just to pull feet. them out on the SOPHIA LUSALA There are right occasions, or CITY HIGH SENIOR many differwear them every ent reasons for day till they fall people’s love for apart, although sneakers, such as reselling; when some sneakerheads might hate on you buy a sneaker at a lower price you for that option. and sell it for higher, the popularWhat you choose to do with ity from having deadstock sneakers your sneakers is completely your on your feet, or a personal favorite choice, if you feel like beating up simply because it is a way of self-ex- your sneakers helps them better pression. represent you, then that’s the case.
ART BY WISDOM KONU
THE LITTLE HAWK THELITTLEHAWK.COM DECEMBER 17, 2021
CULTURE A18
HUMANS of CITY HIGH Maha Mohammed ‘22 By Marina Escandell and Lulu Roarick PHOTO BY LULU ROARICK
Q: What are you most afraid of right now? A: I’m most afraid of failure. Q: Has there ever been pressure from your household or from other students to pursue academics? A: Definitely. My parents, [they] are immigrants. They’re so strict, and they’re Arab, too. They’ve always pushed me to like college, get a good degree, get a good job, and all that. Q: Do you want to tell us a bit about how your experience has been as a child of immigrants? Having pressure on you, how is that different? A: I feel the pressure is much more when it comes to kids who are children of immigrants because they come to this country completely new. They don’t speak the language or anything like that, and they’re learning everything from the very beginning. There is so much pressure [for immigrants] to understand documents that they get and [need] translate[d] for them, and then go on to school. You’re bilingual pretty much for the rest of your life, with English and whatever language you speak. There’s a lot of pressure with
that, too. Q: Do you have a specific instance, where you felt that sort of dynamic? Do you have a specific story? A: I remember literally all the time having to help my dad with his resume; type it out for him and everything. I remember in fifth grade, I had to do it. My mom was taking college classes for her bachelor’s degree. There was an English course that she had to take, it was pretty simple English because she didn’t know English very well at the time. So I would read her books, and then I would write essay[s] for her and she would submit [them]. Wow, it was so fun. I got money for it, though.
Margalit Frank ‘24 By Marina Escandell and Lulu Roarick PHOTO BY LULU ROARICK
Q: Do you have any stories you want to tell us? A: At [Jewish] camp, [there’s] this thing that we do every Thursday night: Everybody goes into this library area and we all sit there. It’s like, 60 to 70 people. It’s dark and it’s overlooking the lake and it’s really pretty. They always have fairy lights. and we all sing songs for 45 minutes together. I really like how it builds a community among Jewish youth.
Q: How has your religion enriched your life? A: I think it’s given me a deeper sense of culture. Like what community can mean to a person. It’s shown me the importance of having a group of people who share something in common with you. It impacts a lot of my friendships too. Whether it’s because they are also Jewish or just because they are another minority. It’s like understanding what it feels like to be another minority. It’s something we can talk about. Q: How do your friendships impact you? A: There are only a couple of Jewish people my age here. So to be able to go to camp and be surrounded by people who come
from the same background as me is a really big privilege. It helps me connect with my heritage. I remember in seventh-grade, my camp friends and I would drive to each other’s bar mitzvahs. They were hours and hours away from each other, but we still made those big trips to stay connected. Once, on a Friday night, two of my friends from that camp came and visited me from Chicago and Minneapolis. Their parents came, too, and we all had Shabbat Dinner together. My mom cooked a really big meal for us and then we all sat down, and we talked and had that bonding experience. It was really nice.
A19 A&E
THE LITTLE HAWK THELITTLEHAWK.COM DECEMBER 17, 2021
Art Department Offers Two New Art Classes Printmaking and advanced graphic design are taught for the first time By Noah Seebeck TOP RIGHT: Naaron Cardona ’23 holding one of his custom shoes in the art show. PHOTOS BY ARAMINTA SIEGLING
End of Trimester Art Show Resurrected
BOTTOM LEFT: Student work lined the art room during the End of the Trimester Show. PHOTOS BY ARAMINTA SIEGLING
City High’s art program is extensive, with many classes already available for its students. This year, new art classes, printmaking and advanced graphic design, are being offered to students. Printmaking is a class that has never been offered at City before. The class includes many ways of making “stamps”, which are pressed onto a surface using ink to create the final product. Dan Peterson taught two periods of the class this first trimester, and is hoping to continue to teach this class for a long time in the future. “[Printmaking] is all about the process that allows you to make multiple copies of stuff,” Peterson said. In addition to the printmaking class, City High has also added a new graphic design course, a class that has been highly anticipated by the art teachers. Advanced graphic design has been offered in the past, but this is the first year it has had enough students interested to be able to be taught as a class. The class teaches students who have experience in graphic design how to create art digitally, which may be of interest to students who are not into more traditional art forms. “Advanced graphic design is something that Michael [Close] has been hoping to teach for years, but we haven’t had enough interest. So finally, we’re going to have students doing some pretty top notch digital art,” Peterson said. These new classes are expanding City’s art horizons, and creating a more diverse program with exposure to different media forms. “We want to do stuff that kids are not usually exposed to in high school,” Peterson said. “Printmaking isn’t something that [most] kids get to do a lot of until college oftentimes.” In the future, the art department hopes to provide even more classes to appeal to every artist at City, such as an advanced ceramics class. “I feel like we’re just trying to get our programs to be the best in the city. The best in the state,” Peterson said.
A20 A&E
THE LITTLE HAWK THELITTLEHAWK.COM DECEMBER 17, 2021
Art Students Use Raku Firing to Create Ceramics Ceramics students experience a new art technique in which clay sculptures are rapidly burned in a fire, producing a unique effect unattainable by the electrical kiln
ABOVE: City High students have created many sculptures using the raku firing technique. PHOTOS BY ARAMINTA SIEGLING & ANASTACIA LAUX By Anastacia Laux
P
roducing a metallic, crackled appearance, ceramics class students work on an art project unlike any other they have done during the first trimester of this school year. Different from most clay pieces, the sculptures were baked through a rapid raku firing process, involving placing the clay into fuming flames. “[The technique creates] a finish that you can’t get any other way,” Michael Close, one of the art teachers who fired the clay, said. “It’s so cool. It’s just a nice thing to share because there are all these different ways to fire clay and the glazes, you can do it in the electric kiln like how it’s always been done, you can do it with raku, you can have a wood-burning kiln, you can make a hole in the ground and have a fire... The raku is just one of those things that we can actually do
at school.” nities previously untaught at City High. While the typical process for baking clay “I really liked it,” Geneva Bristow ‘22 is through the use of an electric kiln, raku is said after having fired her clay in ceramics done through a more dangerous and tedious class. “I’m sure lots of people would like to process performed outdoors. After the clay try [raku] because it’s not that different from is glazed, it is placed in a kiln fired by pro- regular clay, but I think that it’s overall coolpane torches. Blasting flames engulf the clay er and the way that the clay came out being and burn it just until its molten state, from just a little bit burnt was kind of cool.” which the red-hot Baking the ceclay is removed. ramics using this “[The technique creates] a finish “[Raku] creates outdoor fired kiln that you can’t get any other way.” these funky effects produces characterMICHAEL CLOSE in the glazes, and istics unattainable they’re formulated to by the indoor kiln. become metallic glazes or to crackle and ab- The key difference lies in the rapid heating sorb smoke through the clay pores. It’s pret- caused by the fire, which cuts down the ty intense and you just can’t do any of that baking time from over a dozen hours to less with an indoor kiln,” Dan Peterson, another than one hour. This rapid succession of heat art teacher, said. burns the clay and causes the glazes to create Creating ceramics using the raku method a metallic, crackled appearance. has provided students with artistic opportuOne of the most difficult challenges of
raku for the art teachers was not the clay firing itself, but rather the construction and preparation of the kiln. Peterson and Close began planning for the project during the last school year, creating a prototype kiln and doing research. Everything from the air circulation to the internal temperature needed to be monitored. “The physics are tricky. If you get them wrong, they’re a pain to go back and fix because you’re cementing things into place inside of the kiln,” Peterson said. Having had a successful raku firing this fall, the art teachers hope to bring back the technique every year, or even every trimester. “The neatest thing is watching somebody take their piece and clean it off [from the soot], and those sheen and metallic colors start showing and you see the look on their face,” Close said. “It’s like, ‘Oh, this is awesome.’”
City High Band Marches Home the Victory After a full competition day, the City High marching band places high in both events placed in the first division at State. Later, the band travelled to Muscatine to be a part of ity High’s marching band attend- the Muskie Marching Invitational, where the ed two different competitions on band placed first in the 4A category, and secSaturday, October 9, with one in ond place overall. An award was also given to Cedar Rapids and the other in the band for the best drumline in 4A. Muscatine. Despite starting “I think Saturday was a at nine in the morning and memory that I will never ever “We’re always ending past midnight, the diforget because it was just so rectors report that spirits were looking to push the special,” Mr. Ottmar, the other high throughout the day. City High band director, said. envelope of what “[I’m] just very proud of These wins are expected to the hard work and the depush the City High band to we’re capable of.” greater levels and to accomtermination to conquer that beast,” Mr. Kowbel, one of MICHAELKOWBEL plish more difficult things. CITY HIGH TEACHER City’s band directors, said. “We’re always looking to The first competition was push the envelope of what in Cedar Rapids at the IHSwe’re capable of and because MA State Marching Band Festival. The we executed well this year, I think that it band was performing this year’s James Bond opens the door to doing harder things in the themed show entitled “007,” which was future,” Kowbel said.
C
By Noah Seebeck
ABOVE: City High Marching Band performs at Bates Field Follies. PHOTO BY AVA BREWER
THE LITTLE HAWK THELITTLEHAWK.COM DECEMBER 17, 2021
A21 A&E
Meet the Artists By Mary Cate Pugh
ART BY NAVARO NEHRING Navaro Nehring ‘22 has been creating art from a very young age. As soon as he could use a pen, he began drawing stick figures and developing his artistic presence. Nehring’s parents are naturally artistic people who encouraged and supported his interests. As a family, they often visited art museums, so Nehring grew to love the look of traditional paintings. He was influenced by American abstract painters such as Arthur Dove and Georgia O’Keeffe, as well as many mid 20th century French artists. “I really like artists that show their own creativity and do something that expresses themselves in a way that’s unique to them,” Nehring said. As an artist, Nehring strives to paint an image or a place more realistically than a photo could. His artwork captures the feeling he had when he was there, whether that means
Navaro Nehring creating a realistic depiction or deviating from the images dramatically. “I’m not always in favor of doing things that are realistic. When I see something that’s a really beautiful image, I want to capture that moment more realistically than a photo could. I think that’s what draws me to artwork,” Nehring said. Moving forward, Nehring does not plan to make a living off of his work. His artistic interests are for his enjoyment, so he does not wish to use them as a means of financial success.
“It doesn’t really have to do with making a profit out of it or benefiting yourself, like in material ways…You do it for yourself in terms of actually making physical artwork,” Nehring said. Instead, Nehring hopes to study art history. Whether it’s fine art or everyday items, he is interested in studying artists’ design processes. “Looking at art and examining what it’s doing, and really why the person made it the way they did, is something that really fascinates me,” Nehring said.
Jocelyn Harte
ART BY JOCELYN HARTE
Jocelyn Harte ‘22 has always known she was an artist. Her mother, an art historian and teacher, involved Harte in an array of her classes and introduced her to various mediums at an early age. “She worked with a wide range of ages, so I got to experiment with different types of paints. A lot of collage and crafts. It was a huge variety of projects. She’s also an art historian, so her main thing is teaching art history along with making art,” Harte said. Although art has always been Harte’s main focus, she began to seriously develop her skills during her freshman year. “I have always been involved, but I think I got really serious about it at the start of high school. I really invested time into it,” Harte said. As she was developing her artistic style, she drew inspiration from studying the “old masters” as well as contemporary artists emerging on social media. Harte also enjoys collaborating with friends that share her artistic interests. “A lot of my friends are artists, and I’ve made a lot of
friends online through art. There is a shared passion for it and we have a lot of the same struggles with technical aspects,” Harte said. “We can help each other and think of new ideas.” Harte finds a sense of belonging and understanding within the artist community, no matter their skill level or style. Participating in City High’s Art Club or other art classes allow students with similar interests to gather, collaborate, and find common ground. Harte has already begun building a career around her work. “I’d like to be able to do what I love and earn money,” Harte said. “It’s kind of like a balancing act, one without the other doesn’t work as much.” Apart from financial success, Harte strives to enjoy the artistic process and produce a result that she is proud of. “It doesn’t have to be [formal or prestigious]. It’s just sharing what you love, like anything else,” Harte said.
Naaron Cardona Naaron Cardona ‘23 started developing as an artist in his sophomore year. Through participating in City High’s Art Club and experimenting on his own, he began to create his artistic style using acrylic paints, printmaking, and collage. Cardona draws inspiration and motivation from artists like Jean-Michel Basquiat and The Shoe Surgeon. “[The Shoe Surgeon] actually just takes apart shoes and stitches on them and makes them completely different,” Car-
ART BY NARRON CARDONA
dona said. Inspired by emerging sneaker culture, Cardona transports his designs onto shoes, combining everyday fashion with artistry. After high school, he hopes to build a career as an artist, although his main goals don’t center around money. “I think it’s mostly self-fulfillment. I’m not really in it for the money,” Cardona said. “Just expressing my ideas, and inspiring other people to do art too is my main goal.”
SPORTS
THE LITTLE HAWK THELITTLEHAWK.COM DECEMBER 17, 2021
It’s Only the Beginning for the Women’s Wrestling Team There is a brand new women’s wrestling team here at City High. By popular demand, Phillip Hansen, Jeff Koenig, as well as many other teachers and coaches created a new environment for girls to compete in wrestling
ABOVE: Sierra Pruessner ‘24 poses for a photo. PHOTO BY TOMMY JUNE SIMMONS
By Tommy June Simmons This year marks the first season of City High girls wrestling, and the team has already competed in one meet. “I was so excited when I found out that City was introducing a women’s wrestling team. I used to wrestle with the boys during the summer but am glad there is a women’s team,” said Natalia Flack
‘25, a student at City that has been involved in wrestling since 8th grade. “I am so proud of my teammates coming out for wrestling.” Women’s wrestling is underway with the guidance of coaches Ryan Ahlers and Jeff Koenig. This is City High School’s first women’s wrestling team that has been started with the help of Phil Hansen, Jeff Koenig, as well as Cory Connell. “The interest for girls wrestling
in the community and state has been increasing over the past few years. We knew we had some girls interested and needed to find a way to get them involved in the sport,” Phillip Hansen, the athletic director said. The coaches hope to grow the program and encourage girls to get involved. Currently, practices are open to all ages and they have had some girls from South East Junior
High join them at practice. Practice is held in the new wrestling room at 6 pm on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday. “For girls to grow up knowing that wrestling is a winter sport option for them in high school is really exciting and we hope to build a program that can compete with the best and win championships,” Ahlers said. The first wrestling competition
for the women was Monday, December 6th at CR Prairie. The first home match is on December 13th for junior varsity. There will also be a Duel at West High School on December 22nd. “Each day the girls come to practice with a smile on their faces, work hard the entire time and leave with that same smile which makes the job of coaching them very special,” Koenig said.
A23 SPORTS
THE LITTLE HAWK THELITTLEHAWK.COM DECEMBER 17, 2021
Girls Bowling Roll a 970 to Set a New School Record
City High varsity girls smash the 928 school record scoring 970 in the baker round. The team improved to a 2-0 record on the year. Laste year the girls’ team qualified for state and placed sixth. The boys are led by seniors Nile Franz and Tyler Cermak.
TOP LEFT: Avra Lauer ‘23 looks down the lane before she bowls. BOTTOM LEFT: Senior captain Nile Franz watches his ball travel down the lane. PHOTOS BY JACK DEGNER
TOP RIGHT: Britney Russell ‘22 prepares for her attempt. BOTTOM RIGHT: Makayla Saylor ‘22 leads the team with 746 total pins.
A Letter From the Editors Dear Readers, Long time no see, sorry we couldn’t fit our letter in the last issue, but for that reason, this one is going to be extra special. Also, behind the scenes we have had a change, and we would like to welcome a new editor Lauren Koch to the team, as Alice has decided to move to news. However changes in management does not mean that sports slow down, so here is your rundown of the sports section. With the beginning of the winter season, we’ve got some cool stories to share. Boys and girls basketball are starting their season off strong, both ranked in the top 5 in class 5A. City High is welcoming a new girls wrestling program for the first time in school history, and the girls bowling team has already broken a school record only two meets into their season. Looking forward, we can’t wait to see what these sports, and others will be able to achieve during their season. Now go ahead, read the issue, and please, enjoy.
Max Berry-Stoelzle and Lauren Koch Sp o r t s E d i t o r s
A24 SPORTS
THE LITTLE HAWK THELITTLEHAWK.COM DECEMBER 17, 2021
ABOVE: Jovan Harris ‘22 celebrates a teammate making three pointer at the game against Muscatine. PHOTO BY TOMMY JUNE SIMMONS
Boys Basketball Season Begins The boy’s basketball season is underway, ranking fifth in class 5A. Taking down Burglinton and Muscatine, the boys are looking forward to future competitions By Tommy June Simmons
ABOVE: Taeveon Stevens ‘24 directs his teammates in the game against Burlington. PHOTO BY TOMMY JUNE SIMMONS
Outscoring Muscatine by 40 points, and Burlington by 18, the team has already proved their offensive abilities. Starting off the season strong with two wins, the team rose to a number 5 state ranking. “I think and I hope that we’ll be able to live up to what we know we’re capable of living up to, and the expectations and standards that we’ve set for ourselves.” Thomas Ksobiech ‘23 said. Seniors Jamari Newson and Darren Richardson are stepping up this year. Contributing largely on offense, both are ready to lead the team. As multi-sport athletes at City High, Newson and Richardson also played on City High’s state semi-finalist football team. “I have strong feelings with my team.” Darren Richardson ‘22 said. “I’m confident about this year because this is my senior year. In the future I see the team making it to the Wells Fargo Arena to compete at state.” This year, the basketball team is coached by Brennan Swayzer and his assistant coach Shamari Scott. Swayzer has more than thirteen years of coaching experience after Larry Brown, the previous basketball
coach. Brown had been a teacher, coach, and athletic director at City for 25 years. Brown told Swayzer to meet with him to coach at Southeast Junior High to start off his career. “Swayzer has really brought his defensive-minded mentality to the team and laid the groundwork for what he wants this program to be. I think he’s doing a good job, being able to build it back up to what it used to be and what it should be.” Ksobiech said. After Swayzer coached at Southeast, he came to City High for about five years, went up to West High, and now is back at City. “In the future, I see the team stepping up to the challenges and getting the payoff for everything they’ve been working towards.” Swayzer, head coach of the boy’s basketball team said. This year, both the girls and boys basketball teams are playing in the new arena. The arena provides a large space for players to compete and students to watch. There is a full 360 view on the balcony and bleachers below. “I think the new gym is very professional. Cheering and playing at the arena gives more of a fun atmosphere than the old gym,” said Anna Gayley ‘22, captain of the cheer team.
ABOVE: Jamari Newson ‘22 prepares to shoot a free throw. PHOTO BY TOMMY JUNE SIMMONS