October 2018 Volume 93
Issue 2
President Donald Trump came to Council Bluffs for his Make America Great Again rally flanked by supporters on October 2. Photo by: Paxton DeVault
MAGA rally in CB Chrys Winchell Reporter
President Donald Trump visited Council Bluffs at the MidAmerican Center this Tuesday at 6:30pm for a stop on his Make America Great Again Rally. This is the fourth time Trump has held a rally in Council Bluffs since his presidential campaign began back in 2015. “This is truly a historic week for America.” Trump began his program by referencing the day before where the White House “proudly swore in the newest member [Kavanaugh]” as a supreme court justice. The president went back to the
Kavanaugh subject several times. “The democrats are even talking about doing really bad things now to Justice Kavanaugh. Last week they said they’d impeach him,” Trump said. “But I have to go first, right?” With the supporters cheering on, Trump did not hesitate to take a few jabs at the competing party stating, “They’ve gotten crazy. The democrats, or as some people would say - the dims.” “The only reason to vote democrat is if you’re tired of winning.” Protestors were kept at a distance but did not hesitate to display their opposing views.
Supporters, however jumped for joy when Trump repeated, “Justice for Kavanaugh” several times in his speech. Throughout the rally, Trump did talk about his accomplishments so far being, “The greatest trade deals”, “the biggest regulatory cuts, so far,” and, “The biggest tax cuts and reforms - we got a lot of money back.” Trump went on to add, “Iowa’s unemployment rate is 2.5%, among the lowest in its history.” and that, “The national unemployment rate has fallen to 3.7%. 3.7% - the lowest in 50 years.” “Democrats are the party of
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crime.” Trump noted. “Republicans are the party of safety. We are the party of jobs, jobs, jobs.” A rising issue highly related to Iowa and Nebraska regarding gasoline was also discussed by the president. “We’re going with E15 year ‘round,” Trump stated. “Promises made, promises kept.” This is important because Iowa is the leading producer of corn and ethanol in the United States, ethanol is made from corn, and E15 is 15% ethanol which could mean big changes for the state of Iowa. Trump also expressed conflicts related to ICE. “The new platform of the democratic party is to abolish ICE.” Trump accused. “Republicans stand proudly with the brave men and women of ICE and border control.”
If any arguments were made, Trump responded with, “The people who work for ICE are very tough people. But guess what? That’s what we need.” The president wrapped up his rally with a few intense statements. “For years you watched as your leaders apologized for America. Now you have a president that is standing up for America.” As a rally, the president pushed for the “loyal citizens” who “helped build this country” to either participate in early voting or vote November 2nd. “We will never back down, we will never surrender, and we will always fight to victory, because we are Americans, and our hearts bleed red, white, and blue.” Trump ended the rally with his famous slogan, “Make America Great Again.”
Top Left: Trump listens to the crowd chant at his MAGA rally in Council Bluffs. Top Right: Trump pumps his fist in agreement of his statement about the GOP figures to his right he addressed at the rally. Bottom: After stating that the media is the enemy of the people, the crowd turns back to the press pool at the MAGA rally at MidAmerica Center in Council Bluffs, IA on October 2.
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News
Hoedown Throwdown Left to right: Auberianna Flanagan, Miguel Cortez, Camaryn Belt, Hannah Belt, and Jermaine Green getting ready to have one of the best nights of their high school life. Photo provide by: Haily Watts
Heather Giovannoni Reporter This year for homecoming TJ has decided to switch it up a little bit. Monday with multicolored, then twin Tuesday, following that with wrinkle Wednesday, tropical Thursday, and of course Friday is spirit day; this years theme for the
NITARP
dance is Homecoming Hoedown. On multicolored Monday each grade wore a different color. Freshman wore green, Sophomores wore purple, Juniors wore yellow, seniors wore pink, and staff wore blue. Many people participated and wore the color assigned to their grade. Next was twin Tuesday, pick a partner and wear the same thing. You can match shirts, shoes, pants, and even do your hair the same. Many people participated even the teachers.
The third day was wrinkled Wednesday, where kids dressed like elderly people. Some kids went all out, they wore nightgowns, robes, and even had walker or canes. Thursday was tropical, students and teachers wore outfits fit for the beach. Even though it was cold outside, people still came to school wearing shorts, skirts, hula leis, and even some flower shirts. Friday hit the fan with sprit day. Almost the entire school displayed their school spirit. Stu-
NASA/IPAC Teacher Archives Research Program
dents were decked out in orange, white, and black. Some students were even covered in face paint. This years’ Homecoming theme was Homecoming Hoedown. Lots of kids showed up dressed in their cowgirl or cowboy dress attire,. This accounted for jeans, boots, plaid shirts, and hats. While observing the dance, I saw lots of people smiling and dancing. They seemed like they were having a lot of fun. “This homecoming was definitely one to remember, from
Parent Portal
Parents get more control over students online searchs on school computers Kelsie Anderson Reporter
Mrs. Galloway a 9th and 10th grade science teacher was one of the fortune teachers to get this opportunity. Photo by: Kelsie Anderson
Kelsie Anderson Reporter Mrs. Galloway is a science teacher here at TJ who teaches Freshman and Sophomore Earth and Space Science, as well as Biology. Galloway was recently accepted into the The NASA/IPAC Teacher Archive Research Program (NITARP). Galloway said, “I’ve always loved astronomy so I was studying the topic. I also want my students
to see real science and work”. She continued by saying, “I just want my students to be courageous and to go after opportunities”. The NITARP program gives educators the experience of astronomy by working with NASA and having to create their own original research, then they present their research to the American Astronomical Society. Teachers also get to share their experience with their students, and fellow teachers about the entire program. “I will work with a team of
teachers and scientists from NASA, and work on a astronomy research project”. This program can last for up to two years or 18 months. When she was accepted into the program she said, “I felt very excited and also very nervous, but probably the first thing I did was text my husband and my family to tell them that that I had got in”. For a teacher at TJ, it is a great opportunity for furthering learning in our science department for our community.
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the cowboys to the cowgirls everyone made it a night to remember. The music was great along with participation. It was a great night full of hoedowns,” stated visitor Amanda Kephart. Come Monday morning, lots of people were talking about how much fun they had at the dance. All over Facebook there were several posts about homecoming, they stated how much fun they had and posted pictures from that night.
Parents that have students who go to one of the Council Bluffs schools and own a chromebook now get the chance of checking in on what their kids are doing by creating a free account on the Parent Portal. David Fringer Chief Technology officer stated, “Securely is a web based content filtering software that is providing the school district with the technology necessary to stay with the child internet protection act, it’s required that we provide content filtering for school age kids.” Parents who create an account will get weekly emails from Securly.com about their kids recent online activity on their chromes. Students usage on their chromes will now be recorded by Securly. Securly is what the Council Bluffs Community School District uses for their students in order to keep them safe. “There’s really two great reasons for why Securly is great for parents, the first one is for creating communication between
the students and the parents at home so parents know what’s going on at school and what kinds of projects and assignments the students are working on and to make sure that the students are working,” said Fringer. Parents who own an account can login at any time to check on their kids. They have two options for The Parent Portal. The first option is the activity which allows them to see what their kid(s) have recently searched or websites that they have visited. The second option the parents have is the flagged option where they can see what their child has posted on social media such as Snapchat, Facebook, and Twitter. This is usually flagged by Securly as a sign of bullying or self-harm. Fringer said, “Any website you visit is recorded and an email is sent to the parents, the parents can log in and see every website you see and also see your search history such as research for an assignment.” Parents who do not want to receive emails from Securly can unsubscribe when they receive an email.
NEWS
Moving to Semesters The 2019-2020 school year schedule has some differences from the 2018-2019 school schedule from five classes a day to seven classes a day. Photo provide by: CBCSD
when students will begin school and get out of school due to the state law requiring 180 days. An email sent to parents by Diane Ostrowski included next years bell schedule.
Kelsie Anderson Reporter The Council Bluffs Community School District (CBCSD) will be switching from trimesters to semesters starting for the 2019-2020 school year. The CBCSD held a meeting with counselors, teachers, and principals to confirm the future schedule. The difference between a tri-
mester schedule and a semester schedule isn’t that different. Semester schedules have the school year divided into two sessions, each session containing two quarters - the quarters last nine weeks. A trimester schedule gives three sessions, each session containing 12 weeks. “We wanted to more align with our outside partners and we felt that it would be better for our students,” said Principal Dania Freudenberg. “It’s going to be a change for the staff because they’ll have
seven classes instead of five so it will require them to rethink their lessons for 50 minutes.” With having seven classes, the school district is hoping that the students will be taking more electives. Individual classes will give students one credit each trimester. “Were hopeful that it won’t impact the students in a lot of ways, and it helps them take more electives,” stated Freudenberg. Even though more classes have been added, the time that the CB schools begin will not be affected. There will also not be a change for
“We wanted to more align with our outside partners and we felt that it would be better for our students.” - Principal Freudenberg
The email said, “[teachers, principals, and counselors] determined the change to semesters would provide greater opportunities for our high school students to take advantage of college credit courses and other experiences in Career & Technical Education at Iowa Western Community College.” As seen on the schedule provided, the school day will begin
at 8am all week. Mondays will let out at 1:35pm and Tuesdays - Fridays will stay the same at 3:10pm. Students will still get breaks during the fall and spring, they will also still get a summer break. Middle school students will not be experiencing a big change in their schedule because the school day interval will remain the same. “Middle school students will likely not notice a change as all core classes currently meet on an every day/all-year schedule,” as seen on the Semester Calendar Frequently Asked Questions - Parents page. Right now, lunch is 23 minutes long on Mondays and 24 minutes long Tuesday - Fridays. Next year, lunch will be slightly different. All week, lunch will last for exactly 20 minutes. High school students will have the opportunity to earn four additional extra credit classes throughout the school year, compared to the 2018 - 2019 schedule. They will also still be required to earn 48 credits for graduation.
Sharing your ride, saving your hide Uber and lyft are the two biggest public transports in the Omaha/ Council Bluffs area. There have been a lot of scary things said about them throughout the United States. Photo provide by: flickr.com
Chrys Winchell Reporter As high schoolers, most of us don’t have a car. This restriction results in Uber, Lyft, or other taxi services because it’s simple, convenient, and cheap. While Uber and Lyft safety standards are set very high and an unwanted incident is unlikely, there have been some horror stories reported. So here’s a few tips to help you be safe during your trip. 1. Before you get into the car, verify the identity of your driver. Both Uber and Lyft apps provides the name and face of your
driver as well as the car model and license plate number. These features were made to keep riders from getting into an imposters car. “There’s some weird guys sometimes,” Junior Allen Poole stated, “....but it’s not very common.” This is an extra step you don’t need to take when riding in a taxi, but it is worth the time. 2. Let a friend or family member know about your trip. Before riding with an Uber, make sure to let somebody know about your trip whereabouts. “I’ll tell my mom or whoever
I’m texting at the time the name and type of car,” Poole told The Signal. This is a good idea because just in case, if the driver starts to do something sketchy like take a wrong turn, someone knows where you were last . 3. Be a backseat rider. If you’re riding alone, it’s a good idea to sit in the backseat. This way, if there’s something wrong with the driver, he/she won’t be able to touch you. This also gives you easy access to both sides of the vehicle if there’s a busy street next to you. “I always sit in the back,” said
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Senior Yulissa Berumen, “Just so I know he’s not trying to touch me or anything.” 4. Review the reviews. Junior Aubrianna Clayborne stated, “Check the reviews for the people you’re driving with.” Most of the drivers have had high reviews and ratings. Although this is generally the case, it’s still a good idea to check. If you see that the driver has ratings around one or two stars, it’s probably not a good idea to get into the car with them. These ratings could be related to the smell of the car or the type of music played, that’s why you should
also review the the review. These reviews are presented by previous riders with the same driver, so you may find them very helpful. 5. Common Sense If anything, just use your intuition. Drama teacher Abby Custer expressed, “I’ve never personally had a bad experience with Lyft.” She also went on to add, “Just be aware. If you’re feeling weird, you can always have them stop somewhere.” Everyone’s got a “gut feeling”, if you think that you’re unsafe listen to that feeling. Do not take the risk.
SPORTS
THE SIGNAL
Hardware stays Home
Editor-in-Chief Emily Eikenberry Paginator Emily Eikenberry Staff Kelsie Anderson Heather Giovannoni Carter Harold Chrystina Winchell Adviser Rob Lindquist Phone: 712-328-6493 Facebook: CBJacketJournalism Twitter:@TJHSJournalism Web: cbjacketjournalism.com Snapchat: tjhsjournalism
Thomas Jefferson’s football kept the traveling trophy in their hands for another year. #7 Cameron Lukavsky trying to sike out #56 on the AL team. Cameron Baker #25 trying to run the ball down to score another touchdown in his final season for TJ football. Photos by: Nauva Strokes and Emily Eikenberry
Carter Harold Reporter With the Jackets facing off their longtime rival, the Lynx in a city showdown came a lot of preparation. “All week during practice we made sure we had the little things done right and that we were all going into the game with the mindset to make a statement and not that it would be an easy game.” Cameron Baker #25 on the preparation going into his final game. Cameron Baker had a big night in his final game at TJ rushing for 228 yards on 21 attempts including 2 touchdowns one for 69 yards and the other for 8. Cameron Lukavsky also had a big night running the ball
11 times for 141 yards. Lukavsky also went 1-4 passing with 22 yards and a 53 yard punt return that was called back. In the first half things were not going TJ’s way at one point they trailed the Lynx 14-7. In an interview with Baker, the football star talked about the adjustments the jackets made at halftime, “We didn’t do anything special we just knew we had to turn up the intensity a little bit to get us going. Once we got on a roll coming out at half the rest of the game fell into place for us and we just kept on rolling.” But the Jackets were motivated to turn that around, in the second half the Jackets came out and got a 53 yard punt return
by Cameron Lukavsky that was called back but Lukavsky was still able to put points on the board as he held the jackets to a 64 yard scoring drive to make it 20-14 Directly after the Score TJ recovered an onside kick from Senior Ty Harold. Thomas Jefferson then scored on that drive just 6 plays later making the score 28-14. The Jackets big run in the second half helped them get the 42-21 win and bring the trophy back to Thomas Jefferson for the second year in a row. “It felt great to get the win because years later when we reflect on our high school career, as in us seniors, we will have the bragging rights for our class and
as long as I can remember, our last high school game beating AL will be a memorable highlight.“ Cameron Baker on winning his final game against AL. CBTJ (3-6, 2-3)............... 7 7 14 14—42 CBAL (1-8, 1-4)...............7 7 0 7—21 CBAL: Dayton Hiers 10 run (Hampus Jacobson kick) CBTJ: Cameron Lukavsky 59 run (Ty Harold kick) CBAL: Ben Fichter 26 pass from Lennx Brown (Jacobsson kick) CBTJ: Lukavsky 16 run (Harold kick) CBTJ: Seneca Calhoun 5 run (kick failed) CBTJ: Cameron Baker 8 run (Emilio Rubio run) CBTJ: Baker 69 run (Harold kick) CBTJ: Quran Owens fumble recovery in end zone (Harold kick) CBAL: Sean Lorenzen 2 run (Jacobbson kick)
The Signal is a school-sponsored publication of Thomas Jefferson High School 2501 W. Broadway Council Bluffs, Iowa 51501. The Signal’s office is located in the upper library. The Signal is printed by OH-K FASTPRINT in Omaha, NE. The Signal is a school-sponsored-publication and therefore recognizes its responsibility to stay within the boundaries that the school administrator sets. The Signal will therefore inform its readers using a high standard of morals and ethics. The Signal encourages readers to respond in the form of letters to the editor, which can be sent to room C128. The Signal’s editorial staff reserves the right to edit the letters for grammatical errors and to remove any profanity. The editors also reserve the right to exclude letters that are false in their statements or accusations. The Signal will not accept advertisements that promote activities illegal to minors. Advertising rates are available upon request.
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ENTERTAINMENT
Halloween spending reaches scary heights Chrys Winchell Reporter
Originally called Samhain, where bonfires were lit and costumes were put on to ward off evil spirits, Halloween has evolved through the centuries into a thrilling night for little kids to pretend to be anything they want and go Trick-OrTreating. While Halloween is said to be associated with ghosts and goblins, another haunting issue
relating to this scary celebration is American spending has reached heights. For 2018, it is approximated that the US will spend a total of $9.1 billion dollars on Halloween. This is a significant difference compared to an NRF (National Retail Federation) prediction of $5.1 billion back in 2008. According to Forbes, “...more than 179 million are going to celebrate this year, equating to roughly seven in 10 people.” In
2016, only 171 million Americans participated in spending money for Halloween. In 2015, it was 157 million, as stated by the NRF. A reason that people spend so much money on Halloween is it’s a very affordable event. Noted by ABC News, Halloween is the second biggest occasion for Americans - behind Christmas, of course. “The average American will spend $700 on holiday [Christ-
mas] gifts and goodies this year, totaling more than $465 billion, the National Retail Federation estimates.” What’s interesting is as seen on the official US Federal Holiday Calendar, Halloween isn’t considered a national holiday - but a special occasion. The reason for this is because it’s not a “unique” holiday. Several other countries celebrate different versions of Halloween in similar ways, so it can’t be claimed by the
United States. On average, $86.79 per American going shopping for Halloween will be spent, up from last year’s $86.13 per American. 95% will be spent on candy for trick-or-treaters, 74% on decorations, 68% on costumes, and 35% on greeting cards. So if you’re looking to go buy Halloween supplies and don’t want to spend too much money, don’t worry about it - that’s already done.
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