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Friday, Nov. 8, 2013

One Step from State Volleyball and football teams’ postseason runs thwarted/page 3 Follow us on Twitter at tigerhiline, Facebook at TigerHilineOnline and on our website at www.hiline.cfschools.org

Volume 53 Edition 8

Potential coffee shop stirs up excitement There could potentially be another big change coming to the students of Cedar Falls High School, but this one’s easy to swallow. Some teachers and staff are seriously considering creating a CFHS coffee shop. With a growing number of students drinking coffee or coffee-like drinks in the morning, the school decided to make the students’ lives easier by having a cafe inside of the school itself. English teacher Matthew Klemesrud was one of the main faculty involved in planning the coffee shop. “The intent was actually never about getting a coffee shop in the school. Communication in Life is a semester-long English credit with an evolving curriculum. This year, I wanted to add more problemsolving opportunities in class and reasoned that I would be willing to give up to one day per week in class to address a student-driven issue. They would be applying the English skills of reading, researching, discussing, writing and presenting, and I thought it could improve student motivation and give them an opportunity to leave their mark on the school in a positive way. Students offered 18 potential ‘problems’ in first hour and about the same number in our fifth hour section. We voted in each section, and — to my surprise — the coffee shop concept was a big issue to our first hour students. I don’t think we realized at that time the potential impact of their

efforts,” Klemesrud said. The coffee shop was not only planned by students, either. There were a number of teachers and staff involved in the early planning of the coffee shop. “Our first hour Communication in Life students started it. (Resource teacher Julie) Stoffer and I have helped them and guided them to other sources. (Principal Rich) Powers has been instrumental, and (resource teacher Jennifer) Juhl has represented the special education department for potential work release opportunities for students. (Business teachers Mike) Hansel, (Matt) Flaherty and (Julie) Cuvelier have been contacted for potential opportunities with the accounting, entrepreneurship and marketing classes. (Media specialists Kim) Traw and (Kristi) Anhalt have been helpful in several ways. Other faculty have helped us with ideas, too. (Associate Teresa) Mayfield also helped,” Klemesrud said. The school is looking into three possible locations for the coffee shop, or “Cafe Diem,” as they are calling it. There are two short term locations and one potential long term location. The two short term locations are the concessions stand near the gym entrance and the ala carte room in the cafeteria along with the unused room next to it. The long term location could be the library lab, some of the offices and the library computer area. The library lab and computer area will no lon-

Pink Power

Students have recently been showing their support for a variety of individuals recovering from life threatening illnesses. On Thursday, Oct. 24, students showed their support for the mom of junior Liz Gerstenkorn, Cindi Knox, who is suffering from a brain tumor. Tshirts designed by junior Faith Ford were worn by students to raise awareness for the cause. “Nearly 75 shirts were purchased,” Gerstenkorn said. “My mom loved the shirts, and it made her happy to know how many people cared about her.” Knox underwent surgery on Tuesday, Oct. 29 to remove the tumor. “Her surgery went very well. It didn’t take as long as they thought it would,” Ger-

ger be needed with the new addition of Chromebooks to the high school. Another issue that will need to be tackled is the possibility of a partnership with one of the numerous coffee shops in Cedar Falls. These coffee shops include Starbucks, Cup of Joe, Sidecar Coffee and Barn Happy among others. Powers said the student initiative is key in the collaborative planning and operation of the potential coffee shop. “If we get a coffee shop, we would like it to be student run with some adult supervision,” Powers said. “We are also looking at partnering up with a local business and have them involved as well.” To help resolve some of these issues, the students in first hour Communication in Life put out a survey on the CFHS website that asked questions such as how many times one drinks coffee and what students would purchase if there was a coffee shop in the high school. The coffee shop still has a long way to go to become a reality, though. “Frankly, Dr. Powers and people up the stream need to discuss some issues. That’s where we are right now in the process. As a class, we’ll proceed after we hear from him,” Klemesrud said. The replies to the survey have been strongly in favor of having a coffee shop that will also sell other beverages, as shown in a section where students and staff could write comments.

Sophomore Jacob Watters, just like many other CFHS students, is excited by the prospective coffee shop. “I was a little speculative at first, but the idea has grown on me since I had first heard about it from my friend Brennan Brimeyer,” Watters said. “Knowing that you can get smoothies or hot chocolate, I am now all on board for a coffee shop in the school.” If the coffee shop becomes a reality, however, it may not take as long as many people may expect to start selling drinks. “We’re exploring three different locations, but we want to start small and see how it will be received before we go all out. A possible scenario would be using the concession stand within the next month to get started,” Klemesrud said. Expanding on that, Powers also said he thinks that the shop would start small and then begin to expand. “We may see the beginnings of a coffee shop sometime next semester. It would be on a smaller scale to start with, but we will be looking to expand into something larger,” Powers said. By Zuhayr

ALAM

Students show support for community members

stenkorn said. Things are continuing to progress and Knox’s condition is improving. Another example of support from students comes from Katie Walsworth’s special Submitted Photos needs classAt left, junior Robert Novak meets one of the chemo patients that room. These students made he and the rest of resource teacher Katie Walsworth’s students hats for numer- made hats for. At right, junior Faith Ford and Liz Gerstenkorn show ous chemother- the shirts they sold to raise money for Gerstenkorn’s mom as she apy patients at recovers from brain surgery. Covenant Medical Center to pink. treatment center. When we show their support for them in “We made 23 chemo hats delivered them, we were able their battle with cancer. Half of and took them to the cancer to give one to a patient having the hats were purple and half

treatment,” Walsworth said. “Our class wants to take the responsibility to contribute to our community by helping people in need by being actively engaged in projects where we plan, work and learn together.” Junior Robert Novak, one of the students involved on the project, said, “It was awesome. The person we gave the hat to was going to get a hat from Walmart, but we made her day by bringing the one we made for her. The rest of the chemo patients received their hats right after her and knowing that winter is coming up, it made us feel good to keep all of their heads warm.” By Olivia

HEATH

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Dancing ‘Til They Drop Friday, Nov. 8, 2013

The women’s dance team does the splits on the field during a pregame routine at a CFHS home football.

Photo by Kylee Ferrell

CFHS dance teams expecting great season The three dance teams at Cedar Falls High School are beginning to get into the prime of their season. All of them are preparing for State as well as other performances, and the members are excited for the routines and performances they will have this year. All-Male dance team is a non-audition group where members only have to sign up and work hard to be allowed to participate. The group practices every Tuesday night from 8-9 p.m. in the gym at Cedar Heights Elementary School. This group is comprised of 14 male dancers coached by Gayle Bruene and Alyssa Nolte, and senior Timothy Sevcik is captain of the team. In addition to working hard, AllMale is a group that likes to have fun, as they occasionally have parties in addition to practice. Junior Nathan Hall is a first year member of All-Male. He said that the most difficult part of All-Male is working to be able to perform complicated choreography during fast parts of their dance routines. However, he said that it’s part of the fun of All-Male. Hall said he believes that all-male has a great atmosphere and he loves how the team can “have a ton of fun doing something they love.” In fact, the group has a few traditions they carry out during practices, such as creating a warm up circle at the beginning of practice where each member takes a turn in the center showing off dance moves. All-Male has also had a tradition of excellence, including winning State three consecutive years in a row. Hall said, “[This

year,] I expect us to have awesome performances, and I expect us to win state for the fourth year in a row.” Another dance group at Cedar Falls High School is the Co-Ed dance team, led by coaches Gayle Bruene and Alyssa Nolte and senior captains Lisa Schreck, Megan Tucker and Allison Harris. They practice on Monday nights from 8-9 p.m. in the CFHS gym or Orchard Hill Church. The unique part of Co-Ed is that it is a dance team where males and females dance together. Girls who wish to be in Co-Ed must audition to be on the team and are typically on the girls dance team as well. Men who would like to be in Co-Ed do not have to audition and are typically asked by their counterparts to be on the team with them. Because of the gender diversity of this dance team, Co-Ed is able to use different dance moves, styles and songs than the other dance teams. This year, senior Zach Worthington is participating in Co-Ed for the first time. He said that he likes Co-Ed because he loves dancing in general, and “the people are amazing, kind, supportive and love dancing as well.” The most difficult thing for him is trying to control his excitement after every Co-Ed practice. Worthington said, “I expect this season to turn out amazing. We’re shooting for number one as always. The audience will see amazing moves, tricks and an overall great performance when they see us.” The final dance group is the dance team for girls. This group is split into

three separate girls teams: Performance team, Competition Pom team and Competition Hip Hop team. There are 24 girls on Performance team, 14 girls on Competition Hip Hop team and 13 girls on Competition Pom team. Performance team dances at football and basketball games, and the two competition teams perform at State. These girls had to try out for their respective teams in the spring, learning and performing routines and showing off individual skills. Each of the three teams practice one day of the week on Monday, Wednesday or Friday for two hours each in the beginning of the season. They do this until football season is over, and then only the two competition teams practice every day of the week — one hour in the mornings on Tuesdays and Thursdays and two hours on the rest of the days of the week. They practice in multiple places such as Lincoln Elementary School, St. Johns Lutheran Church and the CFHS gym. The teams are led by Bruene and Nolte and senior captains Schreck, Tucker and Harris. Competition Hip Hop is choreographed by CFHS alum Afton Justine, and Competition Pom is choreographed by CFHS alum Shannon Chrusciel. In addition to spending hours together practicing, the girls on dance team enjoy spending time together with team meals, sleepovers and bonfires. They also have a few traditions like dressing up for state week, giving “sister gifts” and receiving a Christmas

gift from their coaches. It is senior Madilin Neibert’s third year being a part of Dance Team. She participates in all three of the dance teams for girls and loves it. Neibert said that this year has been difficult because they have nine freshmen on the team, which makes it harder due to their lack of experience. However, Neibert said, “They have proven themselves to be pretty talented despite their dance team experience.” She also said the most difficult part of being on the team is not beating herself up, as dancers constantly scrutinize and critique themselves, overlooking their talent and potential. Neibert loves the feeling she gets after walking off the field or floor after a performance, knowing that she put everything into her routine and danced to the best of her abilities. She believes she’ll experience that feeling a lot this season, as she expects great things to come from the team. “For competition, expect some killer routines. We have amazing choreography this year, and we have some phenomenal dancers to couple with the choreography. If we keep working hard, hopefully it will pay off on Dec. 5 and 6 in Des Moines,” Neibert said. The All-Male, Co-Ed, and Girls’ dance teams will be performing at their exhibition at 1 p.m. in the CFHS gym on Saturday, Nov. 6. They will also all be performing at State on Dec. 5 and 6 at the Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines. By Editor-In-Chief Mallory

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SPORTS

Friday, Nov. 8, 2013

Men’s XC places 6th at State

The CFHS men’s cross country team went to State for an unprecedented 22nd time in a row, which ties an all time state qualifying mark. The meet took place in Fort Dodge on Saturday morning, Nov. 1.The 4A boys race took place right after the 4A girls race, which was won by McKenzie Yanek. Yanek used to attend Peet Junior High School, but now she attends Pleasant Valley High School. Dowling Catholic was the team that won the women’s race. The Tiger men’s team went into the state race ranked fourth, and they were looking to improve on that ranking and maybe even claim a spot on the podium. Unfortunately, the Tigers finished sixth overall with 145 points. Associate Principal and Assistant Athletics Coordinator Troy Becker is the CFHS men’s cross country coach, and he was pleased with the way the

team performed. “It was really fun watching three guys earn second team All-State honors,” Becker said, “As a team, we were hoping for a top five finish and ended up sixth. But we were only 10 points from fourth place, so we know we were right there.” The race was won by Cedar Rapids Prairie with a total of 85 points. Individually, the race was won by Linn Mar senior Josh Evans, with a time of 15:19.4. The Tigers, on the other hand, were led by senior Timothy Sevcik who placed 14th overall. Sevcik had a time of 15:52.5. He was followed almost immediately by junior Dylan Southall, who finished a mere 10th of a second after Sevcik. The two, along with senior Jonathon Smith earned 2nd team All-State honors, an award bestowed to the runners finishing in 11th-20th place. Senior Jared Failor and

sophomore Jake Hartman finished 49th and 50th respectively, after finishing the race 1.2 seconds apart. Hartman said he is pleased with his race and the season as a whole. “I was happy with my race. My third mile was slower than I would have liked, but overall, I was content with the way it went,” Hartman said, “It was a great season for every single person on the team, with lots of personal records for everyone on the team.” The Tigers were rounded out by senior Spencer Van Dorn and sophomore Isaac Smith who finished 83rd and 89th respectively. Van Dorn finished with a time of 17:01.6, and Smith had a time of 17:15.4. There were a total 115 runners in the race. The state meet ends an impressive season by the Tigers, who won two out of nine meets during the course of the

season. “It was a fantastic season. Almost all of our runners improved a lot throughout the season and competed really hard,” Becker said. The Tigers are looking to do great things next fall as well, with three varsity runners returning. There are also a number of promising freshmen and sophomores that are returning next season. “Next year we are going to be a very strong team. The biggest key for us will be offseason training, which we need from everyone on the team,” Hartman said. Becker said he feels the same way about next season. “We have a lot of really strong runners returning, and I’m sure we’ll have a goal of being one of the top three teams at the state meet,” Becker said. Staff Writer Zuhayr

ALAM

Two teams fall just shy of goals Volleyball team falls to Ankeny in four sets

The CFHS volleyball season has come to an end after losing a hard fought battle against Ankeny Centennial in Marshalltown on Tuesday, Nov. 5. After losing the first game 22-25, the Tigers fought back and won the next game 2522. In the last two games the Tigers just fell short with scores of 18-25 and 19-25. Although the girls didn’t quite go as far as they wanted to in their season, they still accomplished a lot and finished the season with a record of 31-9. For some of the girls, this is the last game they will play as a Tiger. Senior Kaz Brown ended the night with seven blocks and 12 kills. Senior Andrea Leisinger put down eight kills and also got three blocks. Many of these hits were set up by Senior Emily Hendrickson who had 33 assists. “The next year is always different without this year’s seniors. Each senior class brings her own type of leadership and things to each team,” head coach Matt Flaherty said. The team had many high points to their season.They beat Waterloo West 3-0 to allow them to the game to play

Abby Young Photo

In one of its final team huddles of the year, the volleyball team tries to pull together in its efforts against Ankeny Centennial at the regional final in Marshalltown on Tuesday, Nov. 5. Ankeny Centennial. They were also the first team in Cedar Falls history to win the MVC Supermeet after beating Xavier, who they had lost to earlier in the season. “This is one of the most

‘team’ teams I have coached. When playing together, they truly define team,” Flaherty said. Staff Writer Abby

YOUNG

Football team’s season ends

It was a long two hour and 15 minutes for the CFHS football team as members rode home for the last time as a team after the 26-7 loss to the Pleasant Valley Spartans. “It’s tough knowing that was our last game together. This team has been together for so long that we’re not just teammates, we’re more like brothers,” senior Danny Watters said. The Tigers had hope coming out of the halftime break, down just two, with the score 9-7. In the second half, Pleasant Valley quite literally ran away with it. They went on to add 17 points in the second half with a plethora of rushing attempts. They tallied a total of 236 yards on the ground on 55 carries. The Tigers will be losing the majority of their starters to graduation but will return two key pieces in quarterback Trey Hansen and linebacker Rayce Willett. Other contributors will return and have a much larger role such as junior Tyler Schmidt, who is already looking forward to next football season, said: “We’re losing a lot of great players, but I’m excited for next year. I think we can make some noise.” Editor-in-Chief Austin

ANDERSON

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Athlete of Week the

Haley Alexander Cheerleading Junior captain Haley Alexander helped lead the competition cheer squad to a second place finish at State. How did you prepare for State? We had two competitions and lots of 6 a.m. practices. What were your expectations for State? We didn’t really know what to expect because we just moved to a new division. We didn’t really have a lot of expectations. What was your reaction when you got second? We all cried a lot and were really happy.

Tigers in

Action

Football First team All-Valley: Ross Pierschbacher, Gabe Clark, Alex Gary Second Team: Eli Berregaard, Michael Kuntz, Jarvay Clark Volleyball First Team All-Valley: Kaz Brown Second Team: Emily Hendrickson, Emma Gerdes Men’s CC Second Team All-State: Timmy Sevcik, Dylan Southall, Jonathon Smith

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Friday, Nov. 8, 2013

Our View

Clip from Tarrell Christie and Luke Kreger’s Tiger Hi-Line Online news story in episode 40 on our website

Earlier this fall in the Academic Zone in the library, English teacher Judy Timmins helped sophomore Olivia Mickey with an assignment for which Mickey had some questions.

After School Program, Academic Zone offer effective options for help

Starting Nov. 14, teachers of core classes will be helping students after school with homework and more. From 2:30 to 3:40, students can have a safe, quiet place to finish assignments, make up late work and tests, get personal one-on-one time with teachers and have computer access. The after school program was successful last year, according to resource teacher Bridget Bakula. “We had a lot of students come and get help.” Teachers will rotate their attendance at the program to fit students’ needs. Another great resource for students are the Academic Zones found across the school during the school day. Like the After School program, the Academic zones provide a quiet place for students to receive

help from teachers. There has been some resistance from students, apprehensive about receiving assistance from teachers they do not know personally. If a student feels uncomfortable talking to a teacher, they will happily point you to resources that will help, making it a worthy learning environment. If homework is confusing and you’ve got detention to be made up, there is also time for that. The After School program works around detention times so students can easily become caught up with homework and serve detention. Teachers hope that the two programs benefit students as much as they did last year.

Contact Us The Tiger Hi-Line is a weekly publication of the journalism classes at Cedar Falls High School, 1015 Division Street, Cedar Falls, Iowa 50613. Our website is www.hiline.cfschools.org. The Hi-Line is distributed to CFHS students on Fridays to read during their fifth period classes. Columns and letters do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Hi-Line staff or Cedar Falls Schools. The Hi-Line editorial is presented weekly in the editorial labeled Our View, and it is the view of the majority of the editors listed below. Reader opinions on any topic are welcome and should be sent to The Tiger Hi-Line staff or delivered to room 208. All letters must be signed. Letters must be submitted by 3 p.m. on Monday for publication in the following Friday edition. Letters may not exceed 300 words and may be edited to meet space limitations. Writers should include their contact information for verification.

Editors-in-Chief: Austin Anderson, Martha Hall, Mallory Vallentine and Ellen Wallingford Staff: Zuhayr Alam, Sara Ashar, Bailey Bartels, Kaleb Bengston, Kaitlyn Brocka, Mackenzie Dallenbach, Olivia Heath, Josh Peterson and Abby Young

Aural

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Megan Wallace Photo

Autumn

These indie selections are ripe for fall playlists

“Occupy”

by Abandoned Pools This upbeat song is from the new album “Somnambulist.” Singer/songwriter Tommy Walter does not disappoint with this song, complete with beautiful melodic hooks and a catchy electronic presence.

“Part II”

by Paramore Straight off of their new self-titled album, “Paramore,” comes this alt-rock anthem, “Part II.” A sequel to “Let the Flames Begin” from the former record, “RIOT!,” this song is full of atmospheric guitar and drum solos that will have you listening on repeat. Paramore’s new album creatively incorporates new pop production techniques, while still holding true to their pop-punk roots.

“Tony the Tiger”

by Manchester Orchestra Manchester Orchestra is an indie-rock band led by singer and guitarist Andy Hull. Off of their second album, “Mean Everything to Nothing,” this is one of the more underrated

tracks. Hull creates incredibly poetic lyrics accompanied by the perfect amount of heavy guitar riffs.

“Tiny Vessels”

by Death Cab for Cutie This calming and melodic song is off of the band’s album, “Transatlanticism.” Death Cab has a nice way of writing descriptive lyrics with great detail and introspection.

“After the Storm”

by Mumford and Sons This song is from this folkrock band’s hit album, “Sigh No More.” This is one of the slower paced songs from the album, containing sweet, hopeful lyrics, perfect for listening on an autumn day.

“Royals”

by Lorde Straight off of her new album “Pure Heroine,” this up and coming 16-year-old singer/songwriter is sure to please fans of indie and electro-pop. This is an insanely catchy song that will definitely be stuck in your head by the end of the day.

“Voyages”

by Thrupence If relaxing, electronic songs are more your style, check out Thrupence. “Voyages” is a collection of nostalgic beats and immersive ambience.This album is the perfect music to listen to while studying for a test or writing a research paper.

“We’re Going to be Friends”

by The White Stripes This sweet song is perfect for walking to school on a cool fall morning. You’re bound to be in a better mood after giving this song a listen.

“High Hopes”

by Kodaline This song was released as the lead single from their new album “In a Perfect World,” from the up and coming band Kodaline. Although it might sound like a melancholy song at first, the lyrics are hopeful and inspired. Staff Writer Olivia

HEATH