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VOLUME 51 ISSUE 15 1015 Division St. Cedar Falls, Iowa 50613
Teachers survey classroom involvement Sandra Omari-Boateng Staff Writer
On Monday, Jan. 31, the first walk-through of the Instructional Practice Inventory took place at Cedar Falls High School. The Instructional Practice Inventory is a program where trained teachers go into classrooms and observe what is going on. They walk in on a class at any given moment to see how the students are learning and then record the data to be viewed later. The observations were made by teachers specifically trained for the inventory: English teacher Courtney Lubs, social studies teacher Chad VanCleve, resource teacher Dan Hensing and math teacher Kristine Urbanek. Created by Jerry Valentine, the purpose of this inventory is to observe what students are doing in the classroom and measure the level of engagement with which students participate in class.
CFHS staff recently surveyed teacher effectiveness for student engagement. To compile more results, some staff will be visiting classes, like Spanish teacher Patricia Black’s, throughout the spring. These observations will be made a total of three times this year. The teachers walk into a classroom and stay for anywhere between 30 seconds to three minutes to observe and talk to teachers and students This time two
teachers will be doing the observations, and then they will switch so that even the teachers who are doing the observations will be observed. “I would like the outcome of this to be that the school has an overall
awareness of what’s going on,” Urbanek said. Observers will also note the students’ levels of thinking by seeing if the teacher is giving a lecture or if students are working in groups or taking tests. These observations are then plotted as data points on charts. A rating of one shows that the majority of students are not engaged, a two to three shows that students are engaged passively, a four shows that the class is teacher-led, and a five or six shows that the teacher and students are involved. “This is a good idea and gives teachers a chance to see how involved their students are from an objective point of view,” English teacher Diane Flaherty said. The rest of the faculty is plugged into this also. After the data charts have been made from the observations collected, the staff will talk as a whole and make collective conclusions and see what will be done after that.
New anti-tobacco club pledges to persist, complement other anti-drug efforts despite potential state budget cuts Kaylee Micu Opinion Editor
Last fall, a number of students opened a new front on preventing drug abuse at Cedar Falls High School: J.E.L., which stands for Just Eliminate Lies. The organization has a central purpose of educating students about the dangers of tobacco products and the consequences that can ensue from their use. The group currently has 18 members and is led by counselor Josh Carnelley, group President Alex Stewart, Vice President Daniel Yehieli and Secretary Christie Teague. Under their leadership, the group formulates various methods to promote healthier lifestyles. At the moment, J.E.L. receives state funds and is also partly sponsored by Pathways Behavioral Services, a local organization that focuses on substance abuse and mental health issues. Unfortunately, due to new state budgets, J.E.L. may soon vanish from high
schools all across Iowa because newly elected Governor Terry Branstad and the Republican-dominated legislature have placed the organization on the cutting block while trimming this year’s state budget. Despite these potential threats, Carnelley and the CFHS J.E.L.chapter pledge to persist regardless of the state funding. “The funding is not so much the worry, just because a lot of the cost stems from getting information out to students,” Carnelley said. The bigger concern, he feels, is whether or not the group could still use the J.E.L logo if the organization fades out throughout the state. In changing the name, the group would lose the automatic recognition it receives with the existing logo and would have to work even harder to promote awareness about what the group is about. “When we all arrived for the first J.E.L. chapter meeting, we went around the room and said if we knew anyone who had lost their lives
harmed from the usage of tobacco. Every single one of us knew at least one person who was harmed by tobacco. At that point, I knew that we had to raise awareness about the negative effects of tobacco, so we could save a life from the destructive path of tobacco usage.” Yehieli said. Although it is the primary leader in tobacco prevention, J.E.L is not the only chess piece Cedar Falls High School uses to combat drugs. Principal Dr. Richard Powers believes that education is the biggest asset to prevent drug abuse at the high school. “Our primary role is education of students. Their mental health and wellbeing is also a part of that. We have programs in guidance and support services when students are identified that do have problems or issues, so those support services kick into place if there is an issue or if there is reason to believe that there is an issue,” Powers said. Students who are caught with drugs
are often suspended, though more often than not, students are sent to Pathways. Pathways is an organization that works with Cedar Falls High School in order to help students who may be suffering from drug addictions. Pathways is not meant to be a punishment to those students who are caught with drugs; it is simply a way to help students learn how to drop an addiction and do something more positive and productive with their lives. CFHS resource officer Katie Burhardt, one of the biggest assets to prevent drug use at the high school, also helps students with drug use issues by educating them. However, she strongly feels that the school should be doing more to keep students away from drugs. “I’d really like to see the school bring in the drug dogs some time soon in order to help keep the drugs out of the building.” Burhardt said. She believes that if the dogs are brought in, students will be less inclined to bring the drugs into school.
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2 opinion our view Custodians deserve wintery thank you Blistering cold, blinding snow and harsh wind are all things we experience during the long winter months. However, after hearing about a beloved two-hour delay when students are warm in their beds dreaming away about a tropical paradise, CFHS custodians are busy shoveling snow, chopping ice and salting sidewalks. All this is done to ensure the safety of students on their way to school after a rather wet and icy day. We at the Hi-Line believe that our custodians deserve a rather overdue thank you. We want to thank every custodian for enduring the whipping wind, wet snow and ice. So thank you custodians. Thank you for ensuring our safety by enduring the harsh winter weather.
PE article in need of clarificaton Two weeks ago, the Hi-Line featured an article over the new PE policy for the 2011-2012 school year. While the opinion in the article was valid, it contained a misleading implication that the decision over the PE policy was going to be completely up to school administrators when in fact, their decision was based on complying with state law and the Healthy Kids Act. The final decision was made after the article was written, so to clear up any remaining misconceptions over the policy, the following is a summary of the 2011-2012 exemption requirements: Sophomores will not be allowed to exempt PE. Juniors may exempt gym for one semester only if they are enrolled in a full academic schedule both semesters. They may exempt from another semester if they are enrolled an activity the semester of their exemption. Fall activities may be used for a first semester exemption while winter and spring activities may be used for second semester exemption. Seniors may exempt both semesters for a full schedule or both semesters for an activity. In addition to this, seniors may also exempt from gym if they are involved in cooperative education, off-site post-secondary enrollment or cadent teaching. For a complete list of the exemption policy, visit the guidance office or school website.
Contact the Tiger Hi-Line
The Tiger Hi-Line is a weekly publication of the journalism classes of Cedar Falls High School, 1015 Division St., Cedar Falls, Iowa 50613. Our website is www.hiline.co.nr. The Hi-Line is distributed to CFHS students on Tuesdays to read in their DEAR (Drop Everything and Read) classes. Columns and letters do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the Hi-Line or Cedar Falls Schools. The Hi-Line editorial staff view is presented weekly in the editorial labeled as Our View. 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 Thursday for publication the following Tuesday. Letters may not exceed 300 words and may be edited to meet space limitations. Include address and phone number for verification.
Editorial Staff
Editors-in-Chief: Sara Gabriele and Ellen Gustavson News Editor: Ben Olson and Sara Gabriele Opinion Editor: Meg Lane and Kaylee Micu Sports Editor: Ben Olson and Allyson Vuong Feature Editors: Ellen Gustavson Entertainment Editors: Meg Lane and Kaylee Micu Photo Editor: Tracy Lukasiewicz
Feb. 1,5 2011
Funding cuts hurt preschool education Chandal Geerdes Staff Writer
The Iowa legislature is currently debating reducing funding to a program that provides for low income families to send their four-year-old children to school. Some schools in our school district depend on this funding. The program not only helps low income families, but improves the quality of the preschools and provides books, crafts and playground equipment. Republican Governor Terry Branstad recently introduced this funding cut, and it is opposed by Democrats.
Children will have a harder time earning an education if they do not attend preschool prior to kindergarten. It has been proven that children who participate in some form of pre-K education are more likely to graduate from high school over those who don’t. They also have a better chance of going farther in life. The earlier children attend school, the more education they will obtain. Preschool provides a better platform for a child’s eduction. According to the St. LouisDispatch, one in every five adults nationwide is illiterate. Because of this, the preschool funding is not a main issue in
most other states. On average, states have increased pre-K funding programs by about one percent this year. Florida has one of the best pre-K systems in the country, which has helped to raise Florida’s overall test scores. Seeing that this type of pre-K program would help raise test scores and meet standards of No Child Left Behind, it leads me to think that preschool funding would help meet standards for No Child Left Behind and create better learning atmospheres. I believe preschool should be fully funded and is a necessary platform for all children to start on.
Iowans should be proud of their leadership, court decision affirming gay marriage rights Maya Amjadi Staff writer
Despite all the jokes about corn and cows, I am proud of our state and what leaders we are to the rest of the country. In 2007 judges in Iowa decided that Iowa’s Constitution had no articles containing any interference with what has become a hot topic today: gay marriage. Early in 2009 Iowa became the third state to allow and accept same-sex marriage, behind Connecticut and Massachusetts. Other states and entire countries have followed. As Americans and as Iowans, we pride ourselves on how far we have come in the area of civil rights. With more education and the evolution of real tolerance for our differences, our humanity has elevated. Throughout history, every minority has been persecuted at some time, yet history will surely continue to repeat itself if we let the same fears and ignorance blind us. Many people are persistent in their work to secure equal rights for all. However, just lately there has been a shocking step backwards in the fight for civil justice. The Iowa House voted on a proposed amendment to the
Iowa Constitution that would repeal the Iowa Supreme Court decision allowing samesex marriage on Feb. 1. The amendment won approval in the House with a 62-37 vote. The bill’s text that received over three hours of discussion simply reads: “Marriage. SEC.26. Marriage between one man and one woman shall be the only legal union valid or recognized in this state.” From here the bill goes to the Iowa Senate where Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal vowed that he will not even allow the bill to be considered and that the Iowa Marriage Amendment will not be debated or voted on. As long as Gronstal is in office, it is obvious that the proposed amendment will not be going anywhere, but just the fact that 62 representatives in our state would vote for this bill is something that should not go unnoticed. The majority of our representatives voted in favor of taking civil rights away from Iowa citizens. If the amendment did win approval from the senate as well, it would come to a vote. If minority rights had been voted on in the past, schools still wouldn’t be integrated and women wouldn’t be able
to vote. Because a substantial portion of the population is gay, everyone knows someone who is gay, maybe without realizing it. Individuals who are gay have the same wants and needs as heterosexuals, and they should not be made to suffer abuse from society. When the Iowa Supreme Court upheld the Iowa Constitution in the case of Varnum v. Brien (2007), they held a unanimous ruling legalizing same-sex marriage. Since then, three judges have been up for retention election but none of the three were retained. Out-of-state groups paid for commercials condemning the judges and degrading their decision of the Varnum v. Brien case. Trying to change judges’ rulings by intimidation is not right. Decades from now, none of us will be able to believe we treated our gay neighbors as less than ourselves, just as now we cannot wrap our minds around the fact that our ancestors enslaved people from Africa and confined Japanese-Americans during WWII. Let’s keep Iowa tolerant, so that when our children read of our generation’s civil struggles, we are remembered as a leading state for humanity and acceptance.
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Feb.. 15, 2011
After shaky start, swimmers rally, finish third at State behind Senior, Muscatine Ben Olson & Jared Hylton Sport Editor & Staff Writer
At the state swimming meet this past Saturday at the Marshalltown YMCA, the CFHS men’s swimmers entered the day competing in 10 out of 11 events, and after unexpected twists, the team place third overall. Arguably one of the strongest men’s teams in recent years, the Tigers qualified six swimmers for the meet — freshman Gabe Langner, sophomore Jake Sund, seniors Josh Sund, Taylor Burks, Jon Baker and Austin Abbas. While a somewhat small qualifying group, veteran head coach Dick Marcussen implemented new strategies to prepare this dynamic team. “Our season progressed with us trying to get a good base and streamline our stroke technique. We focused on everything from endurance building to setting team goals and individual goals through the season, and we improved at each meet. Our weight program also became a very important part along with our swimming, and it did improve us for our big meets at the end of the season. I really felt we as coaches did everything we could to give each swimmer the opportunity to improve and be proud of their accomplishments. We had fun.” The Tigers started off the day a bit faulty in the 200yard medley relay when the team of Langner, Burks, Jake Sund and Baker finished fifth behind number one Muscatine. After shaking off the cobwebs, the Tigers displayed the breadth of their talent. In the 200-yard freestyle, Abbas jump-started a day of medals with a third place finish in a time of 1 minute, 43.54 seconds. Then, in the 200-yard individual medley, brothers Josh and Jake Sund placed 10th and 23rd respectively.
Ali Miller photo
Gabe Langer starts off the 200-yard medley relay while teammates Jacob Sund, Taylor Burks and Jon Baker look on. At this point, the Tigers held steady in fifth place behind Ames, City High, Cedar Rapids Washington and number one Muscatine. Soon after, the Tiger swimmers rallied and began movin’ on up. Burks finished seventh in the 100-yard butterfly, and Josh Sund finished fourth in the loaded 100-yard freestyle splash-and-dash. Then, Langner stepped up in the 500-yard freestyle to drop four seconds from his seed time, finishing 17th in 4 minutes, 52.2 seconds. It took a strong effort in the 200-yard freestyle relay for Cedar Falls to finally break into fourth place overall. At the end of relay, the team of Abbas, Baker, Burks and Sund finished second in 1 minute, 25.51 seconds, just behind Dubuque Senior. The Tigers missed the state record held by the Cedar Falls team from 2006 by less than one second.
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According to Marcussen, the mid-meet push was crucial for the success of the team after mistakes were made early on. “We finally got our act together starting with the 100 fly,100 free, 200 free relay, 100 back,100 breast and the 400 free relay. We made our mistakes early right after the 200 medley relay. In that case, we tried things out of character, so we didn’t perform well. We didn’t always swim the events in our own lane and tried to swim them differently than during the season.” Abbas went on to make his mark in the 100-yard backstroke, winning the event in a time of 51.35 seconds, and Langner finished 14th. Both of these performances booted the Tigers into third place with 99 points, only 2.5 points behind Cedar Rapids Washington. Muscatine continued to reign in first place with 139.5 points.
The 100-yard breastroke really shook up the scoreboard. Two Dubuque Senior swimmers placed in the top three, causing Senior to overtake the overall second place spot from Washington. The Tigers still held strong in third place after Burks finished ninth in the 100-yard breaststroke. In the end, the Tigers joined forces in the intense 400-yard medley relay, the final event of the meet. The team of Abbas, Baker, Langner and Sund delivered the fastest splits of the event, cruising to the number one spot in an All-American consideration time of 3 minutes, 9.85 seconds. Senior finished second, and Muscatine touched fourth. Unfortunately, the CF effort was not enough to close any gaps. The Tigers ended their successful run third with 135 points, narrowly trailing second-place Washington by six points. Muscatine claimed the 2011 state title with 187.5 points, leading from start to finish. At the end of the meet, Marcussen reflected how his core group of swimmers rallied together against some adversity and last-minute issues. “You never win without leaders and that’s the seniors — we had so many that showed a level of swimming that only comes by hard work and dedication. Everyone picks up on this, and that’s the reason we excel every year with the younger athletes,” Marcussen said. “This year the competition was really at the highest level, and within our team we had unexpected problems that made our lineup change at State. When things change, it means you have to move the swimmers into different events. It almost worked out for us, but then again, it could have made us falter just a little. We gave it our best.”
Athlete Week of the
Zach Reyhons Wrestling Sophomore
1. Who/what is your biggest motivation? “My biggest motivation has always been my next match because I know we are equal in weight and size but not in skill and strength. So, I work to get the upper edge.” 2. How do you think you have done in wrestling? “I think I’ve improved a lot from last year but can get better.” 3. What is your favorite thing about wrestling? “My favorite thing about wrestling is when you break your opponent, and he knows he is going to lose, so he gives up.” 4. How did you get involved in wrestling? “It was actually a while back. I was in 7th grade, and I heard about it, and it seemed like fun, so I decided to try out and see if I was good at it.”
Tigers in Action
Women’s Basketball 2/16, vs. Waterloo East, Regional Meet @ home, 7 p.m. Wrestling 2/16 State Meet @ Des Moines Men’s Swimming Finished 3rd @ State Men’s Basketball 2/15, vs. CR Prarie @ home, 6 p.m. 2/17, vs CR Kennedy @ home, 6 p.m. Bowling 2/15, vs. IC City High @ Valley Park Lanes, 3:45 p.m. 2/21, vs. Waterloo West, Substate @ Maple Lanes, 1 p.m.
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FEB. 15, 2010
SNOWED IN: Kara Stewart Staff Writer
Students in Cedar Falls recently got to enjoy any senior’s dream: about a one and a half day week due to delays and snow days. But who decides whether to cancel, delay or dismiss school early? Well, the man in charge is the Superintendent Dr. David Stoakes. Stoakes tries to obtain enough information about the weather before making the decision about when or if to open schools. “A delay or early dismissal is determined by acquiring as much information about the weather as possible,” he said. “The Transportation Director and I will also drive, especially the country roads, to determine the road conditions.” Stoakes also added that students’ well-being is the
most important factor. “Safety of students is always paramount in decision making,” he said. Sources for weather information include watching the forecast, especially from the National Weather Service, and consulting with the Cedar Falls transportation director and other school districts in the area. One rule of thumb is that Cedar Falls schools tend to do the same as Waterloo schools. “I always discuss the weather forecast and road conditions with the
superintendent and transportation director of the Waterloo Schools, and also other local area superintendents. Typically, Waterloo and Cedar Falls Schools make the same decision.” Stoakes prefers to notify the district about a morning delay or cancellation by 5:30 a.m. If schools should be dismissed early, students will be informed by 10:30 a.m.
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Superintendent explains recent snowday decisions However, big snowfalls do not always guarantee a cancellation. “Depending on weather conditions, plowing and sanding start at midnight and continue through the night,” Stoakes said. On the rare occasion that he decides to cancel school, the reason is usually because more time is required to clear away snow. “[A cancellation] is made if the two-hour delay
will not provide a sufficient amount of time to improve safety conditions of roadways and/or to have all of the snow removed from the school district sidewalks and parking lots,” Stoakes said. “It typically takes eight hours for the Buildings and Grounds Department to clear all of the parking lots, driveways and sidewalks in the school district.”
Two weeks ago, the wind and snow disrupted not only sophomore Anna Love’s driving and this bicycler’s pedaling, but also the calendar for the last day of school. Gold Star Sponsors ($250) •Sandee’s Silver Star Sponsors ($180) •Cedar Falls Community Credit Union
Bronze Star Sponsors ($100) •Ruth N. DeHoff •Glass Tech •Larry and Judy Timmins
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