Tiger Hi-Line The
Volume 48 Edition 23
Students Strike Back In the second annual student vs. faculty basketball game, the students scored a 74-71 victory over last year’s champions, the faculty. The game raised an impressive $1,400 for sickle cell anemia research. At left Spanish teacher Grace Valdez pulls a Michael Jordanesque maneuver, handing the ball to activity director secretary Jane Carter
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Future Problem Solvers earn fourth place at State Paul Strike Staff Writer
Future Problem Solving is a competition that is unlike any other. A group of four people are given a scenario set in the future for which they must think of problems that could arise from the situation. Then, they think of solutions to solve the problems they come up with. Next, five criteria are brainstormed to judge the solutions, and from this the best solution is picked. An action plan is then created from the solution to solve the underlying problem. A group of four CFHS students have this process down pat. Future Problem Solvers Nicky Singh, Kavin Sundaram, Joe Kruempel and Lee Przybylski earned fourth place in the senior level of the State F.P.S. Competition held March 28 and 29 at Luther College in Decorah. The overall topic of this year’s competition was debt in developing countries. To be more specific, one organization replaces international banks, and instead of giving out loans, it helps to create partnerships between multinational companies and developing nations. “It wasn’t our favorite fuzzy,” Sun-
daram said. There are two parts to the State contest: the writing process and the skit. The group is given two hours to complete the writing portion already described above. The catch is the groups don’t know what the exact scenario is until they open their packets at the beginning of the two-hour session. “You know about the topic beforehand, but not the specifics until the competition,” Kruempel said. The two-hour time limit is a very formidable opponent for the Future Problem Solvers during the writing portion. “During this process, the first thing you notice is that you are incredibly rushed for time,” Singh said. “With only two hours, the environment can get pretty stressful, so it is important to work diligently and effectively.” The skit is definitely the most popular part of State among the group. “We have a lot of fun working with each other late into the night to create a funny, applicable skit of our action plan,” Singh said. This year, Przybylski did a oneman show with a plastic pink flamingo named Fred. The skit included the two sitting in an office talking about their working
conditions, and a call comes in saying that stock options were going to be offered to the workers. “I’ve heard people complain about their jobs, and I knew ‘The Office’ was a popular show, so I tried to make it look like that,” Przybylski said. CFHS Future Problem Solving coach Sheryl Bewyer commented on the skit. “The skit was awesome,î Bewyer said. Przybylski and Fred earned third place honors in the skit contest. Through Future Problem Solving, many lifelong lessons are acquired. “It taught me the importance of working diligently and thinking quickly,” Singh said. “It also taught me that creativity is not only helpful, but essential in some cases.” Teamwork is perhaps the biggest lesson learned during the competition. “It taught me the importance of teamwork and that working together to solve problems is always more effective than working alone,” Singh said. Singh further explained the importance of F.P.S. by encouraging others to try it. “I encourage all those who have the opportunity to at least try Future Problem Solving,” Singh said.
1984-inspired essay advances senior to International Scenario Competition Paul Strike Staff Writer
Senior Joe Kruempel has some serious creativity. The CFHS student won the Senior Division State Scenario competition for the third time in as many years. Scenario is a unique competition where a student must come up with a short story set in the future that ties in with a given general topic. For the scenario competition, Kruempel wrote a short story that involves neurotechnology, a science that could allow people to communicate to each other or even machines through a computer chip implanted in the brain. “It was about a future society in which literal thought police (from the CIA, a.k.a. the Cognitive Investigation Agency) could interrogate suspected terrorists by invading their dreams and memories for information,” Kruempel said.
The story didn’t completely originate in Kruempel’s head, though. “The idea for my scenario came from reading 1984, and being disappointed that the ‘thought police’ couldn’t actually police your thoughts,” Kruempel said. The story was judged based on the merit of its creativity and writing style. A unique aspect of the International competition is an on-site writing scenario competition where students from all over the world get mixed in groups of four and write similar scenarios. “It’s fun to go and meet people and see all the extremely different perspectives, or just walk into the cafeteria and hear five different languages,” Kruempel said. The next level of competition, the International competition is taking place at Michigan State University in Lansing, Michigan, on May 29 to June 1.
Students gear up for music contest Physics Olympics in Review Jakob Zierer Sports Editor
During 4th period, every practice room in the southeast hall of Cedar Falls High School is very busy. One hundred and ninety-four students are working on solos, duets and quartets for the upcoming contest on April 12, held this year at East High School in Waterloo. “I love this time of year when, during any given shift of 4th hour, we may have anywhere from four to 10 ensembles rehearsing simultaneously in the various practice spaces,” Gerald Ramsey, band director, said. “It’s such a time of growth and musical refinement for so many students,” he continued. Twenty orchestra students, 73 vocal students and 111 band students participate in the solo contest, an optional school event. Most students started to work on their solos in January or February. “It depends on the student. Most
students are starting right after the winter break,” Scott Hall, orchestra director, said. Besides improving in technical skills, playing a solo or in a small ensemble is a great group learning activity. “The kids have to work together to achieve their goal. One person cannot do all the work—each member has a job, and the success of the group is dependent on each member performing their job,” Ramsey said. Playing with a great sound, playing in tune and articulating well in addition to simply playing correct notes and rhythms are the most important things every student has to work on to achieve a good result at the contest. In a group, the students also must achieve good balance between the voices, play the various dynamics indicated in the music and then make musical judgments about the phrasing—shaping the musical lines with dynamic contour. So each individual has a big responsibility
for his own individual playing as well as for contributing to a unified group approach to the performance. “In the ensembles, the students are playing one on a part, so for the group to be successful, every player has to play well. Those students who perform solos have the opportunity to really push the level of their playing. This is obviously a great opportunity for them educationally, and I think they get real personal satisfaction from their musical achievement,” Ramsey said. Ramsey is confident that the students will learn much through the preparation process. “Our band, for instance, typically receives more Division I ratings at Solo & Ensemble Contest than most schools’ total number of events that they take to contest,” Ramsey said. Optimism is in the air. “I think the students will all play well and benefit from going through the process of preparing a soloist piece and, to me, that is what it is all about,” Ramsey said.
Olivia Schares Photo
Left: Warming up for the water heater competition, senior Steven Weinert jumps with anticipation. Right: Concentrating at the starting line, senior Jack Kosmicki is setting up the catapult that will propel him and senior teammate Leah Merner to the state competition.