Tiger
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1015 Division St. Cedar Falls, IA 50613
http://www.cedar-falls.k12.ia.us
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Contests spotlight top academic skills
Three earn 2007 National Merit Semifinalist Kristen Hammer Staff Writer
The National Merit Semifinalists for the class of 2007 include former CFHS student Tara Lynn Ramsey and current seniors Emily Lentz and Siddharth Ramshankar. “It’s a really high level of distinction, and it carries a lot of prestige. Earning it was definitely not easy, though,” Ramshankar said. These three candidates for National Merit Finalists are among the top 16,000 students who took the PSAT test last fall, when a total of 1.4 million students took the test. “Writing the required essay was tough. The question was really broad, and it took me several attempts to figure out what I wanted to say,” Ramsey said. In the next step of the competition, additional requirements will have to be fulfilled to advance to the Finalist level and to be considered for a scholarship. The requirements
Megan Merner Drawing
See the Tiger Hi-line link on the school webpage.
include but are not limited to a submission of SAT scores, and impressive academic record, a 500-word self-descriptive essay and an endorsement and recommendation by Principal Dr. Rich Powers. Approximately 8,000 of the 15,000 Semifinalists will receive Merit Scholarship awards. “I feel really honored to be considered for a National Merit Scholar. My sister was a National Merit Finalist, so I have seen how many doors it can open. Even as a Semifinalist, I’m beginning to see a lot of opportunities, so I’m excited to see what will happen throughout the rest of the year,” Lentz said. In addition to the three Semifinalists, the following students were identified as Commended Students in the 2007 National Merit Scholarship program: Hannah Boelts, Megan Christie, Ling Jiang and Stephen Miller. These students are also being recognized for their outstanding performance on the PSAT but will not continue in the National Merit competition.
CF lands two of five in national writing contest Katie Lee Staff Writer
Cedar Falls High School claimed two out of a possible five top honors in the recent 2006 National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) writing contest. In the last few weeks, seniors Rhiannon Talbot and Alex Ulfers learned they received these statewide titles. “I screamed a bit. Then I called my mom, and she screamed a bit, and she said I could get ice cream. It was dandy,” Talbot said. Ulfers, too, recounted his thoughts on hearing the winning news. “I was really surprised since there are a lot of good writers,” he said. English teacher Michelle Rathe, who is also the NCTE contest coordinator at the high school, said CFHS writing instruction has greatly affected the outcome of the wins this year.
“It shows the quality of our creative writing and academic formal writing English departments,” Rathe said. After a preliminary essay writing round early last year, three local writers were chosen to represent Cedar Falls High School at the state level. Then, in April, the CFHS representatives submitted to another 75-minute impromptu essay on school topics such as senioritis. In addition to the impromptu essay, Talbot and Ulfers each submitted another writing sample. Ulfers topic for this extra writing was overprotective parents, while Talbot wrote on the impact of music. From these submissions, the Achievement Awards in Writing Advisory Committee determined the ultimate winners of the contest. Although both Talbot and Ulfers plan to study pre-med after high school, they said that their NCTE writing wins will help them on the way to college and a professional career.
Regents reconsider ‘50 percent’ admission rule Honor Heindl Staff Writer
If challenges to the current admissions policy for Iowa’s state universities develop, it may no longer be good enough just to use top grades for entrance to the University of Iowa, Iowa State or the University of Northern Iowa. Iowa has a 50 percent rule where the top half of the graduating class automatically gets accepted into any state university, but a recent Iowa Board of Regents meeting questioned whether all grades are the same when comparing student grade point averages. High school students nationwide are taking easier classes to earn better grade point averages, putting them higher in class ranks than students enrolled in advanced or AP courses who jeopardize their GPA’s with possibly lower grades in these tougher classes. Although it may not necessarily be fair to the students who are challenging themselves more, there’s a fine line as to where to draw the limit for easy credit. “The topic has come up before, and the district hasn’t changed. It’s kind of like a double edge sword because there are pros and cons. It would be nice to give extra credit for more advanced courses, but how do you really determine what’s more challenging?” Associate Principal Gary Koenen asked. Other districts have a system with weighted
grades. In these districts, band, for example, hurts students’ GPA’s because it isn’t weighted as heavily. While class rank is significant, so is being involved in extracurricular activities. “I’m still learning how things are structured here, and I do know that colleges like UNI look at class ranking, but there are many other variables involved as well. Even with a 4.0, there is no assurance that you’ll get in,” Principal Dr. Rich Powers said. Some in the Board of Regents said it’s almost as though students are “cheating the system” by taking easy-A classes to bring up their GPA’s. Some argure that this hurts teenagers because these students are avoiding rigorous classes such as physics or AP courses. “This is a very sensitive topic. There are a number of factors that determine eligibility. Class rank is a, not the, variable. I’m in-between when it comes to going one way or the other. I would definitely say kids are cheating themselves in educational opportunities by taking less advanced classes. People are putting too much value on GPA rather than the depth of their education,” Koenen said. “The 50 percent rule hasn’t stopped me from taking AP Psyc, which [could] ruin my 4.0 GPA, so I think we need to get rid of that. I believe that Iowa’s colleges should require high schools to weight their classes so that people are not discouraged in taking difficult courses to gain a greater knowledge,” senior Jacob Dreyer said.
Harmonious Happenings
Loni Gallantine Photo
Sketching her silhouette is senior Jess Rosenberg at the Harmony Core training day last Thursday. Members of Core made these silhouettes that reflected their own personalities to recognize the diversity in the group. This, along with other activities during training day, helped to make the members aware of their diverse community, as well as their own school. The members will be focusing on controversial topics throughout the year that most affect Cedar Falls High School and the everchanging community.