The
OPENING NUMBERS
Tiger HI-LINE
Friday, Oct 19, 2018
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Volume 58 Edition 5
Many options still available for food drive The high school is wrapping up the second week of the food drive, and there are still many opportunities for raising money and donating non-perishables for the food pantry in the Northeast Iowa Food Bank, which provides nutritious food for 240 households year round. The Mobile Food Pantry provides food to an average of 80 families per month. Barbara Prather, the executive director of the Northeast Iowa Food Bank, has been a part of the food bank since 1999. “At the end of the day, feeding others is what’s important,” Prather said. What Prather said she thinks is best for the food drive is money. “More money equals more perishables. When schools gather money, it allows us to buy the perishables we need for the food pantry.” When students donate money, the people working at the food bank can get better deals on food, and the extra money makes it easier to distribute goods across Black Hawk County. “We are sponsored by many companies, so it’s easier to have money at our disposal to spend on more food,” she said. As before, all Cedar Falls schools are participating in the drive, and the high school is competing with Waterloo East High School and Waterloo West High Schools to raise the most donations. On Monday, Oct. 22 a powder puff volleyball tournament is also planned, and to participate teams need to bring a donation of $5 or two jars of peanut butter. Sophomore leadership member Mandi Warren said she is going to participate in trunk or treat on Sunday Oct. 28 in the back parking lot. “I personally love to talk
Shannon Murphy Photo
English teacher Matt Klemesrud makes a contribution to the food drive on Oct. 4 by participating in one of the regular bake sales scheduled at the end of each week. to little kids and see all their cool costumes,” Warren said, as well as that she enjoys the feeling of giving back to others and the fact that she gets to have fun for a good cause. Trunk or Treat is a fundraiser where kids can come dressed up and trick or treat in a parking lot. Lots of the “trunks” the kids go trick or treating in are made by the sophomore, junior and senior leadership groups. The families have the opportunity to donate for the food drive as they participate in the trick or treating.
Spanish teacher Katie Llerena said that the bake sale is her favorite part of the food drive. “They are really good and helps a good cause,” Llerena said. The bake sales are a weekly fundraising opportunity with a sweet treat as a reward. The sales happen on Thursday and Friday mornings before school. Last week the senior leadership group had $3 ChickFil-A breakfast sandwiches that were donated to the fundraiser. Senior Taylor Hanson said she enjoys the competition aspect of third hour
classes competing against each other to see who can collect the most. “I think it is a fun competitive event that brings together third hour classes as a team for a good cause. It raises food/money but also creates a closer relationship between members of third hour classes.” However, Warren said this year’s third hour competition is lagging and needs more attention to promote it. “I feel like it’s all about motivating high schoolers and the importance of what they are doing.” Warren said she thinks that it is good that the whole Cedar Falls School District is involved. “It is important to show kids that it’s good to give. I think it’s really good they do it at the elementary school kid level because it kind of teaches them at a young age [that it’s good to give back].” Another way that any student can get involved with the food bank is volunteering. To be a volunteer a person needs to apply online and attend an orientation before they can help package food. The volunteer option can be something a person can do by themselves or it can be something they can do with a group of up to 20 people. Prather said starting a community garden is another cost effective way of donating food to the food pantry and helping stop hunger in Black Hawk County. What Barbara Prather wants students to know is that their donations are making a difference. She said, “Families are being fed because of what you are doing.” By Staff Writer Clare
WILLIAMS
Approaches toward homework vary among teachers
Jody Bisgrove, a math teacher at Holmes Junior High, shares a common teachers point of view on homework; assigning homework regularly throughout the week. According to Bisgrove, assigning homework on a regular basis enhances learning for her students. “I assign homework on a nearly daily basis. I absolutely believe it benefits students. How can I can expect them to learn the material themselves without some practice first? Practice is where they can learn, and learn from their mistakes.” Some suggest teachers to assign the students’ grade level with the corresponding minutes of homework. For example, second graders might spend 20
minutes on homework and in third grade that might increase to 30 minutes and so on. “The one time I typically don’t assignment homework is the day of a test or quiz. Sometimes after having done a class review, I will not assignment further homework in the hopes that students are actually studying for the upcoming test,” Bisgrove said. She said she rarely ever gets complaints about the amount of homework she assigns, “Students know that in order to learn math they have to practice the math. Occasionally I’ll have some incompletion, but most students have figured out that if they don’t get their homework turned in on time that there will
be consequences such as ALT, and I will assign them to ALT.” ALT (Alternative Learning Time) is a chance for students to make up work outside of school hours. Teachers refer students to this time if they come unprepared for class. Bisgrove said, “My students really don’t want to be in school much longer after school is out, so it’s never very much of an issue for me.” ALT runs from after school until 3:50 p.m. on Mondays through Thursdays in the Tigers Den, and to their assigned classrooms at Holmes and Peet. Stacey Yoder, another math teacher at Holmes Junior High has a different point of view on homework. She said she believes it to be more beneficial to assign
less outside of class and instead focus in on the fundamentals during class. “I assign assignments. Most of the time I give enough class time to complete the assignment. If the assignment turns into homework, then it is usually takes 10 minutes max to complete,” Yoder said. She said she believes that students learn better when they can do it in class alongside a teacher so that confusion is cleared up and she can be there to answer any questions. She said, “I don’t believe they learn by doing lots of problems incorrectly. This is the reason why most of my assignments are done during class time. This way I can help students who are
struggling.” Yoder said she feels very strongly about her viewpoint on homework. She only gives assignments out three times a week, sometimes less. “I rarely ever get complaints from my students about their homework because I give out a very reasonable amount,” she said. As Yoder doesn’t give out much homework, incompletion is hardly an issue for the classes she teaches. “Every once in awhile I will get incompletion. This is mostly due to when a student is absent and they now have to be responsible and use time outside of class.” By Staff Writer Alexandra
WILLIAMS