The
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With the new changes, we take a look back from 1953 /pages 2 & 3 Follow us on Twitter at tigerhiline, Facebook at TigerHilineOnline and on our website at www.hiline.cfschools.org
Moving Forward Tuesday, Oct. 9, 2012
Volume 53 Edition 5
Cedar Falls HIgh School had 187 students walk three laps around the track Wednesday during their RCT time. Students are taking several steps to making sure they develop healthy habits while still in high school as the community kicks off its Blue Zone campaign. School lunches, classrooms, late starts, parking. These issues have one thing in common: they affect students. Students have a lot to say about these issues and others within the Cedar Falls School System. When a change is made, students rarely obtain a chance to speak up and voice their opinions. With so many different opinions and the best interest of the students in mind, the Cedar Falls school board recently came up with a way to get an inside look at the educational experience in Cedar Falls through they the eyes of a typical student. The school board wants to have a student ambassador at future meetings. This student ambassador could offer valuable perspectives about what works and what doesn’t work.
CFHS Principal Dr. Rich Powers attends school board meetings. “I think their intention is when issues are relevant to students, they want to hear that student voice,” Powers said. “What we’re looking for is somebody who’s reflective and can speak for a number of students and not just their own perspective.” Powers is looking mainly at teacher recommendations when choosing the right student for the job. “How we select the first student may not be how we select future students because I think we’ll learn a lot this first time through,” Powers said. Another issue currently in the school board spotlight is encouraging students to live healthier lifestyles. From Oct. 1 to Nov. 19, elementary students are challenged to exer-
cise for 50 miles during these 50 days. Each week they will turn in their totals from jogging, biking, running, walking or swimming. Elementary school participants receive a free T-shirt for participating. Older students are also welcome to participate in the challenge and receive a certificate for their efforts. Since Cedar Falls is a Blue Zone, this challenge is another effort to educate kids on exercise and being healthy. “I think we as a school district are very committed to the Blue Zone effort. Essentially, the healthier we all are, the better for our community,” Powers said. Besides the 50 miles in 50 days challenge, Cedar Falls High School has also been doing things to get kids moving. On Wednesday, CFHS students
and staff had the opportunity to join in a walk around the track at noon during their RCT time or release. Some teachers brought their classes out to participate. “Iowa has an initiative to get everyone in Iowa healthier and it is the second annual year to do the walk. What they do is they pick a day and a time, so everyone is to walk three times around the track. Yesterday we had 187 kids on the track,” CFHS counselor Erin Gardner said. With over 100 students participating, the effort made an impact. “There were some students who were out there eager to walk and some complained, but it was less than a mile and it was a beautiful day out,” Gardner said. Since this is the second year doing the
walk, there are hopes of making the walk annual. “I think they will probably plan on making this walk an annual thing. I think this helps teach everyone that it’s easy to walk,” Gardner said. Student Senate Vice President Sophie Perez participated in the walk and agreed that the 4th hour walk is an easy way to help encourage exercise, and she envisions even more participation in the future. “I think the walk should be annual. It makes student realize how easy it is to take a few minutes out of their day to go on a walk or get some kind of exercise in. I definitely think it was a good idea to host the walk, and my only suggestion would be more advertisement so that we could get the whole school to participate,” Perez said. By Staff Writer Amanda
Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) The school board is currently discussing One to One programs and will develop action plans this spring. The current policy at the high school is Bring Your Own Device, or BYOD. The policy allows students to use computers if they have them. But the school will not buy one for each student. “We are just starting to implement BYOD, so we do not have any data. I’m concerned that it may cause a greater gap between those that have and do not have, between the rich kids and poorer students, so we are monitoring this,” Superintendent Mike Wells said. Senior Cody Brown is one of the students that takes advantage of the school’s BYOD program. “It’s easier because I can do everything I need on my device. It saves me time compared to if I
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had to use school computers. I also don’t have to worry about restrictions like when a computer is available,” Brown said. NU students like junior Alissa Rychert come from a school that had a One to One program. The school provided half the students with Macbooks and the other half with iPads, providing students with much more technology than CFHS provides its students. “I don’t think it’s that much worse here because we’re not required to do anything on the computer. At NU we had to turn in all our assignments through technology, and here we turn in everything on paper, but if we had them here, I think it would be a good thing and beneficial to students,” Rychert said. “We have some devices but not enough to provide all kids who need
them. We will be studying and discussing one to one computers as well,” Wells said. Having some of the students that need devices buy and bring their own poses a few issues. “If they’re providing their own, I don’t think it will work, at least for our digital art classes because we have to use very expensive software that most people don’t have at home and can’t afford,” art teacher Lisa Klenske said. Although science teacher Kenton Swartley already has access to a classroom set of computers provided by the district, he could still use more technology if provided. “I think as much as we can use the technology, the better. There are a lot of good resources available. Unfortunately, not everyone has their own
device at all times to use, so it’s not as efficient as if everyone had their own because I have to share my student computer set with other teachers,” Swartley said. Despite the drawbacks of students having to bring their own devices, if they want to use them and the budget needed for the district to give them to students, One to One has the potential to be a beneficial program to students. “Computers allow for children to create, and if you have enough computers it allows each child to do so. One to one expands the learning day and allows students to learn 24/7. It also creates a level playing field for students of poverty,” Wells said. By Editor Katherine
MAYHEW