The Trojan Standard

THE

TROJAN STANDARD

THE EXTRA MILE EXAMINING TEACHERS THAT GO ABOVE AND BEYOND TO IMPROVE STUDENT EDUCATION.

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F E AT URE PHOTO MAY 28, 20197

FEATURE PICTURE

Yulong Shao ‘21 dribbles the ball away from City player during the West vs. City game.

Picture by Sara Baroncini

Trojan Standard Staff Anum Ansar

Sara Baroncini

Writer Photographer Designer Designer Videographer Writer

Caroline Chandler Writer Designer

Jonathan Chen Writer Abby Mckeone Editor Designer Writer Xiaoyi Zhu

Designer Photographer

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

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TABLE OF CON T EN T S

MAY 28, 2019

04 NO PAIN NO GAIN 06 SUNRISE TO SUNSET 08

THE EXTRA MILE

12 BUSINESS PROFESSIONALS OF AMERICA 14 IF I WEREN’T A TEACHER 15 AP DO’S AND DON’TS Design by Xiaoyi Zhu

TABLE OF

This new issue is packed with interesting, informative and fun stories.

Our main story, “The Extra Mile”, goes into depth about several teachers lives, in and outside of school. We also focus on the most recent BPA trip. These hardworking competitors traveled to Anaheim California to compete against the best in the nation. Our reporter, Sara Baroncini, shares the details of the trip on page 12 and 13. Be sure to participate in our “What should do this summer?” (on the back cover) to find out what summer activity you should do! Have a great summer and thanks for reading!

CONTENTS

Hello again!

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SPORTS

MAY 28, 2019

NO PAIN NO GAIN Compiled and designed by Abby McKeone

A look into the injuries that plague the hardworking athletes of West High.

Photo by Emma Furlong

EMMA FURLONG ‘21 “I have a fracture in my 5th metatarsal from when I fell off a skateboard. It hurts my participation in dance because now i can’t compete in competitions or dance at all. I have to wear a boot for about 2 months and it gives my foot support to heal, but it’s rough not being able to do a lot of active things that I usually do.”

Photo by Maddy Negley

MADDY NEGLEY ‘211 “I have bursitis in my hip. Bursitis is pretty much an inflamed fluid filled sac. It’s supposed to stop your bones from rubbing together, but right now it’s causing too much friction. I got it from overtraining. Also, running form has a lot to do with it, because hip and knee misalignment when you’re running can cause a lot of problems. It’s been a very slow process. I was off for a week, then I tried to run again for a couple days, then it started hurting a lot again. I’m taking this as an opportunity to take a break and ensure I’m okay so I can start training for cross country.”

5 SPORTS MAY 28, 2019

Photo by Jacob Nyberg

JACOB NYBERG ‘20

Photo by Zach Gilbaugh

ZACH GILBAUGH ‘21

“I have a medium meniscus tear and inversion. The tear was probably a couple years ago, but I didn't really bother me. The inversion and the major part of the tear happened a couple weeks ago during gymnastics practice. As of right now, I can't really do a lot of gymnastics, I can only do minimal amounts of strengthening and stretching. The healing process is about six weeks of no weight bearing, minimal flextion, and that's about a seventy five percent chance that my knee will will heal.

I'll probably need a knee replacement by like 50 or so.”

“I’ve had a lot of back pains for, for most of my high school career, and I actually found out that the height of my hips is about six centimeters off, which puts a lot of strain on my back. Along with that, my glutes are very tight all the time. In the future, I’m going to have to do a lot more stretching, and I may have to sit out a game or two. I will also meet with Sheila, the trainer, in order to make sure that I’m getting lots of stretching.”

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OPINION MAY 28, 2019

SUNRISE TO SUNSET May 2019 is the holy month of Ramadan, a time of perserverance and patience for many students at West High.

By: Anum Ansar

What is Ramadan? For those of you

who aren’t aware, Ramadan is a widely practiced Islamic tradition where a person fasts from sunrise to sunset. The fasting itself is an abstinence from food and water and since Ramadan is a lunar month, the date is always changing. The reasoning behind it is that Ramadan teaches patience, endurance, and gratefulness.

You can’t appreciate a full stomach unless you’ve felt real hunger. You can take for granted the resources you’re provided until you lose them. Of course, there’s the idea that you must be kind and spread kindness during your fast. Which I guarantee will be every sibling’s favorite reason to ask for a multitude of favors. ‘It’s Ramadan! You have to be nice to me!’

Just before sunrise, we get up and have a very early breakfast of sorts. This usually happens around 3:45 a.m. During the summer, I had a habit of staying up until we ate and then going to sleep. It was purposeful, awake during the night and asleep during the day in order to not feel the hunger as much. Unfortunately, school gets in the way of taking that easy route.

Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. That habit utterly wrecked my sleep cycle, I became a literal night owl.

“ YOU CAN’ T APPRECIATE A FULL STOMACH UNLESS YOU’VE FELT RE AL HUNGER.”

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OPINION

MAY 28 2019

The first day of Ramadan is always the most exciting. It’s been a whole year, so you’ve already forgotten the dizzying hunger and are instead focused on the novelty of the experience . The memories come back pretty quick, however. I’m particularly nervous about my ability to do homework. Homework is often done later in the day, which means I would be tired and lethargic when my allotted time for homework is available. I don’t mind it, to be honest. The point is not to complain. Be patient. Be kind. Be thankful. Complaining defeats the entire purpose of doing so.

That is a lesson I’ve learned as I matured.

In the end, Ramadan is exciting. It’s a challenge. It’s a festivity. Families and friends get together, and family friends invite others out to eat. We get to interact with the community and go to several dinner parties. Each year, I look forward to it. For both people who do and don’t celebrate it, I wish you a Happy 2019 Ramadan!

Opening the fast is without a doubt is the most fun part of Ramadan. Often times, it’s a lavish feast of exotic foods. Sometimes, it’s a pizza delivery. Either way, let me tell you, food tastes much better when you’re hungry. After stuffing yourself, it’s very likely that you will enter a food coma.

My earliest fasting experiences including curling up with a blanket due to hunger and then hours later entering that same position for the opposite reason; a too full stomach.

The whole process is fun, but then there’s the waiting. And the waiting. And even more waiting. In a way, school helps relieve some of that boredom. School can be helpful too...even if you’re starving….I’m trying to look on the bright side here, okay? I’m trying.

Anum Ansar ‘21 in traditional Islamic clothing Design by Xiaoyi Zhu

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F E AT URE MAY 28, 2019

THE EXTRA MILE Clubs are extremely time consuming, for both the members and the sponsors, but the teachers who run the club are willing to go above and beyond to improve student education.

By: Jonathan Chen, Caroline Chandler

Teaching is a serious commitment and

time consuming. Teachers are all busy with managing their classes. However, some go the extra mile and take on even more work by leading a club. These clubs often require just as much work as normal teaching, and taking on the role of the sponsor is a great extra responsibility for a teacher to take. These three teachers are leading large and ambitious clubs that require engineering, programming, math, public speaking, knowledge of politics, and most importantly, a sponsor’s intensive and committed involvement.

Mr. Audia has been the sponsor of the Junior Engineering Technical Society (JETS) and Knowledge Masters (3-2-1) for 12 and three years, respectively. Though different,

the two clubs both engaged in very similar competitions, and this drew Audia in to become the sponsor of both.

Both competitions use student’s knowledge from the classroom to compete in national competitions,” said Audia. “I knew our kids could do very well competing against some of the brightest kids in the country.” Though similar, Audia’s involvement with the two clubs started differently. While he started with JETS normally (taking over the role of sponsor), his involvement with 3-2-1 only began after former Northwest Junior High students chose him to help create the club, after their experiences in the Knowledge Masters team at Northwest.

Audia has enjoyed success throughout all of his years leading the two clubs.

Since he took charge of JETS, the team has taken first place at the state level in the Technology Student Association’s (TSA) Tests of Engineering Aptitude, Mathematics, and Science (TEAMS).

Their success extends to the national level as well. In the past 12 years, the team has often finished in at least the top ten at national TEAMS competition. In 2014, they were able to take first place. On the other hand, 3-2-1 has finished in the national top ten every year since the club was started.

Audia’s teaching has also changed from when he became the JETS sponsor to the creation of 3-2-1. When he started involvement with JETS, he taught two standard science classes: physics and biology. Now, a decade later, he teaches three different classes: Principles of Engineering, AP Computer Science A, and PLTW Computer Science Principles. But in all of these classes, one constant is that they all connect to JETS and 3-2-1.

When thinking of the benefits of these two clubs, Audia names three concepts: “Communication, collaboration, and creativity. The 3 big C’s.”

These three aspects are also important in a very different club: speech and debate.

Mr. Cooper has been involved in Speech and Debate for 10 years as an assistant coach at University High School in Illinois and a coach at West. However, this year was his first as the club sponsor. His new role as head of the club has also increased his involvement with all speech and debate events. “I specialize in speech, but I’m learning a lot about debate,” said Cooper.

The year has also brought in many new members, giving Cooper a fresh start with much of the club.

“I find them jocular, fun, they’re also kind and encouraging to one another, and I like ‘em a lot,” said Cooper.

Throughout his involvement in Speech and Debate, he’s also enjoyed many successes at University High and West. In 2015, he led one senior member of University High’s speech team to third place in national expository speaking (a memorized explanatory speech). In this first year as sponsor of West’s team, he led four members of the team to the 2019 National Speech and

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F E AT URE

MAY 28, 2019

“I KNE W OUR KIDS COULD DO VERY WELL COMPE TING AGAINST SOME OF THE BRIGHTEST KIDS IN THE COUNTRY.” -MR. AUDIA

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F E AT URE MAY 28, 2019

Debate Tournament: Ethan D’Alessandro ’20 and Gautam Sharda ’21 in policy (an event where two pairs debate over U.S. policy changes), Bivan Shrestha ’22 in humorous interpretation (an event where a contestant tries to interpret a published piece humorously), and M.C. Guo ’21 in congressional debate (a mock legislative assembly competition).

These achievements have naturally come with Cooper’s motivation and pushing. “I perceive that I am pushing them the right amount, [but] I let them decide how much they want to push themselves,” said Cooper. “I remind them that more is always better when it comes to practice.”

Northwest Junior High is where Mr. Iannone first got his start in robotics. “Some students asked me if I could be the adult sponsor for the Lego robotics, which I had no experience with. But I said yes, because they needed an adult.” After becoming the sponsor, Iannone ran summer robotics for elementary schools. Later, an engineer from Rockwell Collins asked Iannone if he would be willing to start the FTC robotics team. “I agreed to it not knowing how big of a time commitment it was, just because I had a little bit of experience.”

“I ENCOUR AGE STUDENTS TO TRY NE W THINGS AND TO LIKE, DE AL WITH PROBLEMS THAT INE VITABLY ARISE .”

- MR. IANNONE During the end of the third trimester, the FTC robotics season is over. The season started in September, and the team was able to make it to the state championship. While in season, the team met for roughly six hours a week. In the five years that the FTC robotics program has been at West, the most successful season was the third season, according to Iannone. “We got to go to the super regionals

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F E AT URE

MAY 28, 2019

which was really cool.” Iannone says that this year’s season was a really good one as well due to the fact that a lot of the original members of the team were seniors last year giving a chance for a whole new group of students to take over. “So the fact that they made it back to state, even with all that was pretty cool.” Iannone said. As for the time commitment to FTC, it differs depending on the member. Many of the students on the team are involved in various clubs and sports. “Some of our members are involved in a lot of different things. They come and they help with robotics when they can.” There are other members that stay after school working until nine o’clock on projects while others spend entire weekends putting together CAD models. “To have a competitive season, you have to have at least some members of the team that are really, really dedicated.”

During the heart of the competitive season, it can be difficult balancing FTC and teaching classes Iannone said. “ I’ve got after school with the robotics team and then I fall behind on grading. I think that if you talk to the coach of any sport, or really active club, they’ll tell you that in the heart of the competitive season, it can be really hard to maintain all that.” As for his favorite aspect of guiding the club, Iannone enjoys seeing ideas being transformed to real life models. “That process of seeing just really brainstormed ideas turned into something that competes is really cool.”

Iannone says that the robotics room is quite laid back, and the team has this culture of everybody being encouraging of everybody. “I encourage students to try new things and to like, deal with problems that inevitably arise.” Iannone says that it’s more powerful seeing this encouragement coming from the other students rather than himself. “There’s a pretty large group of them, and for the team to work, it’s really about how they interact with each other. We just try and set the norms for that.” Iannone recommends that students join robotics for a variety of reasons.

“It’s a great way to apply some of the things that they learn in class. It’s engineering but also really creative.

It’s a good opportunity to learn new skills and almost everybody can find something to do on the team.

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N EWS

MAY 15, 2019

BUSINESS PROFESSIONALS OF AMERICA

BY SARA BARONCINI

The Business Professionals of America club attends its annual National Leadership Conference in Anaheim, California on May 1st, 2019

Y

ou take a deep breath in, and exhale as you run your lines.

You look over to the side to get a glance of the other anxious competitors that surround you, your heart begins to pound and a nervous feeling runs throughout your body.

The door opens and your name is called, it is your time to present. For the Business Professionals of America students, this feeling is one they experience upon every conference.

The Iowa City West High Business Professionals of America chapter attended the Opening Ceremony for the national BPA conference located in Anaheim, California on Wednesday May 1st. The Opening Ceremony is the introduction to every BPA national event in order to get students excited, informed, and introduced to a few of the events that will take place. On May 2, the competition began as thrilled students presented their events to judges.

Business Professionals of America first began in 1966 as a local organization for students to participate in to gain business knowledge and soft skills. BPA continued to grow and evolve and eventually became what

it is today: A competitive club that pushes students out of their comfort zone, creating experiences to last for a lifetime. Its headquarters are located in Columbus, Ohio.

In Iowa, a Fall Leadership Conference is held in Des Moines every fall.

This is where students get a feel for the club and can interact with students from other schools in the club as well as participate in engaging activities.

West High BPA held its very first regionals conference at West High in January. In February, the State Iowa Conference was held once again in Des Moines where students competed for either top three or two places to qualify for Nationals. This year a total of 28 individuals qualified to compete in either a team or individual event at Nationals.

There is lot of preparation involved with BPA. In October the members of the team select which events they would like to participate in. Team events range from two to four people.

The students spend weeks preparing and meeting the requirements for their events. After ll the hard work, time, and effort, he competitors first

present at regionals, where they are able to present once before going on to State.

In order to get to the national conference, members of the program must qualify in one event at the state conference or receive a high score on an open event. Not only are there events, but there are other programs offered where students can participate in to qualify for the national conference, including Torch Awards and the BPA Cares Program. In order to qualify, teams or individuals must receive the top places of their event in the State.

At Nationals all 28 of the members of the team competed. It could be hours or up to a day until the competitors were able to find out whether they made finals. Those who do make finals must once again compete. When the time comes for the Awards Ceremony students are on the edge of their seats to find out whether they placed or not. This year a total of four teams and three individuals from West High made it to the stage for finals.

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N EWS

MAY 15, 2019

“BPA is more than just a club, it’s a place where everyone is like a family. It’s an amazing club to build your resume, to learn, to meet new people, and to challenge yourself. ” -Lucas Sorenson ‘19

“BPA gives you a chance to learn leadership and communicative skills. It gives you a glimpse of what the business world is like and prepares you for it.

BPA is a great place to meet new people.” -Jada Dachtler ‘22

“BPA has given me great experiences and a new perspective on business. I’ve learned that business is everywhere and in everything.”

-Kiah Martin ‘19

“BPA is an awesome organization where not only do we members get to come together and learn about real-world applications of business, but we also make new friends and interact with students in all grades.” -Schuyler Houston ‘21

“I feel that BPA is important to me because it has taught me so many real life skills that better prepare me for the future. It’s also fun and made up of a great group of people.”

-Margaret Liu ‘21

“BPA has really allowed me to explore future interests and to improve my soft skills. Learning about how to function in a professional setting is really cool and something I think everybody should experience.” -Nate Nelson ‘20

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F E AT U R E

May 28th, 2019

IF I WEREN’T A TEACHER The second career choices of teachers at West High

by Anum Ansar

“When I was younger, I always wanted to be an astronaut, because I love looking at the stars and the constellations and all that stuff. And you should realize, that it still has to do with math.”

Mr. Boylan

Ms. Morsch

“When I was in college, my first major was sociology, so maybe I would do something in sociology. Like research, I’m especially interested in crime and deviance. So maybe something along those lines, or do law stuff.”

“There is nothing that I want to be doing other than than teaching math to students. But if I weren’t a math teacher, I would be six feet under.”

Mr. Kirpes

“I’ve had this long time kind of fantasy that when I retire, I’m

Mr. Rosenthal

going to do all those really interesting jobs that I thought were really curious for three months. Like, be a lumberjack for three months, be a radio DJ for three months, be a cross country semi truck driver for three months.”

Design by Anum Ansar and Caroline Chandler

AP Dos and Don’ts Prepare

What should you do this summer?

START

Do you like to swim?

Yes

No

Beach or pool?

Do you like hot weather?

Beach

Pool Reading or Netflix?

Spending time alone or with friends?

Alone Do you like the outdoors?

No

Friends Do you like amusment parks?

Yes

Reading

No

Do you like listening to music?

Netflix Pizza or a salad?

No Stay home or travel?

Yes

Pizza Stay home

Yes

Salad

No Coffee or tea?

Tea

Coffee

Travel

Bake something sweet

Try new Foods

Host a movie night

Go for a bike ride

Go to a coffee shop