News
2 Index
News.. 2 | Opinion.. 4 Student Life.. 6 | Mini-Feature.. 7 Feature.. 8 Health & Lifestyle.. 10 | A & E.. 11 Sports.. 14 | Backpage.. 16
Xpress Staff Editor-In-Chief Katherine Bauer
Photo Editor
Kathleen Parrish Photographers Jessica Fenske Ellie Detweiler Maddy Bailey
Business
Tory Brown
Distribution
Donavin Wenger
Online Editor Jeff Frieden
News Editor Tyler Testin News Writers Kathleen Parrish Tory Brown Erin Drahozal
Opinion Editor Amy Boe
Opinion Assistant Abby Willey Opinion Writers Nic Ekland Erin Drahozal Erin Foley Brooke Alexander Adrienne Hayes
Student Life Editor Jenny Dickes
Student Life Assistant Morgan Ross
Xavier High School
Business Professionals of America travel to National Conference Hoping to compound their success at the State Conference, Xavier’s Business Professionals of America took it to the bank with awards in five categories at the National Leadership Conference, held May 5 through 10 in Anaheim, California. Xavier was represented by 10 students who traveled to the competition with Coach Mr. Tim O’Brien. “Through BPA, I have been able to expand my abilities of problem solving, time management, and public speaking,” senior Max Fuhrman said. “Each test has a time limit, and there’s always a few things they ask you to do that you’ve never seen before that you have to teach yourself how to do on the spot.” Nine Saints received honors at the conference. Fuhrman scored a second place finish on the Administrative Support Team with fellow senior Carolyn Morrissey and juniors Sarah Stanczyk and Ashley Lang. Fuhrman reaped the benefits of finishing in first place for Microsoft PowerPoint Certiport certification and second place in Microsoft Word certification. His prize was a Microsoft Surface complete with wireless speakers. Other Xavier students recognized for the business proficiency were juniors Amy Olberding and Spencer Wille and sophomore Brett Burns, all in Fundamental Spreadsheet Applications. A Digital Publishing award was given to senior Jeff Frieden. Junior
The BPA squad prepares for five days of competition at the National Leadership Conference in Anaheim, California. Photo Submitted. Hannah Chicchelly received a with the conference theme of Legal Office Procedures award. “Imagine, Believe, Become.” “I love attending the National “My favorite part of the Conference because there are so conference itself was the speaker many opportunities for growth, Scott Backovich at the opening learning,and interacting with other ceremony, and of course going on members,” Olberding said. “I’ve stage at the closing ceremony,” learned that this experience can Chicchelly said. “I learned to open a lot of doors and hopefully expand my horizons farther lead me on the path for success.” with the help of Mr. O’Brien.” Team chemistry was high for this The Saints showed their group of BPA students even though business skills at the highest level it was some of the students’ fist time at the National BPA competition. competing on the national level. Many of the underclassmen “We had a lot of fun together,” hope to return to the national Wille said. “I’ve learned stage at the 2016 conference in many skills for the business Boston, Massachusetts. Fuhrman workplace and how to utilize will graduate from high school all the tools of Microsoft Excel.” BPA this year, but he was The National Conference was invited to continue his winning not all business competitions. streak at the Certiport National The Saints made time for fun by Championship in Orlando, going to an Angels baseball game Florida, June 18 through 20. and making a stop at Disneyland. BPA also hired a motivational Tyler Testin speaker to inspire students News Editor
Student Life Writer Stephanie Wehr
Mini-Feature Editors
Faith Bohrer & Mikayla Noonan Mini-Feature Assistant Hadley Shriver
Feature Editors
Brady Hoffman & Jessica Driscoll Feature Writer Brylee Bastian
Health and Lifestyle Editor Samantha Valenta
Health and Lifestyle Assistant Maddy Bailey Health and Lifestyle Writer Hailey Justice
Arts & Entertainment Editor
Kayla Thompson & Rachel Lampe Arts and Entertainment Writers Catie Locher Donavin Wenger Nic Ekland
Sports Editor
Daniel Richardson Sports Assistant KJ Giles Sports Writers Luke Koechner Grant Gibney Ryan Williams
Backpage Editors Jessica Fenske
Backpage Assistant Ellie Detweiler Backpage Writer Anna Christianson
The Xpress Bi-weekly Xavier High School 6300 42nd St. NE Cedar Rapids, IA 52411 Volume 17 Issue 15
Senior Mentors chosen to assist new students next school year Orienting the freshmen has always been a priority at Xavier. However, last year more emphasis was put on pairing freshmen with senior students to make their transition to high school smoother. Thus started the program of Senior Mentors. The application process for Senior Mentors began in January. Juniors interested in the program were encouraged to apply. The number of Senior Mentors needed is based on freshman enrollment. For the 2015-2016 school year, Xavier needed 45 mentors. This year, the applications were reviewed by the committee of Mrs. Jody Esker, Ms. Angela Olson, and Mrs. Cara Jones. “Our goal for the Senior Mentor program is to ease the transition from middle school to high school,” Mrs. Esker said. Juniors KJ Giles and Jamie Feltes were chosen by the committee to lead the Senior Mentors for
the 2015-2016 school year. They are in charge of the mentors’ activities and are the ones who will be the face of the program. “I am most looking forward to seeing the freshmen and showing them how awesome Xavier is,” Feltes said. Giles and Feltes have been doing a lot of planning and organizing to help the class of 2019 feel comfortable at Xavier. The mentors’ work begins in May with letter writing to the parents and incoming freshmen. They introduce themselves as the students’ mentors and explain a bit about the mentor program and themselves within the letters. “This program gives the incoming freshmen a peer to provide leadership or answers to questions,” Mrs. Esker said. The mentors are involved with orientation before the school year begins and have responsibilities that continue throughout the year.
In particular, they assist students the first few days of school with navigating the building and answering logistical questions. “I wanted to be a part of this program to help the freshmen to have the best Xavier experience they can,” Feltes said. “I want to tell them things I wish I would have known as a freshman.” In addition to helping the new students assimilate to high school, Senior Mentors will be leaders for the freshman retreat in September. Tory Brown News Writer