Teen Dating Violence Hits Crete High

words of a feather
December 22, 2009
The Official Student Newspaper of
the Crete High School Cardinals
Crete, Nebraska
Volume 4 Issue 4
Teen Dating Violence Hits Crete High
“I felt like I was neglecting
my friends,” Monica said.
Fighting was common for
both couples, especially when
it came to making time to see
each other.
“We usually fought about not
seeing each other enough, and
we both had trust issues,” Addison said. “When we fought we
both said things out of anger we
didn’t mean, and we knew what
we said was wrong.”
“He was very immature
about me not finding enough
time in the day,” Monica said.
“He would get really angry and
send me immature text messages.”
Addison does realize that the
fighting was not a one-sided
battle.
“It wasn’t just him, but I felt
he said more to me,” Addison
said. “I didn’t want to lose him.
I was scared to bring up things,
and I was scared to blame him
for something.”
According to a newsletter
from the Delaware Coalition
Students at Crete High have experienced teen dating violence. This violence has become widely known to officials
around the country during the past decades. Girls advise against letting a boy control a girls’ life as it can interfere Against Domestic violence,
extreme jealously, controlling
with many of its aspects.
behavior, unpredictable mood
swings, explosive anger, verbal
from sexual assault to physical violence to verJessalyn Holdcraft
abuse, and forced isolation from friends and
bal or emotional abuse.
Copy Editor/Staff Coordinator
Addison* and Monica*, two Crete students, family are all early warning signs of a relationwere in such relationships for nearly a year ship that could turn abusive.
“The worst was when I was told (by him)
One in three high school students have been each.
or will be involved in an abusive relationship
“I felt that everything was my fault,” Ad- that I was a worthless piece of crap and I was
according to a Bureau of Justice Special Re- dison said. “I felt that everything I did was going nowhere in life,” Addison said.
Loveisrespect.org reported that 64 percent
port. Dating violence encompasses everything wrong.”
of teens in relationships were dating someone
who “acted really jealous and asked where
they were all the time.”
“He was constantly just keeping me to himself,” Monica said. “He was constantly checking who I was talking to, who I was with, and
what I was doing.”
Emotional abuse can lead to a depression,
as it did with Addison.
“I’ve had thoughts of suicide,” Addison
said.
About 20 percent of teens will experience
teen depression before they reach adulthood.
Untreated depression is the number one cause
of suicide, the third leading cause of death
among teenagers. Fortunately, Addison had
people who helped her.
“But I’ve talked to family members about
it. They made me realize that there are other
things outside of boy drama, and that I was
cared about,” she said.
Just because emotional abuse doesn’t leave
a scar that does not mean it doesn’t leave a
mark.
“The head games were worse than physical
abuse because it doesn’t really hit you until
later,” Addison said.
After Monica and her boyfriend broke up,
“I felt like I was getting my life back,” she
said. “I was isolated from my friends and family.”
Because of the abuse, these teenage girls
have lived and learned from their dating experiences.
“Don’t let someone control you. If it’s
meant to be, it’ll come back. If not, let it go,”
Addison said.
“No boy is worth losing your friends over,”
Monica said.
*Name has been changed
Schools Gain, Not Lose to Free Lunch Program
Dulce Castañeda
Staff Reporter
In This Issue...
A few minutes can make a huge impact.
This statement unquestionably applies when
it comes to filling out free and reduced lunch
applications resulting in a school being considered “Title I.”
Title I Schools are schools that receive extra
benefits from federal funding when at least 40
percent of students qualify for free and reduced
lunch. Schools that are not eligible as Title I are
named non-Title I schools.
Free and reduced lunch is separate from the
school system and does not affect its financial
status.
As a bonus, the school is given extra money
which is used for teacher services, parental support, tutoring courses, creating computer labs,
and buying books and materials that will vastly
benefit students, as indicated by Families.com.
Students of low-income families who apply
to receive free and reduced lunch are likely to
be approved for it.
“You either have to be a migrant, qualify
through Health and Human Services, or have a
low family income,” Bookkeeper Sherry Rezac
said.
Funding for Title I began in 1965, shortly after the passage of the Elementary and Secondary Act.
It was designed to assist schools that had a
high percentage of students coming from lowincome families.
According to Editorial Projects in Education
copyright, it targets education for students who
lack educational needs.
“Foster children and homeless children automatically qualify for free lunch,” Rezac said.
In 2002, Title I became part of the “No Child
Page 2:
Academy Classes
Challenge Students
Left Behind” (NCLB) Act under Part A, seeking to reinforce the current state of the program.
Nationally, Title I reaches 12.5 million students, 65 percent of which are in first through
sixth grade and 12 percent attending pre-school
through kindergarten.
Schools receiving funds are required to meet
“adequately yearly progress” (AYP) annually.
Those failing to do so may receive consequences including cuts in funding and are issued “in
need of improvement” titles.
As the economy has taken a downturn, some
parents have lost jobs and money has been tight,
resulting in a need to spend money more carefully. Applying for free and reduced lunch has
become a viable solution for some families.
“If you have both parents working with low
income and have four or five siblings, you can
qualify for free or reduced lunch,” Rezac said.
The more applications for free and reduced
lunch that are returned to the school and approved account for the money received.
A family can be eligible even if they are unaware of it. This is the reason certain schools
around the country have all students fill out applications even if they do not qualify.
Schools receiving funds can choose whether to operate targeted assistance programs or
school-wide programs.
In targeted assistance programs, funds are
focused on students identified as failing, or at
risk of failing so they will be able to comply
with NCLB standards.
In school-wide programs, Title I is integrated
into the educational program and every student
benefits, regardless if he or she qualifies for free
and reduced lunch.
“School-wide programs are what the Elementary and Middle School have,” Business
Manager Sandy Rosenboom said.
The Crete Elementary and Middle Schools
Page 4:
Students Overcome
Language Barriers
Sophomore Lukas Renker rolls out a napkin after getting his lunch from the hot lunch line. Free
and reduced lunch only applies to hot lunch. A-la-carte items are not covered under the program.
Both the Elementary School and Middle School qualify as Title I. Currently, the High School is
just under the 40 percentile mark in order to qualify as Title I.
have both been granted Title I benefits. Teachers
are now questioning why the High School has
not received the same resources.
“The money is concentrated in the school
with the most need, which happens to be the
slementary school. The money is not able to be
Pages 8:
Hobza’s Life
Becomes Basketball
spread out,” Rosenboom said.
Because not enough students apply for free
or reduced lunch, Crete High School has not
been able to qualify as a Title I School.
“The high school is just under the 40 percent
mark for qualifying,” Rosenboom said.
Page 10:
Teachers Reveal True
Feelings for Aides
December 22, 2009
Page 2
words of a feather
Wrestlers Go Too Far
Coach Disappointed Of Hazing
by Jake White
Staff Reporter
Most students are familiar with the age-old
tradition of initiation into a club, activity, or
sport. What many are not aware of is how out
of hand it has become.
In recent weeks, certain individuals on the
wrestling team have committed acts against
other, younger members. This is not a form of
initiation; it’s hazing.
Hazing, defined by StopHazing.org, is “any
activity by which a person intentionally or
recklessly endangers the physical or mental
health or safety of an individual for the purpose of initiation into, admission into, affiliation with, or continued membership with any
organization. It shall be unlawful to commit
the offense of hazing. Any person who commits the offense of hazing shall be guilty of a
Class II misdemeanor.”
The consequences of hazing can range
from a warning, to a fine, to a maximum of
six months in a federal prison. It depends on
the offense and if the victim would like to press
charges. In this case the victim chose not to
press charges.
When asked the Administration and Wrestling Head Coach Matt Anderson refused to
give specifics on what happened.
“It opened up our eyes to what was happening. It is intolerable and unacceptable,” Anderson said.
There were some consequences for the wrestlers involved. One of the consequences was
running sprints.
“You know, we can’t tolerate that kind of
stuff and need to punish it severely enough that
they understand not to do it again. They ended
up with a lot of extra work as far as conditioning and some other things we’ve had to do,”
Anderson said.
When asked about the situation, the Administration had no comment.
Hearing only a general overview of what
happened, many students were outraged.
“I’m shocked, appalled, astonished about
this,” Senior Jonny Larios said.
“I’m disgusted with them,” Sophomore Em-
ily Potter said.
“I never thought this would happen in our
school. There should be harsher punishments,”
Junior Ingris Lopez said.
“I thought they knew better than that. I
don’t even know how they could come up
with the ideas. It’s not right,” Sophomore Jessica Vazquez said.
All of the interviewed students asked about
the punishment of the wrestlers involved and
what the administration was doing about it.
“I’m disappointed. I made a lot of sacrifices and put a lot of effort into making our program, building our program, and things like
this can really tear it down,” Anderson said.
“It’s not just about the wrestlers. A lot of people put in a lot of effort into building up our
program, and stuff like that can really give it a
black eye and basically destroy the program. I
was really disappointed,” Anderson said.
There’s quite a difference between normal
initiation and hazing. There’s a limit.
What was done on the wrestling team was
not any from of initiation ritual. It was hazing,
however minimal the form in the minds of the
guilty parties.
News
The Differences
Initiation
1. Wearing clothes not
normally worn
2. Midnight runs
3. Kidnapping (worked out with parents)
4. Cheering in public places
blindfolded (cheerleading)
5. Memorize and recite lines
or plays
Hazing
1. Sleep deprivation
2. Restrictions on personal
hygiene
3. Yelling, swearing, or
insulting
4. Branding, physical
beatings
5. Sexual simulation, sexual
assault
Career Academy Offers a Break
by Christina Jackson
Staff Reporter
Senior Gerado Saldana works in Career Academy Sponsor Jennifer Coe’s classroom during MAP to study for his Business final for the Career Academy. The
Career Academy classes are in Coe’s room on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Tuesdays and Thursdays students are either at Tabitha or at Doane.
The career academy is a newly formed college credit class design for junior and seniors
who are interested in Business, Education, and
Health. The academy classes are in their second year. It first started out as just education
and health and this year added business (entrepreneurship) and Basic Nursing Assistant,
and next year plans to add manufacturing. It’s
a pass/failed and dual credit opportunity for
those who are interested. The classes are on
Tuesday and Thursday off campus
Students like Junior Marco Ortiz who is
taking business, took the class because it has
to do with the business major that he’s interested in when he gets to college.
“Taking this class I have learned more
about business and finance, responsibility, and
working and studying more,” Ortiz said.
Junior Kellie Carnes is taking the Health
career academy class.
“I want to go into the medical field and my
cousin told me that you will have to take it in
college so I just figured that I would take it
now and get over with,” Carnes said.
Teachers and counselors have also noticed
changes in attitudes.
“I’ve noticed change in students. How serious and enthusiastic they are and got them
looking into careers and college,” Counselor
Jeanne Stec said.
It can be hard for students to put the career
academy classes into their schedules. Counselors help with registration, write recommendations, talk to students about college, and help
sponsors events.
One thing students who are taking these
classes have in common is that any of these
classes give a better look into what a student
wants to be when they get into college. It’s not
all hard work and studying for some students.
“My favorite part of the class would be the
speakers and being with different people every
Tuesday and Thursday,” Carnes said.
“You get to mess with new things like the
sphygmomanometer which is what nurses use
to take your blood pressure and its more hands
on,” Junior Francisco Padilla said. He’s taking
Basic Nursing Assistant or BNA.
In the BNA class students get certified to
be an assistant nurse. In order to become certified students need to pass six procedures during testing. Then do a written test given by the
state and pass the teachers.
“You have to study a lot and memorize to
know written is easy but you have to know a
lot of the procedures,” Padilla said.
Many students have seen changes in their
work load and grades.
“It’s not too bad. We have to study for medical terminology and read for health.
If you want to go into the health field you
have to put in a lot of work” Junior Hallie
Henrickson said. She is taking Intro to Medical Terminology.
“It hasn’t affected grades. The homework
load I have is to read three chapters a week and
study for them. It has made me work harder so
I can pass the class,” Ortiz said.
When the students aren’t traveling to their
classes that are off campus on Tuesdays and
Thursdays they are in Career Education teacher Jennifer Coe’s room.
Juniors or seniors interested in the career
academy class can stop by either counselor offices. There will be a fair in January that recruits students, dates, time, and location would
be announced. Southeast Community College
and students that are interested in it can talk to
their counselor. The classes can help students
find out what they would be interested in after
high school.
Improvements Made in Alternative Education
by Will Veguilla
Staff Reporter
The new and very much improved alternative education school is running at full throttle in order to achieve its everlasting goal of
teaching and preparing students for the outside world.
Though commonly misconstrued as entirely
separate
from
the high school,
the alternative
school is merely
a division with
different options for students who, for a number of reasons, have shown a low degree of
success in a conventional school setting.
“We take more of a college approach,” said
alternative education teacher Ladd Hershner.
Indeed, students are usually just given the resources necessary to complete their studies
largely independently. They defiinitely are not
hand-fed the information, that’s for sure.
In this way of self-responsibility, students
are allowed to allocate more of their precious
focus toward a fewer number of subjects at a
time and then move on to the next once they
are ready.
Usually, it is also quite a bit faster than if
one was taking the same course at the high
school. Some who may have been second year
seniors can now graduate on time.
For Hershner, the new building and the addition of teacher Matthew Hoffman have been
a tremendous help.
Now working in
an area much bigger than in years
past, students can
move between the
two rooms and situate themselves in the
spot most appropriate for the advancement of their education.
The arrival of Hoffman permitted more
courses to be developed. Hoffman, according to Hershner, deals more with the science
and math department which Hershner himself
wasn’t very comfortable in doing before. This
split-focus and better facilities has spawned
greater indepth teaching.
So, be sure to try the alternative education
before thinking about completely dropping out
high school. It’s worth it.
“We take more of a
college approach.”
-Ladd Hershner
Freshman Steven Cabrera speaks with Alternative Education Teacher Matthew
Hoffman about a homework assignment from the previous day. The addition of
Hoffman improves Alt. Ed.
Opinion
Page 3
December 22, 2009
words of a feather
Veguilla Ponders the Christmas Conspiracy
by Will Veguilla
Staff Reporter/Columnist
R
ather than breaking out the eggnog and
anxiously wondering whether or not your loved
ones
will
appreciate
colorful suspenders as
a gift (don’t
kid
yourself,
pal),
it may be
more sensible to spend
this holiday
season preparing for
an unprecedented onslaught. For
this issue, I
donned my Nancy Drew scarf and explored
the previously unexplored irregularities of
Christmas lore, and what I discovered, if I may
be candid, is vaguely startling. My suspicions were first aroused while I
was videotaping myself performing a classic
song, “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” in
the hopes that the producers of the show Glee
might spot it on YouTube and subsequently
cast me as Rachel’s new love interest for next
season. But my television romance would have
to wait because I had a chilling thought.
Everyone knows that Santa’s sleigh, officially, comes with a pair of immensely powerful headlights. Why is it, then, that Santa enlisted Rudolph’s wimpy red light to deal with
the reported “foggy Christmas Eve” issue?
Clearly, the nose must have more significance
than what is implied.
Intriguingly enough, Rudolph’s obscure rise
to a position of authority occurred a shortly after the disappearance of Italian physicist Ettore
Majorana, whose work with neutrino masses,
if one clicks on a dubious amount of links on
Wikipedia, can be connected to heat-seeking
missiles (and no, there aren’t any coincidences
in an investigation). It’s a stretch, but this evidence suggests Rudolph, rather than being a
bioluminescent patron of goodness, is really
a robot whose red nose, thanks to Majorana’s
not-so-voluntary assistance, is capable of
scrambling its own heat signature, rendering
it untouchable to our rocket-based defenses
in the event a grisly assault is ever unleashed
upon America...and the galaxy.
This might equally explain the “Grandma
Got Run Over By a Reindeer” affair. Rudolph,
with its baffling nose, must’ve been dispatched
to silence little old Granny once she got uncomfortably close to unraveling its mechanical secrets. The real crime, though, is that the
song which was poorly improvised afterwards
wasn’t even that catchy.
Alright, so keep rolling with me. Who has
the technology to engineer such a complex
machine? Hmm, a subversive team of Christmas elves, perhaps? It is a well-known truth
that Santa’s notoriously toy-crazy elves were
way ahead of their time in matters of robot
manufacturing. Who do you think constructed
all those AIBO pets? The Japanese? Please.
So, having achieved an epiphany and in
need of some, as the judge who refused to
sign my warrant to search the North Pole put
it, “evidence based on reality,” I traveled to
the Westfield mall in Lincoln to interrogate an
elf. Elves, if you didn’t know, have their lunch
breaks here. It’s really quite convenient.
Thus, it wasn’t long before I found a smallish person, unmistakably dressed in elfish apparel, riding the carousel and enjoying an at-
tractive ice cream cone. The little fellow didn’t
get past the first lick, however, for I promptly
tackled him off his plastic giraffe and shouted,
“Who do you work for?!”
The slippery elf, reacting fast, sunk his teeth
into my sensitive knee and then zoomed off
toward the exit with incomprehensible elfin
speed, presumably to warn his co-conspirators
that I was hot on their trail of holiday lies. At
the climax of the blurry, no-regard-for-property-damage chase which ensued, I bashed the
wily creature down among the flaming remains
of a grounded hot-air balloon with a metallic
chair I had picked up earlier...
Okay, fine, it wasn’t nearly as dramatic as
all that. My little suspect actually just cried out
for his henchman (named Dad) who, reacting
a touch excessively, took it upon himself to simultaneously halt the carousel ride and shatter
my skull with his shopping bags. I assumed he
had been shopping for bricks.
A security officer eventually shooed them
away once he got bored of watching the older
man wipe the floor clean with my blood. I told
him about my ongoing investigation of a possible Christmas conspiracy, and he said, “Son,
I won’t have any vigilante work in my mall.”
He promised me that the Westfield mall cop department was on the case. Thank God, right?
words of a feather
Crete High School Journalism
c/o Crete High School
1500 E. 15th Street
Crete, NE 68333
Phone: (402) 826-5811
Editorial Staff:
Layout/Design Editor:
Jasmine Foster
Copy Editor
& Staff Coordinator:
Jessalyn Holdcraft
Sports/Photography
Editor:
Amanda Reetz
Features Editor:
Cheyenne Persing
Business Manager:
Nicole Reetz
Circulation Manager:
Christina Jackson
Staff Reporters:
Student Teachers: Aides or Pains?
Oh great, student aides. Student aides are
often helpful to the teachers, but how helpful
are they to the students?
Almost every student in CHS has or has
had a teacher’s student aide at one point. But
are they helpful to us?
Some of us think
they just don’t do
anything, but if they
are cool and never
give any homework we are fine
with them. Some of
us have never even
received any help
from them. They
are sometimes even
annoying. Which
raises the question:
what are they doing
here?
Student aides are
here so they can get
their credits from
whatever college they are in, but what are their
jobs exactly?
All we see them do is stay in the back grading papers and just look around, and when we
asked them for help they rarely are able to explain it well enough to understand what they
are saying.
Once in a while they’ll go up and teach
something, which usually turns out to be a
tragedy. They will either go way too fast or
finish before they were supposed to or either
make it way to long to understand what they
are saying.
Then there are the few who are actually
helpful. Although there are not many of them,
these are the aides who can actually explain a
teach and others the way they dress and look.
In rare instances we get student aides that
we actually like more than the teacher. They
are able to explain a subject better to us and are
able to learn from much more than we learn
from the teacher. They stay with us so long that
we actually miss them when they’re gone.
Even then we wonder why the school
doesn’t just hire those student aides instead
of the teacher who they
were aiding.
In that case, we are
often left to ponder are
the only good student
aides, those who were
meant to become teacher?
These student aides
are the ones who get
along with students and
are not just there aimlessly, but with a purpose to help us.
When you go to CHS
you are bound to have a
student due to proximity of Doane College and
its boundless teachers to be. Which ever way it
is we were and will have student aides.
Overall, most of us don’t care if we have
student aides or not. All we care about is if
they are going to give us more homework then
we would actually receive from the teacher.
Student aides are often
helpful to the teachers,
but how helpful are they
to the students?
subject well enough to understand it. They will
be able to say in a few points what we need.
And there is the other type, the funny ones.
Usually these are the ones that like to tell the
cheesy jokes or are perfect targets to make fun
of.
Yes, make fun of them. Some the way they
Dulce Castañeda
Rachel Hoesche
Amber Kress
Renzo Martel
Tanna Nitzel
Taylor Reetz
Haley Sowders
Jessica Thatcher
Will Veguilla
Jake White
Adviser:
Mrs. Katie Wright
Words of a Feather is the official
monthly, student-produced
publication by and for students
in the journalism program
at Crete High School
in Crete, Nebraska.
This paper has been established
as a designated public forum
for student journalists to inform
and educate, and to act
as a catalyst for thought
and discussion.
Content in Words of a Feather
is determined by and reflects only
the views of the student staff
and not school officials,
faculty or staff.
The intent of this publication
is to act as an agent
to facilitate the learning
of the principles of journalism,
including writing,
photography, design
and editing.
Página 4
22 de diciembre del 2009
Words of a Feather
La Voz Hispana
Con papeles o sin papeles, se superan
Estudiantes indocumentados pueden realizar estudios universitarios
Gerardo Saldaña
Reportero
Estudiantes indocumentados, los que no
tienen visa o residencia legal en los Estados
Unidos, podrían pensar que no pueden estudiar en las universidaded de este país, debido
a su situación migratoria.
Pero, representantes de la Universidad de
Nebraska – Lincoln (UN-L) y de Southeast
Community College (SCC) aseguran que sí
pueden ingresar los estudiantes indocumentados ir a las insituticiones de educación superior.
Según Nicolás Aguirre de UN-L y Pat
Frakes de SCC, casi todas las universidades
aceptan estudiantes indocumentados, pero
para todas hay diferentes requisitos.
Los dos expresaron que a ambos universidades les gustaría que más estudiantes indocumentados fueran a la universidad, que estudiaran y que continuaran su educación después
de la secundaria.
“Hace como cuatro años el estado de Nebraska paso una ley, dando permiso a los indocumentados ir a la universidad, pagando el
precio del residente”, explica Señora Buchfink, consejera de Crete High.
Esto significa que pueden acudir a la educación universitaria pagando el mismo precio
que cualquier estudiante que vive en Nebraska.
Sra. Buchfink agregó que algunas universidades requieren que los estudiantes indocumentados firmen un juramento legal que
afirme que el estudiante solicite la residencia
legal antes de graduarse.
Pat Frakes, oficial de ingresos en SCC dijo:
“Yo he visto que estudiantes solicitan su residencia y cuando se gradúan del colegio reciben
su residencia, pero cada caso es diferente.”
Aunque estudiantes sin residencia legal pueden ingresar en las universidades del estado,
no califican para mucha de la ayuda financiera
disponible para los residentes legales.
Por ejemplo, los estudiantes indocumentados no pueden llenar la FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) que es la solicitud para dinero que ortoga el gobierno para
estudios universitarios: para hacer esto requiere un número de seguro social.
Pero, que no se disolucionen, dijo Niko
Aguirre de UNL. “Hay una beca que es para
todos los estudiantes incluso los indocumentados que no requiere seguro social: la Susan
Buffet fundación beca”.
Lo que se requiere para aplicar para esta
beca es un GPA (promedio de calificaciones)
de 2.5 y que el estudiante se haya graduado de
la secundaria en Nebraska.
Aguirre agregó: “Hay otras becas que no requieren seguro pero la beca Susan Buffet es la
que ofrece más”.
Señora Buchfink explicó que, como las
leyes migratorias en Estados Unidos se cambian a menudo, los estudiantes indocumentados no deben dejar de estudiar después de la
secundaria sólo por su situación legal.
“No pierdan la esperanza no saben lo que
va pasar con las leyes”, dijo Buchfinck.
Un estudiante lee informacíón sobre las universidades en el centro de carreras dentro de la oficina.
A los estudiantes indocumentados, se les ha garantizado ciertas becas para que puedan seguir su
educación después de graduarse de la escuela superior. Es cuestión de tener buenas calificaciones y
un promedio mínimo de 2.5.
Viajes permitidos, no recomendados
Janneth López
Reportera
Maribel López, freshman, trabaja en la tarea que perdíó durante el programa de EQ despues de
escuela. Ella es una de las estudiantes que salió del país durante el año escolar. Reponer las tareas
se les hace difícil a la mayoría de los estudiantes que faltan clases por una semana o más.
Estudiantes poco tradicionales
Melisa Franco
Reportera
¿Cuáles oportunidades tienes cuando llegas
de un país extranjero, sin saber inglés, con 17
o 18 años de edad, y sin poder acumular los
créditos requeridos para recibir tu diploma?
Hay entre seis y diez estudiantes que se encuentran en esta situación en la preparatoria
de Crete.
A diferencia de otras escuelas del área, Crete
High da más oportunidades a estos jóvenes
para educarse.
La preparatoria les ofrece clases a los
jóvenes a través de un programa especial de
acuerdo a sus situaciones, el cual se llama
<<Half Day Program>>, o programa de medio día.
La consejera de la preparatoria de Crete,
Sra. Buchfinck explicó: “La mayoría de los
jóvenes que asisten al programa lo hacen
porque no pueden graduarse en 4 años y no
pueden acumular los 220 créditos que requiere la preparatoria de Crete para recibir su diploma”.
Estudiantes en Nebraska pueden estudiar
en las preparatorias públicas hasta los 21 años,
pero algunos estudiantes no quieren seguir en
la preparatoria a esa edad.Por eso deciden participar en el programa de medio día, prinicipalmente para desarollar su inglés.
“Estos estudiantes están aquí para aprender inglés. Estos muchachos quieren tener un
buen trabajo en el futuro”, dijo la Sra. Wickard, maestra de inglés.
El horario de medio día es de 8:15 a 11:44
a.m. y consiste en cuatro clases diaras.
“El horario me parece bien por mi niña, así
me da más tiempo para ella”, dijo Migdalia
Lemus quien asiste el programa de medio día
y además, es madre. Los jóvenes toman clases
de comprensión. <<Newcomers>>, o recién
llegados, y estudian escritura y lectura.
“Pienso que las clases son muy buenas, ayudan a aprender inglés y las maestras son my
buenas”, comentó José Luis Méndez, quien
asiste al programa de medio día.
Algunos de los estudiantes, como Migdalia,
piensan seguir en el programa hasta que cumplan los 21 años para poder prepararse para el
GED <<General Equivalency Diploma>>, o
diploma de equivalencia general, que se obtiene a través de aprobar un examen en lugar
de acumular créditos en la escuela secundaria.
“Pienso prepararme en el Blue River para
agarrar el GED el siguiente año y tratar de ir al
Community College”, dijo freshman Migdalia
Lemus.
La preparatoria de Crete abre las puertas a
estudiantes extranjeros con este programa en
una forma especial.
En algunas de las escuelas de alrededor no
aceptan a estudiantes en clases normales con
los demás estudiantes si no van alcanzar a recibir su diploma cuando cumplan los 18 años.
“Lincoln parece tener un centro donde dan
clases de aprendizaje y Sioux City parece no
tener nada en común”, comentó el Sr. Conway,
director de la preparatoria.
“Yo pienso que es un programa que ayuda
mucho y es una gran oportunidad que les damos a jóvenes para aprender el inglés básico”,
comentó la señora Buchfinck.
Ya sea por una vacación u otras circunstancias que no se pueden controlar, durante el año
escolar estudiantes se ven en la situación de
tener que faltar a la escuela por periodos extendidos. En muchos casos, sus calificaciones
sufren al haber perdido las clases y no entender
sus tareas.
A veces los padres no tienen mucha decisión
al tomar vacaciones, cuando pueden depende
de su trabajo.
Algunos padres no querrán que sus hijos se
queden solos cuando ellos estén de viaje y se
los llevan con ellos, como era el caso de las
freshmen Maribel y Brenda Lòpez quienes
viajaron a México este semestre. Su abuelo
falleció y se vieron obligadas a viajar con los
demás familiares.
En cambio, unos estudiantes eligen ir de vacaciones durante el año escolar, como lo hizo
Henderson Lima, senior, quien viajó a Guatemala en septiembre.
Según oficiales de Crete High, la escuela
tiene una póliza con respecto a este tipo de viajes. Los padres tienen que informar al personal de la escuela, ya sea a la consejera de la
escuela, Señora Buchfink o el director, Señor
Conway.
“La escuela no se negará si el padre es él
que informa a la escuela”, informó Señora Buchfink.
Los padres firman un formulario para que el
estudiante pueda faltar más de cinco días o si
viajará fuera del estado.
Además, si un estudiante planea ir de vacaciones con su familia durante el año escolar, la
escuela recomienda que hable con sus maestros
para poder tener las tareas que va a perder.
Aunque la escuela permite estos viajes, no
todos los profesores están a favor.
Señora Stasny, maestra de arte, dijo: “Como
los estudiantes no tienen tareas en mis clases,
les lleva varias semanas para que se recuperen.
Cuando faltan tanto tiempo es difícil que se recuperen, pero yo entiendo”.
Señora Wickard, profesora de inglés, recomienda que los estudiantes consigan sus tareas
antes de viajar.
Ella comentó: “Yo les recomiendo que no
falten al menos que sea extremadamente necesario, porque es más trabajo para ellos tratar de
recuperar las tareas y perder las clases y explicaciones, que es lo que realmente educativo”.
Los estudiantes que han faltado a la escuela
por varias semanas aseguran que no es fácil.
“A mí me ha afectado mucho el haber faltado a la escuela. Tuve que ir a México de repente, por eso no hice nada antes de irme y
tampoco me llevé nada”, comentó Maribel
López, freshman.
Su prima, Brenda López, freshman, quien
faltò por la misma razón, no opina lo mismo:
“No me ha afectado mucho el haber faltado
una semana. Hice todo cuando regresé, pero en
español todavía me quedan algunas cosas”.
Cuando Henderson Lima, senior, fue de
vacaciones a principios de año hizo algunas
tareas antes de irse, pero dijo: “Aún estoy haciendo tareas para poder recuperarme. No me
llevé nada porque no quise andar cargado con
los libros. El grado más alto que tenía era una
‘B’ y me cambio a una ‘F’”.
“Casi todas mis calificaciones bajaron a ‘F’
cuando fui de vacaciones en los últimos días
de octubre. Como en ciencia, que tenía una
‘B’, y me cambió a una ‘F’-, lamentò Maribel
López.
Mayra Ortiz, estudiante de medio día, repite las palabras que la Sra. Wickard, maestra de inglés
les enseña. Muchos estudiantes en este program tienen planes para en un futuro seguir estudiando
y así poder obtener su GED.
La Voz Hispana
Página 5
22 de diciembre del 2009
Words of a Feather
Espíritu navideño contagia a los de CHS
Carlos Escobar
Reportero
Becky Nitzel
Cinco palabras qe te caracterizan.
Madre, amigable, feliz, sociable, chaparra.
¿Qué ha sido el peor
regalo que has recibido?
Mi esposo me regaló un suéter cuello de
tortuga que era rallada
del color café, picaba
mucho, y me miraba
gorda con el suéter
puesto. Me dolía usarlo.
¿Qué te gustaría recibir para la navidad?
Un nieto saludable. Mi hijo y mi nuera están
esperando un bebé.
¿Cómo es tu navidad en Crete?
Mi familia se junta en mi casa o si no en la
de mi hermana y nos pasamos un día bonito al
tomar fotos, comer y bailar. Tradicionalmente
hacemos galletas.
Erick E. Ruano
Cinco palabras qe te caracterizan.
Divertido, chaparro, atlético, fanático, chistoso
¿Qué ha sido el peor regalo que has recibido?
Mi tío me regaló
un par de zapatos cafés
bien feos y demasiado
grandes y no me gustaron para nada. Nunca
me los quise poner.
María (Ángel) García Bernardino Rodríguez
Cinco palabras qe te caracterizan.
Única, chistosa, mala, chaparrita, sociable.
¿Qué ha sido el peor regalo que has recibido?
Un suéter de viejita que me regalaron. Era
verde oscuro con un
diseño de rudolf y tenía
unás campanitas en la
nariz. No estaba muy
feo pero no me gusto.
¿Qué te gustaría recibir para la navidad?
Un par de zapatos de
fútbol y una camisa del Real Madrid.
¿Qué te gustaría recibir para la navidad?
Yo quiero una cámara pero que sea touchscreen.
Compara la navidad en Crete con navidad en Guatemala.
En Guatemala en la semana de noche buena iba a las posadas. Me iba con mis amigos
caminando como unas seis cuadras, y de costumbre nos daban chocolate caliente. En Crete
solamente hacemos intercambios de regalos y
comemos con la familia.
Compara la navidad en California con
navidad en Crete.
En California es mucho mejor porque estoy con toda mi familia de parte de mi mamá.
Pero en Crete nada más está la familia de mi
padrastro. De mi familia solamente llega mi
abuela y mi tía y mi primo. Prefiero navidad
en California.
Compara la navidad en México con navidad en Crete.
En México es más fiesta y está mejor el clima. Nos juntamos con la familia y los adultos
toman mucho. Y en Crete es aburrido porque
te la pasas encerrado por la nieve. Sólo me la
paso durmiendo o si no me voy a la casa de un
amigo.
El fin del año 2009 trae el estreno de nuevas películas. Entre las más exitosas son: 2012 que ha ganado
$711,4 millones, New Moon de $626,1millones mundialmente, y Ninja Assassin que recaudó $29,8 millones en los Estados Unidos.
Twilight New Moon: De romance y fantasía, es la segunda película de la saga de Twilight,
de los libros por Stephenie Meyer. Cuando Bella Swan, la protagonista, cumple dieciocho la
familia adoptiva de Edward Cullen, quien es un vampiro, le hace una fiesta para su cumpleaños.
Bella se corta abriendo un regalo y Jasper, el hermano de Edward, trata de matarla.
Bryan Guardado, junior, comentó: “Esta película es muy buena, me dejó en suspenso y quiero verla siguiente“. José Meneses, también junior, aprueba también: “Estaba bien, tenía acción
y drama”.
2012: Es una película de desastre. Se trata de que el calendario maya predice que se acabe el
mundo en el año 2012. El planeta Tierra empieza a recibir material solar y el núcleo del planeta
se empieza a calentar. El resulto causa tremendos terremotos y tsunamis que llegan hasta las Himalayas. Los gobiernos se unen para tratar de salvar a la gente que está sufriendo por los desastes
naturales.
Algunos estudiantes de Crete ya han ido a verla en el cine. Marco Ortiz, junior, dijo: “Fue muy
buena, me hace pensar de lo que puede pasar”. Diego Alarcón, sophmore, comentó: “Me gustó
porque había mucha acción”.
Para reírse
Estaba un borracho en la esquina, cuando pasa
una mujer caminando, el borracho la observa y le
dice:
¡Adiós fea!
La mujer, indignada, se da la media vuelta y le
dice:
¡Borracho!
El borracho, con una sonrisa, le dice:
Sí, pero a mí, mañana se me pasa.
La Voz Hispana
Personal de La Voz Hispana
c/o Escuela Secundaria de Crete
1500 E. 15th Street
Crete, NE 68333
Teléfono: (402) 826-5811
Personal Editorial:
Diseño, Redacción y Coordinación:
Ninja Assasin: Es película es de artes marciales, acción, y aventura. Una organización, que todos
piensan que es mítica, encuentra a un niño y lo crían. El niño crece para ser el ninja más peligroso
del mundo. Cuando la organización mata al amor de su vida, él va con venganza para matar a los
líderes de la organización.
Crescencia VanMeveren, senior, comentó: “Tiene mucha sangre pero está buena, ahora quiero ser
ninja cuando sea grande”.
El centro de carrera rinde más
libros con información sobre universidades, ir
a reuniones de con representantes de universidades durante MAP, o también es un lugar
donde estudiantes pueden estudiar en paz.
Si estudiantes están interesados en el ejército, o quiere ser un enfermero, puede ir al
centro de carreras y recibir folletos o hablar
con una consejera.
Nunca pensé que había estudiantes que no
sabían del Centro de carreras porque proponen actividades ahí en los anuncios.
Los estudiantes deben despertarse y pensar
en su futuro, empezando hoy, antes de que se
gradúen, y eso vendrá más pronto de lo que
imaginan.
Muchos estudiantes de Crete High no tienen
idea de qué es el centro de carreras (Career Center), ni tampoco dónde está localizado. Esto es
un problema, porque no están aprovechando de
los útiles servicios que proveen.
Según una breve encuesta de los alumnos,
52% de ellos nunca han visitado el centro de
carreras. La oficina del centro de carreras es
el lugar donde trabajan las consejeras de la escuela.
Hay muchas razones por las que los estudi-
antes no van al centro de carreras. Puede ser
que no tienen tiempo o porque no saben dónde
está. En cambio, los que sí van al centro de carreras lo hacen sólo para cambiar sus horarios.
La mayoría de estudiantes no saben que el
Centro de carreras ofrece más que sólo cambiar sus horarios de clases.
Puede ayudarles a preparar sus planes para
el futuro. Aunque el centro de carreras ofrece
más servicios par los juniors y seniors, también los de los grados 9 y 10 pueden empezar
a pensar en lo que quieren hacer para una carrera. Unas cosas que estudiantes pueden hacer en
el centro de carreras son, entre muchos, mirar
Cartas al
editor:
Estimados Editores,
Me gustó leer sobre las dos personas en el pasado artículo “Descubriendo a los que tenemos en CHS”
porque fue interesante. No conozco a todos en la escuela, entonces es una buena idea hacer artículos
así. Es bueno que Josué Hernández haya empezado a mejorar cuando su mudó a Crete. También fue
interesante descubrir que a Roxana le gusta dibujar ropa. Pienso que se debe incluir esta sección en
todos los números del periódico para conocer a más personas y sus historias.
Atentamente,
Taylor Schelstraete, Junior, CHS
Comentario
Raquel Pineda
Reportera
¿Qué ha sido el peor regalo que has recibido?
Mi hermana me dio
un par de calcetines
blancos.
¿Qué te gustaría recibir para la navidad?
Yo quiero una esposa hermosa, un carro
nuevo, un perro, pero en
realidad solamente voy
a ir a México.
Dale un vistazo a las películas
Jonathan López
Reportero
Cinco palabras qe te caracterizan.
Mentalmente fuerte, maduro, feo de buena
manera, chistoso, fuerte
Estimados Editores,
Me emociona y conmueve saber que “La Voz Hispana” está siendo reconocida en el periódico de la escuela. Parece que fue sólo ayer cuando yo
misma escribí un artículo para “La Voz Hispana”. Cuando la Señora Eckerson nos presentó el proyecto el año pasado, jamás pensé que llegaría a tener el
puesto que ahora tiene. Yo sólo lo veía como una calificación más, otra tarea más para complicarme la vida. Ver que ahora no sólo está expuesto al público
de hispanohablantes sino que también lo ven los maestros y estudiantes que no hablan español, me hace orgullosa de ser hispana. Demuestra que los hispanoablantes también tenemos nuestra opinión.
Es una manera positiva de demostrar lo que pensamos y, en general, nuestra cultura. Por ejemplo, en la sección “Descubriendo lo que tenemos en
CHS” donde entrevistan a los estudiantes, diciendo lo que hacen, lo que les gusta, y lo que piensan. La sección de “Para reírse, La están viendo, y Nuestra
música” era también un gran ejemplo de nuestra cultura. Ver que el periódico ha llegando a tanto me emociona y me hace extrañar la clase de español para
hispanohablantes. Para mí algo tan chico como tener dos páginas en español en el periódico de la escuela me conmueve mucho.
Atentamente,
Maira Méndez, Senior, CHS
Póliza de cartas al editor
L a Voz Hispana acepta gustosamente cartas al editor y noticias actuales de estudiantes, docentes, administración, residentes de la comunidad y
público en general. Pedimos que estas cartas no consistan de más de 300 palabras y que incluyan el nombre del autor, dirección, número telefónico
y firma original. Todo material entregado será verificado en persona y por escrito. Nuestro equipo editorial tiene el derecho de rechazar cualquier
carta y/o partes de cualquier carta y podrá devolverla para revisión si contiene lenguaje inapropiado o errores que cambien el significado. Favor
de enviar sus cartas a Sra. Eckerson en el salón 703.
Marilyn Bolaños
Dulce Casteñeda
Reporteros:
Melisa Franco
Carlos Escobar
Raquel Pineda
Gerardo Saldaña
Janneth López
Jonathan López
Consejera:
Señora Eckerson
‘La Voz Hispana’ dentro
de ‘Words of a Feather’ es
producida por la clase de
español para hispanohablantes
nivel III/IV de la secundaria
de Crete. Esta sección de
del periódico se ha diseñado
como foro público para que
estudiantes periodistas informen y eduquen, específicamente en español y procuren
reflección y discusión en la
comunidad. El contenido de
‘La Voz Hispana’ se determina
por la clase de hispanohablantes nivel III/IV, con el apoyo
del personal de periodismo
escolar, y el contenido no
refleja la opinión del personal
de la secundaria, únicamente
de los estudiantes quienes lo
crearon. El propósito de esta
sección es publicar la escritura
de estudiantes hispanos en una
vía pública para facilitar el
aprendizaje de los fundamentos de escritura y fotografía
periodística. El diseño de esta
sección se realizó por miembros del personal periodístico
escolar en conjunto con la
clase de español para hispanohablantes nivel III/IV.
December 22, 2009
Page 6
words of a feather
Activities
Siedhoff Competes Well in 4-H
by Jasmine Foster
Design/Layout Editor
Junior Kara Siedhoff shows her cat during the Saline County Fair. Siedhoff, age 8, showed her
prize-winning cat named Jake. She received first place and a trophy.
What Kara Siedhoff does in her spare time
is a lot different than what the normal teenager
would be caught doing.
For Kara, her spare time involves showing
cats and a beta fish, sewing, crocheting, modeling, and much more. She recently took a trip to
Atlanta, Georgia, for National 4-H Congress.
For the trip she has been required to fill out
a book containing records of her leadership,
community service hours, and the items she
has sent to the fair.
They select 23 different students from each
state. Kara was one of the lucky kids chosen.
“We stayed in a hotel with a huge ballroom.
It was a really cool place,” Kara Siedhoff
said.
While in Atlanta, she visited many different
sites.
“We went to the CNN building, I got to see
the world’s largest aquarium, and we visited
the Coca-Cola foundation,” Siedhoff said.
“I enjoyed myself a lot while I was on my
trip. I saw a huge mall and met a lot of new
people. We had dances every night that I was
there, which were a ton of fun,” she said.
Some main activities that Kara is involved
in are sewing dresses and outfits, modeling,
cooking, crocheting, and arts and crafts.
“I am President of my 4-H Club and a member of the Saline County 4-H Council,” Siedhoff said.
“I joined 4-H when I was 7 years old because my mom did it as a kid and persuaded
me to join,” Siedhoff said.
“My favorite part about 4-H is that I learned
a lot of things I thought I would never learn. I
learned to use a wood saw which was fun and
will help me in the future,” she said.
Kara has also gone on a couple other trips because of her involvement in 4-H. She has gone
to New York and Washington, D.C..Along the
way she has met a lot of new people.
Locally, she has gone to 4-H camp in Gretna
and many other camps around Nebraska.
“When I was in Georgia, many people from
all over the world had tons of different accents.
I got caught up in them and my mom realized
my voice had changed when I got back,” Siedhoff said.
Kara has received numerous awards
throughout the years. She has received the I
Dare You award, best 4-H’er in the county, top
showman of fish and cats, top modeler, and has
been named top 4-H’er for many years now.
“I have received many different pins for
projects and awards I have done in the past,”
Kara said.
“Being in 4-H has been a lot of fun. I encourage anyone, young or old, to join 4-H because you will learn a lot and enjoy yourself,”
Siedhoff said.
Robotics Hopes to Travel to World Championship
Robots Plan to
Take World With
Advanced Tech.
by Rachel Hoesche
Staff Reporter
Two out of the last three years, the Robotics
team has gone to the world championship and
is hoping to go again this year.
“We have a strong team,” Sponsor Kathy Koerner said. The team
currently consists of 35 paid members and 30 members who regularly
attend team practices.
Just like any other team, Robotics has a main rival. Elkhorn Mount
Michael is very good and is, in Koerner’s eyes, their rival.
Coaches Kathy Koerner and
Mike Smith encourage the team to do their
best because the team builds the robots themselves.
“We will achieve victory and hopefully
qualify for world championship,” Sophomore
Lukas Renker said.
“I think we will do pretty good since we
did good last year. I think we can go to World
again,” Sophomore Aaron Braunberger said.
“We’re going to do rocking!” Sophomore
Shane Kraus said.
The tournament at Omaha Benson, which
would have had a mix of about thirty schools,
was cancelled. This meet would have marked
the beginning of their season this year. Sophomores Renker, Braunberger, and Kraus are
confident they will do well this year as they
have done in the past.
“We are building a robot that is so secretive
and complex the design will not be released
minute time period to do
this while another team is
attempting the sane task.
The team with the most
balls on the opposite side
wins the match.
The coaches who help
out when needed to point
them in the right direction have been with the
program for different
amounts of time.
Coach Smith, who is
from Crete and joined the
team last year, helps with
the mechanical aspects
of robotics
while Coach
Koerner,
who also is
working on
her second
year, helps
with the paper
work
part of robotics. Coach
Smith and Coach Koerner have integrated into
the team and have helped
them to succeed last year.
“We will achieve victory and
hopefully qualify for World
Championship.”
-Sophomore Lukas Renker
until after out next competition,” Renker said.
The robot must be built in order to complete a challenge. This year is can pick up Nerf
footballs and small soccer balls. It must move
and throw these objects. Also, it only has two
Sophomore Lukas Renker, Freshman Ryan Weide, and Senior Isabel
Garcia work hard on completinng their work of madness.
‘Tis the Season for Holiday Parties, Fun, and Games
by Haley Sowders and Jessica Thatcher
Staff Reporters
“Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way”
sings Kathy Boyes and her National Honor
Society (NHS) students while caroling at
Tabitha’s nursing home on December 14.
“Caroling is pretty cool,” Junior Isaac Hunke said.
NHS students also made Christmas cookies
with little notes on them for the staff.
December 1 the Future Business Leaders of
America (FBLA) had their annual Christmas
party.
The FBLA Christmas party was held in
FBLA Sponsor Jennifer Coe’s room. There
were snacks and food there along with fun
Christmas games such as Prancer Reindeer
Dance Off. Freshman Alan Poteet won the
dance off. They also played holiday charades.
“It was a lot of fun being able to express
myself by dancing. I thought the prize was really funny and I still have it,” Freshman Alan
Poteet said.
The winning prize was a reindeer pen.
Another club to play holiday charades was
Prizm Club.
On December 4 Prizm Club had a get together to celebrate friends and happiness in the
foods room.
They had fun exchanging small gifts with a
White Elephant Gift Exchange. Freshman Esmeralda Rodriguez unwrapped a big box and
all it had in it was a Mountain Dew and a big
bag of rocks.
They played games such as four corners,
charades, twister and musical chairs, while
chowing down on pizza, cookies, popcorn and
chips.
In addtion, this Christmas Prizm Club sponsored two families to make it a happier holiday
season.
Prizm Club will also be participating in
Lights of Hope in January where each member
will gather literacy items for Blue River Community Center and victims of sexual assualt
and domestic crimes.
Another group that liked exchanging strange
gifts was Student Council.
December 20 at Junior Jessalyn Holdcraft’s
house, the members of Student Council had
pork sandwiches, chips, deserts and salads.
They also had a White Elephant Gift Exchange.
For games and activities the members
played Simon Says.
As some clubs exchanged gifts, the Future
Scientists of America (FSA) stuffed their bellies full of Casey’s Pizza.
In FSA Sponsor Darren Schmidt’s classroom on December 17, FSA members gather
to take part in a scientific guessing game. Ornaments with different elements on them were
placed on a purple tree, and members had to
guess which elements were which.
From White Elephant Gifts galore to a
Prancer Reindeer Dance Off, all clubs can
agree that it truly is the season of the Holiday
Parties.
Sophomore Future Business Leaders of America Representative Mitchell Marvin pulls a charade
card with something to act out from the bowl as President Jessalyn Holdcraft, junior, mediates
during holiday charades at the FBLA Holiday Party.
Senior
Spotlight
Taylor Reetz
Staff Reporter
Jonathan Lopez
Q: What is
your favorite class
in school?
Why?
A: Spanish
class because
I have a lot
of fun in that
class and I
don’t get in trouble
when I speak Spanish.
Q: What is your
most memorable
moment of high
school?
A: Being a part of the
school newspaper.
Q: What advice do
you have for the
underclassmen?
A: Don’t get lazy; it
will hurt you in the
end. Have fun and
enjoy school as much
as you can.
Lieu Tran
Q: What
is your favorite class
in school?
Why?
A: Choir
because we
don’t have
homework
in that class.
Q: What is your most
memorable moment
of high school?
A: Last year when we
pranked the seniors.
Q: What advice do
you have for the underclassmen?
A: Don’t slack off
during your senior
year, you might regret
it later.
Austin Aksamit
Q:
What
is your favorite class
in
school?
Why?
A: Building
Construction
because you
get to go to the
job site and
actually build a garage.
Q: What is your most
memorable moment
of high school?
A: When I dislocated
my finger at football
practice and Mr. Hatch
had to put it back in.
Q: What advice do
you have for the underclassmen?
A: School goes by fast.
Meredith Wahl
Q: What is
your favorite class
in school?
Why?
A: Currently
modern problems because
there is not a
lot of homework and we have some
really nice discussions.
Q: What is your most
memorable moment of
high school?
A: I have many basketball
memories that half the
school wouldn’t understand.
Q: What advice do you
have for the underclassmen?
A: To have an open mind
and not be self-centered.
Have fun in high school
and whatever you do,
avoid drama.
Page 7
words of a feather
Cardinal Crossword
Across
5. Which Club/ Activity builds robots and competes in competitions?
6. Who was the 4-H article about?
7. What was the sidebar on page 7 about?
10. Is the head of Alternative Education.
12. Title I gives money to schools for ____ and
reduced lunch.
Down
1. Prizm Club and Student Council both did ____
elephant exchanges at their parties.
2. Robotics has gone to the World Tournament
____ in three years.
3. Amanda Reetz lived in the life of ____.
4. Question of the month is about the famous
_____.
8. The majority of relationships between teachers
and their aides are ____.
9. Mrs. Conway has how many aides in her World
Studies classes?
11. How many Career Academy classes are offered to high school students in the second semester?
Jake White and Jessica Thatcher
Staff Reporters
Words of a Feather gladly accepts submissions for People page items, including questions of the month,
senior spotlight questions, crossword questions and answers and items for the Cardinal Community
Connection board. Students, Teachers and Administration are encouraged to submit items for the
editorial staff to review and consider reporting, especially items not contained within the school calendar. Submissions should be given to any editor or Mrs. Wright in Room 412.
Cardinal Community Connection
by Words of a Feather Staff
Reports
Purchase your yearbook
for $50 in the office
Juniors
is offerinand Seniors N
win a $ g a chance t SLP
Stop in 500 scholarsho
inform Career Cente op
r for
ation.
Senior
s need
tw
senior
pictures o
for
the yea
rb
ASA ook staff
P
412 aft to room
er break
ACT prep classes start
January 5th for the
Febuary 6th ACT
A
AC llstat
fo T e la
sm r teen Out unch
pa art s to Lou ed
ign dr d d
. ivin evel
g c op
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-
People
December 22, 2009
Iowa young writer’s studio for those interested
in poetry, fiction, and
creative writing. applications due Fedruary 19,
2010
Question of
the Month
Tanna Nitzel
Staff Reporter
What does Santa
do the day after
Christmas?
Freshman Rachel Peterson
“ He sleeps”.
SAT Testin
g will be
held on
January
23rd
n
di s
e
t
s
ere t i
int he cos ble
t
t
a
en
tud e ACT efund
s
r
y
An ing th $40
k
ta and
$50
Sophomore Caden Wells
“He looks after
naughty boys
and girls”
Pay
at
Eme tention
rgen
to
c
Rou
tes d y Snow
urin
the
g
ti
snow me of h
eavy
f
othe all and
r bliz
cond
z
ition ard
s
Merry Chr
istmas
and a Hap
py New
Year!
Junior ChyAnne Shierling
“He plays
checkers.”
Time Management Tips
Amber Kress
Staff Reporter
•Plan each day. Use a planner and write things down.
•Prioritize your tasks. Put them in order of deadlines and importance.
•Take the time you need to do a quality job.
•Break large, time-consuming tasks into smaller tasks.
•Practice the 10-minute rule.
•Evaluate how you’re spending your time.
•Limit distractions. Turn off the TV,
music and focus.
•Get plenty of sleep.
•Take a break when needed, but not too often.
•Establish routines and stick to them as much as possible.
Senior Levi Meyer
“He moves to his
gingerbread beach
house and sits on
the beach in his
boxers drinking
milk and cookies.”
Spanish Teacher Betty Diaz
“Santa lays
in bed all day
because he is
very tired. ”
December 22, 2009
Page 8
Sports
words of a feather
In The Life Of... Greg Hobza
Head Coach Greg Hobza gives his players a pep talk during a timeout during the Auburn game.
The Cardinals won 52-29, making that their first win of the season.
Amanda Reetz
Sports Editior
History Teacher and Head Boys’ Basketball Coach Greg Hobza kept record of his own
events during his pre-game and post game
account of the season opener vs. Columbus
Lakeview. The following is his account of the
time spent preparing for and wrap-up after a
big game:
Starting on Wed, Dec. 2, from 8-9 a.m.,
Hobza spent the time sending his pre-game
outlook to Lincoln Journal Star, and then later
sent the JV roster to Activities Secretary Liz
Irwin for Friday’s JV game
Getting some extra time from 9-10:30 a.m.,
he worked on his practice schedule so that
he could send it out to his assistants for feedback.
During his lunch break from 11:45 to 12:15,
he finalized his practice schedule, and emailed
Fairbury, from which he got the film to prepare
for the Beatrice game.
He later called JV Coach Shawn Carr for
the JV departure time for Friday’s game vs.
Lincoln Southeast. Finally, he emailed the
coach from Waverly to get film for the Pius X
game on Thurs., Dec. 10.
During MAP, Hobza finishes up his meetings with the players about their games on
Thursday and Friday.
At 2:40, Juniors Ryne Reeves and Connor
Stewart helped Hobza number the warm-ups
and get them ready for the first game.
Starting practice from 5-6:30 p.m., Hobza
went through pre-game and mentaly prepared
the boys for their first game, then later had
a pre-game meal at 6:45 at the high school.
Getting anxious, Hobza decided to watch film
again that night from 10-11:00p.m., making it
an eleven-hour day.
Starting day two off early, Hobza decided
to watch film over the GINW vs. Lakeview
gam from last year at 7:15 a.m., and then later
started the scouting report.
Coach Greg Hobza talks with Sophomore Colten Mach during the Auburn game.
Finalizing his scouting report at 11:45, he
copied one for each of the players and has them
read over it.
Getting some precious time to himself, Hobza decided to go watch the freshmen practice
from 4:10-4:45p.m.. Then at 5, he went to the
high school to get some items for the game, and
helped student managers get set up.
At 5:15, the boys had a pre-game walkthrough and then later went to watch the girls’
game. The Cardinals’ lost that night with a
close loss 36-48 to Lakeview and Hobza found
himself leaving the school late to make a nearly
15-hour day.
7:30 a.m. Friday morning, Hobza went
over and finalized the stats from the Lakeview
game. At 9 a.m., he called Andy McCallister
from the Crete News to talk about the game vs.
Lakeview.
Later that day, Hobza received film from
two other teams, and met up with some more
players to talk about the game, goals, and etc.
From 3:30-4 p.m., he met up with some
players and went over stats, and then scouting
reports of themselves.
At 6 that night, Hobza went to the JV at Lincoln Southeast and kept book. At 9 that night,
he scouted Pius X at LSE vs. Waverly. His
third day of the season clocked him in with
nearly fourteen hours.
Saturday morning at 8 a.m., Hobza got his
practice schedule ready and had practice for
an hour and ten minutes. After practice, he
went to watch the freshmen boys play in the
Dorchester Tournament from 10:30-12:30. Finishing off his weekend Hobza spent his
Sunday afternoon watching film from 10:0011 p.m., clocking in on his ‘day off’ with a total of nearly six hours.
In a total of the first four days of the competitive season, Hobza clocked in nearly 46
hours of work with a combination of teaching
and coaching, equalling an average of an eleven and a half-hour work day over four days,
which would work out to a nearly 60-hour
work week.
Young Team Matures From 1-19 Season
Cheyenne Persing
Features Editor
Rivals; the team that is dreaded the most
but also the game most anticipated throughout
the season.
For the boys’ basketball team, Beatrice
seems to be their number one rivals; however
Pius wasn’t far behind in the poll.
The word “hate” seems to be the best words
used when it comes to the Beatrice rivalry.
“I think Beatrice is our biggest rivals because they’re really good competitors and I
bet they will be going to state this year,” Senior Robbie Sattler said.
The boys were supposed to play their top
two rivals back-to-back. However, the team
was not successful in beating Beatrice. They
went 44-60.
In addition, due to the inclement weather,
the team was not able to face off against Pius
and the game was rescheduled for February
16 at Lincoln Pius. Junior Varsity will play at
5:15 p.m. and Varsity will follow at 7 p.m.
“We wanted to come in fresh for the Beatrice game and now we get to be fresh and
up on our game for both rivals,” Junior Mitch
Marvin, concerning the schedule change for
their matchup against Pius.
The team is still trying to overcome their
1-19 record from the 2008-2009 season.
“We are getting better than last
year. The team has a
whole has grown up
a lot and the team is
working more like
a team now,” Junior
Connor Stewart.
Now the team
has to look forward
to playing the Doane College Holiday Tournament on
December 29 and
30 at the Big D.
However the team
has to be ready for
these games ahead
of time due to the
NSAA Moratorium.
Those are five days where no school sports are
allowed to practice, it begins December 23
and ends December 27.
Sophomore Mitchell Marvin blocks the ball against Aurburn. Mitchell is a starter for the Cardianls. The Cardianls next home game will be the Doane Holiday Tournament on the 29th and 30th.
Determination to beat their rivals seems
mentally when going up against one of our rivals. On offense we try to
score as much as possible
to rack up as many points
as we can,” Junior Aaron
Paulsen.
“I don’t think we do
anything differently than
any other game. We just go
out and play, the only thing
that’s different is the intensity seems to be higher in a
rivalry game,” Marvin said.
Besides playing their rivals, the team also played
against Fairbury and ended
up losing 48-37. So far, the
boys’ season record is 1-3
and has had a 400 percent
increase in 25 percent of
the games in comparison to
last year. Mathematically, the season is looking better and the boys continue their hopes in
improvement overall on both sides of the ball.
“On defense, we play
more physically
and mentally when
going up against
one of our rivals.”
-Junior Aaron Paulsen
Junior Grant Harms goes up against Lakeview
player to start the tip off on the season. Harms
led the team with a game high of 16 points.
to be their mined set coming into their Beatrice
game and the up-coming into their Pius game.
“On defense we play more physically and
Sports
Page 9
December 22, 2009
words of a feather
Grapplers Take Grip of Places
Sophomore Corey Kalkwarf attempts to pin an Adams Central wrestler at the Crete Invite. Kalkwarf placed first at the Crete Invite for the 125 pound class and remains undefeated.
Taylor Reetz
Staff Reporter
The wrestling team has had a rough start to
their season. The team has four ranked wrestlers, including Junior Brock Sherman, Senior
Taylor Phipps, Senior Cody Wendelin and
Sophomore Corey Kalkwarf, who all went to
state last year.
The season started off with a dual against
Schuyler ranked fifth in Class B. It ended up
being a close match with a score of 42-34.
“We wrestled really well for the first dual.
We have a lot of inexperienced wrestlers, but
we showed a lot of heart and derermination. It
felt good to know we have potential,” Wendelin said.
“We wrestled descent at times and showed
some heart but being close to a team doesn’t
mean anything, we had oppertunities to win it
and we didn’t,” Phipps said.
“It was a close dual and if a match or two
would have went our way I think we could
have won,” Sherman said.
Next, the team placed fifth out of twelve
teams at the York Invite. The team was led
by Sherman and Kalkwarf with first place finishes, Phipps with a second place finish and
Wendelin with a third place finish.
“It felt great to win it two years in a row,”
Kalkwarf said.
“It was a good win. I had a tough finals
match. He got second at state in Class A two
years ago,” Sherman said.
Unfortunately, the next dual against Waverly was postponed due to the snow.
To prepare for the next invite Phipps said he
just thought about what he had to do to get to
the finals and win it.
The Crete Invite came next, with the boys
placing third out of fourteen teams. Wrestlers
placing in this invite include Kalkwarf, Phipps,
and Wendelin placing first, Sherman placing
second, and Junior Jonathan Avelar placing
fourth.
“We had some let downs, but we’re still inexperienced. We could have done better but
kids are still learning,” Phipps said.
“I feel the team did work, of course we could
have done better,” Avelar said.
The Beatrice dual ended in a loss with a
score of 40-33.
“Inexperience showed; we need to practice
harder and practice like we want to wrestle. We
need to learn more moves,” Wendelin said.
“We just lost matches that we could have
won,” Sherman said.
At the Plattview Invite, the wrestlers placed
second out of nine teams with six guys placing including Sherman, Kalkwarf, Phipps, and
Wendelin with first place finishes, Sophomore
Tyler Stinson with a third place finish, and Junior Cody Persing with a fourth place finish.
“If felt pretty good to place and I work hard
everyday in practice, so it felt good,” Stinson
said.
The boys look forward to traveling to Auburn to face the Bulldogs tonight.
The NSAA moratorium which means the
guys get a five day break to finish off this
month.
The latest state rankings as of December 16
are Kalkwarf in second, Phipps and Sherman
in third, and Wendelin in fourth, and as a team
they are ranked tenth.
Lady Cardinal Cagers Capture Wins
Tanna Nitzel
Staff Reporter
The girls’ basketball season kicked off with
a 50-41 win over Columbus Lakeview.
“The game against Columbus Lakeview
was different for me because it was my first
varsity game. I was playing with new players
which made me nervous, and we had to connect as a team and work together,” Freshman
Morgan Hill said.
Hill was the first member of the team to
score the first point of the season.
“We were in a lot of foul trouble that game
which hurt us in the end, but the team pulled
out a win,” Senior Amanda Reetz said.
Head Coach Marcus Gillespie said that it
was a good win
to start out the
season and they
were able to
see what they
need to work
on together as a
team.
The Cardinals had a nail
biter
against
TriCounty,
ranked seventh
in Class C.
They pulled off
a 56-54 overtime win.
“After halftime we came together as a team and started
playing well. The main thing that hurt us during the game were free throws and turnovers ,”
Junior Nicole Reetz said.
The game against fourth ranked Beatrice
was a close 53-54 loss. Seniors Katelyn Edwards and Meredith Wahl both scored 18
points that game.
“It was a tough loss. Everyone worked hard
and played thier role. Our defense, mostly
our press, is what hurt us. We played hard to
the end. Now with other teams believing that
they can beat us, we are ready to prove them
wrong,” Senior Meredith Wahl said.
Gillespie said that he hopes this has a positive effect on this team. It will show the girls
how to be humble and show them that they can
be beaten.
Not only do the girls have an experienced
team with five seniors, but they also have
freshmen who have stepped up to play varsity.
The freshmen have adjusted well and will
keep developing throughout the season Gillespie said.
“It’s nice that we have a bigger bench this
season so we are able to sub in more players.
The freshmen have stepped up and have been
playing very well on varsity,” Senior Karlee
Kemper said.
“I was nervous at first to be playing at the
varsity level, but the older girls helped us out,
and we are starting to work together really well
as a team,” Freshman Kaitlin Bradley said.
Auburn was the next stop for the Lady Cardinals.
Senior Meredith Wahl led
the Cardinals
with 23 points
for the night.
“Now, with
other teams believing
that they can beat us,
we are ready
to prove them wrong.”
-Senior Meredith Wahl
“Our team
had a problem
with turning
over the ball.
Some
were
just not smart
decisions and
others, I believe our heads
weren’t in it.
In order to
be successful
down the road we will need to cut down with
the turn overs. Overall, it was a good game to
work on things that we wouldn’t be able to do
in practice,” Wahl said.
The team finished the game with a 56-25
victory over the Auburn Bulldogs
The girls met up with Fairbury on Friday
night where they defeated the Lady Jeffs 5629.
“I thought we played much more aggressively, and we worked much more like a team,”
A. Reetz said.
During Christmas break the Lady Cards will
be back in action at the Doane College Holiday
Tournament on December 29 and 30. The first
round they will be playing Class A Elkhorn
Antlers.
Senior Meredith Wahl shoots over Viqueen defender. Crete defeated Lakeview with a score of 5041.
December 22, 2009
Page 10
words of a feather
Features
Student Teachers, Aides Swarm halls, classes
Geometry Teacher Kyle Royuk and Student Teacher Chip Daehling talk about a previous test.
Daehling is studying at Doane to become a high school math teacher.
Weights Teacher Chuck McGinnis and his student teacher, Wayne Boch, stand around having a
conversation during their plan period. Boch is in his fifth year at Doane, studying to be a Physical
Education teacher.
Jake White
Staff Reporter
Walking into the classroom, you see some
strange person standing at the front of the
room. Who is this person? Where did he come
from? And what do the teachers think of him?
On Dec.4, teachers were sent an email survey. The email asked four questions regarding
student teachers and Doane Aides.
Teachers believe that student teachers and
Doane Aides are good to have. Not specifically
for the teachers, but for the Doane Aides and
student teachers themselves.
“As teachers, we know that one of the best
ways to learn about how to teach is to experience it first- hand,” Freshman English Teacher
Ashlee Rickert said.
Rickert was nervous about taking a Doane
Aide this year, with it being only her second
year of teaching.
“I was hesitant at first. Then I realized that I
might have a lot to offer to a potential teacher.
Because my experience as a student teacher
and a new teacher is still so fresh in my mind,
I can honestly and accurately tell them what to
expect when they student teach and enter the
field,” she said.
Still, there are some teachers who say no to
student teachers.
Spanish Teacher Betty Diaz realizes that if
a teacher would have said no to her, she may
not be in the place she is today. All of the
teachers have had to go through this process.
Junior English teacher Terry Hiemer
doesn’t like having student teachers or Doane
Aides because she feels that “they wouldn’t
do very much except stuff envelopes.” She
said she is not prepared for Doane Aides and
student teachers in her plans. This year, however, she did take a Doane Aide.
World Studies Teacher Mary Conway has
Doane Aides and student teachers nearly every year. This year she has had two student
teachers.
“Sitting here, one block away from Doane’s
campus, our classrooms are open fishbowls
for them to observe,” Conway said.
Sophomore English Teacher Katie Wright
has contradicting opinions.
“I enjoy having them for the most part, but
often times they are unreliable. It’s just like a
real job; if I’m gone once a week every week,
it’s hard to hit a routine and be reliable to my
students,” she said.
Despite the thoughts on the variable reliability, Wright does enjoy having aides and
watching them grow and learn along with her
students.
The relationships between teachers and
student teachers and Doane Aides vary with
the people. Many of the teachers responded
with words ranging from “good” to “great” to
“amazing”.
“My relationship is dependent on the Doane
Aide. I am willing to have whatever professional relationship they warrant which could
either look like teacher/student or co-teachers.
It just depends on the skill level of the Aide,”
English Language Learners Teacher Jennifer
Wickard said on her relationship with Doane
Aides.
Many students benefit from having Doane
Aides and student teachers in the classroom.
“I like them because they are closer to our
age and can relate to us better,” Junior Taylor
Schelstraete said.
It can be concluded that Doane Aides and
student teachers play an important role in our
school, and both teachers and students benefit
from them.
“If no one takes care of fostering these people into becoming good and caring individuals
in our profession, we have no one to blame but
ourselves that the profession isn’t recruiting
the best and brightest,” Conway said.
Courtney Johnson, a student aide for Spanish
teachers Betty Diaz and Janet Eckerson, hands
out materials for a project.
made to the MAP period.
Business/ Computer Teacher Scott Johnson
thinks that students, once a week, should receive a message that would help students learn
a life lesson, including opening a checking account, note taking skill and something simple
as being organizational strategy.
While many students don’t follow the rules,
others use the time wisely to get their work
done and many think MAP should be longer.
Some teachers agree with this.
“MAP helps me get my homework done,
but I don’t always do my homework in there;
I would rather socialize, but I would make it
longer,” Junior Taylor Reetz said.
With 19 years of experience of being a principal, Athletic Director Jim Moore feels that
students need to give their input and possible
changes may be made.
“I would be surprised to see what the outcome would be with what students think about
the MAP period,” he said.
MAPs Are Worth More Than 30 Minutes to Students
Junior Connor Stewart spends his time studying in Junior English Teacher Terry Heimer’s room.
Heimer doesn’t allow talking in her MAP; it’s strickly a time to complete homework and study.
Nicole Reetz
Business Manager
MAP: A time to get homework done and receive help form teachers.
Some students feel that the twenty-five
minutes allotted during MAP Monday through
Thursday is not long enough, while other
students feel that it is a “pointless” period to
have.
Many students don’t enjoy the fact that every time they want to leave they must have a
pass.
At Seward High School, students only have
a study hall on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Students have forty-five minutes to receive help
form teachers and make up test and homework.
Another complication that many CHS students don’t enjoy about MAP is not being able
to talk during the MAP period.
At Norris High School, students have fifty
minutes every day to get help from teachers
and when they are finished with their assignments, or make-up work, they have the freedom to talk.
Junior English Teacher Terry Hiemer for
instance, uses an hourglass to give “the freedom” to her students to talk with others.
“It gives students the opportunity to get
work done, and if its quiet, then students get
more work done,” she said.
Some teachers would like to see changes
Sophomores Derek McGinnis and Zach Smedjir sit and chat in Sophomore English Teacher Katie
Wright’s MAP. Wright allows minimal talking in her class as long as she sees students working
together, studying or completing homework.