Jefferson High School
September 29, 2014
Vol. 58 Issue 1
The Outlook takes a closer
look at Kirkwood class options
for Jefferson students.
The Outlook
Single and Ready to Mingle?
The Outlook Staff has filled out a dating questionnaire.
Name: Hanna McVeigh
Age: 16
Gender: Female
Looking for: Take out buddy
Likes: #vacation #adventure
#beaches
Dislikes: Hashtags
Preferred Dating Website:
OkCupid.com
Name: Avery Guy
Age: 15
Gender: Female
Interested in: All things edible
Looking for: People with food
Likes: Food
Dislikes: Things that aren’t
food
Preferred Dating Website:
BlackPeopleMeet.com
Name: Chase Hannen
Age: 15
Gender: Male
Interested in: Finding Nemo
Looking for: P. Sherman 42
Wallaby Way, Sydney
Likes: Terrible clown fish jokes
Dislikes: Darla
Preferred Dating Website:
PlentyOfFish.com
Name: Dakota Maas
Age: 15
Gender: Male
Interested in: A girl with a pulse
Likes: Every food but fruit
Dislikes: Fruit
Preferred Dating Website:
ChristianMingle.com
Name: Jessica Ohrnstein
Age: 17
Gender: Female
Looking for: Someone special
<3
Likes: Food & dogs
Dislikes: Hannah Carter
Preferred Dating Website:
FarmersOnly.com
Name: Ellie Trosky
Age: 17
Gender: Female
Interested in: Harry Potter &
Frodo Baggins
Looking for: Movie buddy
Likes: Red pandas & ramen
noodles
Dislikes: Analog clocks and
Anna Petersen
Name: Hannah Carter
Age: 17
Gender: Female
Interested in: Anyone but
Jessica Ohrnstein
Looking for: Someone special
Likes: Volleyball & crocs
Preferred Dating Website:
PeopleOfWalmart.com
Name: Alysha Lykkegaard
Age: 16
Gender: Female
Looking for: Someone to buy
me food
Likes: Really quiet, short walks
on the beach
Dislikes: Long walks on the
beach
Preferred Dating Website:
FarmersOnly.com
Name: Emmy Lane Palmersheim
Age: 16
Gender: Female
Interested in: Haley Murray
Likes: Haley Murray
Dislikes: Anyone who’s not
Haley Murray
Preferred Dating Website:
haley.murray@live.com
Name: Haley Murray
Age: 17
Gender: Female
Interested in: Emmy
Palmersheim
Likes: Emmy Palmersheim
Dislikes: Anyone who’s not
Emmy Palmersheim
Preferred Dating Website:
emmy@future-systems.net
Name: Blake Galvin
Age: 18
Gender: Male
Interested in: Women
Likes: Dogs
Dislikes: When there’s no food
at the crib
Preferred Dating Website:
BlackPeopleMeet.com
Name: Emma Davenport
Age: 15
Gender: Female
Interested in: You
Looking for: Avery Guy
Likes: Dogs
Dislikes: Dylon Pappas
Name: Dylan Pady
Age: 18
Gender: Male
Looking for: The Sorcerer’s
Stone
Likes: Logan Thompson
Dislikes: Jacob Henderson
Preferred Dating Website:
MulletPassions.com
Name: Carter Berger
Age: 16
Gender: Male
Looking for: The one <3
Likes: Magic the Gathering
Dislikes: Things I don’t like
Preferred Dating Website:
Craigslist.com
Name: Alissa Good
Age: 17
Gender: Female
Interested in: People that
don’t anger me
Looking for: Cuddle buddy
Likes: Animals, food & family
Dislikes: People
Name: Jacob Henderson
Age: 15
Gender: Male
Interested in: Women
Looking for: A donut
Likes: McDonalds
Dislikes: Cats
Name: Makenzie Kuhn
Age: 17
Gender: Female
Interested in: The Moomster
Looking for: More food
Likes: Movies & food
Preferred Dating Website:
FarmersOnly.com
Name: Jon Hefflefinger
Age: 15
Gender: Male
Interested in: Women
Looking for: Jenna Kohl
Likes: Ponies and unicorns and
stuffs
Preferred Dating Website:
LuvFree.com
Table of Contents
Pg. 1 Summer Flooding
Pg. 2 New Teachers at JHS
Pg. 3 Jefferson Updates
Pg. 4 Former J-Hawk in Fight of Life
Pg. 5 Summer Adventures
Pg. 6
Pg. 3
Pg. 6 Blu Cru Dos & Don’ts
Pg. 7 Band of Blue
Pg. 8 & 9 Kirkwood Classes
Pg. 10 New Exchange Students
Pg. 11 Advertisement
Pg. 12 Ferguson on Fire
Pg. 13 ALS Ice Bucket Challenge
Pg. 14 J-Hawks’ New QB
Pg. 15 Fall Sports Preview
Pg. 15
Instagram Photo of the Issue
User name: @lukesedlacek
Taken by Jeff Baxter, the captains of Jefferson’s
football team line up along the sideline before the game
against Prairie. This year’s team seems to have more
than chemistry. “We are like brothers,” Luke
Sedlacek, 25, said. They look to use this to
their advantage in the games to come.
News
Summer storms bring big troubles for JHS
Chase Hannen, co-editor in chief
This past June, the Jefferson High
School succumbed to heavy rains and high
water. The school has been used to these
downpours, but not one quite like this.
Jefferson collected approximately a foot
and a half of water, which should've been
regulated by sump pumps and storm drains,
but due to a power outage and construction
nothing could be done with the excessive
accumulation of rainwater.
"The faculty parking lot filled knee-high
with a foot and a half of water," Mr. Link,
fine arts teacher and Associate Director of
Theatre, said. The water ran down through
the theater shop, into the little theater and
into the auditorium. Due to the excess of
water, much of the theater equipment was
damaged.
"The [auditorium] seats were destroyed,
and the entire auditorium stage was completely destroyed," Link said of the damage. The little theater and auditorium pits
were filled with water, and the auditorium
stage had to be replaced, as well as seats up
to the third row. The little theater, however,
did not get as much water and the stage survived the storm.
"Then, the water got into the HVAC
vents and it rained in through the concrete
S
ield
F
l
l
a
b
oft
on top of all of the costumes downstairs,"
Link added. Roughly half of the costumes were ruined beyond repair, but the
remaining half were dry-cleaned and retrievable. A lot of the sets and props were
salvageable, more than the department
had expected. Much of it was simply in
need of a quick clean, and were as good
as before.
While the department awaited the
go-ahead to put the costumes back in
the basement, the clothing and props had
remained on the auditorium stage. The
school replaced doors and countertops,
along with deep-cleaning the basement,
and only after all of this did they return
the materials downstairs.
Before returning all of the costumes
and props to the basement, the acting crew
had to rehearse in other spaces for the upcoming play. 'The Princess Who Wouldn't
Wear Pink', which hopes to be a successful show despite any setbacks, has moved
up onto the stage, down into the stage pit,
and back onto the stage for practices, at
the mercy of the rain damage and cleanup.
The fine arts building isn’t the only thing
with damage, though.
Houses around the school were hit by
s
the heavy rains and were in need of help.
The Jefferson softball team saw an opportunity to volunteer in the community and
contributed right away.
“The team helped by going door to
door [to help] the homes around the area
that were affected,” senior softball player
Maddie Hansen said. The team did anything
they could to assist, from picking up small
branches to helping haul huge trees to the
curb.
“I think it was a great experience for the
team to get a chance to help out the community, and it helped bring us together,”
Hansen said. The team built off this teamwork and used it throughout their rainy, but
overall successful, season.
Even with a big hit from the storm, the
fine arts building is recovering quickly, looking to stay on the course for the approaching
events. Anticipation for 'The Princess Who
Wouldn't Wear Pink' and 'The Laramie Project' still stays high through all of the school
even in this trying time and both plays plan
to everything should be back to normal in
the near future.
Jefferson as a whole is returning to
shape as the year moves forward, and soon
the damage will be a thing of the past.
Theater D
epartment
Baseball Fields
Page by: Haley Murray | 1
News
A School Year of New Faces
JHS welcomes 14 new teachers into their faculty ranks
Mrs. Irwin
Ms. Ritchie
Mrs. Colony
Mr. Jackson
Mrs. Orr
Mr. LeMaster
Mr. Trausan
Mrs. Sevell
Mrs. Courtney
Mrs. Jackson
Mr. Dillon
Mr. LeClere
Mr. Cassidy
Mrs. Oberembt
2 | Page by: Haley Murray
Photos by: Alissa Good & Makenzie Kuhn
ISIS Tension
News
Dakota Maas, staff reporter
It seems that all one has to do is turn
on the TV to hear about the Middle East.
Right now it is specifically about a terror
group called ISIS.
This group has caused many discussions across the nation all the way to inside
the JHS halls.
JHS teacher Mr. Petersen weighs in on
the conversation telling us who and what
this new terror group is.
“They are a Sunni splinter group that
is in the civil war against Assad in Syria,
but they are also gobbling up territory in
Iraq and Syria,” Petersen said.
The threat has become even worse to
the U.S because lately ISIS has caused
even more trouble than another of America’s greatest enemies, Al-Qaeda. Along
with that, they actually may be a lot more
dangerous.
“They are even more extreme than AlQaeda which is very scary,” Petersen said.
The group started because the government would not help the farmers in the
country, even though there was a massive
drought that hit Syria.
“Syrian government did not respond
in a way that has actually helped farmers,
so lots of farmers lost their jobs, lost their
livelihood and moved to the cities,” Petersen said. “Damascus and other parts
of Syria have become overcrowded with
people who didn’t have jobs and people
who tend to be overcrowded and without jobs tend to cause trouble. Out of
this came a vicious separatist group that
I can’t really tell what they really want,
other than to be violent.” Peterson said.
Even though there is talk of the U.S.
government doing basically nothing,
there have been a few attempts to stop, or
at least slow down, this violent group.
“To a certain degree, I hope they have
done more than the government can lead
on, but we have started bombing in the last
month or so. We have had some targeted
bombing[s] on ISIS positions in Iraq, but
we can’t really do that in Syria for many
legal and constitutional reasons,” Peterson said.
The more important problem is government intelligence does not know where
the ISIS positions are in Syria, making it
difficult to know where to attack.
“As well as [the] practical situation,
we don’t really know where to bomb,”
Petersen said. “We don’t have any intelligence in the area, and if we did, we would
Sections of Iraq and Syria (shown above in red)
where insurgent fighting has been fiercest.
be bombing indiscriminately, which would
not be good.”
Petersen also realizes that when it comes
to taking out the fundamentalist group,
the U.S has their hands tied and would not
know what to do if he was put in the same
situation as the government.
“I have no idea,” Petersen said. “We
don’t have any legal right to go and invade
Syria and I don’t think we want to send in
any more troops to Iraq.”
Jefferson Updates: The Final Face Lift
Avery Guy, staff reporter
Photos by: Jess Ohrnstein
The beginning of a new year brings
new things and new changes. With the
schedules for classes coming out later
than usual, it had students on the edge.
Also, not only did the school get new
bathrooms, but the students received new
forums.
Ignoring the fact that students were
supposed to have the same forum for all
four years of high school, most students
received new ones this year. The reason
behind it?
“Fifteen new teachers and almost 500
9th graders caused some things to change,
along with the new teacher leadership
roles that five to six Jeff teachers took
on,” Jefferson facilitator Brian Erbe said.
With getting new forums, some students were a little confused in the beginning.
“I didn’t think my schedule was right
because I figured we would have have the
same forum teacher as last year,” sophomore Kylie Wise said.
Besides new forums, the building is
welcoming the new boys and girls bathrooms. The restrooms on the first floor in
the main hallway were re-done during this
summer as well as much of the school.
They feature new tile on the walls, new
sinks and even new high-tech hand dryers
that are starting to be more and more popular in public places.
“They’re nice and really pretty. I really
like the blue tile that they put in the walls,”
freshman Maddie Slagle said.
The new bathrooms have been a nice
touch to Jefferson High School because they
look very nice and clean as well.
As for schedules, it was very noticeable
that they seemed to come out a little later
than usual.
“I think a lot of us were just eager to
have our schedules come out, because the
sooner they came out, the faster we could
see who was in our classes. But having the
schedules come out later made summer
seem a bit longer, too,” sophomore Kennedy
Dighton said.
Students still wonder the reason behind
the late schedules. Counselor Jason Edwards
was able to share.
“With the amount of new staff we have
this year it took a little longer,” Mr. Edwards
said.
Simple as that. Other than a startle for
schedules and a few new changes around
the building, this school year is looking to
be a great one.
Page by: Hanna McVeigh | 3
Features
Jacob Canby:
Former J-Hawk
in Fight of his
Life
Jessica Ohrnstein, staff reporter
On Aug. 18 around two in the afternoon,
former Jefferson student Jacob Canby was
involved in a serious motorcycle accident.
According to police, Jacob lost control of
his bike due to going faster than what was
safe. This accident resulted in serious injuries, and, maybe, some
life time effects.
“This has been really scary for my entire
family, but the best thing
we can do is stay hopeful
and be there for Jacob,”
Jacob’s sister Katelyn
Canby, a JHS senior
said.
Jacob was immediately sent to the St.
Luke’s Hospital in Cedar Rapids. It was
there that they put him into a medically induced coma and airlifted him to the Iowa
City Hospital. At this time Jacob went
through neck surgery, CT scans, MRI’s, and
x-rays.
“Jacob is very strong and I know he will
get through it. Jacob can get through anything that life throws at him,” Katelyn said.
Jacob has brain and spinal injuries
which are causing confusion and the inability to walk or move his left arm. His
speech is slurred and hard to understand. It
will take him a long time to relearn many
everyday things.
According to Jacob’s doctors, if his
spinal cord had moved
one more milliliter, he
could’ve been a paraplegic.
“He has to relearn
everything from the
time that he was six
months old. It could
take up to a year and a
half to recover”, Katelyn said. While that seems like a long time,
doctors say Jacob is lucky to have the privilege to recover from something as serious
as this.
As of right now, Jacob is responding
better and is starting to remember some
basic things, such as his sister’s birthday.
According to Katelyn, she is one of the few
people that can keep him calm in situations
such as this.
Jacob moved to a rehabilitation center
“Jacob can get
through anything
that life throws at
him,” Katelyn said.
4 | Page by: Haley Murray
at St. Luke’s Hospital on Aug. 29, and will
remain there until he completes occupational
and physical therapy. The therapy will help
him learn how to crawl, walk and talk all
over again. It will be a long process, but with
the support of his friends and family, he will
hopefully make it through.
“It is very hard to see one of your best
friends go through this. We would have never
thought that this would happen to Jacob. I’m
going to be there for him through it all,” Jacob’s good friend Dustin Miller said.
The Canby family wants to keep all of
their family and friends filled in on what is
happening, so they are posting blogs on caringbridge.com. In their blogs it discusses
how Jacob is dealing with the situation: the
bad days, the good days, and everything in
between.
This tragedy has not only affected Jacobs’s family, but also his friends and many
others in the community. Jacob is getting better and better as the days go on, and there is
positive hope about his recovery. The Canby
family asks for everyone to keep Jacob in
their thoughts and prayers during this difficult time.
Photos courtesy of: Katelyn Canby
Features
Summer Adventures
Ellie Trosky, staff reporter
Imagine having twenty hours of daylight in the summer. Well, that’s Alaska
in July. Now, Alaska may not seem like a
typical summer vacation as most students
might rather sit at home and watch TV or
take a day trip to Jordan Creek Mall in Des
Moines. But not Meredith Koenigsfeld and
Caleigh Meyer.
“I got to go to Alaska for two weeks,”
Meredith Koenigsfeld said.
Alaska may seem like an odd place
to go for a summer vacation, but Alaska
is really well known for their beautiful
mountains, glaciers and their large range
of wildlife.
“I enjoyed it because I got to see many
different animals like bears and some
moose,” Koenigsfeld said.
Meredith said she really enjoyed herself and surprisingly Alaska is a popular
summer vacation destination bringing in
nearly one million people by cruise ship.
“It was really weird because it was
always daylight. Even at night you could
always see, so we had to go to sleep with
face masks on,” Koenigsfeld said.
During the summer Alaska has twenty
or so hours of daylight, and in the winter it
has from four to seven hours of daylight.
“My favorite part was waterboarding in this cove along the Keni Peninsula
and listening and watching the porpoises
swim around me,” Koenigsfeld said.
Caleigh on the other hand got to go on
a tropical, more typical summer vacation.
“I got to go on a cruise to the Bahamas,” Caleigh Meyer said.
About 2.4 million people visit the Bahamas each year, Caleigh’s family being
eleven of 2.4 million people.
“My favorite part of the trip was seeing the blue ocean everyday because we
don’t get to see that in Cedar Rapids,”
Meyer said.
The Bahamas consist of 700 islands
in the Atlantic Ocean just on the eastern
edge of the Caribbean.
“I really enjoyed it because there was
also a lot of fun stuff to do on the cruise,”
Meyer said.
Both Meredith and Caleigh got to
go somewhere exciting for their summer
vacation. Even though their destinations
were in two different hemispheres they
both had a great time, and got to experience new things.
“I got to go to Alaska for two
weeks,'' Meredith Koenigsfeld said.
“I got to go on a cruise to the
Bahamas,'' Caleigh Meyer said.
Now That's How You Fry a Burger!
Carter Berger, staff reporter
A much anticipated locally owned restaurant ‘Burger Fry’ has officially opened
its doors, beginning with their grand opening last summer July 20th, 2014. Burger
Fry is located off of 16th Avenue, just
walking distance away from the JHS campus. This makes it a convenient and ideal
lunch experience that by far exceeds the
everyday drive thru.
What makes Burger Fry a restaurant
unlike any other?
“I believe our customer service and
fresh products set us apart from others,”
Ali Igram, co-owner of Burger Fry, said.
Igram expressed that the ideal restaurant
experience isn’t just the meal, but also the
experience between the customer and the
Photo by: Carter Berger
employees.
Burger Fry emphasizes the importance of fresh ingredients throughout the
entire restaurant. For example, the fresh
cut fries fried in rice oil and the 100%
Angus beef used in their burgers. The restaurant also features an open concept that
allows you to view the cooking process of
your food before your eyes.
“This is a new experience
for me, everyday I’m learning
something new,” Igram said.
This being Igram’s first restaurant, he uses the everyday experiences and is constantly building off of them to structure what
he intends to be a fully functioning restaurant. To accomplish
Igram’s vision, he drew inspiration from the ‘5 Guys’ burger
joint that heavily compares to
the present ‘Burger Fry’ today.
“My goals in the future
would be to open up multiple
stores or even the idea of franchising,” Igram said. However,
he wants to be able to under-
stand the restaurant business before he expands to new locations and new beginnings.
For the time being, Burger Fry has drawn a
drastic amount of attention within the last
few months and has received positive feedback from majority of their customers.
Many Jefferson students highly recommend Burger Fry, and it looks to be a popular destination throughout the school year.
Page by: Emma Davenport | 5
Features
Blu Cru Dos & Don'ts
Haley Murray, co-editor in chief
Themes of upcoming games:
1: Do Get rowdy
10/2 @ Cedar falls: Black Out
10/10 vs Wat. West: White Out
2: Do follow the theme
3: Don't sit down during
the game
4: Do cheer as loud as you can
5: Do follow @The_blu_Cru on twitter
6: Do stand with your class
Freshmen
Sophomores
Juniors
J
Junio
un
Seniors
6 | Page by: Haley Murray
Photo by: Jess Ohrnstein
Features
Band of Blue forges ahead
with a look to the past
Hannah Carter, staff reporter
The Jefferson High School Band of very emotional experience for the audiBlue has earned a prestigious reputation ence.
in their past competitions and is looking
In addition to this, the band plans to
to continue that tradition during this year’s make a trip to Hawaii in March to play at
marching band season. In years prior, the the actual spot Pearl Harbor took place.
Band of Blue has earned 35 consecutive
“This will be a memorable experience
Division One ratings at the All State music that happens once in a lifetime,” Driskell
festival, and expects strong
said. Driskell looks forward
growth in years to come.
This will be to playing on a field overT
“We have a great group
the location of Pearl
a memorable looking
of students this year and
Harbor and adding even
experience
great leadership,” marching
more to the emotion of the
band director Thad Driskell
that happens ensemble.
said. Driskell looks forward once in a lifeThis will be the Band of
to the band working togethBlue’s third trip to Hawaii
time"
e d
director and will be a fun celebration
er and students enjoying the
Thad Driskell of all the hard work the band
show.
This year’s show, a
members have put in this
said.
tribute to Pearl Harbor and
season. There are 165 stuWWII titled “Pearl Harbor
dents in band that have been
Remembered”, includes four pieces of working hard since Aug. 4 to prepare for
Americana that portray American attitudes the upcoming season.
during the time of the Pearl Harbor attack.
The band has practiced a variety of
The ensemble goes through transitions in elements of their performance, including
musical tone from more somber pieces to work in sections, fundamentals, drill deaggressive and naturalistic pieces at the sign, music preparation, and even physical
end. These transitions make the show a conditioning. The band is prepared to par-
Photos by: Hannah Carter & Jess Ohrnstein
ticipate in over six different competitions
this season and expects continued growth
from last year.
So far, the band has had one performance and Driskell was pleased with how
the crowd reacted.
“I was happy with the crowd’s response at the game. I want the audience to
enjoy the varied pieces and their climatic
element and just be able to celebrate all the
hard work they’ve done,” Driskell said.
The members of the Band of Blue have
put in a lot of hard work in preparation for
this season which hopefully will pay off in
their competitions.
Page by: Haley Murray | 7
Features
A Crash Course in Kirkwood
JHS students expand their horizons with classes through the Kirkwood Regional Center
Chase Hannen, co-editor in chief
One of the most controversial parts of
the American school system is the skyrocketing college tuition across the country.
Students want a degree to take with them
into their field, but many are driven away
by the high prices of a college education. If
there was a way to get college classes for
free, many more students, including current high school ones, would jump at the
chance for free
college credits.
Kirkwood
has noticed this
problem and
is offering up
college classes
for Jefferson
students, free
of charge. Every weekday,
students leave
JHS and instead go to
Kirkwood and
take these classes. The classes range from
Human Relations to Dental Care to Law,
and more.
Students will take advantage of these
classes until December 6th, when the semester ends. Afterwards, more upperclassmen will start another semester of classes
in the second half of the year. Senior Trae
Gesling spoke of his experience with the
classes.
“I like the challenge [of the classes]
because it really helps me get ready for
college.” Gesling said. Gesling is enrolled
in Human Relations and Intro to Business.
These classes will help him along the way
to his goal of working in a business field.
More students taking the classes spoke
of their enjoyment, namely the laid-back
teachers and high demand of college.
“There are higher expectations, but it’s
nice because they treat you like a college
student,” Alyssa Olson, senior, said. Alyssa is enrolled in Human Anatomy and
Physiology, as well as Intro to Sociology.
She looks to use these classes in a science
job environment
“[The teacher] is laid back, but you
still need to get things done faster. That’s
what you get for being in a college
class,” senior Forrest Vorwald said.
Vorwald aims to
take his collegebased knowledge
into a pediatric doctoring job type.
Upperclassmen throughout the
school are using this
great opportunity to
attain college credits. Getting credits
before even being in college, especially
for free, gives students a huge step ahead.
With this chance at furthering your education for college, why wouldn’t students go
to Kirkwood?
“The classes are cool, but it’s hard
“There are higher
expectations, but it’s
nice because they
treat you like a college
student,” Alyssa Olson
said.
8|
if you don’t
study,” senior
Keirra
Anderson said.
“You’re more
on your own
in college.”
Kirkwood
classes may
not be for everyone, but
any
upperclassmen interested should definitely check
it out.
Balancing high school classes and college classes can sometimes be tough. It’s a
challenge driving to and from the Regional
Center at Kirkwood and JHS, then home for
homework- or in some cases to a job. With
such a busy schedule already, why add more
to the list?
“There is more reading and work intensity, but it’s all worth it,” Olson said. Olson
has taken most of the offered science classes
at Jefferson, and sees this as the right step
for her into the science field.
Students may be hesitant to try these
Features
classes for a number of reasons. Some
may think the classes would be too large,
the teacher too harsh, or the work time too
confined. Many Kirkwood enrolled students think otherwise.
“My class is a regular-sized classroom
at the Regional Center, with 20 students.
The teachers are more laid-back and lenient.” Gesling said. When asked if there
was more freedom at the college, the answer was yes all around.
Wanting to take Kirkwood classes?
Talk to a counselor. They can help out with
the sign-up process.
“Attend the orientation, because the
registry fills up quickly,” Mr. Edwards,
counselor, said. The orientation is in April
and signing up then is a huge step ahead.
Getting involved with these classes
helps in a number of ways. Students can
attain college credits to get a step ahead
of others, the classes count towards many
different four-year awards, they can find
what they truly want to do if they are undecided, and they can experience what
college is like with in-depth classes.
Students wishing to take Kirkwood
classes must first take the ‘compass’ test.
This test is a requirement to get in, and it
assesses math, reading and science skills.
Once accepted, students have an enormous
amount of class choices to think about.
Students currently enrolled in the
Kirkwood classes will be getting these
credits and are hoping to use them in the
near future. As the classes continue for
years to come, more and more students
will take advantage of this great opportunity to further their upcoming careers.
Alyssa Olsen
Human Anatomy and
Physiology
Want to join a Kirkwood Class?
Talk to your counselor
Pass the Compass Test
Forrest Vorwald
Medical Terminology and
Explorations
Attend orientation
Choose which classes to enroll in!
Keirra Anderson
Medical Care and Explorations
Most Kirkwood classes are held at the Kirkwood Regional Center located at 1770 Boyson Rd in Hiawatha.
Photos by: Ellie Trosky
Trae Gesling
Human Relations and Intro
to Business
Pages by: Haley Murray | 9
Features
V
Exchange Students at Jefferson
Alysha Lykkegaard, staff reporter
Miyuki Nakagawa - Japan
Miyuki Nakagawa is an exchange student from Tokyo, Japan. She is looking forward to meeting new people and learning
about American society. She is also excited
about her algebra and Japanese classes.
Nakagawa’s favorite class is algebra because she is good at it. She is also very good
at dancing. Nakagawa has been dancing
poms for the past eight years competitively
in Japan.
“Poms is a little like the dance team here
at Jefferson,” Nakagawa said.
She has competed all around Japan with
her team and it is her favorite pastime. Nakagawa loves her teammates and enjoys
spending the hours of their competitions with
them.
“I’m very excited to be here this year and
experience a different culture,” Nakagawa
said.
Nakagawa is staying with a host family
that she has never met before, so this will be
a new experience for both her and her host
family.
Michelle Kaemper - Germany
Michelle Kaemper is from Germany.
She decided to be an exchange student because her sister had been one two years ago
and Kaemper wanted to try it as well.
Kaemper is actually staying with the
same family that her sister stayed with when
she was a student here. It will be easier for
her to adjust to life in America because her
host family will already know about her family and what they did together back in Germany. It will still be a difficult experience
for her, but she will understand some of the
smaller things about daily life in America.
In her free time, Kaemper enjoys hanging out with friends. She enjoys learning
about other people and what they like and
dislike.
“At home we would sit around a bonfire
and just talk and hang out,” Kaemper said.
Kaemper is ready to learn about American culture and is looking forward to making new friends.
Kevin Wang - China
The third foreign exchange student is
from China and his name is Kevin Wang.
Wang has been playing golf with his dad the
last few years and is excited to play on the
boys’ golf team this fall. Wang is also planning on playing tennis in the spring.
Wang is very happy partake in his team
sports gym class and being able to make
friends with the other kids in his class.
10 | Page by: Haley Murray
“My favorite class is team sports because there is no homework,” Wang said.
Even though there are many similarities
between life in China and life in America, it
is still a huge transition.
“Everything is so different here and
I can’t wait to experience it all while I’m
here,” Wang said.
Photos by: Ellie Trosky
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| 11
Opinions
FERGUSON
ON FIRE
Emmy Palmersheim, staff reporter
Some men are lost in fire. Some men
are born in it.
More so now than ever, people are
brainwashed into believing racism isn’t
around anymore. Some people seem to
think that because we have a black president, racism is over. Unfortunately, this is
not the case.
Ferguson, Missouri is experiencing a
battle in the streets for many things. For
freedom from police brutality, for the
right to protest, and for a place where
white privilege isn’t so prominent you can
almost see it.
Black youth Michael Brown (it’s in
speculation as to whether or not he was
armed or attacked the officer) was shot
to death in the dead of the night and left
there to rot for a few hours before anyone
came to his aid.
While Mike Brown is the catalyst,
he’s not the whole story anymore. Police
in Ferguson have been repeatedly teargassing and shooting rubber bullets at
peaceful protestors who are protesting the
death of Mike Brown.
It is scary to think in this world that
there are corrupt people. Even worse to
think that they’re the type of people we’re
supposed to count on.
I don’t believe Michael Brown to
be guilty. I don’t believe officer Darren
Wilson to be innocent. I can’t believe
we’re still arguing about it.
But I can believe that we still live in
this world. As much as we are in denial
about the fact that some things haven’t
changed, how can this not be a racist
world? People are judged in this very
school for being proud of their races and
it is labelled as racial-specific behavior.
Both Michael Brown’s family and
Darren Wilson had fundraising pages set
up for them by anonymous web-users.
Michael Brown’s family, for their loss
and attorney fees. Darren Wilson, in support.
Michael Brown’s fundraising page
currently has 325,646 dollars. Darren
Wilson’s, 400,000.
If that’s not wrong I don’t know
what is.
And then there’s the looting. People
from outside of Ferguson took to the
streets in the night, setting fires, breaking
and entering, and doing what they can to
‘send a message’ to the police force. And
while they might have thought they were
doing right, they’re only adding fuel.
I have never seen a building on fire.
12 | Page and photos by: Haley Murray
I have never seen it catch flame and billow like
it didn’t know how to stop. I have never seen
fire destroy everything in its path before burning itself out.
But with the firing of bullets, the fires set
by looters, and the fiery words being thrown
around by people who don’t know enough of
the story, I now know this is not the stuff of
myth.
I cannot image what it would be like to be
set on fire.
The people of Ferguson don’t have to.
Opinions
ALS Ice Bucket Challenge
Emma Davenport, staff reporter
Most of you have either heard of, or done the Amyotrophic
Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) Ice bucket challenge, but what comes to
mind when you watch an ice bucket challenge video? The fun
behind pouring cold water on yourself? Or the meaning behind
doing it?
Little do some participants know, a little over 5,600 people
in the U.S. are diagnosed with ALS each year. Estimated results
prove that as many as 30,000 Americans can have ALS at a time.
ALS is a disease that affects the function of the nerves and
muscles with an average life expectancy of two-five years. Symptoms can include difficulty walking, weakness in the body, and
trouble with swallowing and speaking. This disease starts in the
hands and feet then continues throughout the rest of the body. The
further on in the disease a patient is, the more weak their muscles
are, which then affects all functions of the body, even breathing.
Some causes come from gene mutation, chemical imbalance,
disorganized immune response, and protein mishandling. Studies
show that individual risk can increase by smoking, lead exposure
and military service. Risks can include heredity, age and sex.
The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge is a ‘chilling’ way to earn
money and help support people with ALS, but what good does it
do if you don’t donate money when you have the opportunity?
The Ice Bucket Challenge has raised 100 million dollars and
still raising. Of the 94 million dollars, 72% of the money was used
for research grants, services, and educational efforts by the ALS
Association, 17% went to programs and research, and the rest of
the money went towards ‘staff expenses’ and fundraising.
Outlook Editorial Policy:
Outlook newspaper serves to supplement the educational
environment of Jefferson High School by providing an informative
and entertaining source of news and communication while
upholding journalist standards.
All unsigned editorials, generally recognized as our Staff
Editorial, represent a topic of concern to the majority of the class.
Signed letters to the editors, cartoons and illustrations appearing
on editorial or opinions pages represent the viewpoint of the author
or artist.
Any corrections brought to the attention of the editors will be
noted and corrected in the news page.
It is the policy of the Cedar Rapids Community School District
not to illegally discriminate on the basis of race, color, national
origin, gender, disability, religion, creed, age (employment
only), marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity and
socioeconomic status (students/program only) in its educational
programs and its employment practices. There is a grievance
procedure for processing complaints of discrimination. District
employees with questions or a grievance related to this policy
should contact Jill Cirivello, Director of Human Resources, 319558-2421; jcirivello@cr.k12.ia.us. Students and others should
contact Aaron Green, Director of Student Equity, 319-5582964; agreen@cr.k1.ia.us. The District mailing address is 2500
Edgewood Rd NW, Cedar Rapids, IA 52405-1015.
The Ice Bucket Challenge is a good use of awareness, but it’s
not just for awareness. We need the funds in which will help not
only find a cure, but stop this disease. Around the world and people
apart of our nation are dying after only three years of being diagnosed. They’re asking
g for time and the least we can do is donate.
If you’re not sure where
here or how to help raise,
visit the ALS Association
ation Homepage at
http://www.alsa.org/ and click donate
on the upper right hand
and side.
Posting a video
o
of your Ice Bucket
Challenge
shows
support to people diagnosed with ALS,
but it doesn’t add to
the research. Donating money may be
a problem, however
if the opportunity is
open why not help
someone who is in
need of a cure. Save
someone’s
life.
What if it were you?
Would you appreciate more, a video or
a cure?
Interested in...
Journalism?
Photography?
News Broadcast?
Graphic Design?
Talk to your counselor about
joining The Outlook today!
*Prerequisite: 1 term of journalism or advisor’s approval
Page by: Haley Murray | 13
Sports
Jefferson Welcomes New QB
Chase Hannen, co-editor in chief
All the way from Pendleton Heights,
Indiana, quarterbacking for the Jefferson
J-Hawks, number 14: Jesse Furrow!
The new senior has settled into life at
Jefferson and joined the football squad as
soon as he could. After coming in the third
term of last year, he made friends before he
even set foot on the field.
“Instead of waiting and meeting everyone in the summer, I already knew most of
the guys,” Furrow said. “[Because I knew
most of the guys] we could get to work! It
was a good transition, I would say.”
Furrow played quarterback at Pendleton Heights High School, but has made
a quick transition to the starter position at
Jefferson. He looks to build off the foundation his teammates have already built.
Every good quarterback must fit in
with his team’s playbook, and Furrow does
just that.
“I would say the offense fits my skill
set as a quarterback,” Furrow said. “I fit
pretty well because I can make all the
throws I’m asked to make and I can run the
offense quickly and efficiently.”
This is a great thing for Jefferson, because adding a capable quarterback ex-
pands on the already experienced lineup.
Any quarterback would want to run
the team themselves, but getting the entire
team involved is necessary to reach their
goals.
“As a quarterback I would love to just
throw it every play and have five wide receivers, but I know we have a great set
of running backs and we don’t have to do
that to win games,” Furrow said.
Confidence in teammates is key, and
if the current success isn’t enough indication of that, the upcoming games are sure
to prove even more of the team’s potential.
Jesse didn’t simply pick up a football
and start in high school, he had to work
for it like anyone else. For him, this started at a very early age.
“I have been playing in the backyard
since I was able to throw the ball with my
brothers. [I first began] organized football
in fourth grade,” Furrow said.
The team has to focus on taking each
game as a new challenge. Jesse has his
own mentality, and hopes the rest of the
team joins him with it.
“[We need to] play with great inten-
Jesse Furrow
sity not only in the games, but in practice
everyday,” Furrow said. “We know that nobody is going to give us anything. [We must
also] give the glory to God, because without
Him none of our success is possible.”
Jesse has helped the team to a promising
start of the season, but they still have a few
games left to decide their future. He doesn’t
have too much time left in his first - and last
- season at JHS, but the whole team is looking to finish strong.
NFL: 32 Teams, 1 Champion
Chase Hannen, co-editor in chief
The NFL season is back, and it’s as unpredictable as ever.
Russell Wilson, the young, but experienced, quarterback led the Seahawks to
a dominating victory over Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos last year.
Many NFL analysts think he can do it all
over again, starting the season off as the
favorites to win it all. But there’s not just
the Seahawks, plenty of other teams have
championship aspirations as well.
The New Orleans Saints make a compelling argument as Super Bowl contenders. Drew Brees is one of the best passers
in the league, but needs help from the rest
of his team. If he gets a lift from his receivers and running backs, the Saints could be
lethal.
A third team in the NFC hoping to return to glory are the Green Bay Packers.
Headed by Aaron Rodgers, the dynamic
crew has an offense that can hang with anyone. Their only true pitfall is the defensive
play, but they may be just a few changes
away from returning to form.
The Philadelphia Eagles are the dark
horse in the NFC. Upstart quarterback
14 | Page by: Chase Hannen
Nick Foles is putting up big numbers, and
they seem to always find a way to win.
They may not have as much raw talent
as other teams, but they make up for it in
sheer hard work and determination.
Out of these four teams, I see the Seattle Seahawks winning the NFC yet again.
Russell Wilson is only getting better, and
the defense is as stout as ever.
In the AFC, high-scoring games are
the norm. Defenses are often torched by
high-flying offenses, and scoreboards are
consistently in the high thirties. With this
in mind, don’t be surprised if the conference champion has a high-octane offense
and a Hall of Fame level quarterback.
The Denver Broncos rode on the
back of Peyton Manning last season, almost to a fault. Yes, he set many passing
records and had a legendary season, but
their running game was atrocious. With a
revamped team, they look to return to the
Super Bowl once again.
The New England Patriots have ruled
the regular season over the past decade,
with a record of 138-38 since 2003. Tom
Brady has led the charge, but is reaching
the end of his illustrious career. After loading up for possibly his last season, the quarterback looks to finally leap over Manning
for the AFC crown.
The Cincinnati Bengals are a strange
bunch of players. Headed by Andy Dalton,
the group has fared quite well in the regular
season, but has yet to win a playoff game.
After signing a huge contract, Dalton may
need to step it up and win one to satisfy the
fans in Cincinnati.
The Indianapolis Colts are in it just as
much as the first three AFC teams. Andrew
Luck has proven to be a high-caliber quarterback just as much as any other. He will
have to lead a young, but talented team into
the playoffs against the likes of Denver,
New England, Cincinnati, and other titlehungry teams.
Though the AFC has many young leaders, I see veteran Peyton Manning winning
the AFC and taking his Broncos to the Super
Bowl two years in a row.
In the Super Bowl rematch, I once again
take the Seahawks over the Broncos. It
won’t be as big of a deficit, but Wilson and
the defense still come out on top.
Photo by: Alissa Good
Fall Sports Preview
Sports
Jacob Henderson, staff reporter
A new year means a new season for the
JHS fall sports teams. Students all around
the school come together and strive to
make their team better. The football team is
already in full swing of things, and they’re
ready to tackle their competition this season.
“Our main goals are to have a winning
season, make it into the playoffs, and win
a playoff game,” Head Football Coach Brian Webb said. “The team captains (Kelly
May, Jesse Furrow, Dakota Tompkins, Dalton Kuehl, and Luke Sedlacek) are all key
parts in us achieving our goal.”
There are 53 players on the team and
zero of them are academically ineligible,
which is a first in quite a long time.
The girl’s cross country team is running wild this season.
“IMS is always a great
way to start off the season,”
Coach Tamara Abkes said.
“We are looking forward to
running at Anamosa and Noelridge, because those are always fun meets.”
The team works hard
during the season, but during
the summer is a perfect time
to prepare.
“We had seven athletes
that are a part of the mile
club: one running over 200
miles, two running over 150
miles and four others ran
over 100 miles,” Abkes said.
On the other hand, the boys’ cross
country team’s ultimate goal is to have a
better placing at the district meet.
“We have several team
The team has a couple
goals this season and one
of tough 18-hole courses
includes finishing in the
coming up, and they look
top seven at the conferforward to the challenge.
ence meet,” boy’s cross
Finally, the volleyball
country coach Matt Hilby
team is ready to spike the
said. They have eight recompetition and make it to
turning varsity runners
state this season.
which will help them ac“We want to get back to
complish their goals.
the Regional Championship
The team knows what
Game,” head coach Mary
they must do, and all
Kay Van Oort said. “I think
that’s left is to just get out
we have gotten extremely
and run.
better in the off-season. If its
Hitting the pools, the
doing other sports or doing
girls’ swimming team is ready to make a club volleyball, we’ve all gotten better.”
splash this season.
All of these sports teams are looking
“The goals for us this year will be to forward to their seasons and hope to see a
get more kids to the state swim meet,” lot of J-Hawk support cheering them on.
head coach Ryan York said.
“We have gained four divers
in the off season which will
fill in some key roles and
score some more points for
us.”
They have two returning
Volleyball
state qualifiers from last year
and have four meets against
Dance Team
top ten teams in the state.
The boys’ golf team has
Cheerleading
some young guys ready to
step up to the occasion.
Girls’ Swimming
“Everyone is a leader
on this team,” assistant golf
Football
coach Mike Panoch said.
“Adam Van Oort and Nile
Boys’ Cross Country
Happel are putting up great numbers so
far and we’re hoping their scores keep
Girls’ Cross Country
dropping.”
JHS Fall Sport
Teams
A Summer Full Of Diamonds
Avery Guy, staff reporter
The Jefferson High School softball
and baseball teams had many accomplishments and worked hard all summer.
Though there were many obstacles, the
JHS summer sports got through it all.
Through a few storms this summer that involved heavy rain and strong
winds, the baseball field was damaged.
The fence in right field had fallen down
and light poles were badly broken. Jefferson’s baseball team was unable to practice
and even play for part of their season.
The baseball team showed that they
were able to play with anyone. The varsity team went all the way to the regional
semi-final game, but ended their season
losing to Burlington.
On the other hand, this last season
was the softball team’s second year in a
row traveling to Fort Dodge after qualifying for the state softball tournament. It
was also the second year in a row that
they went to state while being led by head
coach Brian Erbe.
Though the softball team had many
underclassmen in their line-up, it didn’t
mean that they were inexperienced. Much
of the softball team had previously played
for different club teams before they came
to high school ball.
“The softball team did a great job this
past season. We ended the season with
a 35-5 record, were named conference
champs and took 7th place at the state
tournament,” sophomore Kennedy Dighton said.
Through it all, the two summer sports
accomplished many things this past summer. Through long practices during the
hottest part of the day, they worked hard to
get where they ended this last season.
Page by: Avery Guy | 15
Jefferson High School
1243 20th Street, S.W.
Cedar Rapids, IA 52404
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