By Rori Wagner As children, lessons of morals and character were instilled in us and different children’s books spoke on different themes. These lessons and many other factors have developed the background of our character.
For some students at CCAHS, there’s a unique story that has shaped their character. Senior Lasya Yakkala is one of these students. Yakkala wasn’t born in the United States. In fact, she was born in Southern India and her family moved to Iowa when she was only seven years old. Yakkala mentioned how her lack of cultural exposure to the United States early on has affected her. “A lot of complications in my life arise from me struggling to balance my original culture (and maintaining my knowledge of 4 different languages) while adapting to the quick, modernizing around me in the US.” Yakkala also emphasized that as a child she faced more challenges and that, “I wasn't able to fully connect with my peers and I used to never feel like I ‘truly’ belonged.” Yakkala also struggled with balancing her home and school life. One key difficulty for her was not having parents fully understand English. Even though Yakkala faced struggles in her youth, she mentions how being culturally different than her peers has allowed her “to be more open-minded and cognizant of ways that others live and behave as well as enable me to make connections from my own culture to others, and learn more as it also fosters creativity, curiosity, and intellectual drive.” Yakkala has also brought this unique perspective to extracurricular activities at CCAHS. These activities include Science Olympiad, marching/concert band, FIRST Robotics (FTC), NHS, and SAT/Interact. She takes leadership in these activities as well by being the president of both Science Olympiad and SAT/Interact and the vice president of NHS at CCAHS. Yakkala also takes other forms of leadership in marching/concert band and FTC. For instance, she was a flute section leader in marching band. Even with Yakkala’s initial struggles to adjust to the culture here in the United States, she has learned to thrive in the US and embrace her unique cultural background for the advantage it is.
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By Rori Wagner [email protected] READ THE BEGINNING OF RORI'S ARTICLE IN THE SEPTEMBER ISSUE OF THE PAPER! “Healthy” Foods
Healthline states that many companies advertise their foods as having benefits to the user that go beyond the average snack. One food that falls into this category is fruit juice. Many think it is healthy since comes from fruits, but that isn’t the case. That is due to the fact that fiber is removed when the fruit is juiced and that reduces its nutritional value. Another reason it is unhealthy is that it contains copious amounts of added sugar. This added sugar also reduces its nutritional value. Another supposed healthier option is margarine when compared to butter. However some studies have found it to be more harmful especially to the heart. That is because margarine lacks trans fat which helps with cholestrol. Also, according to the Framingham Heart Study, this can increase consumers risks of dying from heart disease when compared to those who eat butter. People also commonly assume that low-fat and fat-free products are healthy, but they are actually more dangerous. This is because when fat is removed from foods, the flavor is removed as well. Companies have to fix this problem so they add sugar to get the flavor back. This added sugar can have serious effects on an individual’s health. To reduce or eliminate these habits, it is necessary to take different steps depending on the severity of the issue. For most people, these habits can be stopped through self-monitoring. For example, when dealing with the habit of binge-watching, you can set a timer to only watch T.V. for a certain amount of time. If the issue is more severe, it is recommended to go to a health professional. Miller even suggests, “Talking to someone about it and setting a goal with them. I’ve learned that if you actually vocalize to someone what you plan to do, it’s more likely that you’ll do it because they can hold you accountable.” So with this in mind, that one secret habit you have doesn't need to be a secret any longer. By Shelby Moquin [email protected] It could be the job interview of a lifetime, or social hour with your friends, or study time: all of these could happen at a coffee shop. Aside from the chain shops like Dunkin’ and Starbucks, the new times have revolutionized coffee and cafes. Some stick true to their quiet, cozy, five drink options menu roots, while others have turned into social hubs and meeting places with outdoor seating that serve soups, teas, and sandwiches along with coffee. It can be difficult to decide what cafe or coffee house fits your needs. Especially in The Corridor area where we have a wide variety of options. So my friend Alex McMorran (‘21), an avid coffee lover, and I, the avid writer who desperately needed a final article topic outside of her comfort zone, decided to go on the hunt for the best coffee and cafes in Iowa City. We began our journey at Caffe Crema on the outskirts of Iowa City. It’s kind of this hole-in-the-wall place and you wouldn’t notice it if you didn’t know it was there. The people who worked there were super polite and friendly. McMorran explained, “[It was] Very quiet and calm and put together. Extremely relaxing and private, the music choice however did not fit the atmosphere. Seems like a good place to do homework, hang out, and relax.” There was a collection of seating options such as a couple of booths, multiple tables and chairs, and a couple of couches. The dim lighting was not hard on the eyes, but the cafe did have a lot of windows which provided natural but not harsh light. We sampled an iced vanilla latte at each location to preserve consistency. “As for the coffee, it’s average, seven out of ten, not mixed very well but if you stir it more it’s pretty good. I would definitely come here again because of the atmosphere, even though the drink was slightly overpriced,” said McMorran. We then left Caffe Crema and began our trek to downtown Iowa City to The Java House. We had both been there before but decided to bear the Saturday traffic to get some of the best coffee in Iowa. McMorran said, “The coffee is overpriced and they have limited size options. But, like, it tastes amazing, even though the price is high.” The price of this coffee was over five dollars compared to the previous location which was just around four. “I really loved the atmosphere, especially since we’re in downtown Iowa City, it was great. The workers are wonderful, really cool, hip, and young. Good music, very fresh. Plus the place is really big so it doesn’t feel overcrowded,” commented McMorran. The Java House would make the perfect location to get some work done as a college student. Located right next to the Pedestrian Mall and in the heart of the campus, it’s very convenient. Just a few streets over is Highground Coffee. When we looked at it, we didn’t expect much out of it, but were we surprised. “Best place so far,” said McMorran. “Really amazing coffee, nine out of ten.” The price of this latte was the same as The Java Houses’, but with a much different taste. “Great atmosphere, very modern and chic. Definitely more of a social get together, meet with friends kind of place. Although there were a lot of people working so it goes both ways. Has outdoor seating so that's nice. A wide variety of menu options, beer, tea, soup and sandwiches.” Our last stop was right on Clinton Street in front of the Old Capital at Cortado. The space is illuminated by light and has a couple tables outside for outdoor seating. “I really didn’t like that place,” said McMorran with a laugh. “The atmosphere was too busy and rushed. It felt like a place where you would go get what you need and get out.” A lot of people were working, so it seemed like a very professional and organized environment, probably not the best place for two teenage girls to be. “I really didn’t like the taste of their coffee because it tasted very artificial, and I think there may have been some kind of vanilla bean in that and I didn’t like that. Overall, the coffee itself was a four out of ten.” On our day long journey, we met and saw a wide variety of different people in cafes. We also definitely ingested more caffeine than one human should have in one day, but we did discovered the best coffee in Iowa City at Highground Coffee. The iced vanilla latte at Cortado. The iced vanilla latte at The Java House.
During April CCA English teacher Marissa Moore and the SAT club organized an Egg Scramble as a fundraiser for the community. “The money raised went to support our 55+ and over lunch that we host each year,” said Moore.
The Egg Scramble raised around $100 by pulling together for the community. “The Egg Scramble idea was developed by the SAT/Interact Club. The name for this event was specifically chosen by Abbie Crow. The club was looking for a fun and interactive fundraiser that would spark the interest of students,” Said Moore The SAT club also does voluntary work for our community. For example, they will all go out and collect trash to help the environment. Students had the option to participate by filling out a form and there was a five dollar entry fee. With the help from students at CCA, the event was a success.. With it being almost summer break this was a great way to end the school year on a positive note. “The SAT/Interact Club was quite pleased with how the event went and we are hoping to hold the fundraiser again next with more students and more eggs. We would also like to give a "shout out" to our Family and Consumer Sciences teacher (FCS) Ms. Hayes for her eggselant donation.” Said Mrs. Moore By Shelby Moquin [email protected] Students deal with a lot stress, from maintaining grades, to extracurriculars, to socializing with friends; high school is a daunting task. Add on top of that, for some reason, you are switching schools. You are faced with the idea of making new friends, meeting new teachers, and just trying to figure out what should be happening in your life.
This happens to kids all over the world and all the time. It can happen for a variety of reasons. One example is children of parents who are serving in the military or some organization that involves a lot of moving around and a constant change of environment. Some other situations that this can happen in are a child’s parents or parent simply decide to move, or a parent has a job shift/relocation. Previous student and sophomore at CCAHS, Grace Sweet, recently moved to Linn-Mar High School. “When I switched schools it was pretty rough. I didn’t get to see my best friends that I have at CCA everyday. I didn’t know where anything was [at the new school], the school is much bigger than CCA, and I didn’t have any friends which made everything even more overwhelming,” said Sweet. This happening when a child is in younger grades such as elementary school or preschool won’t leave detrimental effects. But for students that are older such as middle school and above, might show some side-effects from the change. They might show withdrawal from peers, not talking as much, not participating in class, dropping grades or missing classwork. Or some students might be the complete opposite. Some might demonstrate large amounts of anger and violence such as disruptive classroom behaviour or episodes of spontaneous rage. These may be directed to their peers at the new school, teachers, or parents. “But after a few weeks of adjusting, finding out where my classes were, and making more amazing friends, everything started to piece together and it became much easier than I thought it would be.” Keep in mind, these won’t exactly happen the way they are described. Sometimes kids adjust quickly and have no problem adapting to new environments. But switching schools can be a big shift for anyone. It’s always important to recognize what you’re feeling if you changed schools and talk to someone for advice. “The one thing I enjoyed the most about switching schools was making new friends. I had people to sit at lunch with, people to show me where my classes were, and people [to] show me where everything was. The past three months [though rough] have been an amazing experience, and I’m glad I switched schools.” By Olivia Smyka Last Monday, Choir Director Tracy Williams announced that Shrek the Musical was the pick for CCA’s musical for next spring. Based off of the Dreamworks film from 2001, Shrek the Musical follows an ugly ogre named Shrek whose secluded swamp ends up being filled by fairy tale creatures, including Humpty Dumpty, the Big Bad Wolf, and Pinocchio. He embarks on a journey along with a talking donkey to get his swamp back while meeting meaningful characters along the way. The story contains the significant moral of seeing the beauty inside of people and not judging by outer appearances. Facts Provided By MTIShows.com “The reason the directors picked it was because we wanted something that was familiar to all ages,” explained Williams. “We know kids and parents love the show and we wanted to do a family show this year.” Williams is excited to have her students play these fun and quirky characters next year. She stated that Donkey was her favorite character because of his personality and humor. “Donkey will definitely be a crowd-pleaser,” she added. It’s not just Williams who is excited for Shrek the Musical. Junior Miranda Mason expressed, “Shrek the Musical is a show everyone can have fun in. Every character has lines and solos, and it’s super fun to play. There’s no way you won’t have fun in the show. The music is amazing.” The school’s previous musicals (like Freaky Friday from this year and The Music Man from 2017) have been fun and enjoyable, so CCA can expect an amazing performance next year. “I’m sure many people who aren’t familiar with the musical version of Shrek will be pleasantly surprised,” said Mason. By Olivia Smyka (Left) Erin O’Keefe stands between Lieutenant Governor Adam Gregg and Governor Kim Reynolds, (Right) as does Abby Crow. CCA’s Teri Schultejans captured these images as they were presented on the large screen. CCA seniors Erin O’Keefe and Abby Crow were recognized at the 2019’s Governor’s Scholar Recognition Program, sponsored by the Iowa High School Athletic Association (ISHAA) and the Iowa Bureau. On April 28th, they traveled with CCA math teacher Teri Schultejans to Des Moines to be honored as exceptional students from their school. While in Des Moines, they were able to meet Iowa’s Governor Kim Reynolds and Lieutenant Governor Adam Gregg.
The students were nominated by Principal Moody and Vice Principal Potter for their top academic achievement at CCA as well as their involvement in extracurricular activities including athletics and fine arts. Schultejans came along because she was nominated by O’Keefe as her most influential teacher. Government and history teacher Jason Goslin was nominated by Abby Crow. “He’s been my teacher for two years and has been my debate coach,” Crow explained. “He believed in my potential to not only be successful in college but in life.” Unfortunately, Goslin had conflicts and could not attend the program. Over 3,000 people came to the Governor’s Scholar Recognition Program, including over 400 nominated students and 2500 parents, families, and teachers. Crow had the opportunity to meet Governor Kim Reynolds five days before the big event. “I had a scholarship separate from the recognition program, so I was able to meet and have lunch with her on Tuesday,” she said. “When I saw her again at Sunday, she said she was looking for me. It was cool how she remembered me.” The event was meaningful for O’Keefe as well. “It was an honor to be recognized by the governor along with other hardworking students,” she shared. “My favorite part was catching up with some old friends and meeting new students from other schools.” CCA is proud of both O’Keefe and Crow for their hard work during high school. It’s almost the end of the school year. Extracurricular activities will be coming to an end and before you know it, school will be out for summer. One last thing you could do to help out CCA? Buy a yearbook!
For $70, you could recapture this significant year of learning and growing. Full of memories and updated facts about the school, reading the yearbook is the perfect way to reflect on the year. The yearbook staff works sufficiently with each page to provide a yearbook people will actually want to spend money on. Senior Sofia MacTaggart is one of the talented designers of the yearbook. She says that she enjoyed designing spreads and attending conferences. She especially enjoyed going to events. “Yearbook makes me go to events that I normally wouldn’t go to on my own, like wrestling,” she says. “It shows me what I was missing out on.” MacTaggart recommends that everyone should buy a yearbook due to it having irreplaceable memories. “One day, Instagram, Facebook, and Snapchat will no longer exist, but you will always have your yearbook,” she states. If you are interested in buying one, you have until May 24th. You can order a yearbook here: https://www.jostens.com/apps/store/productDetail/1071290/Clear-Creek-Amana-High-School/Yearbook/2018061304220688065/CATALOG_SHOP/YB_BOOKS/Yearbook/2018061304220690065/#design/0 By Rivor Johnson The time has come to pick your future! Once people hit high school they tend to start thinking about what they want to do for the rest of their lives. They have a dream school and career so they start thinking about how they will accomplish that goal. Planning where to go, along with the money aspect of things. College is a lot of money and time depending on what you want to do and where you want to go.
In CCA, 82.2% of the students plan on going to college, leaving 8.2% of students who don’t want to go to college and 9.6% who simply may not know. College isn’t for everyone but for most people’s careers, it is a requirement.
You will get to make new friends, along with a billion new memories. You are out of high school now so you’ve got responsibilities, just remember, when things get hard just breathe, and when you think things are easy then you should probably be studying. Many parents handle letting their kids stay up or out late in different ways. Some parents have their kids home by 8pm and some may say 11pm or 12am. Again every parent has different perspectives when it comes to a very controversial topic like this one. Some parents just aren't okay with their child being out late.
A big factor in curfews may be on trust issues. Some students have disobeyed their parent's rules or trust in the past and that may have a big effect on how much they trust you. If they know you have lied before or committed immature or inappropriate acts like drinking, it's well likely your parents won't be the happiest. Although curfews aren't bad, students have different things going on in their lives and free time. Maybe it's a Friday night but your not in any extracurriculars so Saturday you don't need to worry about sleep, but let's say your friend has practice in the morning and needs to be home earlier to get enough rest. My parents let me go out and do things most nights and it's a little difficult when I have soccer or something the next day early. So if I go out on a Friday night and have soccer practice the next morning when my parents want me home a little earlier to get some sleep. I don't always like it but I get why they do what they do. -Peyton Graft (21) In Graft’s case, there’s no trust issues or it's not that her parents don't trust her but sometimes curfews may be useful. Your parents are helping you out and making sure your getting sleep for the energy you're going to need. All circumstances are different for everyone. Curfews and bed times don't make someone cool or lame, It's simply a matter of whether you have plans the coming up day or you have your parent's trust. This topic always seems to come up and is frequesntly talked about but, some are ashamed to talk about when they need to be home. It's simply nothing to be ashamed of at all. By Laurel Preston The Hunger Games The most voted on book or book series here at CCA was the Hunger Games. This book was at the top of the New York Times best selling author list in 2008 and was later made into an award winning movie series. Hunger Games is a trilogy of novels written by Suzanne Collins based on the fierce huntress Katniss Everdeen. This book is set in a futuristic tense where the world has been pillaged by war, famine, drought, and fire. Everything is now apart of Panem, a country divided into the capitol and twelve districts. Each year two people from each district is selected by a lottery to take part in the Hunger Games. A televised game where 24 of the opponents are supposed to eliminate their competitors. Only one will win. Katniss, a 16 year old girl, gives herself up as tribute instead of her younger sister, and that is where is all begins. This book has intrigued and romance, danger and adventure. It is a great read! Miss. Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children This book series turned major motion picture is all about a boy named Jake and what happens when his grandfather dies suddenly. Leaving Jake clues to a mystery and a whole new world that comes with a grave dark side. When Jake finds Miss. Peregrine's home for peculiar children he is immediately drawn in like his grandfather to the strange people that live in the time trapped house. But darkness is coming for all of them and with evil close behind, Jake has to find some way to help his friends. This award winning book draws you into the life of Jake and tells of what happens when magic, mystery, and romance mix. BY HALEY TACKABERRY The cast of CCA’s spring musical, Freaky Friday, is working hard every day as the show date comes closer and closer. With only a week and a half till the show, things must be finalized and ready to perform by the first show date of April 11th. Freaky Friday is a heart-warming story featuring Mikayla Tackaberry as Katherine, the overworking mom. As well as Brie Beavens portraying the role of the misunderstood, teenage daughter. Katherine and Ellie don’t exactly see eye to eye. When a magic hourglass forces them to switch bodies, they get to see what it is like to live in each other’s shoes. This leaves them with just one day to make things right again before their lives become a total disaster. Many of the songs with important, underlying themes such as “Just One Day,” “After All of This and Everything,” and “Today and Ev’ry day” teach the audience the importance of accepting others struggles and loving them no matter what. Other songs like “I Got This,” “Busted,” and “Bring My Baby Home” are sure to be crowd pleasers and keep everyone engaged. Because Freaky Friday was just recently adapted into a musical, Clear Creek Amana is the first high school in the state of Iowa to put preform it. There will also be judges coming to critic and maybe give out special awards. If chosen for a specific award, some carefully selected members of the cast will be chosen to compete at a higher level. This is going to be an epic performance you won’t want to miss out on. Come see it on April 11th at 7 pm, April 12th at 7 pm, or April 13th at 2 pm or 7 pm. By Amelia Keller Clear Creek Amana High School's drama department is hosting a pancake breakfast to benefit this year's musical, Freaky Friday. The breakfast will take place from 7AM-11AM tomorrow (March 2) morning. Pancakes, sausage, and eggs will be served to the public in the cafeteria
There will be multiple performances from both the cast of Freaky Friday and CCA's show choir, Vocal Dynamics, throughout the meal. This will be your only chance to see a preview of the show before the performances on April 11th, 12th, and 13th. It will be your last chance to see Vocal Dynamics before the Pops concert on Monday (March 4) at 7. There is no set admission fee to the breakfast, as they are accepting free will donations. The funds will help offset many different costs associated with putting on a musical. Set construction, costuming, and rights to the musical come at a steep price. The community continually does a great job supporting the fine arts department and this is another opportunity for you to do just that. If you're interested in breakfast and a show, swing by anytime between 7 and 11 to support your local high school. BY RIVOR JOHNSON “Hoy es Martes, Febrero quinto dos mil diecinueve.”
How many high schoolers actually understand that simple sentence? Not very many. Many high schoolers feel obligated to take a foreign language in high school, mainly because most colleges require it, but also because all of their peers are taking it. It seems like an easy task. Every kid walks into their Spanish or German class thinking that it can’t be that hard or that they only have to do this so they can get into the college they want to succeed in. “I am in my third year of Spanish and you would think at this point we would all know a decent amount of Spanish. Enough to where when the teacher says a sentence we can easily understand it and respond back. Unfortunately, I and many others aren’t to that point and getting there seems impossible,” states junior Ellie Waterbury. So what if there was an option to enroll your kids into a foreign language class right in their elementary schools? According to Suzanne Robin’s article, “Why Is It Easier for a Child to Learn a New Language Than an Adult?” younger kids learn other languages easier than older kids. Young children are literally made to absorb all the information they can without even realizing it. So if they are exposed to that language all throughout elementary school it could increase how many people would be able to speak it fluently by college. “I think that having foreign language as an option in elementary school would be very helpful; I think it would make it way easier to take Spanish in high school. I mean it’s almost as if I’m wasting my time. I definitely don't know how to speak it, so what's the point of it being a requirement to get into college?” says sophomore Jaelynn Ernst. Almost every child in elementary school is proud of who they are. They speak and say what they want even if it doesn’t make sense. This is another reason why it would be good to start teaching them a foreign language because they will practice it more out loud and not be afraid of how they sound and if it’s wrong. That’s is one issue a lot of high schoolers can relate to. If a fluent Spanish or German speaker walked into the classroom and asked all the kids a question how many of them would actually answer due to the pure fear of saying it wrong? As the child development teacher at CCA, Mrs. Hayes, states, ”I think that's a great idea! I believe research shows that children learn a 2nd language much faster than adults do and the best time to start is around the age of 10. I personally, would love to see the introduction of a second language in the elementaries and I think research would prove there are many advantages to doing so.” Making it an option could benefit many, many kids in the long run. It would also make communication more fun because most people would know at least two languages. “I think it’s a great idea, I would be all for it. I mean the younger the kids the more they seem to remember. The thing is the schools will have to be able to afford it and hire someone to do it, but the kids would learn the days of the week, numbers, months, just the basic so by the time they get to Spanish 1 they will have an understanding of what it is like and it is amazing how much they remember,” states CCA Spanish teacher, Ms. Meister. BY MARCUS EMMEL On Friday, Feb 8, the CCA show choir once again made their annual tour around to the elementary schools. Because of the recent weather, the tour was cut short to the local schools, North Bend and Tiffin Elementary. During the tours, the show choir performs their show of the year and then teaches the kids a dance to a song most of them know, Cruisin' for a Bruisin from Teen Beach Movie. Senior Mikayla Tackaberry says, "The show choir tour is really fun for the kids because they get a chance to see what the high school show choir is like and maybe we can recruit them when they grow up. I also think they like when we teach the songs because they get the chance to get up and dance to a song most of them like."
Normally the tour goes to all four elementary schools, but even with the shortened schedule the tour was still a success. Choreographer Fawn Boston-Halter, also a teacher at North Bend Elementary, takes a great deal of time to choreograph the show and make it great. When the show choir performs, the kids can actually see what the show choir does and the types of music they perform. Next year, hopefully the weather will permit the show choir to make the full rounds to all of the schools! |
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