Participants are in their final week rehearsing before state Feb. 6 The categories- mime work, choral reading, reader’s theatre, improvisation, musical theatre, ensemble acting and a one act play- all have specific guidelines and areas of focus, whether it is character development, effective speaking or creativity.

Coach Billy Kirby is directing the one act play, group improvisation and ensemble acting making this his third year coaching. He has high expectations for all IHSSA participants.

“I expect that they (participants) take it seriously and try to grow and put on good theater, regardless of judges’ ratings. I want them to take risks and try something new and have a lot of fun in the process,” Kirby said.

With only a short preparation time, groups prepare for judging with several rehearsals a week. Depending on the category, rehearsals consist of specific techniques whether it is physical exploration in mime, line memorization, blending as an ensemble for choral reading or learning how to think on the spot with improvisation.

Drama director and IHSSA coach Chelsea Cunningham enjoys the one- on- one time she gets with small groups to work on the quality of the performance.

“I want students to get comfortable enough to think outside of the box and really push to develop their characters. You’ve got to perform what’s honest for you and that character,” Cunningham said.

Depending on the score given by the judges, participants can excel to the next level of competition, potentially making it to the highest honor of

All-State.

“All-State is exciting because you get recognition of a job well done in someone’s opinion. Some people get trapped in the mind set of competition. And if your goal is to win, you’re not going to do as well as if your goal was doing the best you could do, despite what other people say,” Cunningham said.

Sophomore Jay Jacobson made it to All- State his freshman year, with his musical theater group.

“I like finally being able to perform in front of the judges because it’s what we’ve been rehearsing for. I get nervous, but it’s always good to have a professional’s view on your acting. And you’ve got to take their constructive criticism because it’ll make you better in the future,” Jacobson said.

This year Jacobson is working on his role as the bad guy in the one act play from The Kentucky Cycle and rehearsing music from Little Women for musical theater.

“I think about what the character’s thinking, by the script. The point of acting is to know their personality and exactly what they’re thinking,” Jacobson said.

This is sophomore Katie Steingrabe’s first year participating in speech contest. She works alongside Jacobson in the one act, and is working on an action packed group mime.

“It’s a lot of fun to work with my group. It betters my acting talent and broadens my horizons,” Steingrabe said.

Steingrabe feels that her group has the drive and commitment to make it to All-State.

“I just want to overall become a better actress,” Steingrabe said.

Cunningham pushes participants to discover something new, and not be scared to try different categories.

“The feeling of accomplishment is so much greater when you didn’t think you could do it,” Cunningham said.

By participating in IHSSA speech contest, Kirby believes that students can learn self confidence, public speaking and communication skills. The real rewards are shown when students use what they learn and apply it to the world of theater.

“I could care less what we get from judges; to put on good theater and give the best performance-that’s what we work for,” Kirby said.

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June 21, 2009 was the first solo flight for senior Daniel Klinefelter.

Klinefelter had saved up for a year to go to the flying school in Kansas. He had saved $8,000 dollars and was on his way toward his private pilot’s license. He moved in with his aunt in Kansas to pursue his dream..

“I had to save up money and take classes, which were ground school and flight lab,” Klinefelter said. “Ground school is more learning the basics of everything and how it works, how maps should be read and how to tell when weather is okay to fly in or not. Flight lab is flying the actual plane and learning different takeoffs and landings.”

Klinefelter became interested in planes ever since he was able to visit his friend at the Des Moines Airport control tower and see how things work.

“This was before 9/11, but I got to talk to the pilots and look at the radars to see how things work and how things get done,” Klinefelter said.

Klinefelter attended Kansas state and began taking classes and flying.

“Flying is stressful. When you first learn how to work things there is a lot to check and get a hang of, we had certain check lists we had to go through, such as talking to the tower and maintain challenges,” Klinefelter said.

On top of being stressful the class involved outside studying as well as in class. It also came with tests he needed to pass in order to get his pilot’s license.

“Every four hours I spent doing work at school; I spent eight hours outside of school working on studying,” Klinefelter said.

” I had to go through third class inspection before I could get it, which is testing sight, if you’re color blind and medical history.”

According to Klinefelter, learning how to fly a plane not only comes with stress but experiences and life lessons as well.

“There was one time when we were landing the plane too fast, we had to push in the breaks hard and the right tire blew out, but technically it’s not considered an accident to them,” Klinefelter said.

Klinefelter also said he gained a new love for mother nature.

“When I was flying the wind amazed me,” Klinefelter said with a smile on his face.

” I learned to pay attention more and always be aware. Decision making was also another big one.” Klinefelter said.

In addition to achieving a goal of his he had a supportive family and friends who supported his decision. It was something Klinefelter wanted to do so he had to reach for the goal by raising the money and taking the responsibility on himself.

“My family was supportive and so were my friends, but it was my goal so I had to do stuff for it myself. I had some people give me crazy looks but I have my pilot’s license and I never gave up,” Klinefelter said.

Klinefelter is proud of himself for accomplishing this goal and does think everyone should do what they dream of. Klinefelter’s dream landed him a Private Pilot’s license July 20.

“There were times I got frustrated and wanted to give up but I didn’t; I kept pushing through,” Klinefelter said. “Sometimes people and things get in the way of your dreams but just don’t give up.”

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Sophomore Ashley Kasper was spending the night at her cousin’s when she woke up at four in the morning with a peculiar sensation. She thought she was having contractions…and she was right.

Months earlier Kasper had been riding in a car contemplating how she would tell her mother about her unplanned pregnancy. Kasper was scared at the time and eventually mustered the courage to tell her mother on the way home from their counselor.

“I told her I thought I was pregnant and she started to cry,” Kasper said.

Her mother had her take an at home pregnancy test and it turned out negative. A trip to their doctor, however, proved the exact opposite.

“Once I found out that I was pregnant I was really scared and I was thinking ‘how is this going to work?’” Kasper said.

Kasper told senior David Bennett, her boyfriend at the time, about her pregnancy through a phone call. Kasper said that it took others a longer time to find out about her pregnancy because she didn’t want them to know just then.

“I felt that people would think of me differently than what they did before,” Kasper said. “I was nervous.”

Over the next few months Kasper went through periods where she felt sick the majority of the time. Bennett said he was there throughout, going to the doctor with her and even seeing his daughter for the first time on ultrasound.

“They’re pretty cool—ultrasounds,” Bennett said with a smile. “It was kind of interesting seeing my daughter.”

As the months continued to pass, Kasper’s stomach began to grow along with her and Bennett’s eagerness for their daughter to be born.

“I was really anxious all the time and I just wanted her to come out,” Kasper said.

That day finally came June 13. Kasper woke up to contractions early that day but did not go to the hospital until a couple hours later. She packed her bags and eventually headed to the hospital.

“It (the contractions) hurt,” Kasper said. “I was happy and scared.”

After 16 hours (and 16 minutes) their blue-eyed daughter was born. She was named Isabella.

“I was very happy,” Kasper said. “I was crying (when I held her for the first time).”

Since her daughter’s birth, Kasper decided to return to school and is discovering the difficulties that come from being a teen parent.

“I have more responsibility,” Kasper said. “I can’t do all the things I used to do like hang out with my friends.”

Bennett, who generally gets Isabella during the weekends, said he didn’t find the situation to be difficult. Kasper, on the other hand, finds it difficult at times to juggle both school and a child. Her drive to continue on with school comes from her now three month old daughter.

“It’s the best thing for Isabella,” Kasper said. “I don’t just want to quit because it’s not fair for her.”

So Kasper continues her daily routines consisting of feeding, changing and caring for her daughter as well as her homework from school. And at the end of some days Kasper goes to bed thinking about her daughter and the act that brought her into this world.

“I love Isabella,” Kasper said. “I don’t want to say I regret it, but if I could go back I would not have done what I did.”

Months earlier Kasper had been riding in a car contemplating how she would tell her mother about her unplanned pregnancy. Kasper was scared at the time and eventually mustered the courage to tell her mother on the way home from their counselor.

“I told her I thought I was pregnant and she started to cry,” Kasper said.

Her mother had her take an at home pregnancy test and it turned out negative. A trip to their doctor, however, proved the exact opposite.

“Once I found out that I was pregnant I was really scared and I was thinking ‘how is this going to work?’” Kasper said.

Kasper told senior David Bennett, her boyfriend at the time, about her pregnancy through a phone call. Kasper said that it took others a longer time to find out about her pregnancy because she didn’t want them to know just then.

“I felt that people would think of me differently than what they did before,” Kasper said. “I was nervous.”

Over the next few months Kasper went through periods where she felt sick the majority of the time. Bennett said he was there throughout, going to the doctor with her and even seeing his daughter for the first time on ultrasound.

“They’re pretty cool—ultrasounds,” Bennett said with a smile. “It was kind of interesting seeing my daughter.”

As the months continued to pass, Kasper’s stomach began to grow along with her and Bennett’s eagerness for their daughter to be born.

“I was really anxious all the time and I just wanted her to come out,” Kasper said.

That day finally came June 13. Kasper woke up to contractions early that day but did not go to the hospital until a couple hours later. She packed her bags and eventually headed to the hospital.

“It (the contractions) hurt,” Kasper said. “I was happy and scared.”

After 16 hours (and 16 minutes) their blue-eyed daughter was born. She was named Isabella.

“I was very happy,” Kasper said. “I was crying (when I held her for the first time).”

Since her daughter’s birth, Kasper decided to return to school and is discovering the difficulties that come from being a teen parent.

“I have more responsibility,” Kasper said. “I can’t do all the things I used to do like hang out with my friends.”

Bennett, who generally gets Isabella during the weekends, said he didn’t find the situation to be difficult. Kasper, on the other hand, finds it difficult at times to juggle both school and a child. Her drive to continue on with school comes from her now three month old daughter.

“It’s the best thing for Isabella,” Kasper said. “I don’t just want to quit because it’s not fair for her.”

So Kasper continues her daily routines consisting of feeding, changing and caring for her daughter as well as her homework from school. And at the end of some days Kasper goes to bed thinking about her daughter and the act that brought her into this world.

“I love Isabella,” Kasper said. “I don’t want to say I regret it, but if I could go back I would not have done what I did.”

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If so, where can they come talk to you?
My office.

Are you making any new rules?
(I’m) making the (current) rules more consistent.

Are there going to be any new classes next year that will be open to freshmen?
There will be a new class called 20th Century History for freshmen. Also, advanced classes will now be AP classes.

Will next year’s eighth graders still be able to take classes down at Hoover?
Eighth graders will still be able to take Math classes down at Hoover, but due to more high school students requesting drama, they won’t be able to take drama.

What should next year’s freshmen expect from you as a principal?
Dramatically different (from Ms. Flesch).

What about upperclassmen?
New course options, (better) leadership role.

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“They are more mature and don’t like to play games,” Anna* said.

This may be one of the things that attract some teenagers to dating someone who may be a lot younger or a lot older than them.

Senior Corey Lewis has never been in a relationship with a big age gap personally, but has seen them and has his own opinions about them and why they are happening.

“Girls probably like older guys because they are more experienced and of course a guy’s going to like a younger girl because the way they look or because they make them feel young,” Lewis said.

Nowadays a freshman with a senior is not a rare sight. But there are some who take it further, taking on a relationship with someone who is up to five years younger or older than them.

“I was fourteen when I started to date my longtime boyfriend. We were together for almost two years. He was five years older than me,” Anna* said.

Like with anything, being in a relationship with a big age difference, has its pros and its cons.

“I like older guys because they are more mature, they don’t play games. My boyfriend was very mature and nice to me,” Anna* said.

Some people can make the relationship work.

“It could work if they love each other.” Lewis said.

But age may not just be a number when it comes to young relationships, as there are also many cons to this.

“He was more mature, so I always had to act mature around him. Also, he looked older.”

Another problem is that not all parents would approve of this.

“At first my parents didn’t like it, but they kind of got to know him and it was ok,” Anna* said.

Like many high school relationships, these relationships don’t always work. There are different reasons for this but they may not all have to do with their maturity levels.

Some teenagers are highly influenced by their peers, and big age differences may not be so acceptable in society yet.

“An acceptable age difference, for me, is two years younger or older,” Lewis said.

Both girls and guys have some negative opinions on this.

“A lot of my friends didn’t say anything, but some of them told me he was too old,” Anna* said

But not all teenagers would care.

“I didn’t care though, if they didn’t like it, then forget them,” Anna* said.

Even though some teenagers can look past their differences and make it work for them, not all teenagers are ready to jump in the band wagon.

“It’s cool if they are into that, that’s just not me though,” Lewis said.

*  Denotes name witheld from story

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Senior Marne Davis and junior Yolanda Reyes have experienced the roller coaster of being pregnant. When it comes to having a child Reyes said that it’s more responsibility and she couldn’t do as much.

“You have lots more responsibilities. You can go out but it’s not the same and your priorities change a lot,” Reyes said. Sometimes being pregnant can cause pain and moms may even experience false labor. Davis experienced it but Reyes did not.

Being pregnant can also cause mood swings.

“I had mood swings, but I was just a little mean,” Davis said.

Sometimes the father doesn’t want to get involved with the child.

“He comes around and helps out but not as much as I want him to,” Davis said.

“The father doesn’t come around nor does he help out,” Reyes said.

Reyes said she would encourage girls who think they’re ready for a child to wait.

“It’s not a bad thing to have a child but just wait, especially if you want to go to high school or college,” Reyes said.

“Don’t do it,” Davis said.

Stephen J. Dubner of Freakonomics blog in The New York Times thinks teen should wait to have children because it affects high school, college life and marriage if parents are married.

“Teen moms are less likely than other women to attend or complete college, and their marriages are more likely to end in divorce; about 50 percent of women who married younger than age 18 are divorced after 10 years,” Dubner said.

Davis and Reyes said their parents helped them with their pregnancies and children.

“My parents help out a little bit,” Reyes said.

“Yes, my parent helps,” Davis said.

Some people look down on teens that are having children.

“Adults are disappointed but a lot of them think it’s typical because I’m Mexican,” Reyes said.

“It depends on the person. Some look down but it’s not about what they think,” Davis said.

Davis, Reyes and Dubner agree that young women should wait until they have their life together and stay focused in school, and also use birth control if they choose to be sexually active.

“Most of the recent decline in teen pregnancy in the U.S. is due to more consistent use of birth control, although teens are also waiting longer to have sex than in the past. In 1995, almost 20 percent of girls had sex by age 17,” Dubner said.

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Art can be a subject that helps students cope with their ideas and emotions express themselves and liven up the halls. Art teacher Jerry Goodrich’s art classes are learning to do all of the above.

Goodrich has been teaching art for 38 years and teaches 3D design and art one and two. Goodrich is impressed with his classes, the students seem dedicated. His students also seem to be able to keep up with some of his more obscure assignments.

“We’re studying texture, we’re making cereal boxes with it,” Goodrich said.

Goodrich likes the glass cases in the halls because it helps promote the arts, and if students see what’s going on in the class, they’ll often feel more interested and want to be part of the class.

The contents of the glass cases in the hallways are decided on by Goodrich and his fellow art teachers. It usually depends on the projects in his and the photography classes. There are six cases, and when need be, the class whose projects take up more space or is more recent takes up the majority of the space.

Sophomore Rachel Hewitt hasn’t taken an art class since seventh grade, but Goodrich isn’t disappointing her.

“I like the assignments he gives because he teaches us how to do it and helps a lot,” Hewitt said.

Hewitt enjoys her classes because a lot of projects can be done in or with groups, which allows her to get help and support from her friends during class. Hewitt likes the idea of the cases because it’s like a showcasing of their assignments and it gives students a chance to show off their pride. Earlier in the year, the class has studied blind contour, which is drawing without looking at the page, shape and form and water colors.

Freshman Bakr Brown is also taking Goodrich’s classes and has taken art every year since elementary school.

“It lets me express myself,” Brown said, shrugging.

Brown feels what goes in the glass case is more up to the students and how hard they work than the teacher’s decisions. While Brown likes Goodrich’s assignments, he was hesitant about his teaching techniques.

“He lets the students kinda teach themselves,” Brown said, after a few seconds of thought and consideration.

Both Hewitt and Brown agree that while Goodrich’s techniques seem questionable at times, they manage to bring out the best in the students and their work. While neither of them plans to major in art in their future, they both feel it brings out their creative spirit, which they say not a lot of classes manage to do.

“Anyone can be creative, it’s their choice,” Brown said.

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Junior Habibo Abdi has been taking ELL classes since she came here as a freshman. She said that the classes have helped her a lot.

“Well I came here and I only understood a little,” Abdi said. “Then I started learning the language and it helped me a lot. The language is key here.”

Although Abdi said she does not mind living in America, she misses her home. Abdi and her family moved to America after living in a refugee camp for 13 years due to being chased out of Somalia by the war and her fathers death.

“Somalia, our country has a lot of war,” Abdi said. “My dad got killed and we went to a refugee camp.”

Abdi and her family then chose to move to America to have a better life.

“The life in the refugee camp was too difficult because everyone had to go there because we couldn’t stay in Somalia,” Abdi said.

Abdi said that she is glad she got to take the ELL classes here.

“It would have been harder without these classes,” Abdi said.

Math teacher Josh Griffith began teaching ELL classes this year. He said he thinks ELL classes are helpful to students with English as their second language.

“They’re for the student that has trouble understanding the language,” Griffith said.

Griffith said that it helps Abdi learn the material at her own pace.

“I think it gives her what she needs to make those translations possible,” Griffith said.

Griffith said the students in ELL classes are also more driven to learn than other students.

“A lot of them come from countries where education is a privilege,” Griffith said. “And because of that, education and money mean a little bit more to them.”

There are many teachers called aids who sit in the ELL classes with the students and translate for them as necessary

Griffith was chosen to teach these classes, but said that he would have volunteered to teach them anyway.

“I already know and have a relationship with many of the students,” Griffith said. “I really enjoy teaching these classes and now that I’ve got them I’d like to continue teaching them for many years to come.”

Griffith also said that Hoover offers more ELL classes than most surrounding schools.

“I think it gives them more opportunities to receive the support that they need,” Griffith said.

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Underage kids getting tattoos is becoming more common. Some of Hoover’s fellow classmates even have them.

Sophomore Earl (Javon) Williams has a tattoo on his arm. The tattoo is a MJ Poem.”The reason for getting the tattoo was to remind myself to keep trying,” Williams said.

By law students have to be 16 to get a piercing without parent consent

“There’s really no story behind it,” Williams said.

“My parents know about it but not much was said,” Williams said.” i cant say who does my tattoos out of the fact that i am underage”.

Junior Ariana Harris also has a tattoo.

“I have a six point star,” Harris said.

The way these teens are getting tattoos is staying confidential.

“I also can’t say how I got it, I can only say associates,” Harris said.

Not only are tattoos permanent ,but they come with pain and a healing process.

“I thought it felt good, it just felt like little pinches,” Williams said.

Harris also agrees with Willaims.

But senior Steven Murray chooses to wait until he is of legal age.

Murray plans on getting tattoos very soon.

“I’m getting the symbols for trust and truth tattooed on me,” Murray said.

“Trust and truth are just a big part of who I am,” Murray said

“I think you should be 18 to get a tattoo, remember they will be with you forever,” Murray said.

Murray thinks that tattoos are a much bigger deal than piercings.

“At 16 you should be able to get a piercing without parents consent because you can take it out, but at 16 a tattoo is a much bigger thing than a piercing. A tattoo is something that will be with you forever,” Murray said.

On the other hand Williams and Harris disagree.

“I don’t think people should make a big deal out of teens getting tattoos because they obviously know what they want,” Harris said.

Tattoos can be a good way of showing expression as long as parents are aware.

“I think its ok as long as the parents know,” Williams said.

“Just think long and hard about a tattoo before you get it,” Murray said. “Think about what you want to get and how people will react to it years down the road, it will be with you forever.”

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The Guitar club has given guitarists and other instrumentalists a place to play the songs members love to play. The Guitar Club was originated last year by English teacher Nic Jackson. Jackson has been happy with this year’s turnout.

 ”It is not Carnival or Mardi Gras, but it has a loyal base of adherents,” Jackson said. A typical day in the club consists of leaning different things dealing with music and guitar. “We discuss what we want to do for the day and try to stick to the plan, but as making music goes, the play could go in any direction,” Jackson said.

Junior David Mathews joined the guitar club this year. Mathews plays a four-string Epiphone Thunderbird bass guitar and has enjoyed his time in the club. “Time just flies by in there, everyone’s just having fun playing riffs,” Matthew’s said.

Mathew’s said that the members are always willing to help each other. “Everyone’s just helping each other out all the time,” Matthews said.

Matthew’s said the one big thing that’s unique about Guitar Club is that everyone has their own input.

“Everyone brings something to the table with their different styles so you’re always learning something new,” Mathews said.

Mathews believes he has more fun and learns more in the club than taking actual guitar lessons. “It’s like everyone’s a guitar teacher but instead of being boring it’s fun,” Matthews said.

The Guitar Club is still looking for more members. Matthew’s says anyone who plays a bass or guitar is allowed to join the club.

“Not a lot of people show up, so we need bassists, guitarists, or acoustic guitarists no matter what skill level,” Matthews said.

Junior Jason Reichenbacher has been playing guitar for over seven years. “Jazz and blues are my two favorite types of music to play,” Reichenbacher said.

Reichenbacher has had much interest in the club but hasn’t had the time to join.

“I usually work every Wednesday, I barely even have time to play guitar by myself anymore,” Reichenbacher said.

Reichenbacher said he believes that the idea of a guitar club is great and has a lot of potential.

“I’m sure next year the club will have many more members, there are a lot of musicians walking the school,” Reichenbacher said.

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“So this means we’re probably going to break up.”

“Yeah, probably.”

“Yeah.”

Junior Joseph Rhodes and his girlfriend Courtney McNeeley continued to watch the movie A walk to Remember on his bed, despite the mutual decision to end their relationship.

“It was kind of one of those mind reading things,” Rhodes said.

Rhodes knew the breakup was coming moments before their final words as a couple. Kneally had told him that she was moving to New York, and he said that he’d be working so they wouldn’t have time for each other.

“We were talking and decided it was for the best-that our relationship wasn’t going anywhere,” Rhodes said.

The ex-couple finished the movie and then traveled to the mall. They hung out for a while until it finally came to their goodbye.

“We told each other goodbye, gave each other hugs and kind of went our separate ways,” Rhodes said.

If Rhodes knew then what he knows now, that day could have turned out differently.

“I kind of regret breaking up with Courtney,” Rhodes said.

 ________________________________

Junior Tyler Peeler’s year and a half long relationship with junior Basil Vennard ended over the phone on a Saturday.

“It was really shocking, like surreal that it happened,” Peeler said.

Peeler was in his bedroom the day it happened. He had decided to call her to talk about their problems, but the phone call turned into yet another argument.

“She had told me prior to that that she was unhappy in the relationship,” Peeler said. “Then we started arguing. In the middle of the argument she told me that she didn’t want to do it anymore and she told me that we needed to take a break.”

Peeler can remember, however, what their relationship was like in the beginning.

“We just had a lot of fun together,” Peeler said. “Whenever we were together it was carefree. Toward the end of the relationship we started arguing more.”

 ________________________________

After a few months of dating Jerry Sabastiano, freshman Jenna Wilson realized she no longer had feelings for her boyfriend.

“I felt bad and I didn’t want to break up with him,” Wilson said.

Wilson told her friend how she was feelings and conflict eventually arose.

 ”And things got out of control,” Wilson said.

Wilson was at her house watching The Hills on a school evening when the phone rang. It was Sabastiano and he was talking “normal,” according to Wilson.

But then he got to the point.

“Hey, I’ve been hearing things about how you don’t like me,” Sabastiano said.

So Wilson told her boyfriend the truth.

“He asked if I just wanted to be friends and I said yeah,” Wilson said.

But after that conversation, Wilson said they didn’t talk much. In the end, being friends worked out just as well as being a couple.

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At that time Wal was eight and she found school, home and life in general difficult to deal with, especially with the absence of her parents who had moved to Lebanon and left her brother and her in the care of their uncle.

“It was hard because we were really young and had to find ways of taking care of ourselves,” Wal said.

While her parents were away and she lived in Syria, Wal would walk to school every day, carrying her lunch in a brown paper sack. Inside was a tortilla roll with either sweet sauce or cheese. At lunch she would sit down with her friends, but as normal as this seemed, Wal felt entirely abnormal.

“We had these two Lebanese kids that we sat with and everyone sat away from us because we had a different skin color,” Wal said. “So it was hard to make friends.”

Even though it was hard for Wal to make friends, it was just as difficult to leave all those people behind when it was time for her to reunite with her parents. But probably the most difficult part of it all was the long journey to Lebanon.

“It was really hard because there were guards on the border (of Lebanon),” Wall said. “(We) had to walk for miles. (We) didn’t want the guards to catch us so we had to sleep on a mountain and this family helped us.”

Compared to this, the four plane journey from Lebanon to Iowa felt like a breeze. Adjusting to the buildings, culture and freedom took time to get used to.

“You’re (freer) here,” Wal said. “Out there the girls aren’t allowed to do certain things.”

Wal feels that her life now is much better than the life she had in South Africa. Living here has taught her about life, culture and herself.

“(Living here) has taught me how to be a more positive me,” Wal said.

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English teacher John Eller has been teaching for 34 years. He’s taught at Brody, Weeks, Roosevelt and East.

“Some people think Mr. Eller is weird because of how he teaches, I think he’s funny and his way of teaching is better,” junior Annie Bach said.

Some teachers have certain people that inspire them to teach the way they do. Eller has one person that he try to take after.

“Iggy Pop recording artist influenced me to teach the way I do. He had common success but prefers to call it artistic integrity,” Eller said.

All teachers teach in different ways whether it’s a way students take notes or the way students do labs. No teacher is exactly alike they may learn from other teachers but they make things their own.

“My teaching is better than everyone’s because its me,” Eller said.

One thing some students look for in a teacher is someone who knows what is going on in the world, not just world issue wise but technology and how teens act.

“I think Eller is cool because he’s up to date on technology, he always uses his computer to show us things, not just go print things out,” Bach said.

One thing Eller does that most teachers don’t is involve his students in a classroom website which entitles updated grades, class projects , the link to worksheets missed and last but not least student’s life philosophies.

“I videotape students in the classroom, and I videotape their life philosophies and put them up for parents and other students to view. Parental permission is a must before I post anything about a student on the class website,” Eller said.

“I also do it in case any of my students become famous, then I can blackmail them,” Eller said with a laugh

Eller calls his English class English hell.

“I think its important to call things what they are,” Eller said.

“Eller knows what teens like and how they are going to react to things. His sense of humor is good seeing that other classes aren’t as fun or funny,” Bach said.

Every teacher has a life outside of school doing things they want to. One of the things Eller enjoys the most is reading.

“My favorite author is- well not really an author but a genre. I like reading journals of opinion, such as The Atlantic or the Scientific American, and when I’m stuck waiting somewhere I have Shakespeare on my phone and I enjoy re- reading them,” Eller said.

“I also spend a lot of time working on stuff for school, the website grading and checking papers,” Eller said.

Although some things are different about the way Eller teacher he still gets respect from students.

“I think Eller is a good teacher and a funny one too, he shouldn’t care what other teachers think. Students like his class for a reason,” Bach said.

Trust and respect are expected from teachers and many other qualities.

“Students and teachers should expect everything good from me in the universe,”Eller said. “Including goodness and wholesomeness.”

Read more at Hoover Challenger

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sami ricke photo

Block scheduling has been one of the most talked about and controversial changes to take place in recent years, and one concern was how lunch was going to work. An extra fifteen minutes had been added to the meal time, but this year the entire school was going to be eating at one time. At first sight, plenty of students and faculty just saw trouble ahead.

Former substitute teacher and dean of students Ben Edwards has spent the last 34 years of his life working for different schools, and has seen more then his fair share of changes in systems within schooling, and naturally, when the idea of a block schedule came up, he too felt hesitant about the new directions concerning lunch .

“At first I saw these long lines, and kids weren’t getting to eat,” Edwards said. He said the first day of school he saw what he had predicted: long struggling and unorganized.

But as he found out, it was just because many students had forgotten their numbers, and has seen since then. Edwards said he finds the halls easier to control this year, since students having more time to spend with their friends after eating.

“I’m surprised no one came up with it some time ago,” Edwards said

Edwards finds the new lunch system goes more smoothly,

“Our kids were rushing with thirty minutes,” Edwards said, referring both to those who stayed on and left campus, and he said the new way of doing things simply works much better.

Freshman Sean Bremhorst, however, has some different views on the subject.

“Unorganized, man,” Bremhorst said when asked about the new lunch schedule. Although Bremhorst does enjoy the extra fifteen minutes, eating and hanging out with his friends, he still wishes Hoover had never changed to block scheduling in the first place.

“I’d still have forty-five minute classes,” he said, regarding how he would change the system if he could. Bremhorst simply feels that everything (except the forty-five minute lunch) has all gone downhill with the introduction of Block Scheduling.

Seniors, too, have had to get used to this change, especially the ones who typically leave campus for lunch. Leaving campus could quite possibly become a more hectic for students with the buses from central arriving. Senior Dalton Jacobus said that leaving has become much similar since the new system came to be.

“We have too much time for lunch,” said Jacobus. He usually leaves campus for lunch every other day, and insists that it has become much easier to do so this year then last.

Jacobus also said he believes the current situation works better because with every class eating at one time, no classes are interrupted by the noise in the halls. He also said he finds that everything has gotten easier with the extra time and that everything feels pretty organized. Jacobus said that if any changes are made, they will only be ones built off this system, so people should get used to it because it’s going to be here for a while.

Perhaps changes to lunch will be made, but to a fair chunk of the students, the new lunch schedule has turned out to be a sweet success.

Read more at Hoover Challenger

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