<![CDATA["Red & White" newspaper

<![CDATA["Red & White" newspaper - News]]>Sat, 25 Apr 2020 14:46:45 -0700Weebly<![CDATA[Saying Goodbye]]>Wed, 29 Apr 2015 17:43:19 GMThttp://audubonredandwhite.weebly.com/news/saying-goodbyeBy Sarah Mosinski

Audubon has been truly blessed with the quality of teachers and faculty that work with the students. At the end of the 2014-2015 school year we will be saying goodbye to five teachers and two teachers will be taking a different position within the district. Additionally, four other staff members have retired/resigned: Sally Alt, Rich Hemmingsen, Mary Klever, and Beth Willet. After talking to a few students and each of the teachers, there are many memorable moments and a variety of plans for the teachers leaving Audubon.

Marlene Ballou will be retiring after 40 years of teaching. Ballou has been in Audubon for 10 years and is in charge of “structured study halls” and teaches a junior high math class. Ballou has touched so many students by showing them their true ability when it comes to succeeding in academics. Senior Clarisa West said, “Ever since I was in middle school she has always been there for me when my grades were not doing so hot. She made it where she made sure my grades came up and stayed up. If it wasn't for her I don't know where I would be at today.”

A memory that many students in Mrs. Ballou’s study hall could recall includes a bouncy ball. Whenever someone is sleeping or listening to music, Mrs. Ballou would throw a bouncy ball at that student to get their attention. Sophomore Eryn Cozad mentioned how much help she was when it came to math questions. Ballou’s plans for the following year is to sleep when she is tired and eat when she’s hungry.

Laura Granger is another teacher leaving Audubon. She has been teaching for 9 years and 8 of them have been in Audubon. Granger teaches 8th Grade English, Practical English, Student Publications, and English II. She is also the head speech coach and the yearbook and newspaper adviser. Many relationships are built in the Student Pub. class and the speech team. Miss Granger has transformed the yearbook into an amazing documentary of the past school years. Geena Weber said, “My confidence came from having her as a speech coach and she helped me figure out that I want to be a journalist.”

Many speech memories have taken place that will stay with a majority of the students in high school and alumni. Senior Tess Albright said, “I will never forget speech practices. Although I wasn't a part of it [speech team] the past two years, I don't think speech will be the same without her silly personality. I am grateful for what time I had with them.”

Kyle Polson will miss not being coached by Granger, but he truly believes that she is the best speech coach in the Southwest District. Miss Granger hopes to continue coaching speech and teaching in another school district in Southwest Iowa.

Joni Madsen, a teacher of 19 years, has been teaching in Audubon for 12. While teaching many high school English courses, she also teaches DMACC college classes, Madsen finds entertaining ways to teach her students. Sara Wede looks back at freshman year when Ms. Madsen taught them the "Romeo and Juliet" unit. “Ms. Madsen would act out the parts of both male and female and it forced me to pay attention because it was so interesting,” said Wede. There is no doubt that Ms. Madsen has a very unique way of teaching. Her energetic and sarcastic attitude makes class entertaining, but also educational.

Senior, Courtney Rudolph remembers a conversation with Ms. Madsen, “She said, ‘You better take that sucker out before you go into my mouth.’ She meant room [instead of mouth] but after that she kept joking around with me the whole period.” Madsen does a great job including everyone in discussion while in class. Ms. Madsen plans to move to Windsor Heights and teach at North Polk High School. Even though she is leaving she will miss the colleagues, administration, and community. Audubon is her hometown and she will always be a Wheeler.

Carrie Bauer will be leaving Audubon Schools after 16 years of teaching and 10 years at Audubon. She has touched the lives of many of her students. Seniors Bryona Cozad, Logan Nielsen, Joseph Letera and Bradley Jorgensen all appreciate the time she dedicated to each of them one on one. Cozad said, "If it wasn't for Mrs. Bauer, I wouldn't be where I am today." Mrs. Bauer has taught a variety of classes including Reading, Adult Living, Careers, Work Experience, Life Skills, and Functional Math and Reading. She is also a prom adviser.

Tess Albright said, “Many students thought Mrs. Bauer was 'mean,' but it wasn’t too long ago when I realized how amazing she is. Mrs. Bauer isn’t mean and she wasn’t being harsh on the students, she was simply pushing them beyond what others 'thought' they could do. Mrs. Bauer is an amazing, courageous and commendable woman and she changes the lives of others.” With the help of Mrs. Knuth, Mrs. Bauer helps every junior class organize, set up, and help with prom. No matter what the circumstances or money they have in their budget. Since January, Bauer has been filling in two days a week as a substitute Special Education Consultant for Heartland Area Education Association. She will be transitioning next fall to a full time consultant. She will be assigned to the Audubon Community Schools and Exira-EHK. Bauer will miss her work family and all the friendships at the Audubon Community Schools but is looking forward to this new career opportunity to grow and help other teachers and special education programs.

Gina Scheffler has been teaching in Audubon for 6 years. Scheffler runs the alternative program or school-within-a-school "Success Center," which includes credit recovery and dropout prevention with opportunity for independent instruction as needed. She has taught many different subjects, but mostly core classes. Along with her high school position, she also teaches a middle school art history class. Michael Rudolph said, “Her classroom was a very quiet place to get a lot of work done. She also let us go on walks when I would ask.”

Leaving Audubon has been a difficult decision for Scheffler. She plans to relocate in Des Moines until her house sells in Audubon and then possibly movie to Arizona where the rest of her family resides. Scheffler plans to work as a substitute teacher or work in an office while in Des Moines. Scheffler will miss the Audubon School District very much. If it were her decision, she would move her home with her. She enjoyed working with Audubon’s students and teachers.

Every student in Audubon appreciates all that these teachers have done for us. They have made an impact on our lives and will never be forgotten.

Many Changes in the Works for Audubon

Audubon is changing quite a bit in the school system. They are introducing instructional coaches to help teachers with their curriculum and instruction. The school will also be hiring many new teachers to fill the open spots. With a lot of teachers leaving, the Audubon Community Schools will be looking to hire teachers eager to take the place of some outstanding faculty members. Many high school students are concerned about the availability of college classes while in high school. Principal Eric Trager said, "Our first priority is to find teachers that can teach high school, but a teacher qualified to teach college courses is definitely second priority." Interviews have started for the open positions and the students are on the edge of their seats to hear what is to come for 2015-2016.

Nichole Olsen and Bob Hoffmann will be leaving their current positions to help the Audubon Community School teachers in both the elementary and high school to become instructional coaches. The school district applied for and received the Teacher Leadership and Compensation (TLC) grant. The first step was to hire two coaches for next year. The coaches will assist teachers in using strategies that improve their curriculum and instruction. Olsen looks at this as a chance for her to become a better educator as she observes and assists the teachers. Olsen will be the instructional coach for PreK-5th grade.

Hoffmann will be working with the 6th-12th grades and notices as the school gets smaller more teachers are pressured to teach more classes. With all of the classes to teach, Hoffmann believes they have less time to learn from and work with each other. Hoffmann has had experienced staff members talk him through conflicts with students, parents and administration; he hopes, with the new position, he will be able to help other teachers and improve levels of achievement.

]]><![CDATA[FFA State Convention]]>Wed, 15 Apr 2015 17:42:31 GMThttp://audubonredandwhite.weebly.com/news/ffa-state-conventionBy James Thoelke

FFA State Convention is fast approaching and the entire group is all fired up! The event is April 19-22. The four day event will consist of FFA members competing in farm business management quizzes, parliamentary procedures, and other events. Audubon FFA president Drew Christensen said, “It’s an opportunity for people to be recognized for their hard work throughout the year and to relax and meet many new people across the state.”

This will be the 87th Iowa FFA State Convention. The convention is held at the Iowa State University campus and 225 FFA chapters will be attending, consisting of 5,000 FFA members. Audubon FFA members have been attending the convention for as long as anyone can remember. Each year is different than the last, always bringing something new to the convention, Christensen said, “The state convention brings many new experiences....It’s the same concept, but you learn something new.”

Christensen and the other 25 Audubon FFA members going are excited to attend FFA State Convention.

]]><![CDATA[WIC Art fair]]>Wed, 15 Apr 2015 15:35:45 GMThttp://audubonredandwhite.weebly.com/news/wic-art-fairBy Jorja Weitl

Hannah Lange's owl she hopes to enter in contest.

The WIC Art Fair is coming up on April 16-20 for the Audubon High School students. The students and even the art teacher, Kathy Wallander, are all cramming to get everything done in this last week in order to enter their pieces in the art show. There will be around nine different schools competing at this art fair. Wallander said, “We have been preparing all year working on projects and matting them right away so they are ready and done once contest roles around.” Many students have done lots of artwork they are very proud of and are really hoping to enter and win something at the art fair.

Hannah Lange, a junior said, “I am very excited for the art show this year. I have a clay project I just finished that is an owl that I hope to enter in the sculpture category. I also have a stained glass window of a cardinal that I’m really proud of that I would love to enter as well.”

Each year there are tons of art pieces for each student to choose to enter, the tough part is choosing which ones. Wallander said, ”I tell the students to put your best work forward and everyone at least has to enter one piece they have done. The pottery, however, we have a pre-judging ourselves at school because there is so much made and it’s a lot to carry and hall.”

The art students have already gotten many compliments from people on their work, even from people that are from out of town. Wallander said, “We have had a lot of great compliments already from people just walking in going to games and seeing our pieces in the trophy cases.”

Art fair can be a busy, nervous time for some students and even for Mrs. Wallander. Wallander said, “I expect the outcome to be good. I always expect our kids to go and do well, but of course there is always disappointments, too. Most of the kids have worked really hard to get things done for contest and are excited to go.”

]]><![CDATA[Lease is up, future in doubt]]>Wed, 08 Apr 2015 14:37:41 GMThttp://audubonredandwhite.weebly.com/news/lease-is-up-future-in-doubtBy James Thoelke

Has it really been four years? Was it really almost eight semesters ago that the first MacBooks rolled out of the library and were handed to the students of the 2011-2012 school year? Yes it was, and with only one more year in the lease from Apple, those same Macbook’s could be gone very soon. With the 1:1 program almost up, the future of technology at Audubon is in question. Will the school lease different Macs? Will they buy the current MacBook’s permanently? Or switch to tablets or another similar medium, such as Chromebooks?

Freshman Kade Jensen said, “We’ll probably have to use the old ones. I don’t want to because they’re slow, but I think we’ll have to.”

Junior Andrew Blomme concurs by stating, “I want new computers, but I understand why we can’t. The ones we have now have really taken a beating.”

With the decision still in limbo, students have to wonder if technology will even be present in the classroom in a year. Students managed without much technology until fall of 2011, but have the new students become too attached to their electronic devices? Whatever the future holds for the students of Audubon High, be it MacBook’s or tablets, only time will tell.

]]><![CDATA[New School Start Date Concerns Audubon]]>Wed, 04 Feb 2015 15:37:31 GMThttp://audubonredandwhite.weebly.com/news/audubon-high-school-new-start-dateBy Drew Christensen

Audubon is uneasy about the decisions the Department of Education.

The new talk around the school is the controversy of what time school will start this upcoming year. The Audubon School board unanimously voted for the 2015 – 2016 school calendar on Monday night’s regular meeting. But that doesn’t mean it's set in stone. According to the Iowa Department of Education, schools must start the week of September 1st, unless the school fills out a waiver saying that if it starts sooner, the education for the kids will be enhanced.

The Department of Education has in years past accepted many start date waivers without hesitation. Due to the pressure from the Governor's office, the department has stepped up its game for the criteria needed to grant a waiver. After meeting with Audubon’s Superintendent Brett Gibbs, he said, “that the decision should be based on the local boards decision, they are elected to make those type of calls.”

Audubon has been a traditionally known school to start early. Reasons for starting early may include that it works better with spring sports and the start date is around the same time college classes begin. Audubon has always let allowances for the kids who want to participate at the State fair.

Other reasons why Audubon has started early is to have the first semester end before Christmas break. If the school will start late next year the first semester won’t end until early January. “I am against this idea because I plan on graduating at semester, and I don’t want to come back after break.” Kelsi Lange a student at Audubon High School said. If the start date were late, the second semester would have no breaks outside the usual Easter break. After talking to more of Audubon’s students the buzz around the school is that they would like a longer summer but would need a break in the second semester because of the long year. The decision is still up to the state and the decision isn’t final. If you have any questions or concerns contact your local representative Brain Best and have him help you with the state's decision.

]]><![CDATA[Las vegas Prom: take two]]>Wed, 21 Jan 2015 16:48:31 GMThttp://audubonredandwhite.weebly.com/news/las-vegas-take-twoBy Jorja Weitl

Audubon's 2011 Prom Theme: Las Vegas

Audubon High School's 2015 prom theme, Las Vegas, has been done before, most recently in 2011, but will it be different this year? Is having the same past prom theme a way of reusing and recycling decorations, or a lack of creativity and funds?

Tess Albright, a senior at AHS, said when she heard the word prom she immediately thought of the words glamour, glitz, and money. Albright said, “I am not going to set my expectations too high on prom considering a low amount of money was raised for it, but I am OK with the prom theme since I wasn’t involved when the theme was used before.”

Many students are disappointed about having a repeated prom theme, but it does have its benefits since the junior class didn’t raise a lot of money this year. Junior Kiara Brannan-Sporrer said, “It doesn’t really matter that we are reusing the prom theme. We are changing it up a bit so it can be our own Las Vegas idea. Having old prom setups helps our budget, but we are changing them to fit our new ideas so it wouldn’t be the same as it was a few years ago. The ideas, however, for prom themes shouldn’t really be repeated too often, maybe every 4 or 5 years they can be because if you go as a freshman then they won’t be repeated again while they are in high school." Some schools already have that as a part of their policy; such as, Atlantic, which retires prom themes for 10 years.

“It might be a bit disappointing that our biggest class didn’t raise too much money for our prom, but being able to recycle old stuff does help” Sporrer said.

Albright said, “I believe it is a good idea to reuse old prom items because it saves money. Just because you buy new things every year doesn’t mean the prom is going to be outstanding. What makes prom worth it is having fun and enjoying time with your friends.” Both Albright and Sporrer said that prom is what you make it. It doesn’t matter how fancy or how much money we spend, what matters is that everyone enjoys themselves has a great time making memories.

]]><![CDATA[Viva La Presse]]>Wed, 21 Jan 2015 15:48:14 GMThttp://audubonredandwhite.weebly.com/news/vive-la-presseBy Geena Weber and Becca Nowicke

Protesters in Paris, France rally in support of journalists.

Attacks on the media have become more frequent. The extremist group ISIS has taken the lives of many Iraqi journalists and made national news when they recorded the beheading of American journalist Steven Sotloff. Recently, there was a mass shooting in Paris, France at "Charlie Hebdo", a satirical newspaper, and 12 journalists were killed.

Journalists across the world have been put into danger and killed because of their job. American journalist James Foley, like Steven Sotloff, was kidnapped and killed by the radical Islamic group ISIS. Many other journalists from countries such as Iraq have been victims as well. The media and the people who work for it are being attacked and killed over their right of free speech, no matter how controversial or offensive the subject matter may be.

On Jan. 7 in Paris, two gunmen killed 12 people and wounded 11 at the "Charlie Hebdo" shooting. The newspaper was targeted for showing controversial content of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. A branch of the extremist group al Qaeda, based in Yemen, has claimed responsibility for the attack.

In response to the shooting, “Je Suis Charlie” (“I Am Charlie”) trended worldwide in support and mourning of the event and lives lost in Paris. Many cartoonists made their own illustrations to show their support and feelings towards the events. The newspaper, "Charlie Hebdo", is having the cover of their first issue after the shooting be a cartoon of Muhammad holding a sign saying “Je Suis Charlie” while standing under the words “Tout Est Pardonné” (“All Is Forgiven.”) The Jan. 14 issue of the magazine, which usually prints around 60,000 copies, has 3 million copies being printed and sold.

Events such as these prove that when people try and force silence, people will only make the ideas and messages louder and more widespread. Freedom of speech gives people the right to express themselves; and opinions, no matter how controversial the subject matter may be, people will still fight for the right to say what they want.

A junior at Audubon High School Rachel Asmus said, "This shooting in France is highly immature and crazy.” A lot of people around the world feel the same way as Asmus does over this. She also said, “They ['Charlie Hebdo' newspaper] have a right to make whatever they want and not have to fear being killed, but in order to protect people, they should delay the publishing of a new issue until it is more under control.”

The morning of Jan. 14, the newest issue of "Charlie Hebdo" was printed. Asmus said, "I think they’re kind of dumb for printing it, because it’s endangering people. Even if they have freedom of speech and all that, they should still take in consideration of other people.” Freedom of speech is important, but should the media go so far as to where people will get hurt? Asmus says, “I think they should lay low for a while because it’s putting people in danger. Like, do you want to die for joking around, or live?”

America and other countries have been getting involved in this situation, but the real question is, should other countries stay out of it and let the French deal with it on their own? Asmus said, “I think other countries around them should be ready in case it happens to them, but America should stay out of it for now, unless France asks us for help.” Many people have different opinions on this subject, but either way, what the terrorists did was wrong and hopefully France can recover from their loss.

Sources:
Slate
CBS News
BBC
Democracy Now
The Guardian
Independent

]]><![CDATA[Yik yak...Yuck]]>Mon, 05 Jan 2015 16:25:39 GMThttp://audubonredandwhite.weebly.com/news/yik-yakyuckBy Molly Armentrout

The App Yik Yak has many people saying yuck!

Yik Yak, an app used for the social purposes of college students, has now turned into a way for high school students to cyber bully each other while being able to remain anonymous. Because of the usage of this app for negative purposes, Yik Yak has many people saying yuck!

The app uses GPS location to let a person know what other people with the app are saying within a 10 mile radius of his or her whereabouts. Yik Yak has been taken to whole new level with high schools around the country experiencing bullying and even bomb threats. Because of this reason, Yik Yak can no longer be used inside or near high schools and middle schools.

Yik Yak has even found its way into Audubon's little community. Junior student, Alese Denny, has been targeted with several vulgar and unnecessary remarks made about her on the app. One of Denny’s friends, that used to live in Audubon, sent her a screenshot of one of the posts about her. At that point all Denny knew was “that Yik-Yak is supposed to be used by ADULTS only and that it is definitely not [being] used by only adults.” Kids can be cruel, and Audubon County is no different. Denny said, “They [the posts] make me feel terrible. There were nights I would cry myself to sleep because of what was being said and knowing that there wasn’t a single thing I could do about it.”

Denny refuses to download the app because she knows it will eat her away and she is “better off not knowing about it.” She thinks Yik Yak “is the stupidest app ever [and] social networks are [supposed to be] there to keep up and catch up with people that you’ve lost connections with, not so you can harass and talk down on people.”

Denny admitted to sometimes being a bully herself, but unfortunately she has also been bullied since she was in 5th grade. “Some days are worse than others, but I know I will be out of high school soon enough so I just try to look on the bright side of things.” Her advice to anyone who is struggling with bullies is simply to just ignore it. “It’s very hard to ignore hurtful things that people say and do, but trust me, it’s the best thing that you can do, and if you have the app, delete it.”

]]><![CDATA[Defenseless Driving]]>Mon, 05 Jan 2015 16:14:21 GMThttp://audubonredandwhite.weebly.com/news/defenseless-drivingBy Sarah Mosinski

McKenna Nielsen is ready to drive safe for the holidays.

Since 2007, the Audubon High School has lost four students, either current or graduated, to driving accidents. Regardless of the reasons for these accidents, many high school students still don't take getting behind the wheel as serious as it should be.

When students start to drive at the age of 14, with their parents, are they learning how to be a good driver and how to avoid accidents from happening? Freshman McKenna Nielsen took driver’s education this past summer; “I learned a lot from my parents while driving before I took drivers education. Most of the main things or common sense things, I learned from my parents. The technical things I learned were mostly from drivers education.”

When being a defensive driver -- "driving to save lives, time, and money, in spite of the conditions around you and the actions of others" according to Safe Practices for Motor Vehicle Operations -- Nielsen said she makes sure the mirrors and driver’s seat are adjusted correctly, her seat belt is on, and all passengers have their seat belts on, too. Unfortunately, she has caught friends making bad decisions and asks them to stop. Nielsen avoids making bad decisions while driving and uses "common sense" to stay safe.

Boys and girls get distracted in so many different ways, and a major interference involves texting or talking on the phone while driving. Another serious issue for some adults and even teens is driving while intoxicated. Someone might consider themselves invincible and that they are protected while in their car or truck. But actually if a driver’s reaction time and driving ability is altered, then they can earily end up in a ditch. Friends need to have each others back and not let one another get into a car after drinking.

Cody Bruch, a sophomore at Audubon High School, recently lost a close friend due to an accident. Bruch said because of the loss he has experienced, he now only goes 45mph on gravel and is more aware of his surroundings. With all of the fatal accidents occurring, Bruch feels that more people need to slow down and drive with caution. Accidents are preventable, not driving reckless and being more responsible can make a big difference. As more and more students start to drive, Bruch wants to tell them to "use their heads." Staying focused is another important step in driving defensively.

During the holidays many families travel to relatives. If snow comes into play then driving can be even more dangerous. Adults get busy enjoying family time with a few drinks of alcohol here and there, but they also need to be responsible and set a good example for the young ones around them. If someone gets into a car after drinking, what they think is harmless could become fatal. Accidents happening anytime is horrible, but if they occur over the holidays, then that’s something the rest of the family will remember forever.

]]><![CDATA[Ferguson Response]]>Wed, 10 Dec 2014 16:45:50 GMThttp://audubonredandwhite.weebly.com/news/ferguson-responseBy Matthew Smith-Petersen

Ferguson riots. Photo courtesy of AP Images

Justis Vesper

In the city of Ferguson, Missouri the news of a white male officer who had shot and killed a black 18-year-old male has shocked the whole world. According to the "New York Times", the officer, Darren Wilson, was just on a regular night shift in Ferguson, and while driving down the street, a black male, Michael Brown, confronted him. The black male charged him, and the officer drew his firearm and shot and killed Michael Brown. The family’s side of the story, including that the officer was too shifty with his weapon and fired at an unarmed man that turned out to be fatal. The family of Michael Brown has been mourning through the last weeks.

Meanwhile in Ferguson, riots have wounded the city. After the jury decided that they would not be able to take the case into court, the streets turned bad. Also according to the "New York Times", people rushed the streets, flipped cars, and burned buildings. There were approximately twelve local businesses that were raided and then set on fire to burn. However, the protests are not just happening in Ferguson; all around the country protesters are fighting not just for Michael Brown but also for the structure of this city to be renewed.

The protests happening in Ferguson have become a big debate. Justis Vesper, a junior at Audubon High School, said, “They [protests] are unjustified and I want it stopped. This officer shot and killed a man [while] in the line of duty. He was defending himself and fired his weapon as a defense.”

Following the grand jury verdict to not indict Darren Wilson, the officer has resigned from the Ferguson Police Department. Vesper said, “It was probably the best decision for him because it will calm things down.”

Some may think the current generation is different; that they handle some of these things in a better fashion. Vesper said, “We handle it better than the older generation, we don’t really see race.” The Michael Brown shooting and resulting riots could quite possibly create a nationwide problem. Vesper said, “It could turn huge with protesters and riots, I just hope it is stopped soon."

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