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FOREST CITY HIGH SCHOOL
PRIDE TRIBE PULSE
January
2018
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Photo courtesy of Cora Holland
Students cheer on the Forest City Indians basketball teams
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PRINCIPAL UPDATE: CHANGES TO CAP CONFERENCES
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The first month of 2018 means it's already time to turn attention to planning for the 2018-19 school year. Those of you with high school students are aware of our annual CAP (Career Action Planning) conferences whereby students select their courses for the upcoming school year.
Please read on to learn about some changes we are implementing this year.
- This process begins by the faculty reviewing and updating course descriptions in the course handbook. Updates will be available around February 1.
- I would encourage all parents and students to review course descriptions. Mr. Rosacker and Mr. Ziesmer meet with each student prior to CAP Conferences to review their academic plan. This plan is intended as a loose guide for students as they pursue their academic and vocational interests. Each year the plan is reviewed and adjustments are made depending on the student’s current academic and vocational interests. Courses that meet the student’s plan are then selected during CAP Conferences.
- High school CAP Conferences will take place Feb. 27 - March 1. This is the first year CAP conferences will run in conjunction with Elementary/Middle School PTS conferences.
- Incoming freshman will have their CAP conference during their 8th grade PTS conference. High school faculty will sit in to complete the registration.
- Sophomore-senior student conferences will also take place during these days. Junior and senior students who desire to become engaged in one of the many Career Link Hubs through NIACC will have an opportunity to register for these courses at this time too (typically, junior students may only enroll in the NIACC Psychology courses that are offered on Wednesday evening at FCHS). Also, students who have a desire to take college course work at Waldorf University will need to communicate their requests to Mr. Rosacker.
- Conference time scheduling will be done again online. Watch your mail for information about how to register for your conference.
- Students will want to bring their laptop to their CAP/PTS Conference as students will be directly entering their course requests into the Infinite Campus database.
- Once this is completed the fun begins for me. Scheduling! I have the challenge of taking the over 8,000 course requests and developing a schedule that minimizes conflicts for students. Typically, by the end of the school year the next year's schedule is complete.
If you have any questions concerning academic or vocational planning, CAP Conferences, or if you would like a hard-copy of the Course Registration Booklet, please do not hesitate to contact Mr. Ziesmer, Mr. Rosacker, or myself. It will be our pleasure to assist as we can.
Sincerely,
Ken D. Baker
HS Principal
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By Cady Windish
English Faculty
With an overwhelming amount of commitments, sometimes people (especially busy students) lose the ability to reflect, breathe, and simply create. We can lose who we are and our own unique voice, which can be hugely detrimental to our identity. Thankfully, a way to take the time to still use our imaginations and dive deeper into our inner thoughts/beliefs is through writing, especially creative writing. I’ve always had a passion for journaling and writing; in fact, one of my favorite courses to teach here is Creative Composition. When students approached me this year about creating a creative writing club, I was thrilled.
We are called the Oh, Yeah Creative Writing Club and meet officially twice a month. The first meeting we do different writing activities from different genres to practice various writing techniques. The other official meeting involves reading work people have been writing/revising to give feedback and prepare those pieces for different writing contests. We offer non-official meetings to offer additional writing support, and the club has an editing team to peer review work. This gives students the much needed opportunity and space to simply write. They get to decompress and explore who they are. The club allows them to share with their peers and become stronger writers. It gives them the chance to learn about publishing and get their pieces out there. Most importantly, it gives these students a sense of community. They support each other and create great memories in the process. There has been no shortage of laughter in the room during our meetings.
At this point students have started to enter in contests. Our large upcoming contest will be held and hosted by Waldorf University at the Top of Iowa Art and Writing Festival. We are excited about this upcoming event!
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STUDENTS BUILD A PAPER ROLLERCOASTER
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- Left to right: Ally Larsen, Gabe Staudt and Ellie Reece
Ally Larsen, Gabe Staudt and Ellie Reece represented FCHS in a Paper Roller Coaster Design Challenge, held at the Central Rivers Area Education Agency in Clear Lake in November.
They were among ten teams who competed in this first year challenge and were given three hours to build a roller coaster using only scissors, rulers, tape and colored sheets of paper. Teams were judged on how long it took a marble to move down the track (the longer the better). They were also judged on their use of a holiday theme.
Mrs. Reece and Mr. Putney accompanied the students to the challenge and worked with them to practice. "This competition is designed to teach students about engineering and physics; however, other skills such as time management and teamwork are just as important," said Mr. Putney.
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FCHS TO OFFER ARCHERY PROGRAM
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F
CHS is excited to introduce an Archery Club! The club is for any student that has interest in learning or progressing their skills in Archery.
Supervisors for the Archery Club will be Mr. Bohl and Mr. MacTaggart, who are now certified instructors by the National Archery in the Schools Program.
The plan for this club is to get started in the Spring of 2018 with hopes of competing in 2018-19 school year.
"Our first year, the focus will be on creating a fun and safe environment while learning the 11 steps of archery success," said Mr. MacTaggart.
Mr. Bohl added, "All high school students are welcome to join and no experience is needed. There is no fee to participate as FCHS received a grant to integrate a program and has all of the equipment that is needed."
The number of members will determine how often the club will meet. The plan at first is to meet one day per week from 6:30-7:30 am. No personal equipment will be allowed.
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Mission:
- Unite students who share a passion for the sport of archery.
- Share that passion with students interested in trying archery for the first time.
- Advance the skills and knowledge of all members involved.
- Offer a safe, controlled and accessible environment.
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Tolerance, Empathy, Acceptance
Empathy is a very important topic as it pertains to understanding that we are all different and all have our own story in life. It is important not to judge someone else, as we may never know what they have been through or are going through. In high school many people judge others or gossip about them or act like they are better than someone else. Developing Empathy can help reduce those negative things. It helps us look at everyone with an open mindset and treat others with more respect. It is OK to disagree with someone, but not disrespect them.
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Counseling Updates:
- Student Assistance Team (SAT) continues
- College and Career planning has been completed with all Sophomores
- Freshman and Juniors in January
- Individual visits- personal, social and emotional
- Scholarship postings on the counseling website: fchscounseling.weebly.com
- New scheduling option to make appointments to visit with Mr. Z
- Health Class presentation on relationships, self-awareness, and human trafficking
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Check out social media through the counseling office for updates and important information available to help all students at Forest City:
Please subscribe to “FCHS Counseling” on SchoolWay
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Photo courtesy of Cora Holland
Hannah Anderson scored her 1,000 point on Dec. 19. Congrats to Hannah on this accomplishment!
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The FCHS boys bowling team remains undefeated. At the 1/5 meet, Conner Thompson bowled a two-game score of 526, which is the highest recorded competition game score in FCHS bowling history, including the club years. Way to go Conner and the FCHS team!
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FCHS Eng. 3 classes helped spread holiday cheer by sharing stories and jokes with residents of Good Sam in December
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- FCHS won the Top of Iowa Speech Contest Dec. 2 in Lake Mills.
- Large group speech competed in districts on Jan. 20 and those who advanced will compete on Feb. 3 in Decorah. Click here for Jan. 20 results.
- The large group speech night, open to the public, is Feb. 1 at 6:30 p.m. Various groups will perform!
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