The Cardinal Chronicle: Volume 1, Issue 3

Cardinal Students · posted March 26, 2024

FFA Week was Fabulous!
Written By: Tristan Shepherd and Christian Vass

From February 17th through the 24th, 2024, schools around Iowa have been celebrating FFA week. We here at Cardinal have also been celebrating FFA week. We interviewed Ms. Hougland, who is the FFA teacher, to tell us a little bit about FFA week and answer some questions.

First I asked her about what FFA week is all about. She said this, “FFA week is a week promoting and supporting Agriculture and FFA." Next I asked her how she gets so many students to join FFA. She replied with this, “Upperclassmen play a big role with getting the younger students to join the program, students could get a chance to go to contest.” So FFA is a good program if you are interested in agriculture, and it is competitive.

Going back to FFA week we asked what is your favorite part of FFA week. Hougland replied with, “My favorite part is watching all the creative ideas and what the kids come up with with all the dress up days." Lastly we asked her about the goat program. Hougland, replied with this, “It's fun seeing everyone learn about the goats and apply what they have learned in class to real life scenarios.” The last thing that we did for FFA week was the staff breakfast. Cardinal had a good time for FFA week. We appreciate Ms. Hougland and all the FFA students who helped make this year's FFA week possible.

Spring Break Plans
Written By: Levi Cox

I've sent out a form asking what people will be doing during spring break. Most of the responses that I have received from people say they will most likely be going on vacations. One of the responses were, “Yes. We are planning to drive to either Destin or Panama City, Florida.”

I've also asked if they go on vacation every year. Most of them said no, but there were some responses that said that they don't go somewhere every year but wish that they do. Others responded that they’d rather stay in their home town and hang out with their friends.

I asked someone where their ideal place to go over spring break is, and their response was, "My fridge.” I asked what they think is the most popular place to go and the majority said Florida.

Things that I am looking forward to doing over break are going to pick up Cathryn Bearden and go hang out with my grandpa, hanging out with my friends and playing the game with them. I'm also hoping that most of my friends are able to go play volleyball with me at the park.

Boys State Wrestling
By: Christian Vass

Well Cardinal Wrestling is officially done and over with, Issac Cox ended his career at state winning one good match and sadly losing his last two. It was an amazing year for Cardinal wrestling seeing a lot of good wrestlers doing well and improving. It will be fun to see what's in store for next season. Thank you to coach Swafford, Staton, and coach Walker for putting in a lot of time into our wrestlers. Well that's it for now, we will be back next year to see what's to come for Cardinal wrestling.

St Patrick's Day Article
Written By: Zane Coyne

The history of St Patrick's day starts with a man named St Patrick who was one of Ireland’s patron saints. The day was originally celebrated in Ireland with religious services and feasts in honor of St Patrick. Irish immigrants brought the traditions to the United States. The day evolved into a celebration of Irish culture.

Some things to do for St Patrick's day is go out with friends or maybe go out looking for a 4 leaf clover. And for those born in March reading this article, happy birthday. I heard it's good being born in march. Cohen VanAntwerp told me, “ I think I have a great birthday.”

A couple traditions people do is wear green, and pinch people who aren’t wearing green.
They can probably watch a movie with family or just spend time with them, and go out with a couple friends.

Cardinal ESports
Written By: Kenna Kirkpatrick

Hello, This is Kenna Kirkpatrick and I am here to talk about Cardinal’s Esports team. Esports is short for Electronic sports, in the form of competitive video games. Often organized, multiplayer video game competitions, particularly between professional players, individually or as teams. Cardinal just started this program last year in the 22-23 school year, with 6 members. They ended up making it to state last year, during the first year of Cardinal Esports. Speaking of state, let’s look at an interview I had with one of the members,
Karson Kirkpatrick, who helped the team make it this far. This year the team has decided to play a spring term, with the game Valorant. There was a spring game last year, but Cardinal did not participate.

“What made you get into Esports?”
“I like playing video games, and playing them competitively.”

“Is it something you would recommend for kids coming into higschool?”
“Yes, except you may have to get used to some, uh, vocal rough-housing, so to speak..”

“Do you think Esports is something everyone can enjoy?’
“If they want to enjoy it. If they don’t like video games, they probably wouldn’t like playing them comptetitively. But if they like playing video games, then they should give it a shot.”

“How was your experience at state last year?”
“Busy and kind of tiring almost.”

“How many people are on the team this year?”
“7”

“How is the team doing so far?”
“Decent, we just got done playing Overwatch, and we’re starting Valorant. It looks promising, but I don’t know how well the other teams play yet.”

With all that being said, we all hope the Esports team does amazing, and wish them good luck!

March Birthdays
Written By: Sara Breeding and Justin Appenzeller

A girl in the 2026 class is going to be hanging out with her friends and family. She is going to celebrate on the 9th and the 16th. When she goes to see her dads she is going to a hockey game with her dad and his family, on the 9th she is going to be hanging out with her mom’s family and her friends. This girl had said to me “I think birthdays are important because its the day you were born and you celebrate it as you go on through life and your journey and watch as you grow” I think that this is an amazing was to look at birthdays especially “as you go on through life and your journey and watch as you grow”. I hope she has an amazing birthday and finds the positive in everything, especially on her 16th birthday!!!

Ethan Shultz's birthday is March 14th and he is turning 16 years old. He is going to celebrate with his whole family and some friends at his house, after he’s going to hibachi with everyone. Ethan thinks birthdays are important, because it helps identify your age to buy stuff and just to know how old you are. I feel like age identification is a good way to look at birthdays and make sure to wish Ethan a happy birthday.

The other birthdays that are
happening in March are:

• Green, Claire Elizabeth, 03/02/2006
• LEWMAN, BROCK, 03/13/2006
• FOUNTAIN, HAYLEE LeAnn, 03/19/2006
• Wemmie, Heidi Elizabeth, 03/22/2006
• MacQueen, Gannon Michael, 03/25/2006
• Owings, Dayne Randall, 03/30/2006
• Birlson, Cody Lee, 03/04/2007
• Williams, Shane Cole, 03/13/2007
• Tedrow, Elizabeth Lyn Paige, 03/30/2007
• Chichizola, Mark Albert, 03/30/2007
• Halverson , Carter, 03/04/2008
• BARTON, EMALIE, 03/04/2008
• SHULTZ, ETHAN, 03/14/2008
• MCKIM, Katelyn Ann, 03/15/2008
• VANANTWERP, COHEN, 03/28/2008
• HUMBLE, ALICE, 03/03/2009
• Parker, McKenzie LeeAnn, 03/05/2009
• SHORT, EMMA GRACE, 03/10/2009
• COYNE, ZANE WYATT THOMAS, 03/17/2009
• Ross, William Dean, 03/18/2009
• Mason, Michael Landrom, 03/20/2009
• SUMMERS, CADYNCE, 03/23/2009
• MOORE, QUINTEN, 03/29/2009

State Archery
Written By: Lauryn Hartley

Hello reader, my name is Lauryn Hartley. In this new article I will be writing about State Archery and who attended. State Archery was March first through the third. So this will be about the aftermath of the big tournament, and how accomplished everyone must have felt to walk through the doorway. I will have my beginning paragraph be about the students I have interviewed and the questions I asked them before they went to State, and the second paragraph will be how they feel after State.

Archers were making their way to Des Moines, IA this weekend for State Archey. I also attended to be supportive of our Archers. I had interviewed someone before State and this was their response on whether they were excited or not, “Very due to the fact that last year I was a few points off and wasn't able to go and as well as making it for not only block but 3d as well.” That was a response from a middle school archer. I also asked the same archer if they enjoy going to Des Moines or not and if they do anything else while up there for State. Take a look at their response! “Yeah it’s fun. There’s lots to do compared to other places
especially if you have to stay up there for both days. Usually we go up and shoot but this year will be a little different, because we have to be up there for both days so we will be able to stay after and help out with setting up bows, helping coaches and all that fun stuff!” What a fun time! A high school archer that I interviewed said this about being prepared and excited for State. “I was, but I had to work at it a little bit to get qualified for both.” Our high schooler also said this about what they do in Des Moines while up there for State. “I like going up to Des Moines, after I shoot, my family and I would go to a restaurant and eat before heading
home.” I say family time is the best time!

To conclude the article, I interviewed the same Archers after State to see how they felt after shooting and if they feel whether they have improved or not at the sport. The middle school archer stated, “From my first year looking back on it and the years prior I've grown and improved a lot.” Then, our high school archer stated, “I think I did, it took some time to improve scores by practicing for a few hours a week. And I think that’s what helped me a lot.”

I thank you for reading this article on how things went, and were. I also thank you for your time, have a good rest of your day!

High School Track
Written By: Montana Rupe

Hey it's Montana Rupe, and for this month's paper I wanted to write about the Cardinal Track and Field program. Let's get to know a few things about it.

There are 2 Boys coaches, 2 girls coaches and 1 throws coach. The boys coaches are Coach Mayson and Coach C. The 2 girls coaches are Coach Strasko and Coach McIntyre. Lastly, the throws coach is Coach Boas.

I interviewed Isaac Lett who has qualified for state since he was a freshman. He said that the best thing about track is, “Definitely the meets, because you get to meet a bunch of new people." He also said that, "you do get some say in what events you run for track. Also with practices they don't last that long we usually get done around 5:15-5:30 depending on the workout we have for that day."

We hope the track team has an amazing 2024 season! Come support Cardinal's track teams at their meets this spring!

Sophomore Student Spotlights
Written By: Quinten Moore

For our student spotlights for this month, I interviewed Parker Shepherd and Kaylin Hissem. This is what I found out about each student:

Kaylin loves playing basketball and running track. She really enjoys science class and her teacher Mr. C. She likes being part of the Cardinal community and playing basketball with Coach Becker. Her favorite food and drink is Dr. Pepper and Mexican food.

Parker Shepherd is a hardworking student who loves sports like cross country, basketball, and track. He really likes History and his Weights class. He looks up to his teacher, Strasko, and enjoys the positive atmosphere at Cardinal, especially the teachers and coaches. Basketball is his favorite sport, and he admires Coach Young Blut. His favorite drink is Baja Blast, and he loves eating wings.

Life After High School
Written By: Tyler Trueblood and Makayla Barnes

Over the past few weeks Tyler and I have interviewed a couple of seniors to gain insight on what their plans are after high school. We've interviewed Montana Rupe, Nathan Henry, and Alec Rachford. We asked these seniors eleven questions each, the questions were…

1.What they want to major in
2.Where are they going college
3. Are they doing any sports for the school
4.What are your biggest goals after high school
5. What do you plan to do with your degree
6.What they hope their lives look like in 5 years
7. Where they hope to live after college
8.Why are you going to that college
9.When are you going to graduate from all college (2, 4, or 8 years)
10. Who has been your biggest support and biggest support going forward
11.what are you going to miss the most about high school

The first interview we’ll cover is Alec Rachfords. He is planning on majoring in cybersecurity at Indian Hills Community College while throwing for IHCC. The reason he is attending Indian Hills is because it gives him an opportunity to continue his throwing career while getting his college paid for at the same time. He plans to become a cybersecurity analyst after completing his two year degree. His biggest goals after high school is to graduate from the program and get a good job. He would like to be married, live outside of a big city in either Georgia, Wyoming, or Illinios. He said maybe a kid but if not a kid definitely atleast two weiner dogs. He’s going to miss sports and the people he shared some of the best sport memories with. He’ thankful for his biggest supporters through high school which he said was his mom and his girlfriend. He’s grateful he has always had his mom at every one of his events and always being understanding when he needs space after a bad game. Hes grateful that his girlfriend has taken time off of work to show up to the events that are important to him and for making him see the positives out of negative situations. Alec is thankful that they both always make sure he knows he has people cheering him on and acknowledging all of his accomplishments.

The second interview we’ll be covering is Nathan Henry’s. He is planning on majoring in political science and philosphy at Drake for two years and then transfer. The reason he will be going to Drake is because tuition is cheaper and the reason he is going to Ohio State is because it is ranked 22nd in the nation for law and he has friends there. He hopes that in five years he’s out of college debt and in law school. He’s currently not going to do anything for the colleges but would love to find a way to get involved once he’s in college. Once he graduates he would love to live in Ohio for a portion of his life and work towards his big goal of becoming president or atleast a senator. If that ends up not working out for him then he would be more than happy being a civics teacher. His biggest supporter through his journey in high school and going forward in life has been his dad. He will miss his friends and the close bonds that they have shared while in high school together. He’s grateful he has had the opportunity to grow and learn along side the people hes gotten to call his friends the past four years and will miss them as they all go their separate ways in life to pursue their ambitions.

Finally, we interviewed senior, Montana Rupe, on what he is doing after high school. Montana Rupe will graduate high school and attend the University of Iowa. He wants to have internships, go to the military, major in Criminal Justice, and hopefully get accepted into the FBI academy.

We are rooting for our seniors and can't wait to see what they all accomplish in life!

Pi Day
Written By: Kendall Birk

Pi day is on March 14th, the third month of the year and the 14th day of the month, the first three digits of Pi are 3.14. Pi is an irrational number that continues infinitely. Pi day was created so we could celebrate this mathematical constant.

Some other Pi related facts are, one person named Rajveer Meena memorized all the way up to 70,000 digits of Pi. Although Pi has its own day, March 14th is also Albert Einstein's birthday.

Now that the boring part is over, lets talk about the other kind of Pie. I sent out a form to all of the math teachers and one science teacher, to get their favorite pies and more details on what they think about Pi day. I got three responses and heres what they said.

Question 1: Whats your favorite kind of pie?
Mrs Hays said - Apple or Berry Pie

Mrs Fairchild said - Lemon Meringue Pie

Mr Schlegel said - Pumpkin Pie

Question 2: How do you feel about Pi/Pie Day
Mrs Hays said - It should be a national holiday.

Mrs Fairchild said - I love Pi Day! My youngest daughter was born on Pi Day, long before I even thought about becoming a math teacher. Therefore, Pi Day is a very nostalgic and happy day for me. She will be 18 on this Pi Day. She is a freshman majoring in chemistry, so her birthday is appropriate for her STEM brain, too.

Mr Schlegel said - I think it’s a spectacular holiday.

Question 3: Anything else to add?
Mrs Hays said - Come to my room on Pi day to to compete for the most memorized digits of Pi.

Mrs Faichild said - In my opinion, Euler's number, e, is a spiffier irrational constant number than pi, but that would really make me sound really nerdy, wouldn't it.

Mr Schlegel said - The most digits recited of Pi was 70,000 places. It took nearly 10 hours to recite.

That's all for Pi, I hope everyone has a wonderful spring break and a great Pi Day!!

Cardinal's New Math Classes
Written By: Nevaeh Irvine

Cardinal Community School District will be having a new math addition starting next year. Karen Fairchild who teaches Algebra and Geometry will be accomplishing these college classes. I asked her a series of questions about this new addition to Cardinals math program, she stated the following.

Can you tell me some things about the new college math and what is it about?
I will be teaching dual-enrollment math next school year, where students who successfully complete the classes with a passing grade will earn both high school and college credit through Indian Hills. I will teach Statistics during the first semester and College Algebra during the second semester.

I also would like to know, what made you want to create something like this and can you tell me how you got that started?
In order to teach dual-enrollment classes, I am required to have my master's degree plus an additional 18 semester hours of graduate math credits. I already had my master's degree when I started teaching at Cardinal, but I wanted to challenge myself with the graduate math certificate classes. I also was interested in teaching dual-enrollment classes in my high school math classroom in order to provide students more options for math classes.

Can you tell me how you think this would be beneficial for students and you?
We do not currently offer a statistics class currently at Cardinal, so this is a great opportunity for students to learn about another branch of math that is useful for understanding general statistics terms and ideas in real life and for college courses. College algebra offers those students who want to continue their algebra studies with an in-person instructor. Both classes are applicable to many degree programs at Indian Hills and at other colleges via transferring of credits.
It will be beneficial to me to rise to the challenge of providing college-level instruction to students. I do know that the challenge of taking graduate math courses during the school year helped advance my content knowledge in the classes I taught in the classroom, especially as I taught my high school Geometry courses. It helps me teach high school courses when I know what students are expected to know in higher math classes. It helps me fine-tune all of my instruction to meet what the students need and what they need in future studies.

Can you also tell me when this will start and how many students do you anticipate will attend and how you plan on taking this on and your math classes already?
Statistics will start in the fall semester of 2024, and College Algebra will start in the spring semester of 2025. I made a Google Form in January and sent it to all of this year's sophomores, juniors, and seniors to see if there was interest in three of the four Indian Hills classes that I am authorized to teach. The two most popular choices were Statistics and College Algebra. Of the 49 students who filled out my Google Form, 26 students indicated that they were interested in taking Statistics, and 20 indicated that they were interested in taking College Algebra. This does not include some of the students that I have talked to in person that are interested in taking these classes. I do anticipate a good amount of students registering for both classes.

The Cardinal Chronicle Positivity Chain
Part 2

"Mr. Miller, He's a cool dude who does a lot. I like his jokes, and they make me smile, others should know about hims so they can appreciate what he does, and it can build relationships, he is always trying to do good stuff like get kids to clean up after themselves, but if they don't he will, he makes relationships with his students, joking, and being friendly."
-Caleb Farfan

"Ms. Brinkmeier is my brother’s teacher and she has helped him so much. She is a kind person and she’s doing everything she can to help her students. She is kind, caring, helpful, and golden-hearted. She is a first year teacher and she is doing so good."
-Lexus Whittington and Hailey Brinkmeier

"The Cardinal Quiz Bowl team won the Pekin Tournament and took third at the Central Lee Tournament."
-Mr. Wixom

"Every class period Mr. Wixom makes it engaging and fun, no matter how he feels. He is assertive without being rude, and he doesn’t back down on his rules. He’s been using the same rules for 40 years, and obviously they work, because most of our parents were taught by him."
-Zachary Smith

"I like that Ms. Morett is honest and kind and that she speaks her mind knowing that she's trying to be genuinely helpful. I think the best thing about her is that she was always there for me and she never stopped being there even when I was being rude. I think she deserves a shout out because she never stopped doing what she loved and she is a great leader, an independent woman and a great mom even to her students."
-Dakota Momaney

"Student mentor work is growing. It is powerful to see the high school students investing in the middle and elementary students and the impact it makes for each of them. We have wanted to get this up and running and we are finally gaining traction. The MH team is excited to see where the mentor program goes in the future."
-Ms. Edwards

"Our Communications class is productive, and I am proud of them for coming up with new ideas every month for the student newspaper. I am proud of every single one of my students working hard to make their school newspaper amazing!"
-Mrs. Walker

"Our optional baseball workouts have been well attended and have been full of enthusiasm and hard work; I am really looking forward to the season."
-Mr. Lehn

"Mrs.Fairchild always greets everyone with a positive attitude, and is always herself."
-Addison Kahl and Kendall Birk