Sunday, May 26, 2013 1F The Daily Nonpareil Your Voice Matters Our community is a complex place. It is filled with needs, opportunities and challenges as diverse as the people who live here. Caring for our community and its people requires the work and dedication of us all. We ask ourselves, what does it take to make this the best possible place to live? Where do we see potential, problems and promise? How do we make this a better place for future generations? To help find the answers, United Way of the Midlands, Iowa West Foundation and the Omaha Community Foundation are joining forces in a unique and important initiative. We’re calling on the people of Douglas, Sarpy and Pottawattamie counties to share their thoughts and concerns through an online survey. The valuable insight gathered through this survey will be an integral part of planning and finding solutions that best serve us all. Help us identify our community’s most pressing needs. Take our online survey and share your opinions at www.your-voice-matters.org. IOWA WEST F O U N D A T I O N Participating Organizations: ASHLEE COFFEY [email protected]Besides parents, kindergarten teachers are some of the most important adult figures in the life of a child. They are a child’s first official introduc- tion to the structure of a classroom. And that, kindergarten teachers say, comes with a lot of responsibilities – and privileges. Marsha Edwards, a kindergarten teacher at St. Albert Catholic Schools, said in many ways, kindergarten is the foundation for all future learning so it’s important a child receives a positive start. “The kindergarten classroom is a place to build on chil- dren’s experi- ences, interests and what they need to guide them down their learning path. A kindergarten teacher needs to focus not only on the academic needs of stu- dents, but also the physical, emotional, social and spiritual needs,” Edwards said. “It is a place that wel- comes students to learning and nurtures and supports them as they blossom. I feel a great sense of responsibility in creating an environ- ment where the children feel comfortable, secure and happy – where they can explore, create and discover while they grow in indepen- dence.” Christine Sutherland, a kindergarten teacher at Kreft Primary School in the Lewis Central Community School District, said kin- dergarten teachers are also the first to see a kindergartner’s true personality come out. “It’s their first time without their families so we’re really giving them jobs and personalities. That’s one of the first things we work on, along with sticking to a schedule,” Sutherland said. “We help them realize there are things we need to do. We can’t just always do what we want to do. The difference between needs and wants is kind of a big thing.” Kindergarten days involve a blend of KINDERGARTEN/See Page 12F “The best part of being a kindergarten teacher is having a ‘front row seat’ to my students’ learning. I love to watch the excitement they have when they’ve discovered something and those ‘a-ha’ moments when I see the joy and sense of pride they have in their learning.” – Marsha Edwards Kindergarten teacher St. Albert Elementary Top, kindergarten teacher Marsha Edwards conducts a dance train during class at St. Albert Elementary on May 9. At right, teacher Christine Sutherland interacts with her kindergarten class at Kreft Primary School on May 8. Staff photos/Kyle Bruggeman
Transcript
Sunday, May 26, 2013 1FThe Daily Nonpareil
Your Voice MattersOur community is a complex place. It is filled with needs, opportunities and challenges as diverse as the people who live here. Caring for our community and its people requires the work and dedication of us all. We ask ourselves,
what does it take to make this the best possible place to live? Where do we
see potential, problems and promise? How do we make this a better place
for future generations?
To help find the answers, United Way of the Midlands, Iowa West Foundation and the Omaha Community Foundation are joining forces in a unique and important initiative. We’re calling on the people of Douglas, Sarpy and Pottawattamie counties to share their thoughts and concerns through an online survey. The valuable insight gathered through this survey will be an integral part of planning and finding solutions that best serve us all.
Help us identify our community’s most pressing needs. Take our online survey and share your opinions at www.your-voice-matters.org.
Besides parents, kindergarten teachers are some of the most important adult figures in the life of a child.
They are a child’s first official introduc-tion to the structure of a classroom. And that, kindergarten teachers say, comes with a lot of responsibilities – and privileges.
Marsha Edwards, a kindergarten teacher at St. Albert Catholic Schools, said in many ways, kindergarten is the foundation for all future learning so it’s important a child receives a positive start.
“The kindergarten classroom is a place to build on chil-dren’s experi-ences, interests and what they need to guide them down their learning path. A kindergarten teacher needs to focus not only on the academic needs of stu-dents, but also the physical, emotional, social and spiritual needs,” Edwards said. “It is a place that wel-comes students to learning and nurtures and supports them as they blossom. I feel a great sense of responsibility in creating an environ-ment where the children feel comfortable, secure and happy – where they can explore, create and discover while they grow in indepen-dence.”
Christine Sutherland, a kindergarten teacher at Kreft Primary School in the Lewis Central Community School District, said kin-dergarten teachers are also the first to see a kindergartner’s true personality come out.
“It’s their first time without their families so we’re really giving them jobs and personalities. That’s one of the first things we work on, along with sticking to a schedule,” Sutherland said. “We help them realize there are things we need to do. We can’t just always do what we want to do. The difference between needs and wants is kind of a big thing.”
Kindergarten days involve a blend of
KINDERGARTEN/See Page 12F
“The best part of being a kindergarten teacher is having a ‘front row seat’ to my students’
learning. I love to watch the excitement they have when they’ve discovered
something and those ‘a-ha’ moments when I see the
joy and sense of pride they have in their learning.”
– Marsha EdwardsKindergarten teacherSt. Albert Elementary
Top, kindergarten teacher Marsha
Edwards conducts a dance train during
class at St. Albert Elementary on May 9. At right, teacher
Christine Sutherland interacts with her
kindergarten class at Kreft Primary School
on May 8.
Staff photos/Kyle Bruggeman
2F Sunday, May 26, 2013 The Daily NonpareilFaces oF education
If you were to look into the classroom of a Home Economics class 50 years ago, it might have been full of female students learning about how to sew clothing or how to make souffles.
But look inside a class today, you’d find a very difference scenario.
Today, Home Economics classes are now called Family Consumer Sciences classes. You’d also find a handful of male students – though it is still a predominantly female class because of the lingering home economic stereotype.
“We definitely try to promote the fact that it’s very appropriate for both genders to take Family Consumer Science classes,” said Erin Grachek, a Family Consumer Science teacher at Thomas Jefferson High School in Council Bluffs. “We try to make it more of an area of study rather than a ‘how to’ class. We try and take more of an academic view. We do lots of hands-on but we try to do it in a way that doesn’t exclude either gender.”
And students aren’t just learning how to sew or cook, though those things are still taught to a certain degree.
“We try to teach critical thinking and prob-lem solving more,” said Grachek. “We try to teach a lot of ways to solve the problem. We try really hard to make sure everything we teach is up to date and applicable.”
The types of classes being offered high schools, such as Thomas Jefferson, include apparel and furnishings, culinary arts and hos-pitality services and human development and education.
Grachek said FCS teachers lead students into career paths for early childhood development – in terms of teaching students how children think and best practices for parenting. At Thomas Jef-ferson, FCS teachers use “Baby Think It Over” dolls, which are electronic simulator dolls, for parenting classes. They also do clothing and tex-tiles to create things like purses, pajama pants or blankets, rather than sewing their own dress.
The main goal today – to lead what students do in class into a career.
“We’re under a big umbrella that includes business, shop and things like that, which is called Career Technical Education,” Grachek said. “The whole goal is to give them skills they can build into their every day life and even make a career out of it if they’re interested in it.”
While FCS classes are vastly different than they were 50 years ago, there is one critical piece that remains the same.
“The one goal that hasn’t really changed is to help kids be successful members of families,” Grachek said. “The way that we teach that is always going to be different, especially as the experts change their opinions but that’s still our overall goal – to teach them to be the best fam-ily member, whether it’s a parent, a sibling or someone who works with families.”
Grachek said while FCS classes are not required at Thomas Jefferson – they’re one of several electives students can choose from – she believes they are very important for students because of the real world applications they incorporate.
“A lot of kids don’t have any idea that junk food diets are bad and why there is such an increase in obesity, diabetes and heart disease. You’d think that’s common knowledge but you’d be surprised how many have no clues why or how to change it,” she said. “So to teach health-ier habits, FCS classes are really important, especially in our current health situation in our society.”
Grachek, who has a bachelor’s degree in Culinary Arts Management, said she decided to become a FCS teacher after concluding that a culinary career wasn’t right for her.
“I was trying to think of the last time I enjoyed what I was doing and it occurred to me that when I was tutoring, that’s when I was really having fun. I felt I was making a differ-ence,” she said.
In 2006, she moved to the Omaha-metro area from San Antonio and attended the University of Nebraska at Lincoln to get her teaching cer-tificate and endorsements in Family Consumer Sciences.
Her favorite part about being an FCS teacher is building relationships with her students and seeing them change over the four years they are in high school.
“I love hearing them tell me about how they spent time with their little (sibling) over the weekend and they achieved a new milestone or they showed them how to do an activity instead of watching a two-hour movie,” she said. “I love hearing about when they apply the skills and they’re excited about it.”
But at the end of the day, Grachek just hopes her students “walk away with a passion and an interest to learn more.”
“I want them to be interested in finding out more about how they can help with a child’s intellectual development as opposed to just parking them in front of a TV,” she said. “I hope they become interested in solving prob-lems they see.”
Grachek: Family Consumer Sciences isn’t just about cooking and sewing
Staff photos/Kyle Bruggeman
Erin Grachek teaches Family and consumer sciences Thomas Jef-
ferson High School. Center, Grachek
helps students with an in-class activity
on May 14. At right, a warning about
permanent failure grades is visible in
Grachek’s classroom.
FACES: Who WAS Your FAvoritE tEAChEr?“Miss Morton, she
was a home ec teacher. She taught
me how to sew, which led to me making all of my clothes and all of
my kids clothes. She gave an apprecia-
tion of accomplishing something myself.”
– Lois Davis
“My English teacher, because she under-
stood who I was individually. She
called me an inspired writer. I could be late on assignments but
eventually be inspired and turn in late work that she’d use as an example in class.”
– Eddie Wright
Sunday, May 26, 2013 3FThe Daily Nonpareil Faces oF education
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Discovered by Sue Hendrickson in South Dakota, Sue was the most complete and best preserved Tyrannosaurus rex ever found. Now, some 67 million years later, she’s found her way to The Durham Museum. Don’t miss this limited opportunity to visit her May 25-September 8. She’s sure to leave you with your mouth open.
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This exhibition was created by The Field Museum, Chicago, and made possible through the generosity of McDonald’s Corporation.
It is sponsored locally by First National Bank, the Douglas County Commissioners, Valmont Industries, Inc., HDR, Inc., the Durham Society, and the Peter Kiewit Foundation. Media support provided by WOWT.
Last January, the Lewis Central Community School District kicked off its new mentoring program – TeamMates.
TeamMates, which was founded by Tom and Nancy Osborne in 1991, provides support and encourage-ment to school-age youth
through adult community volunteer men-tors who meet with them one hour per week. In Iowa and Nebraska alone, the program provides mentors for more than 5,000 youths.
“It’s really a way to reach out to stu-dents and keep them engaged in schools,” said Joel Beyenhof, principal at Lewis Central High School. “There are so many benefits to mentoring that justify bring-ing the program into the district. There’s research out there that supports the positive effect (the program) has on atten-dance, academics and behavior.”
Amanda Sachs, a sophomore at Lewis Central High School, started participating in the TeamMates program last month.
“I was talking to my friend about the Little Brothers, Big Sisters program and we decided to go to our guidance counsel-or’s office,” Amanda said. “I talked to my guidance counselor and told her I wanted a mentor and she told me Lewis Central was starting a program in a few months called TeamMates.”
After hearing more information about it, Amanda said both her and her friend were interested in signing up. A couple months later, Amanda received a call from Jill Bryson, the coordinator of Lewis Central’s TeamMates Mentoring Program, to fill out paperwork regarding the pro-gram.
“I filled out all the paperwork and now I work with Joni,” Amanda said. “I wanted a mentor because my dad is a truck driver and he’s out of town a lot and my mom passed away when I was five so I don’t have that female figure either. So I thought a mentor would help out a lot.”
The district currently has two active matches but are in need of many more.
Amanda’s mentor, Joni Elliff, said she got a phone call from a middle school teacher who told her they’d been having meetings about TeamMates.
“I guess my name got brought up, saying I’d be a good mentor,” Joni said. “That’s how I got involved in it. I didn’t know anything about it before that.”
Once she heard more about the men-toring program, she was excited to jump on board.
“I’ve always had great relationships with kids. They’ve been pretty much my life,” said Joni, who has five adult children of her own. “I worked with the middle school for five years as the principal’s secretary. I loved it but a different oppor-tunity came along at Mutual of Omaha so I took it.”
Amanda said her mentor has met her dad who was, at first, uneasy about the idea of a mentor.
“He didn’t really know what was going
on with it. He wondered ‘are we meet-ing outside of school?’ ‘Is it safe?’ ‘Who is this person?’ ‘How are they a mentor?’” Amanda said. “But he saw in the paper-work that we only meet in school, she can’t buy me things or take me anywhere unless there’s another adult in the car. It made him feel a lot more safe with it being school-centered.”
The pair, who were the first for Lewis Central, first met with each other last month. Since then, they’ve met four times.
“We’ve met a few times and she gives me advice. Not the hammer-me-down kind of advice but she knows that I know what I’m supposed to be doing,” Amanda said. “We talk a lot about choices – what choices I make. She’ll look at me and say, ‘Choices and accountability.’”
Together, the two came up with a goal sheet for Amanda, whose main goal is to get a high school job working as a hostess at Applebees.
“We wrote down everything I’d have to do to get to that,” Amanda said. “Right now what I’m working on is keeping all my grades up and finishing out school so I can be 16 and have a job.”
Joni said from the beginning, coordina-tors told her “I’m not the police, her coun-selor, her parent or her psychiatrist.”
“We’re supposed to do fun things. We try and do that but we mainly just talk,” Joni said. “I like being the person she can talk to if she needs it. I’m that safe adult. I’m not going to pound her down if she’s done something wrong.”
For Joni, meeting with Amanda is something she looks forward to every week.
“I think there’s so much potential in this girl and I want to be there to sup-port her and guide her along the way,” Joni said. “I wasn’t a perfect teenager so I always remember where I came from. I wasn’t horrible but I wasn’t per-fect by any means. I think that’s why I relate with the kids.”
Both Amanda and Joni plan to con-tinue meeting until Amanda is a senior. Amanda said she signed a contract that put her in the program for a year but “the plan is to be in it through gradua-tion.”
“If she doesn’t sign up for the second year, apparently I’ve done something wrong,” Joni joked. Together, Amanda and Joni just laughed.
Both Amanda and Joni agree the TeamMates program is important – and that there’s a strong need for it.
“I think a lot of kids only know home life and what it’s like at home. That’s their nor-mal. They don’t get to see any other side of the world,” Amanda said. “So having that outsider there can help kids broaden their horizons and help them figure out what they want. The more things you explore that you don’t know, the wiser you get.”
For more information, go online to teammates.org or call Lewis Central High School at (712) 366-8220.
TeamMates program helps provide strength and encouragement to youth
Staff photos/Kyle Bruggeman
Top, Joni Elliff, left, and Lewis Central High School sopho-more Amanda Sachs were paired together through the L.C. TeamMates program. Elliff helps Sachs learn through fun experiences such as a recent trip to the Henry-Doorly Zoo in Omaha (middle and bottom).
4F Sunday, May 26, 2013 The Daily NonpareilFaces oF education
T he Iowa Western Community College athletic program is one of the best junior college depart-ments in the nation. And “one of” might be selling the Reivers short.
The Iowa Western baseball team’s won two of the last three national cham-pionships, won a ninth straight Region XI title this year before qualifying for the national tournament again with ...
The football team, just four years old, is the reigning national champions after a 2012 campaign that saw the Reivers destroy almost every opponent it faced on the way to sending a plethora of play-ers on to Division I programs.
In all, during the 2012-2013 sports season, 19 out of 21 programs at Iowa Western advanced to national competi-tion. The men’s soccer team, one of the few that didn’t make it, was undefeated before an upset loss against Marshall-town Community College in the Region XI finals. And the nationally-ranked women’s basketball team was upset by Northeast Community College in the Region XI finals.
The woman overseeing the prosper-ity likes to deflect praise onto coaches and administrators, athletes, students and college staff. But Brenda Hampton’s helped build something at Iowa Western that Council Bluffs should be proud of.
“It takes a lot of people to make a suc-cessful department,” the athletic director said. “It’s a collaborative effort by the whole college to make this work.”
Hampton arrived in Council Bluffs 26 years ago to take over as the head vol-leyball coach, a gig she held for 15 years. Her last year as coach was also her first as athletic director.
When she took over as the school’s first full-time A.D. there were five Reiver sports – softball, baseball, men’s basketball, women’s basketball and vol-leyball.
Today there are 21.Golf, cross country, indoor and out-
door track and field, half marathon, soc-cer – men’s and women’s of each – along with wrestling, dance and competitive cheer and football have joined the fold.
The expansion has come with exten-sive renovations and additions on cam-pus, including a new athletic facility. The school’s expanded its on-campus housing and much more, as well. Hamp-ton named Iowa Western President Dan Kinney when talking about the mutual benefit of expansion.
“Dr. Kinney realizes if you build a successful athletic program other stu-dents will come,” she said. “There’s been a drag factor. The facilities growth has come with enrollment growth. The col-lege and the athletic department have grown hand-in-hand.”
And the growth has been buoyed, if not spurred, by achievement.
Winning begets more winning, Hampton said, with each sport putting pressure on its brethren to keep raising the bar.
“This season, football and volleyball did well and everyone kept it rolling,” Hampton said. “It’s like hitting in base-ball or softball, it’s contagious. Winning is contagious. It’s been an incredible year.”
During an interview Hampton cred-ited many others for the Reivers’ win-ning ways.
She ticked off the departments and organizations that make the Reivers a
success. The athletes, first and foremost, along with coaches. And both groups help other sports, either through just attending or working events.
Professors work with students that miss games, while on-campus media entities CBTV and 89.7 The River radio station broadcast and promote games. Student orgs use social media to encour-age student participation, while the campus housing and admissions staffs make sure student-athletes are able to be a part of Iowa Western.
Football coach Scott Strohmeier credited Hampton as a manager that isn’t up-in-your-business all the time. Hampton meets with coaches weekly or bi-weekly to check in and is a fixture at sporting events, but isn’t heavy-handed.
“What she does a good job of, when she brings in a coach she’s extremely organized in the process. She’s trying to find someone that fits,” he said. “She’s not a micromanager. She wants someone that she trusts to manage and run your sport.”
Hampton elaborated, noting that her hiring process is extensive, that there are certain attributes she wants each coach to posses.
Strohemeier’s taken football to the top of NJCAA football in four years, while baseball coach Marc Rardin has built a powerhouse over the course of a decade. Men’s basketball coach Jim Morris is an institution, while women’s hoops coach Jim Turgeon has contin-ued and built upon triumphs by others. Volleyball coach Alicia Williams takes over a program in great shape after four years of Darrin McBroom’s guidance.
And there are countless other coaches, who’ve either been at their job for years or are taking over teams in great shape.
“If there’s one thing I’ve done well, it’s hire good coaches for our programs,” Hampton said.
The Ogallala, Neb., native gradu-ated from Chadron (Neb.) State College, where she played volleyball, and has a Master’s Degree from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
Hampton is one of the few woman athletic directors in the juco ranks. She’s a member of the National Alliance of Two Year College Athletic Administra-tors, where of 26 people in leadership roles, three are women.
“I grew up with three brothers in a sports family,” she said. “I’m used to it. This is something I’ve always wanted to do or saw myself doing.”
Strohmeier said she’s a role model for all athletic directors, regardless of gender.
“I’ve never been a part of a depart-ment that’s so successful. I couldn’t imagine being in charge of 21 sports. That’s a hefty task. And the way she’s run it and done it has worked. It’s a work great environment.”
The athletic director wants to con-tinue the winning, the accolades, the prosperity. She admitted that before Kinney took over she looked at other jobs, but the president’s commitment to Reiver sports has enhanced hers.
“Over the 11 years we’ve been build-ing to this,” she said. “But we’re not feel-ing like, ‘we’ve been where we want to be.’ We want to keep building.”
Hampton credits team for IWCC athletic department successes
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Iowa Western Community College Athletic Director Brenda Hampton works in her office May 10.
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FACES: WhAt ArE SomE oF thE GrEAtESt ChAllEnGES FACinG EduCAtorS todAy?
Since opening its doors in 1964, St. AlbertCatholic Schools has made it a priority to provideeducational, spiritual and moral experiences forstudents all across campus.
As the seniors at St. Albert Catholic High Schoolprepare to graduate, they say they’ll always carrywith them the Catholic education both they, andtheir parents, invested in.
Talk to any senior and they’ll likely tell youthat St. Albert greatly prepared them to succeedin life after high school – and that the school hasinstilled in them several values, including academicexcellence, strong spirituality and commitment tocommunity.
Peter Jacobsen, who will be attending SoutheastMissouri State University this fall, said St. Alberthas been a “really good, focused way to get usprepared for college.”
“A lot of schools you hear about are kind of an‘in and out’ process where teachers just pull youinto the classroom, talk at you for a few minutesand give you worksheets,” he said. “But at St.Albert, with small class sizes and the great teach-ers we have, they’re really dedicated to makingsure each kid understands the lessons individually.”
Jacobsen received several scholarships tohelp him through college, including the SoutheastMissouri State Regents’ Scholarship, which giveshim $48,000 over four years, the James and SallyPiatchek Scholarship for $500 and the MaverickAdvantage Scholarship, which is $11,000 overfour years.
Joni Thomas also enjoys the one-on-one aspectof St. Albert.
“We have more one-on-one time so we canactually understand it. Our teachers take their timewith us until we fully understand it,” she said. “Ata bigger school, (the students) might just hear itand that’s it.”
Thomas will attend Missouri Western StateUniversity, where she received the WesternNeighbors’ Scholarship – $32,000 over four years– and the Missouri Western Dean’s Scholarship –$4,000 over four years.
Faye Assmann said a smaller school helps stu-dents in a lot of ways.
“If you apply yourself at St. Albert and if youtake the tough classes, it’s a good course. It actu-ally challenges you,” she said. “If you take the fluffclasses, it’s not going to be difficult but they giveyou challenging courses. It makes you more pre-pared for college.”
Assmann, who is the valedictorian for the classof 2013, will be attending Iowa State University.She also received several scholarships, includingthe ISU Award for Competitive Excellence, whichawards her $8,000 over four years, the EngineeringUndergrad Merit Scholarship worth $1,000 andthe Robert Heithoff Memorial Scholarship, worth$5,000.
Brendan Stephany, who will be attending theUniversity of Iowa this fall, says the small classesat St. Albert has helped him build positive relation-ships with his teachers.
“We’ve had to learn how to build relationshipswith teachers,” he said. “You can’t just sit in theback of the classroom and hope you never getcalled on. You have to communicate.”
Stephany received the Iowa Old GoldScholarship, which will award him $12,000 overfour years.
But academics aren’t the only thing the schooltaught students, seniors said.
They’ve instilled a lot of Catholic morality, obvi-ously,” he said. “We’ve taken religion classes allthe way up through senior year and we do a tonof service work during school hours and outside ofschool.”
St. Albert students in grades 9 through 12 arerequired to perform service hours each year at theirparishes, school and community as part of theircoursework.
Freshmen are required to do 12 hours of com-munity service; sophomores must do 14 hours;juniors are required to do 16 hours; and seniors do18 hours. Half those hours must be used at one ofthe eight parishes that support the school.
After four years of high school, each studentends up with 60 hours of community service.
“That prepares you for being involved in yourcommunity later in life,” Stephany continued.“Even on a college application, they always likeseeing students who do service work. Even past theCatholic morality standpoint, it’s just a good thingon a college application as well.”
And each of the seniors agree they’ll continueto uphold the values they’ve received from St.Albert – no matter where they go in life.
“The reputation that comes from the amount ofservice we do and taking religion classes everyyear, the morality and hard work ethic are builtinto you over the four years at St. Albert,” Petersaid. “So through that reputation and through allthe difference service projects and meeting newpeople in service and in the community, it becomesa part of you. You want to serve and have the hardwork ethic to help people out.”
Cradle to College,All on One Campus
712-329-9000 www.saintalbertschools.org
Academic Excellence
Commitment
to CommunityStrong Spirituality
Enrichment
Programs
Foundationfor the
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Future
6F Sunday, May 26, 2013 The Daily Nonpareil
From ABC From ABC to ACT, Saint Albert provides a foundation for the future. Building on 50 years of
excellence, Saint Albert’s elite cradle to college campus and faith-filled environment is unmatched in Southwest Iowa.
The 2013-14 school year will bring many enhancements and additional course offerings designed to provide even greater variety, challenge, and college credit options for our students. Saint Albert will expand many course offerings, including religion class, fine arts and physical education, advanced placement and online courses.
The band program will also be more fully developed to increase rehearsal and lesson time. This expansion will also provide time for elective Band, Vocal, or General Music classes for all junior high students.
High school students will receive many new, diverse course options for the 2013-14 year. Dual Enrollment courses provide access to the career and tech nical offerings from the Council Bluffs Community School District including: Automotive Tech., Banking and Finance, Child Devel-opment, Computer & Information Technology, Culinary Arts, Education, Health Occupations, and Pre-Engineering.
In addition to on-campus college credit courses, Saint Albert will offer Online Advanced Placement courses sponsored by the University of Iowa and the Belin-Blank Foundation to high school students in a variety of subjects including A.P. American Government, and A.P. Psychology, among others. These courses provide the flexibility of online access with the possibility of college credit while fulfilling Saint Albert High School credit requirements.
Thanks to the donation of a generous benefactor, the 2013-14 year will also introduce Saint Albert 2.0, a program that will design, equip, and maintain a learning environment that goes beyond the classroom, allowing students access to learning materials from any location twenty four hours a day, seven days a week. Saint Albert 2.0 will enable students and teachers to reli-ably and efficiently utilize their own technology on our campus – they can bring their own devices or access school equipment to access the school network and internet and to master the use of cloud-based computing.
When students return for the 2013-14 year, they will notice major updates to our wireless computer networking, electrical access, classroom lighting, and student furnishings. These changes will provide improved access, speed, and tech-nology support.
These enhancements are possible through a gen-erous donation from Mrs. Jacqueline Johnson. Mrs. Johnson has been a tremendous supporter of Saint Albert Catholic Schools. Her substantial contributions for 2009 construction of the Sheryl K. Johnson Child Care Center and the elementary school addition helped Saint Albert create a true cradle to college campus.
As a former teacher, Mrs. Johnson has always had a keen interest in classroom instruction and teach-ing tools. Dedicated to our student’s education, Mrs. Johnson previously funded a large portion of the technol-ogy in the Elementary Wing, and her latest gift of these Jr/Sr High technological enhancements give our students the most updated tools and learning environment. In short, it allows our school to replicate the tech-nology access provided on mod-ern college campuses.
Providing rigorous courses and creating a college-like atmo-sphere allows Saint Albert to prepare its students for col-legiate success. To date, the 43 mem-bers of the Class of 2013 have earned over $1.5 million in college scholarships with the top 10% of the class scoring an aver-age of 30 on the ACT.
Our school, our parishes, and our families work together to provide an outstanding Christ-centered education and to prepare our students for an active life in the Church. Saint Albert welcomes students of all faiths – 20% of our student body and 15% of our staff & faculty are not Catholic. Saint Albert
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to ACTrecognizes that families of other religious denominations are equally committed to their own be-liefs and respects them for those beliefs.
All of our students grow in their faith through their participation in Catholic ministries, in their religion courses, in their community service projects, and in their annual religious retreats. They learn the ministries of Mass and may participate as lectors, Eucharistic ministers, altar servers, musicians, cantors, greeters and Campus ministers. We also begin each day with a morning prayer with additional prayer opportunities throughout the day.
Providing service to others is a vital part of our curriculum. Students in grades 9-12 are re-quired to perform service hours each year at their parishes, school, and community as part of their coursework. Saint Albert students also participate in Community Involvement Day, a day in which our students serve the Catholic community, our parishes, and our wider community, to thank them for their generosity and support of our school. Last year, our students provided over 1,500 hours of service to over 20 locations in the Southwest Iowa area on Community Involvement Day.
Students in grades 7-12 are also able to participate in an annual retreat. Each retreat focuses on a particular religious theme appropriate for the age of the students and is held at a local parish or retreat center.
Saint Albert also helps students better their education by offering over 25 enrichment and extracurricular activities, including Science Bowl, Speech Contests, Girls on the Run, Catholic Daughters, History Day, Battle of the Books, and Leadership Programs. From K-12th grade, Saint Albert offers enrichment opportunities in every subject matter to engage students in heart, mind and body.
Throughout the school year, our students have enjoyed tremendous success in their extracur-ricular activities. Most recently, our 5th grade Battle of the Books team placed first at the regional competition and our high school team “The Readaholics” qualified for the state competition in Marshalltown. Sophomore Molly Wirtz also competed at the state History Day competition for her webpage entitled Turning Points within a Turning Point: The Cuban Missile Crisis. The 3rd – 6th graders who participate in the Girls on the Run program are also hard at work preparing to run the “Color me Rad” 5K in Omaha to benefit Special Olympics on May 11th.
At Saint Albert Catholic Schools, our students benefit from being part of a dynamic, faith-filled community where the love of learning and strong spirituality extends beyond the class-room to extracurricular activities, commu-nity service, and athletics. Invest in your child’s future today! Call (712) 329-9000 to enroll for the 2013-14 year.
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The Daily Nonpareil Sunday, May 26, 2013 7F
Family, Faith, For You...For Life!
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“Saint Albert provides a safe and nurturing environment where success is expected, dreams are encouraged, faith is cultivated, and individualism is fostered.”
Emily Fischer (’00), Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist at the University of Nebraska Medical CenterEducation:
“My Saint Albert education instilled a sense of responsibility and made me take pride in my work. The best part of my career at Saint Albert was being surrounded by a great support system of classmates, faculty, administration, coaches, and community members who wanted me to succeed just as much as I did.”
Luke Shanno (’05),
Education:
Thanks to our student photographers Joe Eickholt, Carley Fields, Lexi McClung, Matt Zajic, and Nick Collins Photography for the wonderful photos.
8F Sunday, May 26, 2013 The Daily Nonpareil
Sunday, May 26, 2013 9FThe Daily Nonpareil Faces oF education
THANK YOU FOR YOUR DEDICATED SERVICE TO COUNCIL BLUFFS STUDENTS!
Lisa Dale - 3 yearsDeborah Ady - 5 yearsSonya Stejskal – 5 years Sherrie Fulfs - 6 yearsLaura Ahl - 8 years Mary Jane Doll – 11 years Barbara Egr – 12 years Patricia Gillespie – 12 years Verla Harmston - 14 years
Bonnie Sturm – 15 years Greg Garth – 16 years Donna Chute – 18 yearsVon Cook – 18 years Jayne Marsh - 19 years Grant Magnuson – 20 yearsMarina Sawatzke – 22 years Ron Diimig – 29 years Jane Kornfeind – 30 years
Evelyn Rock – 31 years Deborah Friend - 32 yearsRoberta Marshall – 32 years Barbara Ryan – 32 years Elizabeth Collins – 35 years Kathleen Ferris - 35 yearsRuth Nelsen – 37 years Avalena MacFarlane - 41 years
Retirements
Support Staff Member of the Year:Pam Hunt, Health Associate, Rue Elementary School
Teacher of the Year:Ryan Higgins, Project Lead the Way Engineering Teacher, Abraham Lincoln High School
Nelson Family Foundation Excellence in Teaching Award Winners:Kay Durfey, Kanesville Alternative Learning Center; Sandy Leaders, Thomas Jefferson High School; and
Dirk Waller, Abraham Lincoln High School
15 Years of Service
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David Coziahr, PresidentJJ Harvey, Vice President
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Board of Education
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The Foundation supports the Council Bluffs Community Schools by securinggrants and private donations for educational opportunities in areas not
funded by the District’s budget. The Foundation supports classroom grantsand college scholarships. For more information, call 712-322-8800 or log on
to www.commedfoundation.org.
Redding: PTO provides opportunities for studentsSCHOOL MOM
Rikayla Redding is a busy woman.She’s a mother of a 9-year-old – and
anyone with a child knows how time consuming that can be – and she works full time at the Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office.
But between work and her daugh-ter’s activities, she has still managed to find time to not only be the president of the College View Elementary PTO for the last two years, but she helped form the group.
Redding admitted that it can be hec-tic at times, but being part of the school where her daughter, Kaitlyn, spends so much time is important to her. Pro-viding extra benefits for not only her daughter but every child at the school is what has drawn the working mother to devote so many of evenings to the organization.
“The PTO can provide a strong backbone and a lot of good things for a school,” Redding said, admitting that she may have grown into the commit-ment by watching her mother, Kathy Kachulis.
“My mom volunteered at my school; she was there all the time,”
So when Kaitlyn started attending Hoover Elementary, Redding naturally volunteered to help out with Family Night at the school. When College View was built, Redding said she and her husband, Michael, discussed moving Kaitlyn to the school to take advantage of the International Baccalaureate pro-gram. Once they made the decision, she
told Principal Sue Rice she would be willing to help build the PTO.
“Rikayla is an inspiration to us all,” Rice said. “She is passionate about pro-moting all the wonderful events that occur at College View.”
And the PTO backs a lot of events at the school.
“We formed the board before the school even opened,” Redding said. “And it was important to everyone to bring traditions from the different schools; Gunn Elementary parents wanted to continue their carnival and I really liked Literacy Nights that we had at Hoover.”
So those traditions were brought to College View, along with many more, but it was also important to develop new traditions, Redding said.
Passport to Learning is a night devoted to introductions to foreign cul-tures. There is the Scholastic Book Fair – two of those per year actually – movie night in January, the end of the year carnival, fundraising projects like the children selling magazine subscriptions or Red Wheel products, and then there’s the dine out nights to raise money at Papa John’s, Village Inn and Old River Pizza.
And on June 22, the PTO will host their third annual golf tournament Fox Run Golf Club.
The funds raised from this myriad of events go back to the children, Redding said, quickly adding there is time to add a golf team by emailing Erin Schoening at [email protected].
“We have raised funds for teachers’ supplies and field trips,” she said. “The
school can’t ask parents to pay for field trips; this year we raise $10 per student for field trips. That pays for a lot when most are discounted or free.”
All of these things would not be pos-sible without the organization, but Red-ding said there is another key partner in the group: the teachers.
“We’re fortunate we have a nice strong group of teachers who are always present,” she said. “The teachers play a big part in the PTO; they support us.”
Plus, it’s fun for the students to see the educators at extra curricular activi-ties, out of their roles as educators. It’s also good for parents to meet the staff, other students and their families.
It’s also nice for educators to get to know the parents. Rice said Redding’s participation and organizational skills have been a boon to the school.
“Whether she is directly planning an event or participating, she is involved,” Rice said. “Thanks to Rikayla, we have many opportunities for families to be involved at College View.”
Redding is quick to give the credit to the numerous other parents she works with at the organization. She said she is just doing her part in conjunction with the other parents to make sure projects get done.
In the end, it’s about connecting with the community.
“It’s always been important to me to get to know the parents and families of my daughter’s friends,” Redding said. “And also the staff at the school; she spends so much time with them, it’s good to know who they are.
“Plus it’s fun; it’s just a good time.”
Staff photo/Chad NationRikayla Redding will wrap up her second – and final – year as the president of the
PTO at College View Elemen-tary this year. Redding has been crucial in developing the organization into one that provides funds and a
number of activities for stu-dents and their families.
10F Sunday, May 26, 2013 The Daily NonpareilFaces oF education
If there was ever a time the Earth needed help from today’s population, it’s today.
That’s what motivates Matt Mancuso, the sustainability coordinator at Iowa Western Community College, every day.
Mancuso said he’s always loved hiking and the outdoors, but that his passion for sustain-ability started in high school, thanks to an ecology teacher.
“He got me on the track of thinking about it when I was a sophomore,” Mancuso said. “He got me into ecology, ecosystems and environ-mental science areas.”
But it wasn’t until he moved to New York City in 2007 to get a master’s degree in Urban Policy Analysis and Management that he got a broader view of what sustainability should be, he said.
“I always recycled but now I always tell people, recycling isn’t enough anymore. It’s the minimum you should be doing. I got that view when I went out to New York,” he said. “When I was out (in New York), there was just so much more things that, at that time, the Mid-west wasn’t doing in terms of sustainability. Maybe they were doing it and I wasn’t aware of it but it seemed to me that (New York) had more going on.”
During his time in New York City, Mancuso said he did a lot of consulting work on green and white roofs, as well as construction debris recycling.
“The consulting work really got me inter-ested in sustainability and I actually switched my focus from community development to sus-tainability out there,” he said.
In the winter of 2009, Mancuso decided to move back to Omaha with his wife, Audrey. In April of 2010, Mancuso began his position as the sustainability coordinator at Iowa Western.
Today, with the help of Mancuso, the college teaches, promotes and implements a sustain-ability program on campus and in the commu-nity. The college’s definition of sustainability is “meeting the needs of the present without com-promising the ability of future generations by not depleting or harming our natural resources or natural cycles, while pursuing economic and social justice for all human beings.”
As the college’s sustainability coordinator, Mancuso said his job is to “first and foremost” create new sustainability programs.
Mancuso said his job focuses on three audi-ences – the general public, Iowa Western stu-dents and staff, and the current workforce.
Iowa Western offers sustainability-related programs and classes for each specific audi-ence.
On the credit side, the college offers two sustainability programs. Students can receive an Associate of Applied Science certificate in Sustainable Energy or Sustainable Construc-tion.
Students can also take sustainability classes related to agriculture, automotive, biology, con-
struction tech, environmental science, turf and landscaping, management and wind energy technician.
Through its Continuing Education depart-ment, Iowa Western offers non-credit classes for the general public on “going green.” The school also offers workshops on rain barrels, bio-diesel and rainscaping.
Additionally, through its Continuing Educa-tion department, Iowa Western offers training programs to prepare today’s workforce for the emerging green environmental field. Training focuses on sustainable energy, environmental remediation, local food production, sustainable building, low impact development and eco-system preservation/restoration.
But Mancuso doesn’t just develop new programs, he also helps to enhance and imple-ment sustainability curriculum wherever possible into the departments and programs already on campus.
“I try to make the connections between the different programs that are here, as well as implement sustainability any way we can by doing little projects, such as having Earth day projects for certain classes,” Mancuso said. “We just had a small group of students who are from a public speaking class, which has noth-ing to do with sustainability, plant trees on campus.”
Mancuso said about 85 percent of his time is focused on the academic side of sustainabil-ity, with about 15 percent of his time is focused on the facility side of sustainability, including how to recycle better on campus, installing rain gardens, composts, native wildflower gar-dens and bird houses to promote biodiversity around campus.
Mancuso said sustainability is something that’s going to be important in the future – with the natural resources being used.
“We have less than 1 percent of our native prairie in Iowa. We’ve destroyed about 90 percent of our old growth forests – forests that are original to the land – in the United States. Even just saving those areas for our children would be good,” he said. “We’ve had a 500 per-cent increase in endangered species in biodi-versity in the last 20 or 30 years. Those things need to be addressed.”
Overall, Mancuso said he always tells his students that the little things add up.
“If you just recycle and do something new each month to just improve yourself or improve the sustainability of your household, every-thing will add up. If everyone is doing that, it’ll be even larger,” he said. “I tell them to pick one thing a month to change and then do that because if you say you’re going to be the most sustainable person in the world tomorrow, it doesn’t happen. It’s too overwhelming.”
He suggests growing a garden this month and possibly starting a compost pile next month.
“When students see sustainability or see something that affects the environment, they want to change it,” he said. “That’s nice to see.”
Staff photo/Kyle Bruggeman
Iowa Western Community College sustainability coordinator Matt Mancuso takes a quick break at work on May 14.
A LittLe informAtion from iWCC’s sustAinAbiLity ProgrAm
What is sustainability?The definition Iowa West-
ern uses in teaching, promot-ing and implementing sustain-ability on campus is: Meeting the needs of the present with-out compromising the ability of future generations by not depleting or harming our natu-ral resources or natural cycles, while pursuing economic and social justice for all.
This includes:* Using renewable and
clean energy* Decreasing our carbon
footprint* Increase recycling and
decreasing waste* Changing our purchasing
habits by increased knowledge of products
* Protecting Endangered Species of the world
* Protecting our Land, For-ests and better water manage-ment
* Increase consumer knowl-edge of products
* Population control and an end to extreme poverty
Iowa Western is committed to identifying, exploring and formulating best practices in sustainability in both educa-tion and on campus.
Recycling at IWCCIowa Western Community
College recycled 2,220 pounds of paper, plastic, glass and alu-minum from July 2009-2010. This amount saved 34 trees and over 120 gallons of oil. Making products from recycled material also decreases the amount of greenhouse gases released into the air up to 95
percent.Americans on average cre-
ate 4.5 pounds of waste each day. Much of that waste can be recycled. Iowa Western is looking to increase and expand its recycling program for the upcoming school year.
Alternative Transportation
Carpooling and Biking can help break our dependence on oil while decreasing pollution and saving you money. Per-sonal vehicles produce about 10 percent of all global CO2 emis-sions worldwide. The United States is responsible for more than 45 percent of the total global vehicle CO2 emissions while only having 5 percent of the world’s population.
* Metro BusTake the bus! Iowa Western
is located on the Blue Route of the Metro Area bus sys-tem. Riding the bus is easy and cost effective. Exact fare is required.Bus Operators are not allowed to make change or handle money. Ten-ride pre-paid cards are sold at loca-tions throughout Omaha and Council Bluffs and at the Iowa Western Bookstore inside the Student Center.
For bus schedule and more information on the bus, go online to ometro.com/
* MetrO! Ride ShareMetrO! Rideshare is a free,
quick, and secure service that connects commuters through-out the Metropolitan Omaha/Council Bluffs Region who are interested in carpooling. For more information, go online to
mapacog.greenride.com/ * Bicycle RidingBiking is economical, good
for the environment and it is great exercise.
The easiest and safest ways to bike to campus can be found on the Council Bluffs Depart-ment of Parks and Recreation and Public Property website: cbparksandrec.org.
– iwcc.edu/sustainability
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