2 Finals, instead of 3

With the new school year schedule this year, it not only causes us to change our breaks but it changes the way we test as well.

Every year us students are used to taking three finals at the end of each trimester. Now, with us only have semesters, we only take two finals. There are many pros and cons to this situation.

One pro is that we only have to worry about two tests in the year and don't have to worry about a third one. Another pro is you have a longer period of time to get help and get your grade up if needed. Also, we have our first final later than usual so now we don't have to hurry and learn the information so fast, we get more time to go over everything that is being taught.

One con is that our first final is right after Christmas break. We get two whole weeks off of school for Winter break and most of us forget a lot of the curriculum and struggle with remembering when we come back. Another con is since we only have two finals we have to test over more things than we did with three finals. It is hard to remember things that we were taught four months ago and test well on it.

With this being the first year with semesters, I've noticed students and even some teachers a little bit more stressed out with finals because of all of the cons. It seems as though the cons that i listed are overruling the pros to this situation.

I feel (and I'm sure many others would agree) that if we tweaked when our finals were to maybe having our first final right before Winter break and having more time to review everything that we learned from the beginning then people wouldn't stress nearly as much. I also feel like more people would much happier and content with the new schedule.

Spring Break

Every year schools get a week off for what is called "Spring Break". It occurs in March depending on what school you go to. This year for Kennedy, spring break is a week earlier. It starts March 12th and goes until March 20th.

Everyone looks forward to this break because a lot of students go one a vacation. Usually they go some where warm to get away from the cold here in Iowa. Some people go to the same place every year, some adventure to different places, and others just stay home.

Staying home isn't a bad thing, that's what I usually do except for this year. It's nice to just have a week off from school and relax, get away from all the homework and stress. It's like a week of Summer but not really because it usually isn't warm. But, you still get to hang out with friends and do whatever because the whole week is like a weekend!

One of my favorite things about Spring break is when you follow other people on Instagram or Twitter and you get to see where everyone goes or what fun things they did. I enjoy hearing about where people go and what kinds of things they got to experience.

A lot of Seniors are going to Mexico this Spring break as the "annual" Senior break trip. Every year I see pictures and get to hear about how fun it was to leave home for a little bit and be with friends. They all say that there is never anything to do in Cedar Rapids so it's nice to actually be able to do fun things with their friends. I hope I will be able to experience that trip next year when I am a Senior.

During Spring break there are lots of things to do and lots of places to go, expensive and inexpensive. Do some research, look around, and book somewhere and you'll be having a great Spring break. You can also stay home, catch up on sleep and do your fun things that you do on your weekends. Either way no one is complaining since we don't have school!

Pep Assemblies

Being a Kennedy cougar is without a doubt the best thing ever. One reason I say this is because of the outstanding pep assemblies.

Every school year at Kennedy high school they have 3 pep assemblies; a Fall one, Winter one, and Spring one and it seems like they only get better each time. With 1800 students plus staff members participating in this you would think it would be chaotic but in reality it’s just amazing! Between the celebration of old sports, introducing new sports, occasional performances, and the spirit competition it is an event that everyone looks forward to.

Aaron Stecker does a great job of organizing each pep assembly and if you are there you can tell he loves it. With the help of other students come up with the games and judges keeping the scores fair as possible, the assembly goes on smoothly. Kennedy’s colors are green and gold but the one day a term the gym BLEEDS green and gold.

Every time you step foot in that gym you shouldn’t know what to expect. Each assembly get bigger and better with new ideas. With the 2015-16 seniors being the winners for the past couple of years, it strives the other grades to do better and be more creative with their cheering and decorations. 

I can already tell that this coming Spring assembly is going to be very competitive and intense. Who knows what will happen and who will win. The Freshmen, Sophomores, and Juniors are coming for the Seniors!

Penny Wars

Kennedy is always looking to make money for good causes. One of the ways we earn this money is what is known as "Penny Wars".

Penny wars is a type of fundraiser we have for students and teachers to give money towards children against hunger.

Each class, typically your 3rd hour class, collects money for a couple of weeks to help the kids in Africa to get the food they need. At the end of penny wars we package all the food to send out for those kids.

We get very competitive with it but it's for a really good cause. Each class competes to raise the most money in order for a "prize". This year it was for a spirit stick point for our school pep assembly.

The 2015-16 winner for penny wars has still yet to be determined.

It's one of many fundraisers that Kennedy does but this one, everyone gets into it and get excited. People tend to look forward to it considering it is a fun activity that the students get to be involved in and it's supporting a great cause!

WPA

Every year Kennedy High School holds a homecoming dance, a WPA dance, and of course prom.

"WPA" stands for women pay all, it's kind of making up for the guys paying for almost everything at homecoming and also gives the girls a chance to be creative and ask the guys to the dance.

It is similar to a winter formal considering that it is in the winter time. Every year it is some time in March and this year it is held on March 24th.

It is also very similar to homecoming, it is located in the same spot and the same kind of music is played. There will also be a photographer there to take professional dance pictures. Although the dances themselves are about the same, there are some differences.

There is no king or queen, WPA is not as dressy as homecoming or prom, it is much more casual and like I said before the girls ask the boys this time. Another thing that is different is not as many peope go to WPA as they do for homecoming. About 500-700 people attend. People usually do the same when they take pictures, go out to eat, and then attend the dance.

WPA is 5 dollars to get in and it is one of the many fundraisers that we have to help out in different ways. There will be a D.J and a theme determined by the student government who is involved in planning most of the dance.

Even though WPA doesn't attract as many people, it is still a fun experience and you only get to do it once a year in your high school career.

Popular Retired Teacher: "The Great Cary Beatty"

Former Kennedy teacher, Cary Beatty substituted for Mrs. Haynes-Moore’s 5^th hour Journalism class and held a press conference. His dedication and love for teaching was inspiring. 

Mary Wilcynski, who was the former principal at Kennedy High School, hired Beatty and was also the most influential towards him. “She genuinely cared about every student”, “It was like she would go home and study everyone’s names because she always knew everyone”, says Beatty. 

His love for teaching grew with him throughout his life. Beatty always thought about teaching and it ran in the family. Another interest he has is directing school plays. He directed about 5 plays a year and said that was his favorite experience. 

With him being retired and besides subbing, his hobbies include playing with his dogs; Boner and Piglet, and traveling with his wife. They have been to most of Western Europe and South Africa but aren’t able to travel much right now with his mother-in-law being sick. He never had any kids but it was like he didn’t even need any because he always had his students. 

Some things that guided Beatty through his teaching experience was, “Don’t take too many things seriously because it’s just school not real life.”

The hidden Cougar Den

In the small corner, by the south end of the school, the Cougar Den, is a place where you can load up your Kennedy gear.

There is a small area by the south lot doors where the Kennedy High School’s cougar den is. People go there to get new apparel, souvenirs, and more.

“I think it’s a good place for kids to turn to. A lot of people don’t know about it because it’s not on the announcements or really talked about, but there are so many items there,” Aubree Langhurst, jr., said.

There have been students who have gone through their high school years without much Kennedy apparel to wear when supporting the Cougars. Due to this problem people have requested that the Cougar Den be in a more noticed area or talked about more so fans don’t forget about it.

“I wish the school would mention it more. I’m always looking for more things to wear at Kennedy games and always forget about the Cougar Den. I’ve heard they have neat stuff and would like to go but I never know when they are open,” Kirsten Wenclawski, so., said.

 Langhurst also states that Kennedy is very fortunate to have an apparel shop because schools that don’t, run into a problem of their fans not having anything to wear.

 “I think it’s quick and convenient for everyone and the stuff in there is fairly priced as well,” Langhurst, jr., said.

The Cougar Den’s hours are Mondays and Fridays from 12:15- 12:45, Tuesdays and Thursdays from 2:30- 3:30, and at select sporting events. If there are any questions, the Kennedy webpage has the Cougar Den website and has a list of emails you can contact.