The Rampage

Josi Bambrook Columnist The show choir dinner theater was on Saturday evening, March 28. It was for the show choir students and parents to celebrate all the work they have done this year. They ate chicken, green beans, potatoes, and salad. The dinner Theater was also a way for the seniors to share their talent one last time. “It was for the parents to pay money and eat, the seniors did solos,” said senior Christie Fest. The night was enjoyable for all of the students- full of singing and enjoying each other’s company. “It was a night full of music, friends, and family and it was one of our last times to play in front of everyone,” said Fest. The students talked to their friends and met with parents to talk to each other and appreciate the work that they have done. Show choir put on performances for the parents to enjoy. “There were senior solos and all of the choirs and show choirs performed,” said Fest.  Christie explains that the best part was playing in show band for th

Izzy Schrock Convergence Editor Photo of Tara Huberty. All photos in this article by Izzy Schrock. With the constant advance of technology and social media, more and more people are getting into photography. Whether you want your Instagram pictures to look good or are interested in a career in photography, here’s some basics and tips that can take your pictures to the next level.                  Know Your Camera             The first step to great photos is knowing your camera. Whether you are working with a smartphone, point-and-shoot, or DSLR, reading the instruction manual and understanding the controls are important. DSLR means digital single-lens reflex camera, which is the most advanced and largest camera. Photography and art teacher Anne Otte recommends carrying your camera with you everywhere and taking pictures in all sorts of situations.  “If you have a high quality smart phone, you don’t need a point-and-shoot. Smart phones are great for taking taking photos. T

Ellen Bombela News Editor The Southeast Polk girls’ soccer team has had tryouts all week to determine what team each of the girls will be on. Starting on Monday, the girls have been going through a series of drills, conditioning, and scrimmages to help the coaches decide who belongs on each team.  On Monday the focus was a series of different stations that worked on different skills. On Tuesday, practice was moved indoors due to the weather conditions. The focus was small sided games such as 3 vs 3, or 4 v 4, and 5 v 5.  On Wednesday, practice was cut short, but it was full of running and conditioning. On Thursday, players worked on their shooting skills. Friday, the last day of tryouts, will consist of full-filed 11 v 11 scrimmages. The coaches all met Thursday after practice to decide on teams. Varsity will consist of 18 field players and two goalies. Teams are going to be announced Friday after practice, and team meetings will be held at 9:00 a.m. at the high school on S

Claire Strickland Opinion Editor             Football coach Dennis Muller resigned a few months back and his job has now been filled. Brad Zelenovich, previously head Ankeny football coach and Southeast Polk’s own offensive coordinator, has been called for the job.             “ When I heard Zelenovich was our new head coach I was so excited!! The whole school had been waiting to find out who our new head coach would be ,and there were rumors that Zelenovich applied and was coming back, but I was so excited to find out he officially got the job,” said junior Eric Pingel. Pingel will be a senior and leader next year on the team.             According to http://www.desmoinesregister.com/ , Muller spent 13 seasons as the head football coach.             “I felt like it was going to happen sooner or later, but I felt that Muller did really good things for SEP and made a large impact on the program while he was head coach,” Pingel said.             Pingel has very high hopes fo

Drew Brown Staff Reporter           Tryouts are being held for the freshman, Junior Varsity, and Varsity for both the boys’ and girls’ soccer teams. With lots of competitive players all going for the varsity spots it’s going to be close on who makes it and who doesn’t in the lineup.           “After the parent meeting this week we will hopefully find out who the keeper will be for the [boys] varsity team,” said sophomore CJ Dobbins who is also going for the spot as goal keeper.           “The teams are looking really strong this year and I’m excited for the season to start,” said Dobbins. Competitive teammates will either bond the team together or cause some major drama between the players. “The team’s bond is traditionally strong and we would like to keep it that way for the years to come,” said Dobbins. Try outs are scheduled to end on Friday 27 th in preparation for the new season.

Ethan Edvenson Cartoonist                 Spring is here! The snow has melted, the weather is warming up, and soon the flowers will be blooming and the leaves sprouting. However, with those plants comes airborne pollen and which cause what most call “allergy season”. Trees are the main cause in the spring as they begin to release pollen in order to reproduce. Since this is the only way it can do this, mass amounts of it are spread right into the breeze. For those with allergies, when the pollen enters or comes in contact with their body, their immune systems react by making lots of inflammatory substances (AKA snot) and can cause a range of reactions.  If you have these conditions, take allergy medicine daily, check up with a doctor or allergy professional if you are unsure of what you react towards, and try to refrain from being places where there could be more allergens. Also, remember to contain your sickness instead of spreading it by means of washing your hands often o

Tori Hennick Arts+Cultures Editor Walking through the hallways is always a challenge when students have to carry what feels like a 25 pound backpack on their backs for 8 periods. Today is the second day back from Spring Break and already students are carrying around their back packs full of homework. Students were able to enjoy a total of 10 peaceful, stress-free days without the thought of cramming for tests and worrying about whether they were going to be able to complete their homework on time, all while balancing a social life. Junior Sarah Hawkins knows this feeling all too well. “I literally did nothing. I stayed home and slept. It was a relief to not have homework and to get a break from people. I’m overwhelmed already, it seems like teachers pile it on [homework], when we’re trying to get back in the school routine,” said Hawkins. Students are expected to be able to handle the homework that is given to them because there will be more if they head off to college, bu

Demi Muchmore Editor in Chief                 Notice the sticky notes on all the lockers as you’re walking in the hallway to class? You have Stand For The Silent members to thank for that. These aren’t just ordinary sticky notes, on every single sticky note there is an inspirational quote to start your day.                 During spring break, students that are a part of stand for the silent got together and made a sticky note for every single locker in this school. Mrs. Goodrich is in charge of this club and actually came up with the idea. “We did it to uplift people after coming back from break,” sophomore Cassidy Oberbroeckling said.                 When asking other students what they thought of the idea, they responded with positive feedback. “It was a very good idea and it was cool to walk around and see all of the different messages,” senior Nic Henderson said.                 Doing these creative messages can really help to brighten a student’s day after everyone

Pete Ruden Staff Reporter                 Heading into the outdoor season, the boys track and field team is performing as well as any coach could hope early in the season. On Tuesday, March 17 the Rams traveled to Ames to compete in the Iowa State University High School Classic.                 Senior Moussa Kuyateh ran a personal record of 7.20 seconds, finishing second in a field of 116 competitors in the 60m dash. Another notable performance was sophomore Wade Barclay finishing eighth in the 60m hurdles with a time of 8.80 seconds. Barclay was the highest placing sophomore in the race. Even after starting the season at such a high pace, the Rams can still improve.                 “[I’m looking forward to] improving times from last year. Hopefully more state qualifiers. [I want to see] everybody succeed in what they do, with a hundred percent effort,” Barclay said.                 Sometimes track meets, especially indoor ones, can take a long time. That means that team

Emily Merkle Design Editor                 Senior Madi Parkhill got engaged to her boyfriend of two plus years, Dezmond Brommel, on December 31, 2014. Previously Parkhill had not given much thought on being engaged in high school and said that it hadn’t really even crossed her mind. “After falling in love with someone who chose the military, I was able to change my view on other relationships,” said Parkhill. “Yet, I still do have that crazy feeling of; whoa my life adventure starts now.” With a dramatic life choice, some people may be supportive and others not as much. Parkhill stated that she has surprisingly gotten lots of support. “I hadn’t expected people to be as understanding as they have. Of course there are always going to be people’s confusion and judgments, but they haven’t really been expressed to me publicly.”  The people who are supportive of her choice understand that her life doesn’t end because she chose to get married, Parkhill explained.  She sees her

Kailee Ammons Staff Reporter 2014-2015 Varsity Football cheer team doing some stunts on the field. Photo courtesy of Carolyn Devine.           Cheerleading tryouts for the 2015-2016 school year are coming up soon! They will start on Monday, March 30 at 3:15 until about 5:00 PM and Wednesday, April 1 from 6-8:00 PM. Both of these sessions will be held in the high school commons after school.             Friday, April 3 is when the tryouts will take place, starting at 3:45. This is when people will perform the routine and cheers that will be taught during the week.             On Monday and Wednesday, people are encouraged to wear what they feel comfortable in for learning the routines. On Friday, people are supposed to wear a plain white shirt with black shorts, tennis shoes, and hair in a ponytail (if not long enough, somehow held away from face). A cheer bow and makeup are optional. Jewelry and painted or false nails will not be allowed.          “Confidence is key!” said

Jessica Rish Staff Reporter Allison Bates poses next to Robin Williams' star in Hollywood. Photo courtesy of Allison Bates.              Some students are starting their spring break now by leaving for vacation early. There is one full school day before the Southeast Polk student body leaves for their 10 day spring break, but select students are starting a bit earlier.                 Junior Alexis McKinney is leaving for spring break on Thursday morning for her trip to Texas.  Missing a full school day can throw off a student more than one might think.                 “I don’t think it’s going to be hard to make up the school work I miss because we aren’t doing much, so it’s not going to be hard,” said McKinney.  Allison Bates, sophomore, went on a week vacation prior to conferences week.                 “We went on break early because my mom owns a daycare and it’s the busiest time,” said Bates. Bates missed a full week of school and missed a lot of important thing

Quincey Nelson Staff Reporter The student lost and found has now been moved to the end of the lunch hallway by the custodial offices. If anyone has left anything at all or lost something it will now be located here. Coats, bags, shoes, boots, etc. will be placed in the new area of the lost and found. “Anything valuable will go to the front office,” said high school facility manager Joe Sullivan. Any glasses or jewelry will be held in the front office instead, but retainers or medical items will be held in the nurse’s office. “Just check as soon as you can because sometimes items will get taken or used and don't get returned. Don’t wait a week or two. Do it as soon as you can,” said Sullivan. All of the items that are found and not claimed by March 20 are being donated so anyone who has lost anything will need to check for their items before then. The ideal situation would be that during conferences parents or students attending look in the lost and found for any items th

Brooklyn Draisey Columnist              On March 10, students from French one through four/five participated in the National French Test. There was a different test for each level, and testing went throughout the day in the multipurpose room.                 Students had an hour to answer 70 to 80 multiple choice questions, all in French. The first part of the test involved listening to people speak French and answering questions based off what they said. There were matching phrases with pictures, picking out answers from conversations, and figuring out the meanings of parts of a passage.              The second part of the test didn’t involve listening, so each student could go at their own pace. A lot of reading was involved in the last part, and students had to choose the right word to make the passage make sense. The last five questions were about the test itself.                 Morgan Lynch, a sophomore who took the level two French test, was surprised by the level of

Kaelee Keesee Managing Editor It’s officially the week before spring break! While this is filled with expectations of vacations, sleeping in and no school, it also means the arrival of the final parent-teacher conference days of the year. For some, this is a good thing, for others it’s something to dread. For the teachers it’s just another conference.  English teacher Jennifer Betz uses her conferences with parents and students as a way to inform them what’s going on in class and their performance in the class. “I usually talk about how awesome they’re doing-always focus on the positive,” said Betz. In the fall, there is only one set of full two-day conferences while in the springtime, there is CCR conferences and full conferences. This week, conferences will be held on Wednesday from 1:30-7:30. When there are lulls, Betz usually entertains herself with people watching, paper grading and grading homework. “I have a different perspective because I have year-long classes and

Kailee Ammons Staff Reporter              Today the well-known Hippie History class is holding an Artifacts Museum in the multipurpose room. In this museum, students are required to bring an item from the 60’s, the 70’s, or the 80’s that has an interesting story behind it. In past years, the class has their physical objects set up around the room for people to observe, but this year, they are also using ThingLink.com. This website allows the museum to be an interactive tour about the history of the artifacts.                 The students of Hippie History are set up around the room with Chrome Books. Then people from other classes transition to each station based on a two minute rotation, visiting each student and learning about their artifact. This opportunity is available and has been successful because of Kelly Knowler and Robert Knipp, teachers, and Casey Burrows, student teacher.                 “The purpose of this project is to make connections with the past and with

Tori Hennick Arts+Cultures Editor This past Friday, March sixth, the Des Moines Hardcore Collective hosted the final show in Des Moines for a band from Cedar Falls called Remiss. Bands that played were Remiss, Household, Pierre, Infinite Me, A Better Reality, Exit Emergency and a Rage Against the Machine cover band, Bungtrack. The show was at the Underground Rock Shop and was $5.00 admission. Overall, the show was really fun. A Better Reality was really upbeat and was as fun as always. Exit Emergency brought a lot of smiles to the crowd. I had never seen any of the other bands before so I wasn’t sure how the rest of the night was going to play out. Infinite Me was the opposite of what I expected. I was imagining I was about to hear a super heavy band, but it turns out the vocalist has an extremely beautiful and soft voice. Pierre seemed like they were really fun people and they were interesting to watch. Household was very entertaining and they seemed like they truly enjoyed

Kenzie Baldwin Feature Editor Seniors this year can enter in an essay contest; the writing prompt is “A Senior’s Advice to Incoming Freshmen.” The first place winner will receive a $100 Barnes and Noble gift certificate, and there will be two second place winners that receive $25 Barnes and Noble gift certificate. “All the credit should go to Elliana Huffman, she’s the one that thought of the topic,” said English teacher Christopher Snethen. The essay deadline is May 1, 2015 by 3 p.m. to Mr. Snethen. The English department will decide the winners. “I decided to do the contest because honestly I want money to buy books,” said senior Julia Blanchard. There is mixed feelings from seniors about the prize, some of the seniors would just like cash, while to others it doesn’t really matter. “I wanted cash for the prize, but the administration said no, so they came up with the idea of gift cards,” said Snethen. Some seniors are really interested in this contest and are excited

Lexi Burrows Staff Reporter        Mr.Staroska’s freshmen history classes are spending their class period in the multipurpose room. Students are listening to presentations given by students in Mr.Knipp’s Hippie History class.            The freshmen must fill out a worksheet about what they learned and what their favorite part is. The hippie history students were presenting about old artifacts. One student had jewelry handed down from her grandfather that once was owned by Elvis Presley.           “What you are looking at could be worth a ton of money if it is authenticated,” said Knipp. There were also students presenting about old cars, records, and even old newspaper articles. Students were given two minutes to present their topic and artifact to the freshman. After the two minutes was over, students shifted one spot over and learned about the next topic. Then the freshman would write down the next topic, and on the back of the worksheet they had to answer 3 questions. O

Josi Bambrook Staff Reporter Parent teacher conferences are coming up, so your grades better be going up as well! On Wednesday, March 11 at 12:30 to 7:30pm the high school conferences with be happening. This is the time when students try to push their grades up as much as they can before their teachers tell their parents how they’re doing. Conferences can be scary and stressful for students whom wish to please their parents academically, but for some it’s nothing to worry about. “My grades are as high as they have ever been,” said Pruden. With spring break coming so soon the students are starting to slack off and studying is becoming less of a priority. But some students have been on top of their grades and working hard, which makes conferences much less stressful. “I have nothing to be worried about,” said sophomore Libby Pruden. Students don’t feel like conferences are even necessary to have since the students’ parents can access our grades from the internet. “I don’t thin

Brett Blakemoore Sports Editor This Monday the Hippie History classes will be holding an ‘artifact museum’ in the multipurpose room. It is a twist on the normal project the class has been doing for years, that involves other classes as well. “Well originally we've done this project in hippie history since I've taught it,” teach Bob Knipp said. “The idea is to try to find something to link to the past kinda give you a picture of what your parents lived like or your grandparents lived like.” Each student will have an interactive picture on thinglink.com along with a tangible item that has historical significance. “These items that students bring in generally tell a story, there’s usually a story behind them,” Knipp said. “So we began to do that and this year we decided we wanted to try something a little different, and that led to the project were doing currently with the artifact museum.” Social Studies classes from all over the building will be involved and will b

Ellen Bombela News Editor The Varsity girls huddle on the court. Photo courtesy of Kalie Savage. Unfortunately, after a heartbreaking loss Wednesday afternoon at Wells Fargo, the girls’ basketball season is over. The Rams started out the game strong and held a 14 point lead in the first half, but Iowa City fought back hard and challenged the Rams in an extremely close game. With 20 seconds left in the game, an Iowa City West player nailed a 3-pointer, securing Iowa City West’s lead.  The Rams were unable to compensate for the lost points with the remaining time, and lost the game with a score of 43-40 in favor of Iowa City West. It was a very low-scoring game for both teams. Despite the tragic loss, the girls’ basketball team had a spectacular season. They went into the state tournament ranked 6 th in the state with a record of 17 wins and only 7 losses. With 3 of the 5 starters returning next year for the Rams and lots of underclassmen moving up to fill the shoes of the

Claire Strickland Opinion Editor Best Buddies member Ash Sartell holds up the poster  signed by students who take the pledge.            Spread the Word to End the Word takes place on the first Wednesday of March every year, this year being March 4th. Students around the United States take place in ending the use of “The R-word.”  Southeast Polk is one of these schools, participating in ways all over the school.             “We are wearing blue to spread awareness for the R word and there’s also a poster you can sign to take the pledge,” Sophomore Lauren Wade said. Wade is a member of Best Buddies and she takes part in People PE.             Best Buddies is a club where students get to interact with students with Special Needs and just be their friend.  The “R Word” is used as slang and is a derogatory term used towards kids with Special Needs or Disabilities, and Best Buddies is working to stop the use of this word. “The best part about Best Buddies is being able to be th

Drew Brown Staff Reporter             Show Choir has one more competition at Louis Central High School this Saturday, March 7, and is yet to place in finals. Tons of stress is put on the shoulders of the Varsity Seniors because for them this is the last competition they will have in their high school career.             “We owe it to the seniors to leave it all out there to try to make finals,” said freshman Travis Erthum. Some of the seniors have given a lot up for the team such as other sports and activities. For the last competition the pressure is on. Hundreds of hours of practice have made them good enough for the finals; it’s up to them to show the judges why they belong in finals.             Some of the team is happy with just making finals but a few won’t be pleased with just the placement- they want the gold and to make sure that next season they will be a team to look out for. It’s not just the varsities last competition. The Women’s Prep group has some seniors of the

Ethan Edvenson Cartoonist During the last hour of the day, a group of elite and talented musicians, led by Mr. Jayson Gerth, join together to form the SEP Jazz One Band. Then, bright and early at 6:45 AM, Jazz Two meets along with Jazz Three switching off with Mondays and Thursdays for Two and Tuesdays and Fridays with Three. Jazz One runs all year long and attends many high ranking jazz competitions and performances to share their love for the smooth style of this music. Jazz Two and Three are extracurricular bands that start in October and run to early March, but they still compete in their fair share of competitions and concerts. Unlike the massive sizes of many other bands in the music program, each jazz band is limited to only a few players for each instrument, each with their own part, which allows for a more creative, fun, and individual stance to how the music is played and sounds. The most apparent showing of this is the staple of having improvisational solos to allow e

Pete Ruden Staff Reporter                 Nic and Chris Henderson have been playing basketball with each other since fifth grade. Next year, they won’t be on the same team for the first time since then.                 “It was a cool experience being on the same team as my brother and I made memories that will never be forgotten,” said Nic, who will study at the University of Iowa after graduation.                 Chris said that it will be sad playing the sport he loves without his brother because he enjoyed his presence, but the team will be playing with a chip on their shoulder next year.  Of all the things he will miss, Chris cited transportation to and from games.                 “[I will miss] car rides to the games,” Chris said. After growing up with each other for their whole lives, it can’t be easy to move on. Without Nic, Chris will have to move on to the next season as well.                 After a 7-13 season and a 1-5 record in conference play, the Rams will

Demi Muchmore Editor in Chief                 Currently in Mrs. Pappan’s creative writing class, students are writing rhyming poems. For many, rhyming comes very easy to them.  They can just spit words out and they work. For others, they struggle with coming up with the words that rhyme together.                 “I didn’t like the rhyming unit. It limits you to the words you can use because you have to be sure that it will rhyme”, said junior Jade Woods. According to poemhunter.com; a rhyme is a repetition of similar sounds, or of the same sounds, in two or more words. The word rhyme is a Germanic term meaning “series or sequence.”  Also the word rhyme has multiple spellings. For example; rime or ryme. Although rhyming poems can sometimes be difficult, they can be fun. “The one thing I did like was the rhythm that you create with the rhyming poems,” Woods said.