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News Briefs* Rich Engel cross country meet to be held Sept. 14 at 4:30 p.m. at Birdsal Park

* PLAN Test for all sophomores will be held Sept. 14 in the gym from 8:05 until noon. Students are asked to bring a number 2 pencil, reading material and a calculator

* Homecoming week will be from Sept. 18-22 with the theme of “Just Another Day in Paradise.” Students are asked to participate in the assigned theme days Sept 18: Reverse Day, Sept. 19: Twin Day/Toga Day (seniors only), Sept. 20: Pirate Day, Sept. 21: Beach Day and Sept. 22: Spirit Day

* Hall decorating for Homecoming week will be held on

HI LINETigerThe

http://www.cedar-falls.k12.ia.us1015 Division St. Cedar Falls, IA 50613 Volume 47 Edition 1

Crikey!CFHS students can learn from all of the hard work Steve Irwin has enthusi-astically done for envi-ronmental education and protecting wildlife.

See OPINION page

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Dr. Dana DeinesAssociate PrincipalEducation AdministrationUniversity of Northern Iowa

Dr. Tracy JohnsResource TeacherEducational Leadership

University of Northern Iowa

Dr. Rich PowersPrincipal

Educational Administration and SupervisionLoyloa University

DoctorHouse?

Is there a

in the

What does it mean to have your doctorate?

“I was able to perser-vere through chal-lenging times and learn what it means to be an educational leader in different environments.”

With the addition of principal Rich Powers to the CFHS staff

this year, the number of a doctorate degrees has grown to three

Q

A

What has your doctorate done to improve the way you do your job?

“I think I was ex-posed to great infor-mation in my course work. I met a lot of interesting people who had far more experience in schools, which gave me skills I didn’t have before.”

Q

A

What has your doctorate done to improve the way you do your job?

“People are a collec-tion of their experi-ences, and it has been another experience that has helped shape the way I think.”

Kellie PetersenStaff Writer

Homecoming is just around the corner at Ce-dar Falls High School, but this year students will be “coming home” at least once every week as they attend their newly established homerooms every Wednesday from 9:41-10:06.

The school day still starts and ends at the same times, and other periods of the day contrib-ute some time in order to make this eighth period possible.

The idea for homerooms came from a recent state push to improve the progress of secondary schools. The four R’s — rigor, relevance, rela-tionships and reflection — are the target areas in this statewide initiative, and Cedar Falls, like many other school districts, chose homerooms as a way to adopt the relationship component of this initiative.

Dr. Rich Powers, the new CFHS principal, said that the relationships and reflection parts of the four R’s are important.

“People typically don’t lose jobs because of what they don’t know. They lose them because of their interactions with other people,” Powers said.

He also said that homerooms create the oppor-tunity for students to build stronger relationships with teachers and to gain a stronger appreciation for each other.

“I’m excited because it’s a very student-cen-tered solution,” Powers said.

The planning for homerooms began last year during the professional development days.

Diane Flaherty, an English teacher at CFHS, is the chair of the committee for homerooms.

Science teacher Marcy Hand, FCS teacher Linda Schutte, industrial technology teacher Linda Sneed and physical education teacher Jamie Smith, as well as 11 other people are the other members of the committee.

When writing the homeroom curriculum, they looked at the issues in Cedar Falls High School and also consulted Character Counts, a curricular resource for buiding positive social skills in the areas of trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring and citizenship. Each commit-tee member picked important lessons and pulled them together that way. “They are wonderful people. They’re really making this work,” Fla-herty said.

Since homerooms are a new idea, it is not certain how well they are working at this time.

“I’ve heard some really good comments from faculty and students, but it’s still not a perfect system. It’s still in its infant stages. I just hope that faculty and students will reserve judgment and give it time,” Flaherty said.

“I think the students, at least in my home room, have been very active in participating,” Flaherty said. Students such as junior Tim Jack-son said he enjoys the new program.

“I like homerooms. It’s a change during the week,” Jackson said.

Students like sophomore Cody Zey like the chance that homerooms offer to meet new people.

Although there are many supporters of the program, everyone may not agree with the way homerooms are run.

“I don’t think we need to do it every week. It should be more bi-weekly,” sophomore Ben Morris said.

Junior Tyler Sweet said that the idea behind homerooms is good, but the way they are done confuses people.

It is still not clear whether homerooms are successful or will need some work, but as Princi-pal Powers put it: “Change is always an opportu-nity for growth.”

New homerooms, principal build CF relationships

Sunday, Sept. 17. All students are invited to come decorate from 1 to 4 p.m.

* The homecoming election assembly will be held Sept. 13 dur-ing regular homeroom time

* Homecoming coronation will be held Thursday, Sept. 21 at 8 p.m. on the football field. Fireworks will be held immediately after at 9 p.m.

* Homecoming dance tickets will be on sale in the cafeteria during lunch hours on Thursday, Sept. 21 and Friday, Sept. 22 for $4.

*The Homecoming dance will be held in the Orchard Hill Church Gymnasium from 9 p.m. until midnight. Tickets will cost $5 at the door

*The UNI College Fair will take place next Tuesday, Sept. 19 from 9 to11 a.m. at the UNI-Dome for juniors and seniors

*Conflict Manager applications will be due in the guidance office Thursday, Sept. 14

*Any students wanting to contact former choir teacher Susan Beasley, please do so by Oct. 2. Letters should be made out to Cedar Falls High School at 1015 Division Street, Cedar Falls 50613

Competing in last weeks homeroom challenge for a chance to compete during the homecom-ing assembly is junior Barry Firman.

Elle Frodsham Photo

Our View

The Tiger Hi-Line is a weekly publication of the journalism classes of Cedar Falls High School, 1015 Division St., Cedar Falls, Iowa 50613. Each edition is published on Wednesdays during the school year in The Insider and Waterloo/Cedar Falls Courier, 501 Commercial St., Waterloo, Iowa 50701.

Columns and letters do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the Hi-Line or Cedar Falls Schools. The Hi-Line editorial staff view is presented weekly in the editorial labeled as Our View.

Reader opinions on any topic are welcome and should be sent to the Tiger Hi-Line staff or delivered to room 208. All letters must be signed. Let-ters must be submitted by 3 p.m. on Thursday for publication the following Wednesday. Letters may not exceed 300 words and may be edited to meet space limitations. Include address and phone number for verification.

Editorial StaffEditors-in-Chief-Sheila Moussavi & Kirstin Riggs

News Editor-Kelsey Ihde & Audrey KittrellOpinion Editors-Andrea Huber & Robb Klassen

Sports Editor-Josh BettsFeature Editors-Briana McGeough & Willa SimmetOn-Line Editors-David Jacobson & Olivia Schares

Photo Editors-Katy Schult

OPINIONHI LINETiger

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What are you looking for-ward to most about your

senior year at CFHS?

“I’m looking forward to get-ting senioritis and having an

excuse to be lazy.”Emily Lentz

If you could change one thing about CF this year,

what would it be?

“I would make a weighted grading scale so people can’t take easy classes to get 4.0s.”

Bryce Duchman

What’s the best part about being a senior?

“Seniors get a lot more re-spect from teachers and

young punk kids.”Sean Ephraim

Honor HeindlStaff Writer

For those of you that are afraid to admit you’re addicted to the world’s most popular drug, don’t worry. You’re one of 165 million in the United States alone. There are 550 milligrams of caffeine-packed goodness in a grande coffee from Starbucks, while the “fake” instant stuff only provides a tiny 190 milligrams. Coffee addicts who in-dulge in daily delights such as an iced caramel macchiato, one of Starbuck’s most popular sippable sensations, may spend around $1,368 a year on the habit. Is the caffeine kick worth it?

“I even come in on my days off. I have to get my coffee everyday,” Star-bucks employee, Beth said.

Coffee shops are not only a relax-ing atmospheric hangout for anyone, but also the hot spot for study groups, especially all the college kids. Wire-less Internet is provided in most coffee shops as well. Mochas are a favorite at Cup of Joe on Main and Jag’s Java on the corner of Round and University. Younger customers tend to go for the frappuccinos and sweeter fluids, while adults usually go for the plain dark cof-fees or teas.

Cup of Joe employee Amy Baldwin said none of the coffee shops in Cedar Falls really interfere with one another too drastically.

Jag’s Java, Cup of Joe and Star-bucks all have their own unique atmo-spheres and strengths. Starbucks is a

huge corporate chain, so it’s definitely well known. The drive-thru is quite convenient as well, while the local shops are also quite profitable because they are very personable with their customers.

Baldwin noted the connection that Cup of Joe has with its custom-ers.

“We’ve got a very friendly atmosphere because we know our customers and their drinks,” she said.

The lovely décor and top ingredients are Jag’s Java’s key to success. Ten-pound chocolate blocks straight from California make the drinks full of fresh flavor.

“We have a lot of unique blends that we did a lot of research on to find,” Jag’s Java owner Dale said, “We bring in a diversified group ranging from Bible studies to motorcycle gangs.”

Coffee is a drug, yes, but one nobody’s willing to give up. As the anonymous quote goes, “I’d stop drinking coffee, but I’m no quitter.” True, it causes one to go through quite drastic measures to get that cup

of steaming aromatic caffeine, but it doesn’t necessarily do any harm. Honestly, the coffee drinker may be more dangerous without. So no matter if you pick up your coffee from one of these three spots or just from the corner gas station, you’ll be one of the growing population for whom “a day without coffee is like sleep.”

When we hear the name Steve Irwin we automatically think of a man wearing khaki shorts and a tan, button down shirt saying “Crikey!” while wrestling a huge saltwater crocodile in the backwaters of Austra-lia.

Unfortunately the idol of many animal lovers and people in general died doing what he loved on September 4th, 2006. While shooting a documentary called Oceans Deadliest in the Great Barrier Reef, Irwin was swimming with a sting-ray when it shot its tail up and hit Irwin in the heart, killing him almost immediately. This sort of freak accident has only hap-pened 15 times in the past 80 years and it is truly a tragedy to have happened to such a loving man.

While our school and millions of other people around the world mourn Irwin’s death, we must realize that he had an incredible ability to inspire a generation to care deeply for our earth and our wildlife. Unfortunately, Irwin has left behind his two kids and loving wife after passing away.

This week also marks the fifth anniversary of the tragic deaths of thousands in the attacks of Sept. 11. If those who were lost in the Sept. 11 attack could’ve foreseen that their days would be shortened, hope-fully every one of them would’ve lived their days with the same gusto that Irwin was famous for displaying. Perhaps many of them already did live their lives with that kind of passion.

But as we begin another year of digging into the kind of growth that potentially empowers us to make Irwinian impacts on the world, let’s not forget the importance of every day, that our days are limited and that many have sacrificed for the wealth of potential that we can utilize.

Carpe Diem

Tragic losses should inspire us to grab each day by the tail

Write the Tiger Hi-Line Seniors settle in for last year

Coffee hangouts deliver needed jolts

Steve Irwin1962-2006

Robb Klassen PhotoAn espresso is more common for the avid coffee drinker because of its strong and bitter taste.

Jenn

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Athleteof

theWeekCorey Albrecht

Junior Wide Receiver

Tigersin Action

SPORTS

Football (1-1) lost to IC West 14-3Next Up: vs. Dubuque Wahlert 9/15(Home at 7:45 p.m.)

Men’s Cross Country placed 2nd out of 12 at M’town InviteNext Up: Rich Engel Classic 9/14(Home at 4:30 p.m.)

Women’s Cross Countryplaced 4th out of 15 at M’town InviteNext Up: Rich Engel Classic 9/14(Home at 4:30 p.m.)

Women’s Swimmingcompeted vs. CR Jefferson last nightNext Up: Iowa City High Invite 9/16(Away at Noon)

Volleyball placed 1st at Osage Tournamentplayed at Iowa City West last nightNext Up: Iowa City High 9/14(Home at 5:30 p.m.)

Men’s Golfplaced 2nd out of 3 at MVC Triangular at Waterloo EastNext Up: MVC Quad at IC High 9/18(Away at 2:45 p.m.)

HI-LINETigerThe

Men’s cross country readies for Engel ClassicState Title Defenders

Kristen HammerStaff Writer

In a workout before re-turning home for the Rich Engel Classic, the men’s cross country team fi n-ished second to Marshall-town at the Marshalltown Invite last Thursday in the varsity, JV, and fresh/soph divisions beating their rivals Valley, Ankeny and Dowling.

Junior Alex Mark came in fi rst for Cedar Falls and seventh overall with a time of 17:06. Following him were the other varsity members Jason Knox, Michael Sreicher, Drew Poland, Tim Scholle, Brandon Alvarado and Justin Grider.

Next week is the Tigers home meet, the Rich Engel Classic. The course is very scenic, but it’s also known for being hilly. Of course, Cedar Falls has the advantage of being able to practice on it daily.

“It is the best course we run on for the fans.

You can see the whole race, and you have a lot of opportunities to cheer on your team,” coach Troy Becker said.

The guys will be fresh for Tiger.

“We’ve been training really hard, and now it’s time to take a little break. We’re going to do a mini taper for Rich Engel and get the legs back under everyone,” Becker said.

Not only will they be physically prepared, but their attitudes are that of true champions.

“Our guys are learning that they can only be as good as their teammates let them be. They have to do this together if they want to have success at all three levels of competi-tion. Our seniors have done an excellent job of showing the new runners what it means to train and act like champions. We’ve been totally impressed with our team’s attitude,” Becker said.

Former CF cross coun-

Tim HinkelStaff Writer

After capturing the state title last year and taking fi rst place in the West-dale Mall competition on Saturday, Aug. 26, the competitive cheerlead-ing team is pumped for the upcoming year.

“I think we need to work hard at it, though,” returning cheerleader Rocky Facciani said about the next state competition.

The next event for Facianni and the other 11 returning cheerleaders will be the Tiger Invitational on Saturday, Oct. 28. There are 20 total cheerlead-ers on the team this year.

“We will be performing our state routine,” head coach Tami Doyle said, “but we’ve got a lot of work to do. We’re still in the basics now.”

In December the team will also

be going to Dallas for the National Cheerleading Association.

“There’s going to be lots of scouts,” third year competitive cheerleader Ryan Swarbrick said, “I’m excited to see all of the teams down south.”

Facciani, returning for her second year of competitive and fi fth year of sports cheerleading, said that competi-tive cheerleading is a sport, and she said she grows tired of defending its athletic demands from detractors.

“They should try it with us and see how hard it is,” Facciani said.

Swarbrick, along with the rest of the team, agreed with Facciani.

“If they consider golf a sport, then competitive cheerleading is a sport,” Swarbrick said.

Taking state last year for the fi rst time in fi ve years rekindled the spirit of the cheerleaders, and they said they are hoping for another year like it.

Competition Cheerleaders claim Westdale Mall title

Megan Mackey PhotoTowering over the competition, the cheerleaders took the top trophy at the Westdale Mall in Cedar Rapids on Saturday, Aug. 26.

Leading the Tigers to a second place fi nish at the Marshalltown Invite on Sept. 7 are Senior Jason Knox, Junior Michael Streicher, and Junior Alex Mark , who fi nished 8th , 11th and 7th respectively.

Caitlin Glade Photo

try runner Dan Chenoweth will be returning with his Illinois cross country team to compete at Rich Engel.

“The competition will be incredible this year. We’ll have to run at our very best if we hope to defend our title, but the competition is what makes winning so rewarding if you can do it,” Becker said.

The CFHS drum line will be performing during the meet. Their job is to get the athletes psyched for their race, and, come Thursday afternoon, hard core cross country fans will no doubt be seen lin-ing the course cheering on their family members and friends.

“The guys love to be able run in front of their friends, and they love having the drum line come out and fi re us up on the course,” Becker said.

The Rich Engel Classic will be held Thursday, Sept. 14 at Birdsall Park, starting at 4:30 p.m.

How do you see the season going compared to last year?

“We’re going to do good, but it’ll be hard to follow that class.”

What does it mean to have Coach Mitchell back after the scare last year?

“It’s good to keep the CF tradition instead of bringing in someone new from scratch.”

Are there any teams you are look-ing forward to playing this year?

“Waterloo East and Waterloo West because they’re our rivals.”

How do you celebrate after a win?

“The fans come to the parking lot and hang out with the players.”

What CF football players do you look up to?

Brandon Nelson because he has played my position and has helped

me out.”