CC
Report
New Computers
By: Adam Krog
After interviewing Jonn Betzer I received a lot of information about the Central City Schools new Lenovo computers that I would like to share with everyone. The reason that Central City Schools did not continue using the MacBook computers was because the 1-to-1 initiative through Apple was no longer available. The board of directors decided to continue the 1:1 program, whether it be with Apple, PC, or tablets. After much consideration, the Lenovo platform was chosen to keep costs to the school, students, and their families as low as possible.
Lenovo was chosen as the system of choice due to its portability, efficiency, and affordable costs. Lenovo was significantly less costly than Apple and Dell. Another perk of choosing Lenovo would be the need for parents to pay for insurance was eliminated. This new computer agreement was funded by "Secure an Advanced Vision for Education" fund (S-A-V-E fund). The SAVE fund is funded by Iowa's sales tax/use tax collected by the State. It is a fund that can only be used to fund certain expenses by Iowa's schools.
The Central City School District was able to purchase the Lenovo equipment without a contract so there is no lease or lien on the equipment. The computers have a three year warranty which covers, what is considered to be, the average functional life of a computer system.
Speech
By: Jeff McGovern
The weekend of January 19th the Speech group went to Monticello for the district speech competition; the group did very well. Performances included short film, reader's theater (two entries), solo and group mime (a total of four entries), and ensemble acting (two entries).
In the solo mime competition, Skyler Matthias's skit was "The Plunge" and Miranda Tumilty's was "The mask.” Both performances will be moving on to the State Speech Competition. The group mime category was also successful for the Speech team. Lucas Kramer and Sam Crist performed a group mime together, "The Elevator" and will be going to state as well. Skyler Matthias and Lucas Kramer did an act together "Shopping for my Wife" for Ensemble Acting and will be going to state. The final performance going to state is a Reader’s Theaters skit called "Cinderella,” written by Roald Dahl. State speech takes place at Kennedy High School in Cedar Rapids on February 2nd. Good luck to all the contestants!
Upcoming Speech Events:
Large Group Contests:
State: February 2 (Kennedy High School)
All State: February 16 (ISU)
Individual Contests:
Conference: February 18 (Center Point-Urbana)
District: February 23 (Monticello)
State: March 9 (Vinton-Shellsburg)
All-State: March 25 (UNI)
Guitar Club
By: Tyler Oberhauser
Ms. Marshall is the sponsor of the guitar club. She hopes to provide an opportunity for students with similar interest in music to interact with other students they wouldn't normally speak with each other. It will hopefully help students get to know each other more and have the opportunity to learn the guitar if they have the desire. They are planning on participating in this year's or next year's variety show at the school on March 8th and 9th.
They meet to play some tunes every Tuesday and Thursday for the rest of the school year. Ms. Marshall is beyond qualified to run this club, because she has played and enjoyed the guitar for 10 years. She was asked by some interested students to support the creation of this club.
Photography Club
By: Tyler Oberhauser
Mrs. Delaney took on the job to run the photography club. The objective of this club is to explore photography while learning tips and enjoying the art of photography. She feels that this club will help the students be involved, helping improve their skills with cameras, angles, and perspectives. These skills will transfer to other school courses such as writing applications, yearbook, and art classes. It also will potentially help students with passion in these fields; to hone their skills and narrow their career paths while providing valuable experiences.
They are planning on meeting Thursdays; twice to three times a month depending on availability of students and what can be accomplished in meetings. Also, she would like to expose the students to real world opportunities, new career path ideas, and possibilities of where to take photos.
Mrs. Delaney's qualifications consist of many college photography classes, along with her enjoyment and desire to share with others.
VREP
By: Matt Knudsen
Virtual Reality Education Path Finder's (VREP) is a class taught by Rob Pangburn, the FFA advisor and agriculture teacher at Central City. The class makes 2-dimentional and 3-dimentional renderings using a software Blender.
The class is an all year class. Pangburn suggests that if a student takes it for one year, they should take it every year in high school. This is because they will learn more and the technology gets more and more advanced. The older or more experienced classmates are encouraged to teach and help the younger newer students.
The newer members of this class are working on learning the software program Blender by making a ginger bread man do jumping jacks. The more advanced students are working on a commercial that is 30 seconds to a minute long. It the commercial is either going to be about VREP, Central City High School, or the town of Central City.
This class can help students to start training for career fields like animation, video gaming, and just about any job that deals with computer graphics and design. DreamWorks, Pixar, and Disney are all examples of some companies that deal with computer graphics and designs.
The students in this class receive special computers from the school in order to be updated with the latest software. They also have an up dated graphics and computer ram so that way they run faster and better with Blender. They also have a number pad like a normal desktop which allows the students short cuts in creating.
