New Furniture in the Media Center

Come in and check out the new furniture in the media center. No, don't come in to borrow it, but have a seat with a few friends and hang out in the media center at the cafe table or in the stylish chrome and black chairs. Remember, the media center is available before school and students are also welcome to come during study hall, with teacher's permission.

Thank you to all the students who picked corn to help earn the dollars used to purchase the furniture and the charger stations for the media center!!

Eagle Speech

This coming Saturday January 24th, Eagle Grove will be taking 10 events to the district large group speech competition. 27 students will be competing for Eagle Grove. We are taking 2 musical theaters, a readers theatre, 3 improvs, an ensemble acting, short film, TV news, and a radio broadcasting. Speech is a great opportunity for our students who learning acting and public speaking skills. We will be traveling to Garner Hayfield HS, our first event starts at 8 AM. A full schedule is below:

Time	Center	Group
8:00 AM	4	Late Night 10 at 10 (TV News)
8:20 AM	7	Boatner, Helmke, Nguyen Improv
9:00 AM	2	Pajama Game (Musical Theatre)
9:00 AM	6	MacBeth Mixed Up (Ensemble Acting)
10:00 AM	3	How to Succeed in HS Without Really Trying (Readers Theater)
10:30 AM	4	KWOB Radio Broadcasting
11:30 AM	7	Kimbrough, Bromley Improv
11:50 AM	4	The Door Short Film
12:30 PM	2	Hairspray Musical Theatre
1:40 PM	7	Brekke, Nett, Davis, Davis Improv

Health 1-- Guest Blog

Health 1-- Guest Blog

By: Mikelle Leonard
Freshman @ EGHS
+Mikelle Leonard

When you look at someone who has a mental disability, do you see anything different? Do they still have two eyes, ten fingers, one head? Are they different from someone who is considered “normal?” On the outside, no, they really are no different. They still smile when they are happy, and they cry when they are sad. So what makes someone who has autism different from someone who doesn’t?

Any person who battles autism everyday is dealing with a complex developmental disorder of brain function. Autism is known as a spectrum; hence, autism spectrum disorder, or ASD. The spectrum, though, doesn’t necessarily mean how “bad” someone has autism. The spectrum is based on the level of support that the individual needs in social skill deficits and stereotyped behaviors.

When growing up with someone who has autism, as I have, you notice the signs quickly. Sometimes you start to notice they give you little or no eye contact, or maybe they show a lack of interest in peer relationships. It all varies on person to person. But that doesn’t mean we treat them with less respect.

I, personally, grew up with a sibling who has autism. We grew up close, and to this day I love him with all my heart. When I learned he had autism, I was surprised, and yet, deep down, I knew he was different than me. Knowing he has autism didn’t make me treat him any differently. We still fought like any normal sibling bond would. But by the end of the day, he was still my big brother, and I his little sister, and we loved each other like in any other sister and brother relationship.

Growing up was tough. When people found out that I had a brother with ASD, they took things to the extreme. People always imagine someone non-verbal, rocking back and forth, or they picture brilliant individuals free of issues. But in all truth, the reality is somewhere in the middle.

We are so quick to judge someone with a mental disorder, but we never truly know how that affects them on the inside. Telling someone, day after day, that they are not good enough, or smart enough, all of those insults drill into their brain. By the time they go to bed, those insults rack inside their mind over and over again until they think it’s really true.

Most people tend to think that people with autism are not smart. When a kid is told that they are not smart, they give up. What’s the point if you’re not smart, right? Wrong! Give these kids the courage to accomplish their goals. You just might be surprised by what they can do.

What’s the most disturbing stereotype, though, is that people believe there is nothing that can be done to help children on the spectrum. This is false! There are multiple steps that can be taken to help those with ASD. It all starts with you.

Your thoughts and your actions decide how people who live with autism think about their own lives. Yes, their is no cure to autism, and there’s no specific medication for someone with ASD, but you, yourself, can help someone with ASD. From a simple compliment, to helping them personally. ASD is a battle within itself, but you can lift some of it off of their shoulders.

Physics lab: Motion in two dimensions.

In physics, we are studying motion.  This lab is about motion in two dimensions.  The students had to construct a ramp, take careful measurements and make the proper calculations to determine where to place a penny on the floor.  When they roll the ball down their ramp, it had to hit the penny.  Hit, and it's an A.  Miss.... and you fail.  My students get a bit stressed out but they really enjoy this lab.

Eagle Speech

Look for great things from the Eagle Grove Speech Team this season! We have 37 students out for speech team, participating in large group and individual events. Check out Iowa High School Speech Association for more information including this years contest schedules. This is my second year coaching and we have seen our team double in size. Speech offers our students the opportunity to practice a life skill, public speaking. This season we will have students competing in everything from short film to readers theatre to acting to improv. Yesterday, we started filming our short film for contest! We have an amazingly talented group of young people who will make Eagle Grove proud! Please find time to come watch our performances.


Competition Schedule (locations to follow in December)

DISTRICT LARGE GROUP      JAN. 24, 2015                                    SITES ACROSS THE STATE

STATE LARGE GROUP           FEB. 7, 2015                          SITES ACROSS THE STATE

ALL-STATE LG FESTIVAL      FEB. 21, 2015                        ISU CENTER, AMES

DISTRICT IE                           FEB. 28, 2015                        SITES ACROSS THE STATE

STATE IE                                MARCH 14, 2015                  SITES ACROSS THE STATE

ALL-STATE IE FESTIVAL       MARCH 30, 2015                  UNI, CEDAR FALLS

Social Media "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly"

Social media can both negatively and positively affect our students lives.  When it is used in a positive way it can highlight what our students and athletes are doing in education and activities.  This type of communication can make students feel good about the things they are involved in.  Teachers posting students learning in the classroom is a great way to communicate to the community about what is going on in the school.  When the adults in the community can see what is going on they can talk to our students about how those things have helped them become better students and better learners.  Coaches can post updated information with regards to their activities.  This provides an active feed to the public about how things went on a particular date or even how they are going during an event.

On the other side of things social media can be used as a negative tool for communication.  When these tools are used to intimidate, annoy, or antagonize individuals it can lead to cases of bullying or harassment.  In these cases social media can be a weapon for students and can cause harm to individuals who may not know how to handle what is being done with social media.  This weapon does not cause physical harm directly to any of the victims, but it can cause psychological harm which may lead to physical harm.  When this happens we tell our students to do the following; block the individuals, stop following the feed, take screen shots of the information, share the information with the proper authorities, and never respond to the individual posting the information.  We also remind students who are victims of this type of activity that those who are posting these things are trying to avoid dealing with their own shortcomings or problems.  By posting things about others they are avoiding fixing their own problems and trying to bring others down to their level.  Don't allow for them to bring you down.  Stand your ground as Joel Penton would say and focus on your goals.

This year we have brought in local law enforcement to talk about consequences of misusing social media.  What has been pointed out is that social media is not as anonymous as our students may think.    Technology was built to be traceable and if the information needs to be traced back for good reason then it can be by the developers of different media.  My advice is don't post things to hurt others as it will not help you personally move on in your life and achieve your goals.  Stop following feeds that are built to hurt or embarrass others.  It may be humorous to you for a while, right up until the day you are made fun of or attacked on the feed.

JS  

The Case For High School Activities

Eagles,

As Activities Director, I'm often in communication with students and parents about the value of participation in extracurricular activities while in high school. A few months ago, I came across this article written by the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS). In just a few pages, this article does so much to highlight the importance of extracurriculars for our young people. 

NFHS - The Case For High School Activities

Extracurricular activities do so much to shape and change lives. As a young man growing up in small town Iowa I can honestly say that the values and lessons I learned through extracurriculars changed my life and helped make me who I am today. 

As we head into winter activities, I would ask each young person at Eagle Grove High School to strongly consider participating in an extracurricular activity. If you've never participated before, there's no better time than the present to get started, don't let another year pass you by. If you're on a team or involved in a extracurricular activity, make a commitment to yourself, your teammates, your coaches, your family, and your community to put the very best of yourself into what you're doing. 

As staff and community members, lets do all we can to support our young people and the coaches/sponsors who work with them on a daily basis. Working together, we can make a difference and have an impact that will last long after the lights of the gym are turned off. 

I'll leave you with something that my high school football Coach Ed Thomas used to always say to us, I think it's so true and speaks to the spirit of what our coaches/sponsors/teachers here at EGHS are all about...."If all I've taught you is how to block and tackle, I've failed you as a coach."

All the best to our young people and coaches/sponsors as we roll into winter activities!

Until next time, 
kw