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Xavier High SchoolNews2

The XpressBi-weeklyXavier High School 6300 42nd St. NE Cedar Rapids, IA 52411Volume 15 Issue 2

Editors-In-ChiefAnna Busse

Cassie BuschCopy Editor

Carolina VonKampenNews EditorDaniel Pape

News AssistantQuinlan Moran

News WritersCarolina VonKampen

Maria Efting

Nicholas Mlodzik

Opinion EditorBryan BanowetzOpinion Assistant

Peyton RosencrantsOpinion WritersHannah Gibbs

Brennan Graeve

CJ Lampe

Morgan Noonan

Gina Reiman

Chloe Strief

Ben Valentine

Student Life EditorJenna Fenske

Student Life AssistantColette Miller

Student Life WriterLauren Lutgens

Mini-Feature EditorAnna White

Mini-Feature AssistantAmeena Challenger

Mini-Feature WriterRachel Brady

Feature EditorMegan Lynch

Feature AssistantRobbie Thinnes

Feature WriterMary Esker

Health and Lifestyle EditorAnsley O’Brien

Health and Lifestyle AssistantHannah Chute

Health and Lifestyle WriterMolly Vipond

Arts and Entertainment EditorMaddie Smith

Arts and Entertainment AssistantEmma Hunt

Arts and Entertainment WritersLauren Van Hoeck

Payton Janney

Meghan Gerke

Ashley Pudil

Sports EditorJohn IngwersenSports Assistant

John RichardsonSports Writers

Alex Fox

Connor Collins

Shannon Mulcahey

Kyle D’mello

Lizzy McWhinney

Backpage EditorNicole Draker

Backpage AssistantMcKenzie Potter

BusinessHailey SojkaDistribution

Brennan Graeve

Xavier Key Club contributes to Eliminate ProjectThe Xavier Key Club has begun

participation in The Eliminate Project, a world-wide initiative to eliminate maternal and neonatal tetanus, (MNT), from the earth.

The goal of The Eliminate Project is to vaccinate expecting mothers in the 34 countries worldwide that are still plagued by MNT. MNT is a deadly disease contracted by mothers during childbirth in which open wounds are exposed to soil containing tetanus spores. This disease could easily be eliminated. Just $1.80 pays for the complete immunization of an expecting mother. However, 60,000 newborns still perish at the hands of the disease each year. It is The Eliminate Project’s mission to raise $110 million by 2015 and completely remove MNT from the face of the planet.

Kiwanis International and UNICEF have joined forces to lead the effort. Kiwanis is Key Club’s sponsor group, which played a big part in the decision for Xavier to support the cause according to Mike Goldsmith, Xavier’s Key Club moderator.

Already this school year the Xavier Key Club has started fundraising for The Eliminate Project. At the September 7 football game held at Prairie, students from both the Xavier and Prairie Key Clubs joined forces to raise funds. Students who volunteered stood at both concession stands and asked for donations to go toward the cause. At the end of the night, the Xavier Key Club collected about 300 dollars, one tenth of its yearlong goal of $3,000.

Noah Hagen, a Xavier senior

who volunteered at the Prairie game, had words of motivation for other students interested in volunteering for The Eliminate Project. “You can help save lives, and become aware of how things we hardly worry about, like tetanus, affect other countries in such a big way. Just some spare change can make a big impact.”Hagen said.

Key Club will host more fundraising events to support The Eliminate Project in the future. Students can look on the Key Club bulletin board for arising opportunities in the upcoming months.

More information about The Eliminate Project and its international mission can be found at TheEliminateProject.org.

The Xpendables gear up for a new seasonOn September 8, 14 members

of the Xavier First Tech Challenge (FTC) team traveled to Iowa City to attend the STEM roundtable discussions and the FIRST kickoff, prepping them for their 2012-2013 season.

The Xavier FTC team, The Xpendables, is led by Mrs. Barb Miltner, head of of the Xavier Math Department. The team consists of 17 students, ranging from freshmen to seniors. “I’m really excited for

this season, but we have a lot of work to do. I have hope for this group. We all have to set a good example for the freshmen,” junior Claire Felser said. The Xpendables practice one to two times a week in order to ready themselves for the 2013 season.

FIRST Tech Challenge, the high school version of the middle and elementary school Lego League, was founded in 1989 by Dean Kamen, because he felt the need to help young people discover the excitement of technology and science. The Saints attended the seminar along with 400 other students. The seminar is called, “A Celebration of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) and FIRST in Iowa”, and consisted of hands-on activities and workshops related to STEM and FIRST Robotics. Coaches of teams that attended could also apply for funds through the Scale Up Program, which gives money to 12 different types of STEM groups.

After the activities, many Iowa public figures including Governor Terry Branstad, Lt. Governor Kim Reynolds, Senior Vice President of Rockwell Collins, J.P. Besong, and many others spoke to the attendees about the importance

of technology and science. “We must help more students excel in math and science if we want to achieve our goals. We have a shared responsibility to help every Iowa student reach their full potential,” Branstad said in an interview with The Gazette. The regional kickoff of the 2012-2013 FIRST Tech Challenge season followed, along with a reveal of the rules. The

Maria Efting News Writer

Quinlan MoranAssistant News Editor

Senior Brett Liss organizes parts for his robot. Ms. Dircks photo

Seniors David Kirpes and Noah Hagen put together a robot. Ms. Dircks photo

Seniors!Your Senior Photos for the

yearbook are due December 7th!

Turn them in to Mrs. Wagner Rm #226

or e-mail kellie.wagner@xaviersaints.org