By Charlee Mapes and Emily Gibbons

May 28, 2021

Ms. Thiel has been the middle school choir student teacher from March to May. Sadly she is leaving, but the Journalism class decided to interview her before she left.

A burning question students want their teachers to answer is: Do you enjoy teaching us at north polk middle school? Well, Ms. Thiel answers saying, “I loved working with you guys. You guys were well behaved and knew how to have fun.”

Her favorite part of hanging out at NPMS was meeting all of the kids and getting to know them as less of students, but more as friends. She also loved learning from Mr. Howell to become a better teacher.

One thing she found interesting about working at NPMS was that there are so many siblings. She says, “There are a lot of older siblings in high school, so it was nice to know who someones siblings are.”

Like it says earlier in this article, she is leaving NPMS. And from here she is planning on student teaching at Boone middle school, K - 5 music class.

Will McConnell, a 7th-grade boy choir member says, “She was fun, my favorite memory with her would be when we played games outside.” Additionally, Addison Keys, a girl 7th-grade choir member states, “She was a great teacher, my favorite thing about her would be that when she helped us, she always made it fun even if we were all being annoying”

Besides all of the positive things the two students have to say about her, was there anything they disliked about her? Both Addison and Will said that they didn’t dislike anything about her. The only thing Addison disliked about her would be that she couldn’t stay and teach longer.

By Tessa Dillinger and Ava Gibson

May 28, 2021

Mrs. Taylor, a science teacher. A basketball coach and a volleyball coach. She loves her students and teaching science. After being asked why she likes teaching Mrs. Taylor said “I think it's really fun and the kids really like learning and I just like what I teach.”

One of her students said “I like being in her class because she likes to make things fun” Bailey also said, “My favorite part of being in her class is probably the labs.” Bailey’s favorite unit in science was the earth unit.

Amelia Growdon played volleyball for Mrs. Taylor. While playing volleyball Amelia improved on her outside hitting and serving. She said, “ She was so supportive and very energetic at every game. ”

Mrs. Taylor was great at helping players achieve their goals. Some players like Amelia, Mrs. Taylor helped her with her serving and hitting. Madi Pratt said that Mrs. Taylor was an awesome coach and that helped her with her layups and passing.

Mrs. Taylor said that she loves coaching basketball and volleyball because she gets to see the kids from her previous year of teaching outside the classroom. Many students and players love to have her as a coach and as a teacher because she has so much energy and loves what she does. Many would say that they love the time in the day from when they walk into the classroom to the time when they walk out.

Meet Mr. Leach and Mrs. Leach, the brightest couple in the North Polk Middle School. The Leaches are two hard working individuals who get the job done. If you were to come into Mr. Leach's Comet Connection, you would most likely find him sorting through papers for his students, but one clear thing about Mr. Leach is that he loves a good laugh!

But if you needed help with a math problem you would most likely find Mrs. Leach working hard helping students with their math problems.

Our two insightful teachers have been teaching for over 35 years! Mr. Leach began his college education at Oakland Community College, but soon transferred to Missouri State University where he met Ms. Leach. The two enjoy working together because they like to bounce ideas off each other and they appreciate understanding what each other do all day. However, Mr. Leach does admit that sometimes he asks Mrs. Leach far too many questions.

It goes without saying that North Polk students are quite lucky to have this dynamic duo!

October 2, 2020

By Delaney Hoechst and Brooke Sprague

Mr. Middleton, the 7th-grade science teacher, had to quarantine for 3 weeks because he was exposed to COVID 19.

Mr. Middleton says online teaching is challenging, “It was challenging because you can't problem-solve.”

He says the worst part of online teaching is, “you’re just not around everybody it’s not the same when you’re together, you just don’t get those relationships at the beginning of the year getting started.” The hardest part of teaching online he states, “ Was getting people to turn their homework in.”

His favorite part about teaching online is the lessons are more intentional meaning he got to choose the lessons that he wanted us to learn. Also, “Everything was more organized,” Mr. Middleton says.

Mr. Middleton states the weirdest part of teaching online is, “Not getting to see everybody’s faces.”

Mr. Middleton’s teaching style was affected because we have to do a lot more online projects like google slides, or google docs.

COVID-19 is affecting teaching in general because attitudes have changed because no one takes school for granted anymore.

February 24, 2020

By Morgan Eyanson-Renken

There are many different views on what is the best music because there are many different kinds of music in the media. Mr. Willey and Ms. Halbloom have different views on what is good music and what is not so good music.

Mr. Willey thinks that pop music is the most popular type of music. Not only because most students listen to pop music, but also because the songs on the radio are mostly pop music. He also believes that the North Polk Middle School students do not listen to the same genre of music. He thinks the cause of this is because students have much more access to different kinds of music, the sources being things like YouTube.

Mr. Willey’s opinion on music today is not a very positive one. He believes that music today doesn't have as much meaning. He thinks that the music that would play on the radio when he was growing up is generally happier and superficial.

“The songs that students play today don't have as much deep meaning” Mr. Willey states. “I think that the music was better when I was growing up” With that being said, Mr. Willie's favorite band is Mumford and Sons.

Likewise, Ms. Halbloom has some of the same opinions as Mr. Willey. However, Ms. Halbloom listens to a variety of different music genres.

Like Mr. Willey, Ms. Halbloom thinks that students listen to pop music the most because it’s energetic and catchy. She believes that it’s more laid back than rap but also peppier than sad songs. She believes that there is a balance.

Similarly, she also believes that peers influence the kinds of music that others listen to. She thinks that the area that people live in can influence music taste.

“If you were to live in Iowa, then the type of music you listen to would be different then a Californian,” Ms. Halbloom exclaims. “There’s more representation based on where you live.” New artists can also persuade the music people to listen to.

Like Ms. Halbloom, Mr. Willey believes that the most popular music can vary based on where you live. Lastly, both teachers believe that a variety of different kinds of music is beneficial for a healthy balance in life.

February 24,2020

By Reis Estey

Mr. Middleton is a seventh grade science teacher at the North Polk Middle School. When he was around 12 or 13 he really found his passion for science. In seventh grade, he had a teacher who taught the scientific method. The teacher made the lessons fun and easy to follow.

In science, Mr. Middleton liked how you can learn through experimenting and exploring. This is also what really made him want to teach. He said his favorite type of science is life science. He likes how we see it in our everyday lives and can make connections through our own experiences.

Mr. Middleton had been teaching at the school for multiple years and had seen the curriculum change. He likes the new Amplify curriculum because it is mainly done through the computer. He appreciates how it creates online models and simulations for students. The website also provides standard based activities and lessons. Finally the test given through the website allows students to know how they did.

Mr. Middleton said, “North Polk always has good kids that seem to be really interested in science.” This makes teaching more enjoyable when the kids are more engaged. One of Mr. Middleton's favorite parts about teaching is when you can see kids focus and try and then get to see their work pay off. He said it’s great to see kids just have a lightbulb go off in their head and make connections or think on a deeper level.

Mr. Middleton has been a science teacher for many years, but he teaches students more than just science. He has taught students about appreciating what they have because not everyone does. These small lessons inside the normal school lessons are what let you know you have a teacher who really cares about their students.

February 24, 2020

By Morgan Eyanson-Renknen

Mrs. Young’s views on teaching have almost always been good. Her love for writing since second grade has led her to where she is now. She has taught at many different schools and all of them had their ups and downs.

As aforementioned, Mrs. Young has loved to write and read. However, one of her favorite things about teaching is seeing the light bulbs go off in a student’s brain. This is the direct cause of her loving to work in small groups because she loves to see her students understand the concept and figure it out for themselves. Not only because she is the cause of that, but also, she loves knowing that one of her kids got the concept and understands it. Seeing a child talk it through is one of her favorite things about teaching.

She wanted a job that had a solid trade, a stable career essentially. After her dad got laid off when she was young, she knew that when she would go into the workforce, her job had to be beneficial. She had always loved kids, and teaching gave her a stable income. After that, she knew that she could take an English major so that she could have options when she got a job. She knew that she wanted to do teaching because she had almost always loved kids.

Furthermore, Mrs. Young loves almost all subjects however, if she could be a teacher for a non-core class, she would teach art. She loves art because she loves the creativity you can put into artwork; she also enjoys the amount of fun you can have while creating artwork. Mrs. Young loves to see the outcome when a piece gets finished.

Out of reading and writing, she benefits more from reading because she states, “You can just get lost in a book.” She does enjoy writing quite a bit, though. “With writing,” she declares, “you can feel more accomplished when you finish.”

Lastly, Mrs. Young believes that having one class be two periods long can have it’s up’s and downs. She likes to be able to know kids for longer; she also thinks that some concepts don’t need two periods to grasp.

Moreover, out of the four schools that she taught at, Mrs. Young says that North Polk Middle School is the best out of all of them. Mrs. Young had wanted to teach for a while and had taught seventh grade at all of her four schools. She likes that seventh-graders still like to learn but are old enough to question the world around them. “Out of all four of the schools I’ve taught at North Polk Middle School is my favorite.”

Mrs. Taylor is the sixth-grade science teacher at North Polk Middle School. She started off wanting to be a third-grade teacher. When she was in her second year of college she took a class about teaching a middle school class and liked the ages of middle schoolers. Mrs. Taylor decided to teach middle schoolers instead of third graders so she had to pick a subject to teach. She picked science because her parents liked science and she always liked science.

Mrs. Taylor got her degree in elementary/middle school education at the University of Northern Iowa. She always wanted to be a teacher. One memory she has is playing school with her younger sister. She was always the teacher and thought it would be fun to teach her sister.

One of Mrs. Taylor's favorite teachers was her eighth-grade English teacher because he made it fun and the way he read books out loud to the students made it entertaining. In her free time, she likes to spend time with her family, playing video games, and being creative.

She wants her students to have fun in science and be interested in science. This year in sixth grade there is an exploratory called Spark. The students get to plant, code, and build things or do the things they're interested in. Mrs. Taylor gets to teach this class. She hopes when her students leave her classes feeling that she cared about them and learned a lot about science. Mrs. Taylor says “North Polk is an awesome school to work at and all the teachers get along well and the students are awesome."

Mrs. Collins is the 8th grade math teacher here at North Polk Middle School. There is so much more to Mrs. Collins that we don’t know about. She grew up in Ankeny, Iowa, but it was much smaller while she was growing up. She didn’t play any sports as a kid and she never even thought she’d become a teacher until she met a very special teacher that helped her through her troubles in the class and they became friends. Many teachers throughout her years growing up inspired her to keep working hard in school, and eventually, she decided she wanted to help kids the same way and become a teacher. She ended up going to Northwest Missouri State University and pursuing her career to become a teacher. Of course, she has her favorite and least favorite things with her busy job. Her favorite thing to do as a teacher is helping the students learn and teaching them. Her least favorite thing is grading.

Mrs. Collins thinks North Polk is special because it is the best of what Iowa has: We have small-town communities together in a good location and have the good advantages of bigger city schools, but not many of the disadvantages. She also believes that we have the perfect amount of students to know all of them and care for them all to give all the opportunities bigger schools can give. Now, outside of school, Mrs. Collins has a husband and two daughters. She enjoys spending her free time with them and walking her three dogs as well! She also enjoys reading and spending time with her friends. Overall, Mrs. Collins has made our eighth-grade math classes very interesting here at NPMS. She is a very humble, enjoyable person who has a passion for teaching her students and helping them succeed.

January 14th, 2020

By. Jakob Phillips and Sam Mumma

Mr. Furlong is a North Polk Middle School (NPMS) Physical Education teacher. He teaches 7th and 6th-grade physical education. He's also one of the 8th-grade football coaches. Mr. Furlong is excited to watch the kids grow up and overcome obstacles.

Mr. Furlong enjoys teaching because there is always something new for the kids to learn. Furlong played college football and baseball. He attended Central College. Furlong was a four sport athlete in middle school as well as high school. He did football, baseball, track, and basketball. Furlongs two most successful sports were baseball and football. When Mr. Furlong was in Middle School he wanted to be a pro athlete.

Mr. Furlong said that the hardest thing about teaching is keeping students under control. It is not easy to keep up to 25 kids under control each period. Some kids enjoy doing other things and not sports. His favorite subject in school was science which is surprising because now he teaches physical education. He might be older than his prime in high school and college but he can still ball and dunk. Mr. Furlong was an average student but that didn't stop him from one day becoming a teacher and coach.

January 14th, 2020

By. Izzy Ware and Jada Boatman

Ms. Halbloom is a literacy teacher at North Polk Middle School. Before Ms. Halbloom was a teacher she wanted to be a pediatrician, but she decided she wanted to be a teacher because of her faith and her mom. Her mom helped her because she was a teacher as well. When she grew up, she became a teacher at North Polk Middle School.

Ms. Halbloom has been a teacher for 3 years. She likes her job but likes it even better when her students are respectful. Ms. Halbloom enjoys building relationships with students. When she became a teacher her goal was to get her students to understand things and help them go above and beyond. Ms. Halbloom wants to impact her student’s lives in a positive way. Ms. Halbloom's favorite memory was when one of her students called her dad and told him how much she appreciated him. After this video, Ms. Halbloom was happy she did this lesson and she can't wait to do it again. Ms. Halbloom's study hall is fun for her but she doesn't like when her students disobey her. Ms. Halbloom's advice for future teachers is to have patience and make sure you understand the kids well.

By: Katelyn Klever

The Media Center has 124 new books and many renovations. Mrs. Slechta, North Polk school librarian, had some interesting things to say about the changes over the summer.

Students now have more options in the Media Center. Mrs. Slechta shared, "I ordered a lot of new books this year! I always look for award-winning books and books that have received awesome reviews." She added new mysteries and ghost stories because she received several requests for those types of stories.

The new books will be promoted in numerous places. Mrs. Slechta explained, “I started to promote them with the book tasting, a slide on the t.v. and soon I will be starting my library installment editions in the restrooms. I also plan to do different displays during the school year.”

Based on what Mrs. Slechta has said, the library is becoming more advanced and recognized to many people. The library can be many people's favorite place in the school. People can go there and not get distracted, and can read or do their homework in peace.

The library isn’t just about getting away from the world, it’s also about connecting with it. In our school library, there is a variety of genes and topics of books. Students can dive into a book and get lost in all the interesting facts they never knew you could learn. For those who don’t like to read, there are chromebooks in the library that are for use if checked out.

Coming to the library is peaceful. The library is a place where people get away from all the noise and craziness in the world. You can get lost in your book and dream of you being one of the characters in the book your reading.

By Lane Sparks and Elyse Engebretson

This year every teacher got to decorate their classroom door. Some of the teachers put bitmojis on their doors and others put things they enjoy doing, have done, or things about their family. Mr. Bird put his dogs, Denver Broncos logo, ice cream, and North Polk on his door. Ms. Halbloom had pictures of family, traveling, and her dog Luna.

The teachers had to choose what to put on their doors. Mrs. Taylor said, “ We found out we were putting things on our door before the end of last year, so I started looking at things other people have done.” The teachers also had to think about the impression their door has on their students. Mr. Bird said “ It depends on the student. Some students will see Iowa’s logo and be happy that he likes the same team as them, then the ones that are Iowa state fans may think differently.”

Mr. Willey liked decorating his door. He said, “ It's cool because then they can get to know me better.” Mr. Willey’s door has things he likes such as teaching, volleyball, reading, Star Wars, movies, and coffee. When asked if he had the chance to change anything on his door, what would it be, he said “ I would probably change it to my students and things that we would be doing in our classroom.”

Our first question for Mrs. Taylor was “what do you think students think of you when they see your door?” and she replied “ how much they have in common” Mrs. Taylor has images of her family, friends, coffee, mountains, sports, music, UNI, science, Hawkeyes, volleyball and more on her door.

By: Olivia Canavan

Both NPMS teachers in the music department like their jobs very much. They are putting a lot of work in preparing for their concerts. Mrs. Hoversten knows exactly what kind of songs her band class is going to play for the winter concert. Band will be playing a slow song, a fast song, and definitely a Christmas song. The vocal teacher Mr. Howell, is not quite sure yet on the songs, but he has a general idea of what he wants to do. Both teachers have been teaching their subject for 6 years. Mrs. Hoversten taught 2 years at Greene County Middle School and 4 years at NPMS. This is Mr. Howell’s first year at NPMS, but he taught 5 years at Belmond-Klemme. He taught 7-12 grade choir and drama at Belmond Klemme.

They both have certain things that they really like about their subject. Mrs. Hoversten loves when something just clicks. Like a lightbulb in someone's head once they get a part music they’ve been struggling with. Mrs. Hoversten likes the song “Blue Ridge Reel.” She started band in high school, but she was interested in band since elementary school. What she liked about doing band was the people helping her get through it. Her first instrument was the trumpet. She also did high school marching band. She didn’t even plan to do band until half way through high school though.

Mr. Howell enjoys singing in big groups. Mr. Howell’s favorite musical is the new Mean Girls musical. Mr. Howell started singing in elementary school. Outside of singing, he enjoys taking care of his dog. It’s his first dog and named Gustav.