SCHOOL and SPORTS
f
Page Eight
Official Publication for the Norwalk Connnunity School District
N/Warren Town and County News
Norwalk Warriors 6th Grade Basketball
Norwalk Warriors 6th grade basketball team placed 1st at the Tom Guess/ord
Memorial Tournament of Champions. Pictured, left to right, Row 1: Bowen Born,
Tucker Christensen, Scott Anderson. Row 2: Tanner Foltz, Tyler Johnson, Nate
Lane, Liam Bucldey, Zach Marker, Coaches 7ravis Foltz, Brennan Bucldey and
.Scott Johnson. Photo submitted.
LADY WARRIORS BASKETBALL
Upset Bid Falls Short for Lady Warriors
Norwalk faced yet another rated team, 5th ranked Per, but fell short in the end.
Norwalk led for most of the game, but a strong 4th quarter by the Blue Jays downed
the Warriors, 55-46.
The Warriors raced out to a 15-7 first quarter lead with Sidney Logan leading the
way scoring six points. Hannah Hoover hit a three-pointer, Jaycie Owens, Elyse Rice
and Tori VanVelzen added baskets to put the Warriors in;charge of the game. Perry
pulled a little closer in the second, outscoring the Warriors 14-12. The game was tied
at the end of the third at 35 when the Warriors were unable to score, missing shots on
8 of 12 possessions. Perry outscored Norwalk 20-11 in the final frame as turnovers
plagued Norwalk. Norwalk was ledby Logan with a game high 14 points. VanVelzen
finished with 10, Owens seven, Rice four, Hannah Hegland, Kierstin Vaske and Hoover
chipped in three each. Hannah Poppens ended the game with two points.
Norwalk Faces DCG
Norwalk faced its fifth rated opponent in nine games and came up short, 50-26.
The Warriors closed 2013 with a 3-6 record, five of the losses coming to rated teams.
The Warriors again kept the game close in the first half leading by one at the end of
the first and trailing by six at the break. Logan provided the offensive spark in the'
first quarter, scoring seven points. Poppens scored from beyond the arc and VanVelzen
added a basket to provide the advantage for the Warriors. The Warriors managed
only five points in the second quarter and trailed 23-17 heading into the locker room.
The Phillies turned up the pressure in the third quarter and allowed Norwalk only
four points. The last quarter aw Norwalk turn over the ball six more times as DCG
held the Warriors to five points for the lowest offensive output of the season. Logan
paced the Warriors with 11 points. VanVelzen finished with six. Vaske finished with
four, Poppens three and Mikayla Jaminet scoring her first varsity basket for two points.
The Warriors shot a dismal 5-o'f-14 from the free-throw line. Norwalk will be back in
action Tuesday, Jan. 7 at home against a 5-2 Knoxville in a conference matchup.
Live Healthy Iowa Kids
Is your school or organization looking for an opportunity to build a culture of
. wellness in 2014? If so, Live Healthy Iowa and Live Healthy Iowa Kids have the
perfect opportunity for you! Both programs are preparing to kick off their annual 10
Week Wellness Challenge.
The kids and adult 10 Week Wellness Challenges run at the same time and have
the same general concept; however, they track a few different things. The adhlts will
track their activity minutes and/or their weight loss ($20/participant) and the youth
will be tracking their activity minutes throughout the entire 10 weeks and during
two-week time periods, they will be tracking their fruits, vegetables, milk, water and
screen time minutes.
The challenge is free for all youth and Live Healthy Iowa Kids is proud to offer
weekly motivational emails, an online team tracking page, opportunities to win in -•
centives during and after the challenge and access to many online resources. At the
Concluded p. 9
Norwalk Warriors
Thursday, January 2, 2014
News from Norwalk Community Schools 1:1 Committee
Leah Alliman
and Tricia Kurtt
Communfi'cation
Subcommittee
As teclology contin-
ues to evolve in the world,
schools have begun to use
it as an evolving educa-
tional tool. As other dis-
tricts in the central Iowa
region began to imple-
ment the 1:1 Initiative,
Norwalk paid close atten-
tion. At the request of ad
ministration, the 1:1 Com-
mittee was created in Janu-
ary 2012 to explore the
possibility of implement-
ing the 1:1 Initiative :at
Norwalk High School. The
committee is composed of
staff members from a vari-
dy of departments led by
a Norwalk High School
Dean, Tom Scallon, and
the Norwalk Technology
Director, Tim Geyer.
The first task of the 1:1
Committee was to use in-
quiry when researching
the 1:1 Initiative. Members
were asked to read four
articles from scholarly
journals regarding the 1:1
Initiative. A variety o( top-
ics were discussed in the
readings such as support
for students and staff, fac-
tors in the success of
implementation, devices
used and overall impact
on studYent achievement.
The readings selected also
demonstrated the benefits
and drawbacks of imple-
menting the 1:1 Initiative
in schools. As committee
members read the articles,
they explained the positive
and negative findings of
each aYticle, as well as the
implications, of using 1:1.
After each member read
the articles, the committee
came together to discuss
similarities and differ-
ences in their findings, cre-
ating an overall list of the
research conducted. After
the initial list was created,
committee members con-
tinued to conduct inde-
pendent research and
added to the list when a
new finding was discov-
ered. The committee com-
piled their research and
used it to create a vision
statement to guide future
work.
After a series of meet-
ings discussing the posi-
tive and negative implica-
tions of 1:1 research, the
committee felt prepared to
begin the next step in the
research process, which
was visiting schools that
implemented the 1:1 Ini-
tiative. To create an en-
hanced learning environ-
ment for our students, it
was best to not only learn
about other schools imple-
menting 1:1, but to see
these schools in action.
Two schools were chosen
to visit initially (though
many more schools have
been observed as of today),
Van Meter and North High
School. Van Meter and
North High School w-ere
selected to observe due to
the timing Of their 1:1
implementation. Van
Meter implemented the 1:1
Initiative in the • 2009-2010
school year, where North
High School had just
implemented its 1:1 Initia-
tive program at the start of
the 2011-2012 school year.
Visiting these two schools
allowed our committee the
opportunity to witness the
1:1 Initiative in the begin-
ning and later stages of the
program. Before visiting
Van Meter and North High
School, the Committee re-
searched the LoTi (Levels
of Teaching Innovation )
Framework, which is used
to assess authentic class-
room use of technology.
The LoTi framework in-
cludes the use of a matrix,
which places the use of
technology integration on
a scale of 0 (non-use)
through 6 (Refinement).
After researching and dis-
cussing this tool, the Com-
mittee decided to use the
framework as a guide
when visiting the two
school districts. Each com-
mittee member was given
a chart based on the LoTi
framework to use as a
guide when observing in-
structional practice in
classrooms.
The 1:1 Committee
spent half a day at each
school. The visit began by
speaking with the building
principal, curriculum di-
rector and technology di-
rector of each district
about their implementa-
tion of the 1:1 Initiative
and the progress they hav e
made since implementing
the initiative. After this
meeting, committee mem-
bers divided into sub
groups that observed sev-
eral classrooms. While ob-
serving the instructional
use of 1:1, committee
members documented
where the classroom
would fall on the LoTi
framework. Committee
members also recorded
what resources and in-
structiohal methods were
being used by staff and
students in the classroom.
During these observations,
the committee members
were also able to speak
with staff and students re-
garding the 1:1 initiative.
After visiting the two
buildings, the 1:1 Commit-
tee debriefed, explaining
their findings and where
the classrooms fell on the
LoTi framework.
While research is vital
when considering a new
initiative, it is also impera-
tive to have the support of
the teachers who will be
expected to implement the
initiative in their class-
rooms. Therefore, after re-
searching and visiting
school districts, it was de-
cided by the committee to
conduct a survey asking
Norwalk High School staff
for their thoughts about
the possible implementa-
tion of the 1:1 Initiative.
The survey asked staff for
their thoughts regarding
how the 1:1 Initiative
would enhance student
engagement and research-
based strategies used in
the classroom. It also
asked staff to explain con-
cerns and what excites
them about possibly using
1:1. After the survey re-
sults were collected, the
committee split intb sub
groups to record trends
found in the survey. The
committee then held sev-
eral meetings to discuss
the trends and discrepan-
cies found in each question
of the survey. Committee
members then brought
their findings from the sur-
vey to their departments to
receive feedback about
possible implementation.
Further discussion was
held with all parties in-
Volved -(content depart-
ments. 1:1 Committee,
Concluded p. 9
