Congratulations!
West High Choirs Earn "1" Ratings

Last Saturday, May 8, the four West High Choirs earned 1 ratings at large group music contest. The groups are: Bass Choir, Treble Choir, Women’s Chorale, and Concert Choir. Mary Kay Knapp and Ryan Person are the choir directors.

West High Math Team Wins State
"We Are the Champions"

The West High math team won the 2010 Iowa State Mathematics Championship on Saturday, April 24 at West High.  Des Moines Central Academy finished second and Linn-Mar was third in the large schools division.  Home Schools of Eastern Iowa won the small schools division, followed by Waverly-Shell Rock in second place, and Regina in third.

The West High team of Matt Staib, Don Nye, Bob Chen, Curie Ahn, Shi-Ke Xue, and Tyler Chenhall took first place in the Power Question contest and also on the Team Test.  The trio of Tyler Chenhall, Shi-Ke Xue, and Matt Staib won first place on the Relay Round.

Tyler Chenhall was the overall top individual winner with the highest combined Target and Sprint Test scores, a total of 190 out of a possible 200 points.  Of the top ten individuals, Shi-Ke Xue finished 3rd, Matt Staib and David Ahn tied for 5th, and Curie Ahn finished 9th.

Individual place finishers from West High were:

Target Round

9th grade:  David Ahn, 2nd
10th grade:  Shi-Ke Xue, 1st;  Brian Choi, 2nd
11th grade:  Matt Staib, 3rd
12th grade:  Tyler Chenhall, 1st;  Daniel Wu, 3rd

Sprint Test

9th grade:  David Ahn, 1st;  Ivan Ye, 3rd
10th grade:  Shi-Ke Xue, 3rd
11th grade:  Bob Chen, 2nd;  Matt Staib, 3rd
12th grade:  Tyler Chenhall, 1st;  Curie Ahn, 2nd;  Young Seol, 3rd

Woo-Tack Hong of Regina finished in 1st place at the 10th grade level on the Target Round in the small schools division and in 1st place on the Sprint Test.  Ajay Gupta of City finished in 2nd place at the 11th grade level on the Target Test

Qualifiers from the Iowa State Mathematics Championship will compete at the Midwest Regional Mathematics Championship in Kansas City on May 14.

West High Math Team Wins at Mankato

The 37th Annual MSU High School Mathematics Contest was held on April 20, 2010, at Minnesota State University, Mankato. About 125 high school students representing 12 high schools from Minnesota and Iowa competed in the event. Individual awards and team awards were given to the top performers. Also honor certificates were awarded to students scoring in the top 15%. 
The team from West High won first place in this event.  Tyler Chenhall was the top individual winter, while Shi-Ke Xue finished in second place and Matt Staib was third.  Honor certificates were awarded to David Ahn, Bob Chen, Patrick Tierney, Don Nye, Riko Ohashi, and Ben Sheff.

West High Junior is National Gold Key Winner

The Quill and Scroll International Honorary Society for High School Journalists declared West High School Junior David Huang, as a National Gold Key winner in an international writing and photography contest Monday.

David won for a feature article titled "Iowa City Armed Forces: Sending Them Off" published inWest High's student newsmagazine, The West Side Story, in December 2009.

Congratulations to West High's National Merit Semi-Finalists

West High Faculty and staff held a recognition ceremony to congratulate the 2009-10 National Merit Semi-Finalists. In February, some 15,000 Semifinalists were notified that they have advanced to Finalist standing. All winners of Merit Scholarship® awards (Merit Scholar® designees) are chosen from the Semi-Finalist group, based on their abilities, skills, and accomplishments. A variety of information is available for NMSC selectors to evaluate–the student's academic record, information about the school's curricula and grading system, two sets of test scores, counselor's written recommendation, information about the student's activities and leadership, and own essay.

West High School is once again, the "state champion" with its number of Semi-Finalists (Megan Hingtgen, Allison Link & Michael Lipman were unable to attend):

ICCSD College Fair
March 30, 2010

The annual ICCSD College Fair sponsored by West and City High Counseling offices, was a success. The purpose of the fair is to give high school students and their parents an opportunity to discuss admission requirements, housing, financial aid, scholarships, internships, and specific majors.

Parents and students first attended the College Workshop, presented by Chris Traetow from ICAN (Iowa College Access Network), who covered various topics including preparing for college, what to consider when choosing a college, and campus visits. After the workshop, parents and students attended the college fair to meet admission representatives and get information from over 70 colleges.

Academic Decathlon Team Does Well at
State Tournament in Denison

The WHS Academic Decathlon team attended the state tournament in Denison, IA.  Everyone performed well and earned individual honors.  The big plaque shows WHS second (CR Jeff first, CR Wash third) as an overall team. 

Pictured from left to right (grade):Karis Heffner 12, Rachel Schenkel 12, Tyson Smith (coach), Aishwarya Vijay 12, Andrew Sharkey 11, Jerry Gao 12, Carly Stahmer (asst. coach and WHS ’07 grad), Madhu Srikantha 11, and Evan McCarthy 10.

West High Math Teams Win at U of Iowa

The West High varsity and junior varsity math teams each finished in first place at the fourteenth annual Great Plains Math League competition at The University of Iowa on Saturday, March 6.  The varsity team of Tyler Chenhall, Curie Ahn, Don Nye, Lorelei Coffin, Matt Staib, and Ivan Ye won first place on the team test, and the varsity team of Daniel Wu, Zhaohui Hu, Lydia Somers, Tianyi Wei, Patrick Tierney, and Izaak Sunleaf finished in second place.  The team of Brian Choi, Paul Yon, David Ahn, Ji-Eun Choi, Asya Bergal, and Ben Sheff finished in first place on the junior varsity team test while the team of Javier Miranda-Bartlett, Nick Gerken, Reed Johnson, Gal Wald, Tyler Parker, and Jackson Cameron finished in second place.  The team of Tyler Chenhall, Curie Ahn, and Matt Staib took first place on the varsity relay test while the team of Brian Choi, David Ahn, and Ji-Yun Choi won first place on the junior varsity relay test.  As senior winner of both Target and Sprint tests, Tyler Chenhall was awarded cash prizes.

Individual winners included:

Sprint Round

9th grade:  David Ahn, 1st; Ivan Ye, 2nd; Ji-Eun Choi, 3rd
10th grade:  Brian Choi, 1st; Paul Yon, 2nd; Patrick Tierney, 3rd
11th grade:  Matt Staib, 1st; Tianyi Wei, 3rd
12th grade:  Tyler Chenhall, 1st; Curie Ahn, 2nd; Lorelei Coffin, 3rd

Target Round

9th grade:  David Ahn and Ivan Ye tied for 1st; Ben Sheff, 2nd; Ji-Eun Choi and Asya Bergal tied for 3rd
10th grade:  Brian Choi, 1st; Patrick Tierney, 2nd; Paul Yon and Nick Gerken tied for 3rd
11th grade:  Tianyi Wei, 1st; Matt Staib, 2nd; Lydia Somers, 3rd

12th grade:  Tyler Chenhall, 1st; Daniel Wu and Curie Ahn

March, 2010

Speech and Debate Championships

The University of Iowa Debate program hosted the All-Iowa Finals Speech and Debate Championships for the Iowa High School Forensics Community March 4-6. State championships were held in both speech and debate. The All Iowa Finals are Iowa’s High School traditional Speech and Debate state championships. The tournament is run by the Iowa High School State Forensic League. Serving on the Board of the league as directors are: Melanie Johnson, Iowa City West; Pete Clancy, Cedar Rapids Washington; Harry Strong, Des Moines Roosevelt; David McGinnis, West Des Moines Valley and Janelle Hawk of Marshalltown.

Speech Results:

State Champion: Iowa City West High School, Iowa City-- Jake Stewart, Speech Coach
Runner-Up: Des Moines Roosevelt High School, Des Moines-- Harry Strong, Head Forensics Coach
3rd Place: Dowling Catholic High School, West Des Moines --Tim Sheaff, Head Forensics Coach
4th Place: City High School, Iowa City-- Zach Wahls, Speech Coach
5th Place: Muscatine High School, Muscatine --Val Ahlman, Speech Coach

Individual Speech Results:

Domestic Extemp Speaking
Champion: Amelia Martin, Des Moines Roosevelt Runner-Up: Sarah Larson, Des Moines Roosevelt
3rd Place: Michael Flannery, Des Moines Roosevelt

Foreign Extemp Speaking
Champion: Mirza Germovic, Des Moines Roosevelt Runner-Up: Kaybee Abiose, Iowa City West
3rd Place: Catherine Chiodo, Des Moines Roosevelt

Original Oratory
Champion: Ola Abiose, Iowa City West Runner-Up: Sona Zhu, Iowa City West
3rd Place: Clare Roth, Dowling Catholic

Prose/Poetry
Champion: Andrew Wilkes, Iowa City High Runner-Up: Della Nuno, Iowa City High
3rd Place: Bridgett Sheaff, Dowling Catholic

Dramatic Interp
Champion: Abhi Pant, Iowa City West Runner-Up: Michael Sotelo, Iowa City High
3rd Place: Ola Abiose, Iowa City West

Humorous Interp
Champion: Paul McKinley, Iowa City Runner-Up: Ryan Courtney, Iowa City West
3rd Place: Alex Parrot, Dowling Catholic

Duo Interp
Champion: Paul McKinley/Ryan Courtney Iowa City West Runners-Up: Alex Parrot/Remington Jaques
West Des Moines Dowling Catholic
3rd Place: Adrienne and Lauren Pyle, Dowling Catholic

Iowa Senior of the Year: Each year, the Coaches of the Iowa High School Forensic League name one Iowa Speech or Debate student “Senior of the Year.” The award is meant to honor not only an outstanding high school forensic career but also a student whose contribution to their program is considered noteworthy. The winner of the award this year is Spencer Croat of Indianola. Croat was recognized for his leadership in the development of Indianola’s highly successful policy debate program.

Debate Results:

State Champion: Valley High School, West Des Moines, David McGinnis, Head Debate Coach
Runner-Up: Iowa City West High School, Iowa City, Cynthia Woodhouse, Head Forensics Coach
3rd Place: Des Moines Roosevelt High School, Des Moines, Harry Strong, Head Forensics Coach
4th Place: Dowling Catholic High School, West Des Moines, Tim Sheaff, Head Forensics Coach
5th Place: Indianola High School, Indianola, Spencer Waugh, Head Debate Coach

Policy Debate

Champion: Iowa City West-David Haung and Jeffrey Ding
Runner-Up: City High, Iowa City-Luke Allen and Noah Rocklin

Lincoln Douglas Debate

Champion: Valley High School-Ross Brown
Runner-Up: Iowa City West-Graham Tierney

Public Forum Debate

Champion: Dowling Catholic High School-Justin D’Souza and Caleb Copley
Runner-Up: Burlington Notre Dame High School- Andrew Schilling and Dylan Diewold

Congress Debate

Champion: Fort Dodge Senior High School- Arthur Chou
Runner-Up: Ames High School- Zoe Russell
3rd Place (Tie): Roosevelt High School- Nick Swingle
Roosevelt High School- Tess Yocom

Overall All Iowa Team results:

All-Academic State Honors

Cross Country

Frank Canady

Tyler Chenhall

Paige Engelhardt

Sara Stewart

Basketball

Kristin Fomon

Courtney Fritz

Nick Wilson

March,2010

West High Senior Selected as Finalist
in 2009-10 Coca-Cola Scholars Program

Congratulations to Aishwarya Vijay, West High senior, has been selected as one of 250 finalists and she has been invited to the Scholars Weekend on March 25-28. After nearly 70,000 applicants and more than 2,200 Semi-finalists, wecommend Aishwarya for being designated as Regional Finalist. The 250 Regional Finalists will receive four-year renewable awards of $2500 per year, for a total award of $10,000.

West High Math Team Wins
First Place - Junior Varsity
Second Place - Varsity

The West High math team finished in first place at the junior varsity level and second place at the varsity level in a Great Plains Math League competition at Iowa State University on Saturday, February 13.  Nineteen students participated in the event.  The team of Tyler Chenhall, Curie Ahn, Don Nye, Matt Staib, Bob Chen, and Ivan Ye won the varsity team test event and the team of Brian Choi, Reed Johnson, Paul Yon, Ji-Eun Choi, Asya Bergal, and Ben Sheff won the junior varsity team test event.  The team of Tyler Chenhall, Curie Ahn, and Matt Staib finished in first place in the varsity relay event, while the team of Brian Choi, Reed Johnson, and Paul Yon finished in first place in the junior varsity relay event.

Individual West High winners were:

Sprint Round
9th grade:  Ji-Eun Choi, 3rd
11th grade:  Matt Staib, 1st with a perfect score of 120
12th grade:  Tyler Chenhall, 1st with a perfect score of 120

Target Round
9th grade:  Ivan Ye, 3rd
11th grade:  Bob Chen, 2nd
12th grade:  Tyler Chenhall, 1st with a perfect score of 80; Curie Ahn, 3rd

February 17, 2010

National Forensics Winners

Lincoln Douglas Debate

Brian Tong
Kui Tang

Extemporaneous Speaking

Kaybee Abiose
Nik Hlebowitsh

Humorous Interpretation

Abigail Leveille

Dramatic Interpretation

Abhi Pant
Megan Henry

Original Oratory

Ola Abiose

Duo Interpretation

Paul McKinley & Ryan Courtney

The West High Team also won the Sweepstakes Award for Best Team (the fifth year in a row!).

February, 2010

Iowa City West High Math Team Wins at Madison

The Iowa City West High math team of Tyler Chenhall, Lorelei Coffin, Curie Ahn, Don Nye, Bob Chen, Matt Staib, Shi-Ke Xue, and Ivan Ye won first place honors in varsity competition at the Madison Area Math League competition in Madison, Wisconsin on February 10.  Seventeen high schools were represented at the event.  The team from Madison Memorial High School took second place and Madison West finished third.  The West High team of Henry Chen, Caroline Van Voorhis, Ben Sheff, Asya Bergal, Joanne Lin, Flora Yen, and Halim Jeong finished in second place in the junior varsity competition.  At the varsity level, Tyler Chenhall and Matt Staib both had perfect individual scores.  Patrick Tierney, Shi-Ke Xue, Don Nye, and Curie Ahn tied for 2nd place.  David Ahn, Jeffrey Ding, Daniel Wu, Bob Chen, and Lorelei Coffin tied for 5th place.  At the junior varsity level, Ben Sheff had a perfect score and Flora Yen finished in 3rd place.

February, 2010

WEST HIGH STUDENT HONORED WITH THE
SIEMENS AWARDS FOR ADVANCED PLACEMENT

The top performing American high school students in Advanced Placement science and math courses were honored with the announcement of the Annual 2009 Siemens Awards for Advanced Placement. Students who take AP math and science courses challenge themselves at the highest level and gain an edge for their first year of college.

Kui Tang, West High senior, has been named one of the 2009 state winners of the Siemens Awards for Advanced Placement. Each student will receive a $2,000 college scholarship from the Siemens Foundation, a national leader in math and science education.

Up to 100 students (potentially one female and one male in each state) receive a $2,000 college scholarship for earning the greatest number of grades of 5 on the following AP courses: Biology, Calculus BC, Chemistry, Computer Science AB, Environmental Science, Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism, Physics C: Mechanics, and Statistics. Students must obtain a grade of 5 on at least two of these exams to qualify. Two national winners (one male and one female with greatest number of grades of 5) are awarded a $5,000 college scholarship.

The winners of the 2009 Siemens Awards for Advanced Placement will be listed in a full-page advertisement in the USA Today and on the Siemens Foundation website in late February.

January, 2010

Trojan Epic Does It Again!

The 2009 Trojan Epic, Iowa City West High’s yearbook, won the Sweepstakes award for large schools for the second consecutive year in the Iowa High School Press Association’s annual fall yearbook contest.
The Sweepstakes award goes to the school that accumulates the most points in 25 categories. West High had 29 winners among 58 entries from its yearbook, “Hoopla.”
Six West High students won seven first place awards: McKenzie Anderson (Feature Presentation) Cara Braverman (Infographics), Amber Doran (Advertising Design), Sammantha Marks (Sports Design), Caitlyn Reighley (Feature Writing) and Lauren Wretman (Academics Design and Typography).
Reighley was the editor-in chief of the 2009 Epic and now attends the University of Northern Iowa. The yearbook adviser is Ginny Ordman.
Besides her Feature Writing award, Reighley placed in five other categories: second place for Opening Spread, Closing Spread and Reader Services; third place for Theme Concept; and honorable mention for Feature Photo.
Other winning entries from West High were:
—McKenzie Anderson (second place, Feature Presentation; third place, Typography)
—Cara Braverman (second place, Infographics)
—Amber Doran (second place, Advertising Design)
—Emily Jacobsen (second and third place, People Design)
—Sieon Kim (honorable mention, Organization Photo)
—Sammantha Marks (third place, Sports Writing)
—Jennifer Merdinger (second place, Organization Design; third place, Organization Writing and Organization Photo; honorable mention, Sports Action Photo)
—Rachel Porter-Adams (honorable mention, Academics Photo)
—Lola White-Baer (honorable mention, Feature Writing)
—Lauren Wretman (second place, Academics Writing; third place, Feature Photo; honorable mention, Typography)
The Trojan Epic will also compete in a Whole Book Contest in December.

December 17, 2009

Math Team "Wins" at the Great Plains Competition Held at City High

The West High junior varsity math team finished in first place and the varsity team finished in second place at a Great Plains Math League competition at City High on Saturday, December 5.  Des Moines Central Academy took first place at the varsity level. 

The West High team of Tyler Chenhall, Curie Ahn, Lorelei Coffin, Matt Staib, Bob Chen, and Shi-Ke Xue placed third in the varsity team test, while the team of Brian Choi, Paul Yon, Reed Johnson, Patrick Tierney, Riko Ohashi, and Jeffrey Ding was second in the junior varsity team test.  The team of Tyler Chenhall, Matt Staib, and Shi-Ke Xue were second in the varsity relay round, while the team of Curie Ahn, Lorelei Coffin, and Bob Chen finished in third place in the varsity relay round. The team of David Ahn, Ivan Ye, and Ji-Eun Choi finished in first place in the junior varsity relay round.

Individual winners from West included:

Sprint Test
9th grade:  Ivan Ye, 2nd place
10th grade:  Shi-Ke Xue, 1st place
11th grade:  Bob Chen, 2nd place
12th grade:  Tyler Chenhall, 1st place; Lorelei Coffin, 3rd place

Target Test
9th grade:  David Ahn, 1st place
10th grade:  Shi-Ke Xue, 1st place; Brian Choi, 2nd place
12th grade:  Tyler Chenhall, 1st place; Lorelei Coffin, 3rd place

December, 2009

We The People Competition

Congratulations to our West High students who competed in the State of Iowa's We The People Competition held in Des Moines.  We the People is a program designed to encourage and enhance the teaching, study, and understanding of American history, culture, and democratic principles. The competition centered on the understanding and interpretation of the US Constitution. Our students won the state competition and earned the opportunity to participate in the national competition to be held in Washington DC in April.  Gary Neuzil is the teacher/coach.