Here is the latest installment of Belle Plaine High School’s Plainsman Page:

2010 NFL Draft
By: Lori MacTaggart

When football players graduate from college or get drafted, and they’re good, they look to the National Football League (NFL) draft to play for an NFL team. The players go to the NFL combine to workout for other teams to show them what they can do.
Mel Kiper is most known for creating a mock draft closest to the real one. Mel Kiper’s mock draft is starting with Ndamukong Suh, the number one pick, from Nebraska going to the St. Louis Rams. Number two pick is Gerald McCoy from Oklahoma, who is predicted to go to the Detroit Lions. Number three pick is to go to Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Eric Berry from Tennessee. Sam Bradford is from Oklahoma, the number four pick, assumed to go to the Washington Redskins, and number five is Russell Okung from Oklahoma State predicted to go to the Kansas City Chiefs.
Round one is set to begin on April 22nd at 7:30 p.m., round two is on April 23rd at 6:30, and round three is April 24th at 10 a.m. They normally take a really long time to pick the players. This is a big deal, eventually these athletes will be paid millions of dollars to play for the NFL if the predictions are correct. The draft will be at the Music City Hall in downtown New York City.
The NFL draft is fast approaching; many NFL fans are getting excited and can’t wait for it to come. The fans want to know what players will be playing for their teams already! Even though Mel Kiper’s predictions are usually close, no one knows for sure where they will end up.

DAILY NEWS FROM THE COUNSELING OFFICE
MARCH MADNESS!!! Congratulations to the seniors who have been cranking out those scholarship applications! The majority of the race is over, but keep your eyes open for some late breaking opportunities. Hopefully, your diligent efforts will pay off at Senior Awards Night!
SERVICE LEARNING DAY 2010 will be Thursday, April 29th. Each advisor group is planning an afternoon of community service. You’ll see the Plainsmen planting flowers, cleaning the parks, mulching trees, etc, etc, etc. This is a great way to help give back to a community that gives so much to us! More information will be posted soon.
SENIORS: Please contact Miss Daily regarding any scholarships you have received that you’d like to be recognized for at our Senior Awards Night. This includes scholarships awarded directly from your potential college. We want to celebrate your achievements!
KIRKWOOD PSEO ANYTIME ANYWHERE CLASSES. If you’re currently taking a Kirkwood Class, please monitor your deadlines closely. Avoid any temptation to procrastinate! There’s no time to waste when establishing a good grade!
2010-2011 SCHEDULING is underway! By April 15th, all freshmen, sophomores, and juniors should be registered for next year’s classes. Finish this year strong and look forward to next year’s opportunities! See Miss Daily if you have any questions.
SUCCESS IN COLLEGE was the name of the presentation given by Shay from the Iowa College Access Network on Thursday, April 8th. He shared valuable insight with our college-bound seniors. Topics ranged from interpreting your financial aid award letter, to expectations of college classes, and overall money management. We really appreciate all the services ICAN provides for our Plainsmen!
CONGRATULATIONS TO THE JUNIORS who have submitted application materials to attend the National Council on Youth Leadership in the fall. You’ll soon find out if you’ve been selected for this great honor!
CONGRATS TO Kyle Janss, Connor Roth, Abby Lohf, Danielle Coover, and Scott Croft for grabbing a great leadership opportunity! The Belle Plaine Rotary will select one Belle Plaine High School Junior to attend a week long leadership conference in Wisconsin. It’s the 2010 World Affairs Seminar!!! It will be held June 26th through July 2nd. Good luck to all candidates!
SENIORS: Have you submitted your application for the All Iowa Opportunity Scholarship? You must have at least a 2.5 GPA and have completed your FAFSA? You access the application through Ihaveaplaniowa.org. The sooner you apply, the more likely you are to receive consideration!!! There’s no time to waste. Be sure to check out this website for other leads on scholarships and sources of financial aid.
SCHOLARSHIP OPPORTUNITY: Leo H. Grether Memorial Scholarship of $1000 will be awarded to a student graduating from an Iowa high school. You must be enrolling in college as a vocal music major. Deadline to apply is April 15th. Go to http://www.ihsma.org/document/grether.pdf for application details.
SCHOLARSHIP OPPORTUNITY. The Robert D. Blue Scholarship is available at https://www.rdblue.org/application/. Each applicant is scored upon their high school GPA, financial need, references, and their essay. Recommendations 10%, Academic Performance 20%, Essay 25%, and Financial Need 45%. Only online applications are accepted. Deadline is May 10th.
SCHOLARSHIP OPPORTUNITY: The Iowa Association of Building Officials is sponsoring $500 scholarships for students attending or planning to attend one of the colleges on this list to major in the designated program:
DMACC—Architectural Technologies or Building Trades
Iowa State—Architecture or Construction Engineering
Iowa Western Community College—Architectural Engineering Technology
Kirkwood—Architectural/Construction Technology
Simpson College—Pre-Engineering
Southeastern Community College—Construction Technology
University of Northern Iowa—Construction Management
Western Iowa Technical Community College—Design and Drafting Technology
***And they will consider other schools or curricula that have similar 2 to 4 year programs.
See Miss Daily for an application and the mailing address. Deadline to apply is May 24th.
ATTENTION JUNIORS: The Wendy’s High School Heisman Application is now open!! To apply you must have at least a B average (3.0) and be in one of the 27 school-sponsored sports listed on the website. Applications aren’t due until October 3rd, 2010—but there’s no reason to wait! One male and one female will be chosen as 1st round winners from BPHS. Go to www.wendyshighschoolheisman.com/ and get your application started today!
ATTENTION JUNIORS: Leonard Boswell, United States Congressman, is accepting applications for admissions to the United States Military Academies. He can nominate up to 10 students. Interested students should contact Mr. Boswell’s Des Moines office so a file can be initiated. All required items must be received in his office by September 30th, 2010. So JUNIORS—you must start the process now!!!
If you’d like more information, Mr. Boswell will be hosting a Service Academy Meeting on Saturday, April 17th from 9:00-10:30 a.m. at 300 East Locust Street in Des Moines.
If you have questions, contact Ted Tran at 1-888-432-1984. For more information, you can also go to www.boswell.house.gov.
ATTENTION JUNIORS: Are you interested in attending college and then serving our country??? The Air Force ROTC would like you to consider attending the University of Iowa, Coe College, or Iowa State through an ROTC Scholarship. The benefits are endless! Scholarship applications should be filled out in May of your Junior Year—so you have to think ahead!!! See Miss Daily for more information.
INTERESTED IN A CAREER IN BIOLOGY? The Biology Department at the University of Iowa is hosting a National Lab Day event, Biology Research Exploration Day, on April 24th. If you’re interested in scientific research, this is an excellent opportunity for you. See Miss Daily to get registered for this event!
EASTER EGG HUNT HELPERS! A hearty thanks is extended to the high school students who helped at Belle Plaine’s Annual Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday, April 3rd at Franklin Park. Please remember to have Miss Daily verify your silver cord hours before April 15th.
KNOW THE CODE…The Dress Code! Temperatures are rising…which means some of you have begun wearing your spring and summer clothes. PLEASE REMEMBER to adhere to our dress code. Check your shorts to make sure they are not too short and check your tops to make sure they are not too revealing. If in doubt, don’t wear them! Anyone wearing clothes in violation of our appropriate expectations will be asked to change—so keep some extra gym clothes on hand!

Being Healthy!
By: Jana Miller

Doesn’t everyone want to live a long and healthy life? Well, for some teens that isn’t the situation. There is an increasing rate of obesity among growing teenagers. There is no time like the present to make lifestyle changes.
Some teens are addicted to food, like some people are addicted to drugs. Some obese people see food as a drug. There is a show called “True Life” on the television channel MTV. This show has introduced two obese kids who let cameras follow them around to show people difficulties of being obese. “True Life” shows how obese people have many struggles to live through the day.
Obesity can cause many health problems. There are chances of harming your heart by clogging the arteries with what is eaten daily. If people don’t start to watch what they eat then they will have high chances of heart attacks and other bodily problems. Diabetes is very likely to happen when teens are obese. Some other effects of obesity can be emotional. Some children who are obese might have social problems and could be very unhappy. Strokes, high blood pressure, and some forms of cancer can also be some problems with being obese. These problems could lead to death.
Some people that get extremely obese can’t even walk. Being able to walk is a very important factor of life to stay in shape. There are many ways to prevent obesity. Eating right and exercising is the main part of maintaining a healthy weight. Some people may be big, but that doesn’t mean they are unhealthy, usually it’s because they are muscular of due to genetics. There is a different between being big and healthy and being big and unhealthy.
There is not much time taken away from exercising in the day. Doctors recommend about 20 minutes of exercising a day, even if it is just walking around the block. Exercise needs to be a daily habit. Some people crave snacks after school. Well, have a healthy snack instead of junk food. No one needs to go home and have a dozen ding-dongs. Three meals a day is the usual amount for a person to eat, but it is okay to have a couple snacks as long as they are healthy. Fruit, vegetables, and nuts would be a good choice. There are many other healthy snacks that are out there. So many companies are trying to make food healthy so they have made granola bars, and healthy cereals. There are even some fast food restaurants that offer low calorie meals.
Recent sites on the internet say that obesity has cost our country about $2.1 billion dollars. The obesity rate of the United States is 30.6%.
Being a healthy person is very important. It will benefit the rest of your life. Exercise and eat right and the chances of living a long and prosperous life is likely.

Car Maintenance
By Franky Gallardo

When you get your license when you are 16, your car that you own is the most important thing. Part of owning a car is taking care of it.
There are many maintenance routines that need to be done. Every 3,000 miles you should change your oil. Every month the hoses and belts should be checked. Every year the spark plugs need to be changed.
Every 6,000 miles a driver should:
1. Change Oil
2. Filter change
3. Tires rotated
4. Brakes inspected
5. Inspection on the fuel system
6. All vehicle fluids checked
7. Belts and hoses inspected
8. Tire pressures checked

Every 15,000 miles you should be doing these things: have the air filter, lube oil and filter changed, and a four-wheel alignment performed. At 18,000 miles you should get an engine oil system flush.

At 30,000 miles it’s recommended to have:
1. The air and fuel filter changed
2. Injector cleaning
3. Throttle body service
4. Rotate and balance the tires
5. Power steering flush
6. Automatic transmissions flush
7. Radiator system flush
8. Evaporator systems flush.

Do the proper maintenance on your car regularly and your car will last you for a very long time.

Detentions…Helpful or Worthless?
By Gage Rupp
Detentions have become a serious problem at the high school. The teachers are getting out of control with these detentions. Students feel like the teachers use them too much and for too little of a reason. Detentions are either 30 minutes, or an hour, you also get a 30 minute detention for being five seconds late, and even teachers around the school have said some teachers are too strict. Teachers need to be helpful with the students not making their day worse every time they’re in your class.
Detentions can be helpful in some situations, but it seems like teachers just use them to be mean when it’s not necessary. Maybe it’s different for kids who are new to the school. In bigger schools a student may receive only a five minute detention for being five seconds late, and most of the time the teacher will just tell you to try and get to the class faster. It’s nice to know sometime that they understand that you’re in hurry so they are usually reasonable. Maybe that is the difference in a big school compared to a small school. It seems like there are numerous detentions handed out every day and some teachers will give one every chance they get. Detentions should be used for helpful reasons or if you really did something really bad to deserve one.
Maybe it’s just some students who are new at the school that feel that way because there not used to it. A lot of people would probably agree that the detentions are a little much and unnecessary. Teachers should find a new way to try and punish kids because it does not seem like detentions are very successful.

Freestyle Wrestling
By: Lance Hinschberger
Folk style wrestling season is over and now it’s time for a new style of wrestling called freestyle wrestling. Freestyle is a style of amateur wrestling that is practiced throughout the world. It was originated in Great Britain. Along with Greco-Roman, it is one of the two styles of wrestling contested in the Olympic Games. It is one of the oldest organized sports in history.
Freestyle wrestling, like its American counterpart, collegiate wrestling, has its greatest origins in catch-as-catch-can wrestling and in both styles, the ultimate goal is to pin your opponent to the mat, which results in an immediate win. Freestyle and collegiate wrestling, unlike Greco-Roman, also both allow the use of the wrestler’s or his opponent’s legs in offense and defense.
According to the International Federation of Associated Wrestling Styles (FILA), freestyle wrestling is one of the four main forms of amateur competitive wrestling that is practiced internationally today. Others of the main forms of wrestling are Greco-Roman and Grappling (also called submission wrestling).

Girls’ Track and Field
By Alexis Farr
Belle Plaine Girls’ Track is underway at Belle Plaine High School. Head coach, Julie Mantz states, “It will be an exciting year.” The girls are going for their fourth consecutive conference championship. The girls will have to work hard to beat Montezuma and North Mahaska. These teams will give the Belle Plaine girls a run for their money at conference! This year’s conference meet will be held at Montezuma.
The girls’ track team brings back many veteran runners who are anxious to get running. Three year letter winner, and one of the captains, Taylor Schafbuch, is looking to make it back to state in the 400 hurdles and place in the top 10. Junior, Dani Coover, is looking forward to improving her fifth place finish at state.
The Belle Plaine Girls’ Track Team will be busy this spring preparing for another exciting season that will hopefully end with several events advancing to the State Track Competition in Des Moines.

High School Wrestling
By Reece Kimm
Wrestling season is now over, and there are many differences between the junior high level compared to the high school level of wrestling.
Some big differences between them are different coaches, the practice intensity level, length of practice, and more expectations. In junior high, there are no Saturday tournaments. At the high school level there are competitions almost every Saturday for most of the day. At the high school level you have to cut weight and maintain the weight throughout the year. In high school there are different levels of competition; wrestlers are stronger and more committed. In junior high there is a one-year age difference between wrestlers but in, high school if you’re a freshman there can be an age difference of three years.
Junior high tries to prepare a person for the high school level and the people should be glad they had a junior high program. Much success can be built on in the high school level from junior high.

Modern Day Technology for Diabetes
By Philip Farr
Diabetics are using a new technology to make their lives easier while dealing with diabetes. The new technology is the insulin pump.
The insulin pump is a machine that replaces the painful injections from a needle. It’s an easy process to do. Insulin pumps are as small as a pager or cell phone and are ran by a small computer. It delivers a continuous amount of insulin for diabetics. The pump keeps your blood sugar at a steady level (blood sugar should range between 100 -150). There are an estimated 300,000 Americans with diabetes that use the insulin pump. The insulin pump is a helpful way to control your diabetes.
With technology constantly improving and changing especially in medicine, diabetics are seeing more opportunities to live a “normal” life.

Mud Bogging
By Curtis Rethman
Mud bogging is a sport that everyone can have fun and enjoy doing on the weekends.
Before one can go mud bogging they will have to get a truck that isn’t in too bad or too good of shape. The truck needs to have a lift kit, so the frame won’t drag on the ground. The truck also needs some aggressive tires, so that one won’t get stuck in the mud. The best tires to go mud bogging in are the Rock Stompers. They are aggressive and they will look nice on the truck that you are fixing to go mud bogging in. One should always make they have a very powerful motor. The best motor is the 454 big block motor. In my opinion the best truck to go mud bogging in is a Chevy with 4 wheel drive, of course.
After the truck is up and running it is time to go mud bogging. A person can do a lot of other stuff with the truck other than mud bogging such as: rock climbing, mudding, and ditch jumping, and making trails. One can also have fun in the winter by taking the truck through snow drifts. In order to participate in this activity make sure you are able to afford the parts because it will cost a lot. Totals can reach about $10,000 to $15,000, so it would be a good idea to have a job.
Mud bogging is fun. It is a way to get out of the house for a few hours. When it rains in the summer, one can have lots of fun and it is quick fun. All you would have to do is load your truck up and be off. It is a way to get away from everything: like work, your kids, your wife, or your husband.
So get out there and get a truck and start building, so you can go mud bogging. It is great fun. Just remember this; it will cost you a lot of money to build one powerful mud bogging truck, so make sure to have a lot of cash.

ORGANIZATION TIPS
By: Alejandro Francisco Gallardo
Organization is a problem for many students. Lack of organization could lead to failing grades. Two teachers at Belle Plaine High School offered several tips on how to stay organized.
Mrs. Ridout stated the following…
How do you stay organized for school?
“Staying organized for school involves creating a daily routine using your agenda, taking notes and keeping folders and binders for each subject, and keeping a well stocked pencil bag.”
Do you clutter your things?
“To stay organized means once in a while a person needs to clean up, de-clutter and get rid of unnecessary papers or items.”
Have you ever written down where things are or where you put them?
“Writing notes to myself on a post-it helps too, but sometimes I need to write a post-it reminder to write info on a post-it.”
What is your number one organization tip?
“My number one organization tip is to utilize my paraeducator, Jani Drexler! Because of her excellence in organization, she helps make my classroom run smoothly.”
Mrs. Drexler stated the following
How do you stay organized for school?
“At school I use a three ring binder with dividers so I am able to find a certain chapter or unit. The file next to my desk helps me to organize notes and study guides that Mrs. Ridout and I give our students for tests and assignments. Our goal is to hopefully keep things organized for ourselves and the students that we help.”
There you have some ways for organization. These strategies could work for all students. Organization is the first step to better grades!

Teen Pregnancy
By Sasha Embry
The United States has the highest percentage of teenage pregnancies, which proves that there is a lack of sex education and/or the parents aren’t communicating the importance of abstinence or birth control. Teen moms account for 11% of all births in the United States.
On average 750,000 teen between 15 and 19 become pregnant each year of these teenage girls 57% decide to have their baby. 14% of teenage pregnancies end in miscarriage. Nearly 30% of teenage pregnancies choose abortion. One out of three teen moms ends up getting pregnant a second time before they are 20.
When it comes to education 1/3 of teen moms end up following through and getting a high school diploma or GED, but are not as likely to attend college.
Being a pregnant teen is a life changing experience no matter what decision the young lady decides. It is important for her to have support from all areas of her life so her future decisions will be positive and what is best for her situation.