The Talon

The Student News Site of Ankeny High School

The Talon

The Talon

 Visual Adrenaline (VA) performing the last song of Fall Preview. VA is an award winning mixed varsity show choir at Ankeny High School and is choreographed by Kevin Walters and directed by Ben Walters.

A day of show choir

Joanna Guerrero, Social Media Editor November 16, 2023

Ankeny’s show choirs have been busy learning their new competition show for the new 2023-2024 season. On Nov. 11, they had the chance to perform a part of their new show during Fall Preview so Ankeny...

Ankeny High School offers a multitude of college-level courses students can take as early as eighth grade. Select students are offered to take courses through DMACC (Des Moines Area Community College) to get a head start on their high school credits, as well as build a college transcript.

Preparing for life after high school

Josie Babcock, Staff Reporter November 15, 2023

The Ankeny Community School District is known for its diligent academics and highly involved student body. Much of this success is due to the district’s Five-Year Strategic Plan, which was implemented...

Ankenys Girls Who Code club meet every Friday during Hawk Time with robotics coach and computer programming teacher Jennifer Poole in room 2301. Girls Who Code is open to all genders. The club explores coding, digital design, algorithms, and the computer science options offered at AHS.

Computer science empowers Ankeny women

Eos Gustafson, Staff Reporter November 9, 2023

In 2021, about two-thirds, or 65 percent of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) jobs were held by men. While only one-third, around 35 percent were held by women, the National Science...

Campaign signs dot yards across Ankeny in anticipation of the upcoming Ankeny School Board election tomorrow, Tuesday, Nov. 7.

Ankeny School Board elections Nov. 7: What you should know

Nolan McNulty, Staff Reporter November 6, 2023

Ankeny Schools have an upcoming election to determine who will take the five open seats (four four-year term positions and one two-year term position) on the Ankeny School Board with 10 candidates that...

Lukis Beroth (71) hugs Coach Jack Ward after the Ankeny victory.

Ankeny shocks Dowling in quarterfinal victory

Ava Gifford, Staff Reporter November 5, 2023

At Williams field on the night of Nov. 3, Ankeny arrived in force to defeat the Dowling Maroons in a stunning win that earned them a trip to the University of Northern Iowa-Dome.  The Maroons entered...

Seniors Brenna Fast and  Ava Tomlinson, and juniors Faith Spoelstra, and Kaylyn Miller showcase their coloring pages. Students worked the coloring station helping kids color  sheets in the Day of the Dead celebration hosted by Spanish Honor Society at Kirkendall Library. “We put this event together to expand the knowledge of the people in our community about Dia de los Muertos and Spanish culture,” Miller said.

SHS brings Day of the Dead celebration to Ankeny families

Joanna Guerrero, Social Media Editor November 5, 2023

On Thursday Nov. 2 Spanish Honor Society (SHS) alongside Kirkendall Public Library brought Day of the Dead for the community of Ankeny to experience and enjoy. Families and kids were able to indulge in...

Coach Brady Walz gathers the football team together between plays during the Johnston Dragons game on Oct. 27. For Ankeny’s football players, it is important to balance an intense practice schedule with academics throughout the week.

Behind the jersey: how football players find balance

Ava Gifford, Staff Reporter November 3, 2023

At Ankeny High School, football is an important way for many students to connect, support each other, and show their school spirit. At an Ankeny football game, the crowd screams in support, dressed in...

 Some of the cast and crew members on Monday Oct. 30 for the first day of tech week in English and drama teacher Mollie Jo Blahunka’s room. “Just looking around the room at how many people are here and how hard theyve all been working and that so many of the elements were handmade and painted by students is amazing,” Blahunka said. “They are all so wonderful and really hard working. The motto of our department is that theater is a team sport, and I think everyone has been really good team players.”

Laugh the weekend away: “You Can’t Take It With You” premieres this weekend

Joanna Guerrero, Social Media Editor November 2, 2023

Tech week has been underway for the production “You Can’t Take It With You” for the Ankeny drama production. This Friday, Nov. 2 is opening night for families and students to enjoy.  “You Can’t...

The Hawks celebrate their win in the end zone .

Ankeny takes victory over Johnston to move onto quarterfinals

Ava Gifford, Staff Reporter October 29, 2023

On Friday night, Oct. 27, Ankeny and Johnston faced off in a rematch, this time in their first playoff game. With Ankeny looking to defend their victory over Johnston, the Hawks put on an amazing show...

Spanish teacher Jillian Anderson, senior Joanna Guerrero, senior Miranda Geest, junior Emma Kisgen, junior Sammy Bryan, junior Ryan Tomlinson, and senior Alexandra Cabello (left to right) participate in Spanish bingo. This event was hosted in honor of Hispanic Heritage Month. “Every month here we celebrate a certain tradition and one of the traditions we started celebrating in September is Hispanic Heritage Month,”  resident services director Libby Kieslar said.” And we wanted an educational and generational event, so that’s when I reached out to Mrs. Anderson [to set this up].”

Bingo! SHS brings smiles to seniors

Joanna Guerrero, Social Media Editor October 6, 2023

On Thursday, Oct. 5, Spanish Honor Society (SHS) played Spanish bingo at Rock Creek Senior Living Center in Ankeny. Instead of just numbers, the bingo cards had color squares with designated numbers written...

The Ankeny Marching Hawks are ready for the Homecoming game.

Ankeny Hawks, 16-10 vs. Johnston Dragons in final Homecoming game showdown

Ava Gifford and Ryan Tomlinson September 18, 2023

Friday night, Sept. 15, Ankeny stadium was alive with cheers from the student section and the buzz of excitement surrounding the long- awaited Homecoming football game. Ankeny fans as well as Johnston...

English teacher and journalism adviser Alissa Hansen’s Hawk Time on Friday, Sept. 8 consisted of The Talon, AHS’s student-run news team staff. The Talon is brainstorming ideas for their website and social media, and preparing for the upcoming field trip to Iowa City for the Iowa High School Press Association. This is one of many different Hawk Time’s that students can sign up for.

Stop, it’s Hawk Time!

Ava Tomlinson, Web/Print/Multimedia Editor September 12, 2023

After a week and a half of advisory to prepare students for this change, Hawk Time is officially underway.   Hawk Time is a 29-minute period that occurs each day between sixth and seventh period. On...

Load More Stories
Donate to The Talon
$190
$500
Contributed
Our Goal

Comments (0)

All The Talon Picks Reader Picks Sort: Newest