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The Talon

The Talon

Lilyan McCracken

Lilyan McCracken, Staff Reporter

Lilyan McCracken is a senior at Ankeny High School. She has been part of show choir, SPEC, dance, the musical, and is excited to be a new member of the Talon. She plans to pursue a degree in cybersecurity with a minor in either french, journalism, or music. A fun fact about her is that her favorite drink is loose leaf green tea.

All content by Lilyan McCracken
These are the classes that will not be offered next year to Ankeny High students. Associate Principal Wade Grinhaug works with teachers and heads of departments to design class schedules and will inform them if classes are at risk of not running. He says building a schedule is very complex. There are around 1,400 students at AHS and the scheduling requests average around 6.5 per semester. Grinhaug estimates that there are over 30,000 requests total. To help Grinhaug sort through all of this information he uses Scheduling Wizard on Infinite Campus to build the schedules. It is a computer algorithm that analyzes all of the requests and recommends the times to offer each class to reduce conflicts. Infographic made by Lilyan McCracken using Google Drawings

Class changes coming to AHS

Lilyan McCracken, Staff Reporter
March 7, 2024
English teacher Justin Schlicher covered his classroom library to keep students from accessing books at the start of the fall 2023 semester. 

Update to SF 496
Starting Jan. 1, the Department of Education can inquire into school districts and staff members in violation of the law. However, Judge Stephen Locher of the the U.S. District Court Southern District of Iowa put a temporary hold on the enforcement of the law while lawsuits from the American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa and Lamda Legal are underway. The Iowa State Education Association and publisher Penguin Random House are also involved in a lawsuit regarding the book restrictions in SF 496. 

“We want young people to have access to literature, so I am very pleased that the federal judge is taking a look at SF 496," AHS teacher librarian Jenny Wirtz said. "I hope that the courts will rule in our favor that it's unconstitutional to remove good quality literature from our libraries."

Senate File 496

Lilyan McCracken, Staff Reporter
January 8, 2024
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