The Prairie Electric Car Team traveled to Hastings, Nebraska. This small but mighty team of 5 brought home 2 trophies. Our new car #400 earned 2nd place and the #401 earned 3rd place.

Then early Sunday morning another team of 10 traveled to the beautiful Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin for a 2-day competition. Our #400 car earned first place in Class I and 4th place overall (out of 24 cars) which is based on points earned throughout 4 heats, braking & maneuverability tests .

Prairie High School students invest time learning and experiencing through career exploration programs. “You never know what a particular pathway is about until you actually have an opportunity to see and hear more, “said Mary Gudenkauf, Career Services Advisor. “Students are better informed once they engage with local professionals which ultimately guides their planning for life after high school.”

Student Editorial: Maura Levi — The Value of My Internship

My name is Maura Levi, and as a senior at Prairie High School, I have no clue what I want to be when I grow up. My dad jokes that even at 48, he still doesn’t know what he wants to be when he grows up either. Throughout high school, I joined clubs, took classes, and even did job shadows hoping that one might hint at a possible dream job I had never considered before. They didn’t. I thought about business after spending time in Business Professionals of America, or a field related to management through the leadership skills I honed as National Honor Society president. However, nothing stuck out as something I wanted to do for the rest of my life. Until I did my internship.

Through Workplace Learning Connection, I interned at the Gazette as a sports content intern — a real experience of a real job, complete with collaboration, in-the-field experience, and deadlines. I’ll admit, when my school promoted internships as counting as high school credit, I jumped on the opportunity. Who wouldn’t want to substitute another random class for real-world experience? My internship challenged me to improve my writing skills, change my style, and produce quality work in a limited time. Adapting from five-page papers due in two weeks to 500-word articles due in two hours made things interesting.

I chose this internship because I love to write and love sports. Therefore, I was not expecting my favorite part to not be related to either of those. While the finished article is something I am definitely proud of, my favorite part was interviewing and talking to athletes and coaches. I loved hearing the stories that sparked their passion.

After having six published articles and a byline in the newspaper without any prior training in the field, I know I am capable — capable of handling anything thrown my way. Capable of collaborating with others to get things done on time. Capable of pursuing a career in sports journalism. Through my meetings with WLC, I learned more about myself and how to use my skills in a career.

Being able to balance passion with a profession made me realize how lucky I am that my internship included shadows at sporting events, talking to people about their sports, and learning about the journalism structure. I found a love of sharing people’s stories for everyone to read, something that would not have been possible without this opportunity from Workplace Learning Connection. I know I will take with me all the lessons I learned and translate them into a future career. I will forever be grateful for my school, Workplace Learning Connection, and the Gazette for giving me this opportunity, and I am excited to use this experience to help shape my future.

Interested in learning more about the Workplace Learning Connection Internship Program? Visit their Internship page.

Mrs. Gudenkauf

Youth for Understanding (YFU) has announced that Kelsey Taylor, a rising junior at Prairie High School, is one of 250 American high school students from across the United States to be awarded the Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange (CBYX) scholarship for the 2022-23 academic year. The admission rate to the program is very competitive and is seen as the most prestigious scholarship that High School students can earn. In recent years, the admission rate to the program was less than two percent. Kelsey earned the scholarship through a competition process based on her application, essay, and interview.

Students will be traveling from August 2022 to June 2023. CBYX is a bi-lateral exchange program co-sponsored by the U.S. Department of State and German Bundestag (Parliament). Since 1983, the U.S. Congress and German Bundestag have funded the scholarship program to help prepare young people for a global future. The program has enabled more than 27,000 students to expand their global perspectives and make new friends. These students are youth ambassadors who share their life and culture with their German hosts thereby building greater understanding of the US and its diversity.

According to the CBYX website, the members of this exchange program will learn the German language by being immersed into German culture in addition to attending school in Germany and living with a German host family. Kelsey will live in Germany for approximately 10 months and will gain a new sense of independence and learn about the new culture first hand.

Kelsey Taylor is a passionate language learner who took both German and Spanish her freshman and sophomore year at Prairie. During the next school year, she will live with a German family and attend a German high school. During the program she will have the opportunity to meet with both U.S. Congressional Representatives and German Bundestag members.

Kelsey is very excited to be able to expand her German and become a global citizen. Beth Lillskau, her German teacher said, “I can’t imagine a better candidate for this exciting award. Kelsey has been so committed to learning both the German language and its culture. She will be an amazing ambassador for Prairie and our country.”

Senior Graduation Meeting: Wednesday, May 18 at 10:30am

• PHS Theatre
• Cap and Gown Pick-up

Senior Awards Night: Wednesday, May 18 at 6pm - Concert Hall

• Seniors and families are notified if being recognized or receiving a scholarship

PHS Final Assessments for Seniors: May 23-May 25

1. Senior Assessment - Monday, May 23
2. Senior Assessment - Tuesday, May 24
3. Senior Re-Assessment Day - Wednesday, May 25 (Scheduled with individual teachers)

Senior Check-out: Wednesday, May 25 in the PHS Foyer

• Seniors do not need to see teachers individually

• Technology Turned-in - Classroom materials Returned (Google Form) - Library - Activities - PHS Store Fees Paid - Main Office sign-off:

• A - G 8:30am - 10:30am

• H - O 10:30am - 12:30am

• P - Z 1:30pm - 3:30pm

Graduation Practice - Thursday, May 26, 2022 from 9:30am -11:30am

• Alliant Energy PowerHouse

Graduation Walk at Prairie elementary schools - Immediately following graduation practice Thursday, May 26

PHS Graduation: Saturday, May 28 - 12:30pm at the Alliant Energy PowerHouse

• Seniors to be in line by 12:00pm

The College Community School District is pleased to announce that it will be hosting a community open house on Thursday, May 19 from 5:00-7:30 pm to showcase recently completed projects at Prairie Heights Elementary, Prairie View Elementary and Prairie High School. The Open House will also include tours of the new agriculture building.

The renovations are part of the $49.5 million bond issue that passed on February 2, 2016 and revenues generated from the state-wide penny tax. Projects addressed classroom space, safety, security, operational costs, and community access.

The College Community School District’s programs are located on an 860 acre site on the SW side of Cedar Rapids. The Prairie campus consists of five elementary schools (K-4), an intermediate school (5-6), middle school (7-9), high school (10-12), Early Childhood Center, and three off-site programs. The College Community School District serves 5,800 students from Linn, Benton, and Johnson counties. The 137 square mile district includes the cities of Ely, Fairfax, Shueyville, Swisher, Walford and SW Cedar Rapids.