The student news site of John F. Kennedy High School in Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Kennedy Torch
Cheerleaders at state basketball in Des Moines.
Kennedy Cheer Looks for New Team Members
Junior Maria Trotta swimming the butterfly leg of the 200 Yard Medley Relay at regionals.
Kennedy Places Ninth At Swimming and Diving State Meet
Junior Ellie Hance swims the 100 Yard Backstroke at regionals.
Swimming and Diving Scores in the Preliminaries
Senior Captain Casey Gannon competes in the 500 Freestyle at Regionals. A race that qualified her for state.
Girls’ Swimming and Diving Splashes Into State
Ami Jacobo practicing her choreography during Happiness Inc. rehearsal.
Kennedy Show Choirs Make Their Debut
The Return of Coach Courtney
The Return of Coach Courtney
Cheerleaders at state basketball in Des Moines.
Kennedy Cheer Looks for New Team Members
Junior Maria Trotta swimming the butterfly leg of the 200 Yard Medley Relay at regionals.
Kennedy Places Ninth At Swimming and Diving State Meet
Junior Ellie Hance swims the 100 Yard Backstroke at regionals.
Swimming and Diving Scores in the Preliminaries
Senior Captain Casey Gannon competes in the 500 Freestyle at Regionals. A race that qualified her for state.
Girls’ Swimming and Diving Splashes Into State
Kennedys Happiness Inc. attends a Trunk-or-Treat.
Trick-or-Treat or Trunk-or-Treat?
Noreen worked to meet the needs of everyone around her as superintendent. She met others with love and compassion.
It’s “Just Noreen”
Candy Corn Craze
Candy Corn Craze
Noreen Bush poses for a photo after discussing her chemo treatments.
Noreen Bush: A Life To Be Remembered
Im a Puff and Im staying.
Battle of the Puffs: Kennedy vs. Washington
Protégé soloist performing the shows opener during a dress rehearsal.
Protégé Enters The Danger Zone
Mens Volleyball will be coming to Kennedy in the form of a club.
Men’s Volleyball Comes To Kennedy
Meet The New Faces At Kennedy
Meet The New Faces At Kennedy
Im a Puff and Im staying.
Battle of the Puffs: Kennedy vs. Washington
Senior Nelta Earl waves during homecoming parade.
Homecoming Scene Changes…Again
The Return of Coach Courtney
The Return of Coach Courtney
Shiho Yabuchi and Daniel Carolin pose for a photo in their classroom.
Welcoming Shiho Yabuchi to Kennedy
Noreen Bush poses for a photo after discussing her chemo treatments.
Noreen Bush: A Life To Be Remembered
Gervin poses before heading into the game.
Aiyanna Gervin: History in the Making
Sports announcer, Glen Wiebel, watches a Kennedy volleyball game. After filling in for Rich Patterson, he fell in love with the job.
Glen Wiebel: The Voice of Cougar Athletics
Protégé soloist performing the shows opener during a dress rehearsal.
Protégé Enters The Danger Zone
Ami Jacobo practicing her choreography during Happiness Inc. rehearsal.
Kennedy Show Choirs Make Their Debut
Im a Puff and Im staying.
Battle of the Puffs: Kennedy vs. Washington
We have to go save her!
Kennedy’s Drama Departments Debuts Puffs as Their Fall Play
In preparation for the premiere, the Puffs production crew work on the props. The play was moved into the auditorium because of the size of the set.
Puffs Comes to Kennedy
Happiness Inc. performs Mr. Rogers Medley
Photos: Show Choir Premiere Concert
Junior Katelyn Mackey, Senior Lacey Neighbor and Junior Kylie Link placing 6th, 3rd and 1st in their division.
Photos: Girl’s Diving at Regionals on November 3
Cougar Swimmers Compete at Regionals
Cougar Swimmers Compete at Regionals
Freshman Slader Buckheister runs with his teammate, sophmore Reuben Schlaak close behind.
Photos: Boys’ Cross Country Competes at the State Meet
Kennedy Linemen Warm up with the Family block in the foreground.
Photos: Cougars Fall to Waukee NW in A Defense Controlled Game
The student news site of John F. Kennedy High School in Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Kennedy Torch
The student news site of John F. Kennedy High School in Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Kennedy Torch
All content by Jamison Prull
Senior Goodbye: Jamison Prull

Senior Goodbye: Jamison Prull

May 28, 2018
Mallory Nesmith, sr., smiles, enjoying the company of others as they make their final touches before taking the stage for Kennedys spring musical, The Wedding Singer.

[Photo] Seniors Reminisce About Their Most Memorable Moments at Kennedy

May 2, 2018
Junior Mallory McGuire.

The Wedding Singer Photo Gallery

April 20, 2018
Ferin Bergen, sr., leaping from a table in Saturday Night in the City before intermission.

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Cael Jones, jr., as Robbie Hart.

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Erin Grams, sr., helping Josh Young, so., get ready.

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Ferin Bergen, sr., Erin Grams, sr., and Braxten Jones, jr.

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Cael Jones, jr., climbing out of the dumpster in Come Out of the Dumpster.

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Senior James Tolly as Sammy.

[Photo] The Wedding Singer: Seniors' Last Musical

April 23, 2018
Sophomore sound board operator Maddi Strait.

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Seniors Kennedy Wilson and Ferin Bergen.

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Seniors James Tolly and Ferin Bergen.

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Noah Loehr, so., as Glen Gulia

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Noah Loehr as Glen Gulia.

[Photo] ‘The Wedding Singer’ Opens This Week

April 18, 2018
Reagan Linder, jr., busting a move during the whole school dance-off.

Spring Pep Assembly

April 8, 2018
The first stop my parents and I made in the Banff area was Lake Louise. This flag was on top of an ice castle built on the lake in front of the Fairmont Chateau.

Rolling Hills to The Rocky Mountains

March 28, 2018
On our first hike, we immediately showed our true Iowan colors. After we ate lunch at the Fairmont Chateau, we started a hike to the Fairview lookout. It was 2 km one way up the mountain, and we wore basic boots and my dad was in tennis shoes. We passed several groups, all wearing snow shoes or boots with ice cleats. I got to the top first and hung out, ready to snap this picture of my moms expression after seeing a mountain range from a high elevation for the first time.

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My parents were thrilled to have a wood burning fire place in our little cabin on Emerald Lake. It only took us about an hour to find the matches to start it.

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I woke up super early for the sunrise on Emerald Lake because I didnt want to miss anything. Turns out, the sunrise happens a lot later than it does over a cornfield. The sun didnt come up until about 8:00-8:30 a.m. I did get a few pretty pictures of the stars and the amazing blue sky, though.

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We rented an SUV and explored everywhere we could. I was constantly scanning the tops and sides of the mountains looking for mountain goat, but the closest thing to we saw to a goat were these bighorn sheep. We were driving on a tight, mountain-side road, when we saw a bighorn sheep for the first time. It was barreling down the road, followed by a semi and a line of cars.

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The day I took this picture, we spent the entire afternoon looking for moose, and had even been in this same location hours before looking for moose. We were coming back from our search on the highway and my dad noticed this large group of elk hanging out on the lake. I also have pictures of a coyote lurking nearby.

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We spent most of our last day in Canada snowmobiling west of Banff. Afterwards, we drove back to Calgary and explored the town. We tried to go to the Heritage Park, which is the original part of Calgary that was built in the 1800s. By time we arrived, the park was unfortunately closed. We drove around looking for a high up place to try and see the historical park. We ended up on top of a hospital staff parking ramp. That is where I took this picture of skyline of Calgary.

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This picture was taken on our way back down the Icefields Parkway the next day. By this time, we had invested in our own pairs of ice cleats. We hiked up to this lookout over Peyto Lake, which is supposedly an amazing green color in the summer. At this lookout, you gain about 800 feet in elevation after around a 15 minute hike.

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We planned an entire day to drive the Icefields Parkway up to Jasper, because it is a highway known to be extremely sketchy. It is not plowed down to the concrete and is only maintained from 8 to 3 every day. We left at about 10 a.m. to have a good start to our drive only to realize we were going the wrong direction 2 hours later. We ended up getting unto the Icefields Parkway around 3, the time people are supposed to get off of it. We got incredibly lucky that the weather was nice the week we were there as well as the week before we got there. Since they had not had snow in a few days, the roads were completely clear. We talked to some locals and they told us that the Icefields Parkway is never clear that time of the year. For this picture, my dad pulled over and let me walk down to the lake. With the camera in my hand, I stepped down with my right foot and I sunk mid-thigh deep into the snow. I had to crawl out, holding the camera in the air.

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Dusk and dawn are the best time to look at the mountains, in my opinion. You see the sun shining on the sides facing the sun, and the shadows on the opposite side. With the addition of the snow, it created some incredible views with lots of color.

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One of the things on my Banff bucket-list was to ride the gondola to the top of Sulphur Mountain. This picture is part of the walkway that takes visitors from the main building to the small cabin on the summit. The small cabin (not pictured) used to be a weather station in the mid 1900s. It is called the Sulphur Mountain Cosmic Ray Station and is a Recognized Federal Heritage Building in Canada.

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This is the main lodge on Emerald Lake. The employees of Emerald Lake actually live in apartments about a 2 minute drive from the main lodge. When you come to stay here, you park in a lot next to the employees apartments, and the drive you in a shuttle to the main lodging on an island on the lake. The day we were leaving, they were setting up a wedding for that afternoon. We talked to other guests that had stayed there all week. They told us that Emerald Lake Lodge hosted three weddings during that week alone.

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After a 15 minute ride up the gondola to the top of Sulphur mountain, there is a building that includes two restaurants, a museum, and a gift shop. We ate in the Northern Lights Cafe and I had ham, roasted potatoes, and cooked vegetables. That was one of my favorite meals, besides my coconut tomato soup and five cheese bread at Lake Louise. I did not have a single bad meal in Canada.

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Jackson Foley, sr.

Sub-state Men’s Basketball Versus Iowa City West

March 5, 2018
Nancy Melsa, the grandmother of Davis and Foley enjoying a birthday lunch at Red Lobster in Nov. 2016.

Davis and Foley Honor Grandmother Through Senior Seasons

February 25, 2018
Trombone section.

[Photo] Band Carnival- Games, Music, Food!

March 1, 2018
Director Jared Wacker, conducting.

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Sophomore Rose Svatek.

Performing Arts Showcase for the District Middle Schoolers

February 9, 2018
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[Photo] Hold On Pain Ends, have HOPE.

February 2, 2018
Derrick Diggins, sr., setting up himself up for a shot.

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Derrick Diggins, sr., breaking through his opponents to complete a layup.

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Jackson Foley, sr., taking on his opponent and protecting the ball.

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Grant Griffin, jr., fighting for the loose ball.

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The color guard performed for the halftime entertainment.

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Grant Griffin, jr., driving through the lane to make a shot.

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Sarah Nolting, sr., working on an assignment in AP Research.

[Photo] Standards-Based Grading 1 2 3s Better Than Traditional A B Cs?

January 12, 2018
Kennedy graduate Devin Larrimore broke the school record in the spring of 1999 with a throw of 137 feet and 10 inches.

’99 Alumna Still Claims Discus Record

January 10, 2018
Olivia Hellweg, sr., making a lay-up.

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Lauryn Vaske, jr., guarding the ball.

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Madison Friauf, jr., dribbling down the court.

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Aud Alepra, jr., going in for a lay-up.

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Derek Diggins, sr., and his team celebrating a close game win over the J-Hawks

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Ethan Sailor, sr., playing tough defense in the last few minutes of the game.

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Jacob Ciabatti, sr., and Graham Woods, sr., cheering on the Cougars.

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Jackson Foley, sr., considering his next move.

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Derek Diggins, sr., catching air for two points.

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The crazy clocks at Kennedy High School.

What Time is it, Kennedy High School?

November 9, 2017
The title of Scott Winters speech was Preparing For Your Moment.

IHSPA Fall Conference

November 1, 2017
Scott Winter, a professor from Bethel University, gave the keynote speech of the convention.

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A student listening to Scott Winter talking about important moments worthy of a picture and story.

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