The Little Hawk

28/01/2025

Student Senate Recap:
Carnival on Hold and Student Senate to Donate Yearbooks

Planning for the Winter Carnival continued with discussions about the prize baskets for the raffle. Currently, there aren’t enough of them donated from local businesses. Due to limited baskets, the carnival may be moved to the spring. Claire Locher ‘26 and Amal Eltayib ‘26 are the two main pla...

24/01/2025

❤️❤️IT’S TIME FOR THE LH CUTEST COUPLE CONTEST❤️❤️
We have two prizes this year: Cutest Couple and Staff Pick
Cutest couple will win a $50 gift card and Staff Pick will also win a prize!
We will start posting submissions on February 1st

💌RULES💌
1. DM photos to with the names of the people in the photo. You must be following us to submit to the contest. 🚫 no photoshop 🚫 no ai, and the photo must have two people with at least one City High student
2. Vote by liking your favorite photos! Voting closes at 11:30 on Thursday, February 13
3. Winners will be announced on and TheLittleHawk.com on February 14
4. Winners can pick up their prizes at room 3108!
❤️❤️GOOD LUCK!❤️❤️

24/01/2025

Student Senate Completes Record-Breaking Hunger Drive

City High’s hunger drive ended with the student organization collecting over 1,000 points of food

By Ethan Lalumiere

Toe Collins ‘26 arrived at the North Dodge HyVee on Saturday, ready to collect goods from shoppers. Other volunteers from Student Senate joined him, and just a few blocks away, more Student Senate members were stationed at the First Avenue HyVee. Their purpose? Carrying out a food drive to serve their community.

“We spent weeks previously organizing, with help from a small committee at Student Senate, and then we cleared our schedules for this weekend so that we were able to fill in for any canceled volunteer slots, set up the collection stations, and transport donations,” said Alma Bhandary-Narayanan ‘26.

Student Senate, with the project led by Collins and Bhandary-Narayanan, organized the hunger drive for the local CommUnity Food Bank, an organization that has operated as a crisis center and food bank for decades in the Iowa City area. By giving donations from the food drive to CommUnity, the organization can carry on with their mission of distributing food to those in need.

The food drive collected 1,655 pounds of food, making it CommUnity’s largest food drive from an outside organization, such as a high school, ever. Other donations beyond non-perishable food included cash and supplies like diapers.

“We wanted to head up this project because it was fun, charitable, and helps people. We’re hoping to be elected co-presidents [of Student Senate] next year, so we want to make sure we have experience taking the lead on important projects at City High,” said Collins.

Toe Collins ‘26 arrived at the North Dodge HyVee on Saturday, ready to collect goods from shoppers. Other volunteers from Student Senate joined him, and just a few blocks away, more Student Senate members were stationed at the First Avenue HyVee. Their purpose? Carrying out a food drive to serve t...

24/01/2025

#10 Little Hawks Host Rivals #9 West High In A Doubleheader Matchup

The girls look to knock off their rivals in one that is bound to be a classic

After picking up a blowout win on the road against Linn-Mar, the Little Hawks face a quick turnaround as they look to knock off cross-town rivals and split the season series with Iowa City West.

City High bounced back into the win column with help from sophomore starter Kaitlin Loria, who played a dominant role in the road victory, scoring an impressive 25 points on 62% shooting from the field while also leading the game with 8 rebounds. Another key factor for the Little Hawks is Emmy McComas finding ways to contribute heavily, even if it’s not through scoring. The senior forward finished the game with 10 assists and 5 rebounds.

''Our mindset at this point is just how we need to stay together and not care about what other teams are doing and just worry about our stuff moving forward and making sure we are staying together and connected,'' Kaitlin Loria '27 said.

FULL STORY ON THELITTLEHAWK.COM

After picking up a blowout win on the road against Linn-Mar, the Little Hawks face a quick turnaround as they look to knock off cross-town rivals and split the season series with Iowa City West. City High bounced back into the win column with help from sophomore starter Kaitlin Loria, who played a d...

24/01/2025

UNBREAKABLE PROFILE: Eliza Mitchell

Story by Tessa Driscoll & Amelie Donovan
Photo by Martha Willard

Eliza Mitchell, a 5’2, 118-pound wrestler, is a force to be reckoned with on the mat. Last year, Mitchell qualified for state as a freshman, and is on track to do so again during her sophomore season. Mitchell is known around City High as an unbreakable female athlete, as she plays three different sports at the Varsity level at the age of 15.

Read more linked in bio 🔗

24/01/2025

UNBREAKABLE PROFILE: Eliza Mitchell

Sophomore Eliza Mitchell, a state qualifying wrestler talks about her experience with the girls wrestling on the uprise

Eliza Mitchell, a 5”2, 118-pound wrestler, is a force to be reckoned with on the mat. Last year, Mitchell qualified for state as a freshman, and is on track to do so again during her sophomore season. Mitchell is known around City High as an unbreakable female athlete, as she plays three different sports at the Varsity level at the age of 15.

Mitchell has been around City High for her entire life. Her father, Brian Mitchell, has been coaching City High baseball since 2012, just 3 years after she was born. As a result, Mitchell has always been surrounded by sports. Raised with her two brothers who are also competitive athletes, wrestling and baseball were a huge part of her childhood. Both of her brothers wrestled throughout their youth, so when girl’s wrestling was introduced to Iowa during Mitchell’s seventh-grade year at South East Junior High, she decided to try it.

“My grandpa wrestled and coached at Iowa, and my brothers wrestled, so it kind of runs in the family.” Mitchell said.

FULL STORY ON THELITTLEHAWK.COM

Eliza Mitchell, a 5”2, 118-pound wrestler, is a force to be reckoned with on the mat. Last year, Mitchell qualified for state as a freshman, and is on track to do so again during her sophomore season. Mitchell is known around City High as an unbreakable female athlete, as she plays three different...

24/01/2025

Student Senate Completes Record-Breaking Hunger Drive
Story by Ethan Lalumiere

Toe Collins ‘26 arrived at the North Dodge Hy-Vee on Saturday, ready to collect goods from shoppers. Other volunteers from Student Senate joined him, and just a few blocks away, more Student Senate members were stationed at the First Avenue Hy-Vee. Their purpose? Carrying out a food drive to serve their community.

24/01/2025

Hey Little Hawk!

Birdcage. This Friday night. City vs. West. Get Hyped!

22/01/2025

MUSIC PROHIBITED: New Cell Phone Ban Also Bans Headphones

New ICCSD High School Personal Device Policy goes into effect today and also includes banning headphones

Column by Tessa Driscoll
https://www.thelittlehawk.com/68400/opinion/music-prohibited/

As I am typing this, Noah Kahan is playing in my headphones. I enjoy listening to his music–the piano, the drums, the guitar, his voice. But as I am writing, I don’t hear the words he is saying. They fade into the background as I zero in on the words I am typing onto the page. Without music, I find it difficult to focus on my writing. I often get distracted by little things like a classmate tapping on their desk, or someone typing on their keyboard. When I’m working, I prefer to be in my own world, surrounded by music. Nonetheless, I still manage to focus with these distractions. I do well in school, and I perform well on tests I am required to take in silent classrooms. After an assessment, I enjoy escaping into my world, turning on my favorite playlist, and reading a book.

That world is being taken away from me. Beginning January 21st, if a student in an ICCSD secondary school is seen with headphones on during “instructional time,” the headphones are to be confiscated. “Instructional time” starts when the tardy bell rings and ends when students are dismissed from class. This new policy means that if I am asked to write an essay and wish to listen to music during work time, I am prohibited from doing so.

I recognize the issue of phones in schools. I understand why the district has become more strict on their policy involving phone usage. There has been an abundance of evidence showing how phones can negatively impact students’ learning. A survey by Pew Research was conducted this year that reported that 70 percent of high school teachers say that students being distracted by their phones is a “major problem.” I agree with these teachers. Phones are, without a doubt, a distraction. But they are not the only distraction in the classroom. As I previously mentioned, there are plenty of distractions we as students are exposed to every time we step foot into a classroom.

I simply want the right to escape a few of the distractions. Listening to music helps me focus, and during the school day, music helps relieve the stress, pressure, and expectations of school. Oftentimes, all I need is one song. I put on my headphones and three minutes and 45 seconds later, I can breathe normally again. I believe that our district’s new policy is unreasonable, and should not be implemented in our schools until it is revised.

17/01/2025

Women’s Wrestling falls to Dubuque Hempstead 30-47

Molly Carlson ’26, Stella Raitt ’28, and Josephine Manuel ’28 all won by forfeit. Eliza Mitchell ’27 and Shaona Emmanuel ’28 won by fall. City High lost the rest of the matches by fall or tech fall.

https://www.thelittlehawk.com/68493/sports/womens-wrestling-falls-to-dubuque-hempstead-30-47/

17/01/2025

Dancing into Show Choir Season

After months of practice, the 4th Ave’s show choir competition season begins with Choirs for a Cause

By Yomi Hemley, Feature Co-Editor

  The auditorium stage is filled with students who are out of breath. Meeting twice a week for three hours, 4th Ave works tirelessly to practice, clean, and perfect their show. After learning their choreography in June, they must wait until January to finally perform it for competitions. It is this...

17/01/2025

City Tops Dubuque Hempstead for First Time in Three Years

By Rito Perez - Assistant Sports Editor

Starting the 2024-25 season, the Little Hawk Boys Wrestling Team is currently 5-0 in duals against Waterloo West, Dubuque Wahlert, CR Washington, Dubuque Hempstead and CR Jefferson. The team also boasts multiple podium finishers at major tournaments like Dan Gable Donnybrook, Blaine Heick ‘26, Ken...

17/01/2025

Dancing into Show Choir Season
Story by Yomi Hemley

The auditorium stage is filled with students who are out of breath. Meeting twice a week for three hours, 4th Ave works tirelessly to practice, clean, and perfect their show. After learning their choreography in June, they must wait until January to finally perform it for competitions. It is this dedication that is needed for a successful season.

“For myself, I’ve been reviewing dance moves and vocals, and I try to remind people as much as I can about past things we’ve fixed,” Kaitlyn Fields ‘26 said.

16/01/2025

Water Bottles Aren’t a Fashion Statement
Story by Martha Willard

Nalgene. S’well. Hydroflask. Stanley. Owala.

The cycle of trendy water bottles goes on, and we follow it, buying a new water bottle every year even though your Nalgene from six years ago probably still works just fine. Adding water bottles to the list of trending things you have to stay on top of is a waste of money and terrible for the environment. It defeats the purpose of a reusable bottle to reduce waste from single use plastics and fuels overconsumption. I will admit I have also fallen victim to overconsumption. Since 2020, I have gone through four water bottles due to two being lost, one being run over by a car, and one that I realized had a graphic of two people kissing on it after several months of use. But hey, I’m on a two year streak of the same bottle, a purple Nalgene.

16/01/2025

PERFORMER PROFILE: Gideon Levine ’26
By Tai Caputo

In Gideon Levine 26’s first memory, he is sitting at a small, electronic keyboard, ten years ago, struggling to learn “Mary Had a Little Lamb” after his first piano lesson.

“I got it eventually,” Levine said. “I remember the first lesson…It was just sort of an introduction, and I remember feeling extremely attached to [my teacher] from the start.”

Levine now studies with Réne Lecuona, Professor of Piano at the University of Iowa. Last year, as a sophomore, he won the Iowa Music Teachers’ Association Piano Auditions at the highest level.

Levine’s virtuosity is the result of discipline and focus. “I’ve always made [piano] a priority in my life. Like when I’m planning out my day or my week, I always know where I’m [going to] do piano and where I’m gonna do academics, so I’ve really been able to create a good balance in between the two where I’m able to get both done at a pretty consistent level,” Levine said.

Pianists are not included in the conventional orchestra or band structures. For that reason, Levine’s musical journey has been an individual pursuit.

“If I were an orchestral musician, I’d at least be in orchestra at school and share that with other people, but that absence of piano in most school musical ensembles–except pit or combo or something like that–I think it does separate me, [and] because it’s a solo instrument, for the most part. I obviously play concertos and [pieces with more than solo piano], but other instruments, at the very least, have an accompanist most of the time, or they’re in a larger group. So I wouldn’t say I feel lonely as a pianist, but I do feel more solitary,” Levine said.

Read the full story at...

https://www.thelittlehawk.com/68442/feature/performer-profile-gideon-levine-26/

15/01/2025

HAWKCUT:
City lost to West High 46-63 in the first game of the series. City will play West again on Friday, January 24th at City High

by Melody Ross

Your donation will support the student journalists of Iowa City High School. For 2023, we are trying to update our video and photo studio, purchase new cameras and attend journalism conferences.

15/01/2025

Debate Team Wins State in Policy

City High brought two policy debate teams to state and they both won their sides of the bracket

By Martha Willard

On January 10th, City High’s debate team traveled to DMACC in Ankeny to compete in the state debate tournament. They returned as state champions of policy debate. Toe Collins ‘26 and Lily Rantanen ‘26 were runner-ups and Kaj Larsen ‘25 and Ethan Lalumiere ‘25 were awarded first. “It was ...

15/01/2025

Wahlert Breaks Little Hawks Wings by Three Points

The boys basketball team lost to Dubuque Wahlert 39-36 and is in a three game losing streak after loses to #1 Cedar Falls and #16 Prairie.

The Little Hawk basketball team had a convincing 62-39 win over Burlington to begin 2025. Jaxton Schroeder ‘25 led the team in scoring with 16 points and 15 rebounds. Burlington’s standout player was senior Will Steemer, who was held to just nine points on the night. Later in the week, the Littl...