The team, comprised of seniors Brennan Goodman and Jon Overton, junior Joe Metzger, and sophomore Ben Anzis finished with a 9-1 record, losing just one match to the eventual winner, West Des Moines Valley A.

Quiz Bowl is a competition testing knowledge in a wide variety of areas, including geography, history, math, science, literature and current events.

The team has four competitions throughout the school year – two at Iowa State University, one at Drake University and one in Ankeny.

A total of 321 fifth and sixth grade students will receive award certificates and academic pins Tuesday evening, with a ceremony for fifth grade students at 5:30pm and sixth grade at 7:30pm. A reception for students and their families will follow each awards ceremony.

Students will be recognized for three levels of academic achievement:

• Gold Honor Roll – Received all As for semester grades
• Silver Honor Roll – Received A/B for semester grades
• Bronze Honor Roll – Received all Bs for semester grades

Students were notified of their awards during a school-wide assembly last week.

In addition to this award, based on the number of volunteer hours, Rachel has also received the President’s Volunteer Service Award.  This award recognizes Americans of all ages who have volunteered significant amounts of their time to serve their communities and their country.

Presented annually by Prudential Financial in partnership with the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP); the Prudential Spirit of Community Awards honor young people across America for outstanding community service activities.

The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards program, now in its 17th year, also recognizes the top middle level and high school volunteer in each state and the District of Columbia, and will name America’s top ten youth volunteers in May.  More than 345,000 young people have been considered for these awards since the program’s inception in 1995, making it the nation’s largest youth recognition program based exclusively on volunteer service.

“The recipients of these awards vividly demonstrate that young people across America are making remarkable contributions to the health and vitality of their communities,” said John R. Strangfeld, chairman and CEO of Prudential Financial.  “In recognizing these students and placing a spotlight on their volunteer service activities, we hope to motivate others to consider how they can also contribute to their community.”

Program applications were distributed last September to all public and private middle level and high schools, Girl Scout councils, county 4-H organizations, American Red Cross chapters, YMCAs, and affiliates of HandsOn Network.  After Local Honorees were named, state-level judges selected State Honorees, Distinguished Finalists and Certificate of Excellence recipients.  Volunteer activities were judged on criteria such as personal initiative, creativity, effort, impact, and personal growth.

Read more about this class project in the Marshalltown Times Republican: http://www.timesrepublican.com/page/content.detail/id/546976/Catching-on-to-wind-catchers.html?nav=5005

To enroll in kindergarten for the 2012-2013 school year, children must be 5 years old by Sept. 15, 2012. Parents should bring the child’s birth certificate to registration.

Families should go to their neighborhood school for registration. Families living in the Central Zone or rural areas may register at any building, though that does not guarantee attendance at that building. Final assignment will be based on available space, sibling enrollment or enrollment in the Dual Language Program (Woodbury Elementary).

A map of school attendance zones is available on the district website (www.marshalltown.k12.ia.us) under the “Parent Resources” tab.

For more information please contact your neighborhood elementary school or Central Office at 641-754-1000. Open houses for incoming kindergarteners will be held in late April.

Angie Pietig (left) and Kate Troskey, MEA building representatives, preparing the collection cans for their building.

The Marshalltown Education Association (MEA)  is spearheading the Reach Out and Read campaign which collects money for books that doctors hand out to preschool children and their families at their milestone check-up appointments.

“We know how important it is to get books into the hands of kids and their families”, said Meg Sponseller, MEA president.  “With our cash donations, the local Reach Out and Read organization makes sure that these books get into the hands of Marshall county kids.”

Each school building and support department is involved in the fund drive with collection cans and envelopes in each location.  The fund drive goes until Feb. 21, 2012.

“We encourage each employee to give toward this effort”, said Dr. Marvin Wade, MCSD superintendent.  We know that kids with books have greater success when they come through our doors.  This is a chance for us to help our future students”.

If you have any questions concerning the Reach Out and Read fund campaign, call or email Sue Cahill,  754-1080, scahill@marshalltown.k12.ia.us.

Ten students were accepted into the Art Educators of Iowa statewide art show, which runs during Youth Art Month in March.

Students selected are:

From Miller Middle School (Art teacher Carol Webb): Sabra Fiser, Katie Gassman, Ellyn Boland, and Olyvia Mathews

From Lenihan Intermediate (Art teacher Pam Muench): Emri Flathers, Lucas Thiessen

From Franklin Elementary (Art teacher Laurie Mullen): Olivia Whaley, Victor Livengood, Adrian Juarez, and Julian Gonzalez

A reception will be held for these students on Sunday, March 11, 2012 at the Historical Building in Des Moines. Youth Art Month celebrates the value of the arts in education, which promotes creativity, higher order thinking skills, and creative problem solving.

More than 50 athletes from all over Central Iowa attended.

“It was exciting to see the athletes perform and especially to see the growth they have made since the beginning of our season to now,” said basketball sponsor Court Koch. “We look forward to seeing even more progress being made and look forward to seeing what happens at the state competition.”

Students with a first place finish at the competition advance to the state contest in Iowa City March 9-10, 2012.

Results:

Those groups were Radio News Broadcasting, Week end Update, which included Cody Johnson, Jared Mills, Marissa Chase, Shellie Robinson and Megan Rachuy. The other group, ensemble acting Eleemosynary, featured Emilie Nyssen, Emily Nordstrum, and Natalie Heddens.

Two remaining groups received Division II ratings. One group was readers theatre, At the Sound of the Tone, with Chika Onyeka, Emily Nordstrom, Jasmine Vore, Jordan Cline, Marissa Chase, Megan Rachuy, Sydney Davis, and Brennan Goodman, while the final group was Welcome to a Nightmare with all freshmen members: Chandler Fisher, Cassidy Fisher, Allyson Biggs, Dahlia Fifo, Alex Herink, Kierra Carbajal, Sumeet Panchal, and Marisa Anderson. Senior Gwen Morrison directed the freshman group.

Grace Amemiya was a 21-year-old nursing student in California when she, her mother and her siblings were shipped off to an Internment Camp at the start of World War II. On Monday, the 91-year-old Amemiya told her story to history students at Marshalltown High School.

Amemiya, who was born in the U.S. to Japanese immigrants, was among thousands of Japanese Americans who were relocated and detained after Japan bombed Pear Harbor Dec. 7, 1941. She now resides in Ames.

Read more about her visit in today’s Marshalltown Times-Republican.