Joe Carmicheal, Class of 2007, returned to Marshalltown High School last month to share his experiences with the Project Lead The Way Biomedical Sciences class. Named 2012 Iowa Phlebotomist of the Year, Joe talked about his career with students and helped them draw “blood” from a prosthetic arm.
No matter the class or day of the week, Phillip Lin, 10, shows he’s ready to learn.
“Every day he comes to school ready to learn,” said Kristin Alman, his fifth grade teacher at Lenihan Intermediate School.
Read Phillip’s Spotlight in today’s Marshalltown Times-Republican.
Team Hoglan, the parent-teacher organization at Hoglan Elementary, is hosting an all-elementary school community carnival Sunday, Jan. 26, 2-4:30pm in the Marshalltown High School Roundhouse.
Entry to the carnival is $5, with a quarter of the proceeds going to the Roundhouse Renovation Project. Activities include inflatables, ring toss, golf shots and a basketball hoop toss. Concessions will also be available. A raffle at the carnival will have prizes including SkyZone tickets, a free night stay at Hampton Inn, and free golf passes.
Sponsors for the carnival in addition to Team Hoglan are Younkers and First Rate Real Estate.
All elementary-aged students and their families are invited.
BDH Technology generously donated their time and talents to develop the new website for the MHS Roundhouse Renovation. Pictured are Chad Berg, MHS graduate and co-founder of BDH Technology, and Jeremy Lane, BDH web designer and designer of the new Roundhouse website.
The Roundhouse Renovation Committee is excited to announce that their website www.mhsroundhouse.com has undergone its own major renovation!
“This site is going to be a much more valuable tool for us now,” says Gary Schaudt, co-chair of the MHS Roundhouse Renovation Committee. “The site allows us to reach and communicate with people coast to coast in a convenient and timely way. And we think the interactive content has greater potential to generate involvement with the project—and hopefully more donations!”
The focal point of the new and improved website is a video created by MHS student Beau Ragland. It features segments of the address that David Tank, Vice President of the Martha-Ellen Tye Foundation, made in July at the announcement of the $1 million Martha-Ellen Tye Challenge Grant.
Ragland says, “I was fortunate to be present at the announcement of the $1 million Challenge Grant. It was exciting to hear the news, and I liked what Mr. Tank had to say about the Roundhouse!” Ragland said that creating this video was a way that he could contribute to the renovation and share Mr. Tanks’ words with others.
The new website also provides the opportunity to make an online donation using a credit card. “We wanted to offer this as a convenience—especially for those potential donors that reside out of town,” says Schaudt. “It’s a quick and easy way to donate—without even needing a stamp.”
You’ll also find up-to-date information on the dollars raised as well as scrolling Roundhouse news tidbits on the site.
The new website was created by Jeremy Lane with BDH Technology. BDH Technology is a full service technology company with locations in Marshalltown and Cedar Rapids. Co-founder Chad Berg is an MHS graduate. Berg graduated from Iowa State University in 2002 with a computer engineering degree and started BDH in 2003. Lane has worked for BDH for three years.
Thanks to Berg’s Marshalltown background, BDH Technology generously donated its services for this project. Heather Van Buren, co-chair of the MHS Roundhouse Renovation Committee says, “We are so appreciative to BDH, Chad and Jeremy for their time and talent! This contribution will be invaluable as we continue to increase the website usage and seek out potential donors.”
Van Buren encourages all Marshalltown residents to invite their family and friends to visit www.mhsroundhouse.com. “Referring out-of-towners to this website is a way that every one of us can help support the Roundhouse Renovation and spread the excitement about the upcoming changes!”
The total money raised to meet the $1 million Martha-Ellen Tye Foundation Challenge Grant currently stands at $900,000. The total cost of the renovation is projected to be $13.35 million. The Marshalltown Community School District has committed $9.5 million.
To make a donation to the Roundhouse Renovation, pledge forms are available at www.mhsroundhouse.com or you can donate online. You can also follow the fundraising efforts on Facebook at Renovate the Roundhouse. Donations are tax deductible and should be directed to Marshalltown Community School District Foundation, P.O. Box 1562, at Marshalltown, IA 50158.
Learning the English language at the same time as trying to tackle other subjects is not stopping Moe Zar. The 13-year-old seventh grader at Miller Middle School shows determination to get the job done.
Read the full spotlight in today’s Marshalltown Times-Republican.
Five Miller Middle School eighth grade students purchased gifts for those in need Thursday at Walmart with money raised by the entire class. Pictured with the toys purchased are, from left, Macey Lolwing, Jazmin Ibarra, David Barlow, Cody Songkhamdet and Demiko Deng.
A couple of less fortunate children in the area are going to have a special Christmas this year thanks to the generosity of eighth graders at Miller Middle School.
Students each brought in $1 and some donated more to buy presents for a 3-year-old and 7-year-old who are in need. They selected the two lucky recipients from the Angel Tree program of the Salvation Army.
Read the full story in today’s Marshalltown Times-Republican.
In the lap pool room 40 students graduated from the Teach Them to Swim Program as parents watched Wednesday at the YMCA-YWCA.
The Teach Them to Swim program involved fifth and sixth graders from Lenihan Intermediate School who took the 16-week program free of charge.
Read the full story in today’s Marshalltown Times-Republican.
Ellen Podhajsky, MHS Poetry Out Loud winner and state qualifier.
Ellen Podhajsky will represent Marshalltown High School at the state Poetry Out Loud competition next March, placing first out of 11 contestants in the qualifying contest Wednesday, Dec. 18.
This is the sixth year for Poetry Out Loud at MHS, “a contest that encourages the nation’s youth to learn about great poetry through memorization and recitation.” Chandler Fisher represented MHS at the 2013 state Poetry Out Loud contest. Gwen Morrison represented MHS at the 2012 state contest, winning the state title and competing at the national competition in Washington, D.C.
During the qualifying contest each student recited two poems by memory. According to Poetry Out Loud guidelines, one poem must be 25 lines or fewer and one must be written before the 20th Century. Podhajsky won with her recitations of Those Winter Sundays by Robert Hayden and Abraham Lincoln Walks at Midnight by Vachel Lindsay.
Judging the local contest were Melissa Niesen, Karen Roessler and Gary Zmolek. Students were evaluated on multiple criteria, including physical presence, voice and articulation, accuracy and evidence of understanding. Contest emcee was Adam Willman.
Second place went to Joe Cahill, who recited Ozymandias by Percy Bysshe Shelley and Cartoon Physics, part 1 by Nick Flynn. Fisher placed third with his recitations of January 1795 by Mary Robinson and Learning to swim by Bob Hickok.
Other performers at the qualifying contest included Natalie Kueny, Andrew Walker, Mitchell Schwandt, Jonathon Kirner, Sean Finn, Michelle Ankrum, Ryley Faircloth and Josephine Coury.
The S.T.E.P. program (Students Teaching and Empowering Philanthropy) is excited to announce a $20,000 funding opportunity for nonprofits in the Marshall County area.
Now in its third year, S.T.E.P. is a philanthropic program open to sophomores, juniors and seniors and is sponsored by the Martha-Ellen Tye Foundation and the Community Foundation of Marshall County, an affiliate of the Community Foundation of Northeast Iowa, in cooperation with Marshalltown High School. This program allows high school age students in Marshalltown to learn about local non-profit organizations and practice philanthropy.
The S.T.E.P. grant application form for 2014 is now available. The postmark deadline is February 3, 2014. Non-profit organizations and projects located in Marshall County, Iowa may apply for funding from the S.T.E.P. Committee, which is responsible for allocating $20,000 this year to support projects addressing community issues. Organizations interested in receiving an application may send an e-mail request to info@marthaellentyefoundation.org or access the application online at www.marthaellentyefoundation.org on the Grantmaking page.
For more information contact Program Manager & S.T.E.P. Coordinator Heidi Pierson at the Martha-Ellen Tye Foundation, (641) 752-8340.
Team “Nature’s Natural 9” from Lenihan Intermediate.
FIRST Lego League teams from Lenihan Intermediate and Miller Middle schools competed at the regional competition Saturday, Dec. 7, with two teams earning awards.
The Lenihan team, “Nature’s Natural 9”, placed second for their innovative solution to this year’s topic, “Nature’s Fury”, which focuses on natural disasters. The seventh grade team, “Team Stormbot”, earned a second place finish in robot design. The eighth grade team, “Team S.M.A.R.T.”, also competed, and while they didn’t place had a strong showing in all categories.
In FIRST Lego League, students work to solve a real-world challenge. Students participate in the challenge by programming an autonomous robot to score points on a themed playing field (Robot Game), developing a solution to a problem they have identified (Project), all guided by the FLL Core Values.
“Challenge topics are based on a global problem, for which students find a solution. This year’s Challenge was Nature’s Fury. By designing the Challenges around such topics, participants are exposed to potential career paths within a chosen Challenge topic, in addition to solidifying the STEM principles that naturally come from participating in a robotics program. Team members also learn valuable life and employment skills, which will benefit them no matter which career path they choose.”
Extended Learning Program teachers Ann Jackson (Miller) and Kate Niedermann (Lenihan) used Lego League to connect ELP students with community members who served as mentors and coaches. The Lego League teams benefited from assistance of community volunteers Karin Podhajsky, Frank Roessler, Annette Latwesen, Ricarda Drummer and James Rodgers. Roessler and Podhajsky are FLL veterans; each has helped coach Lego League for many years. This was Drummer, Latwesen and Rodgers’ first year being directly involved with Lego League. Drummer and Latwesen assisted the 5th /6th grade team in the development of their project, as well as the research and development of innovative design. From her experience at Emerson, Latwesen helped Nature’s Natural 9 members learn more about the software and programming of the robots. Rodgers, who is a Lead Web Developer at Fisher Controls, helped the eighth grade team design their robot and program several missions.
While preparing for competition, Lego Leaguers also heard from several guest experts. Students were able to interview Kim Elder, Director of Marshall County Emergency Management; Mike Beck, Red Cross Volunteer; Jake Nicholson, Iowa Department of Homeland Security; and Chris Luhring, former Parkersburg Police Chief.
Bobcats Making Headlines 