Project Share begins Thursday

Posted on May 9, 2012 by marshalltownschools

Project Share 2011.

Marshalltown Community School District is co-sponsoring the annual “Project Share” event with Marshalltown Community College Thursday and Friday, May 10-11, at MCC.

Seventeen area school districts have registered a total of 210 students to attend, with May 10 being designated for third and fourth graders and May 11 designated for fifth and sixth graders.

“Project Share” provides a fun venue for area students who are involved in their school districts’ enrichment programs. During this event these high-ability students showcase their independent study projects and have the opportunity to share their expertise with a supportive audience.

This year the Science Center of Iowa will be presenting “How’d They Do That” which explains the science involved with special effects and optional illusions in movies and film.  Students will also rotate through sessions to learn a variety of topics presented by various experts in a college-like atmosphere.

Generous donations from Fisher Controls and Lennox are covering the cost of the opening speaker and hands-on student materials. Students have worked hard to complete their projects and prepare for this fun day of learning.

The public is welcome to attend.

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MHS musicians earn honors at IHSMA Large Group Festival

Posted on May 7, 2012 by marshalltownschools

Marshalltown High School musicians competed at the IHSMA Large Group Festival May 4-5, bringing home a number of top honors.

The orchestra competed at Valley High School in West Des Moines Friday, May 4, earning a Division I rating from all three judges. Orchestra Megan Stucky says this is the first Division I rating for the orchestra in 19 years.

“The orchestra program has tripled in size over the last six years and the students have worked extremely hard for this achievement!” Stucky said.

Other orchestras competing in West Des Moines were from Valley, Roosevelt, Hoover, Urbandale, Indianola and Boone.

MHS Wind Symphony and Symphonic Bands performed at Des Moines Roosevelt High School Saturday, May 5. The Wind Symphony continued its tradition of consistent Division I ratings earning top ratings from all 3 judges with a total score of 115 out of 120 possible points. The Symphonic Band earned a solid Division II rating with an excellent performance by the students.

The Treble and Concert choirs also competed at Roosevelt, earning the Division II rating with excellent performances.

Other schools in attendance with bands and/or choirs included Des Moines Roosevelt, Des Moines East, Des Moines North, Johnston, Urbandale, Southeast Polk, Newton, Ames, Ottumwa, and Ankeny.

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MHS student will head to national speech contest

Posted on May 4, 2012 by marshalltownschools

Ilene Finn said she didn’t even expect to win a local speech contest this spring. So her current run to a national competition has surprised her.

The Marshalltown High School sophomore has advanced to the national event of the National Management Association contest with her speech on leadership titled “What is a Leader?”

Read the full story in today’s Marshalltown Times-Republican.

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MHS students invited to Iowa Youth Institute

Posted on May 3, 2012 by marshalltownschools

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Marshalltown High School students Abby Snyder and Emma Runquist were among 300 Iowa high school students invited to attend the first Iowa Youth Institute held at Iowa State University Monday, April 30.

This new program, an extension of the World Food Prize’s existing youth programs, aims to challenge and inspire Iowa students to think globally and consider opportunities in the sciences as they embark on their careers and post-secondary studies.

Snyder and Runquist were selected for the Institute after researching and writing a paper on the topic “Cultivating Innovations to Feed the World”. An expert committee evaluated papers before students were invited to participate.

During this unique daylong program, students toured research facilities, labs and other ongoing projects on the Iowa State University campus. The also presented research papers they’d written on a chosen aspect of global food security and interacted with Iowa business and industry leaders, academics, legislative officials and their peers.

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MHS senior wins National Merit Scholarship

Posted on May 3, 2012 by marshalltownschools

The National Merit Scholarship Corporation announced today that Marshalltown High School senior Molly Finn is winner of a $2,500 National Merit Scholarship.

The 2,500 Merit Scholar winners were chosen from a talent pool or more than 15,000 outstanding finalists in the 2012 National Merit Scholarship Program.

Winners are the finalists in each state judged to have the strongest combination of accomplishments, skills and potential for success in rigorous college studies. They were selected by a committee of college admissions officers and high school counselors. The scholars may use their awards at any regionally accredited U.S. college or university.

All Finalists competed for these awards. To select scholarship winners, a committee of educators appraised a substantial amount of information submitted by both the Finalists and their high schools: the academic record, including difficulty level of subjects studied and grades earned; scores from two standardized tests; contributions and leadership in school and community activities; an essay written by the Finalist; and a recommendation written by a high school official. The number of winners named in each state is proportional to the state’s percentage of the nation’s graduating high school seniors.

About the 2012 National Merit Scholarship Competition

This year’s competition for National Merit Scholarships began in October 2010 when approximately 1.5 million juniors in some 22,000 high schools took the Preliminary sat/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (psat/nmsqt®), which served as an initial screen of program entrants. Last fall, the highest-scoring participants in each state, representing less than one percent of the nation’s high school seniors, were named Semifinalists on a state representational basis. Only these 16,000 Semifinalists had an opportunity to continue in the competition.

From the Semifinalist group, 15,000 students met the very high academic standards and other requirements to advance to the Finalist level of the competition. By the conclusion of the 2012 program, about 8,300 Finalists will have earned the “Merit Scholar” title and received a total of over $35 million in college scholarships.

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MHS receives grant to implement nation’s leading STEM education curriculum

Posted on May 3, 2012 by marshalltownschools

Marshalltown High School is the recipient of a $35,000 grant from Project Lead The Way (PLTW), the nation’s leading provider of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) curriculum.

Funds from the grant will support the implementation of the PLTW engineering curriculum, including the purchase of materials and equipment that will be used in the hands-on, project-based classes that are a distinguishing characteristic of PLTW’s curriculum.

“The rigorous and hands-on academic programming in pre-engineering will afford our students a competitive edge that they need in the future,” said MHS Principal Aiddy Phomvisay.

MHS will use 2012-2013 as a planning year before launching the Pathway To Engineering curriculum, which “explores the design process and links STEM principles to relevant problem-solving activities.” Foundation courses will be Introduction to Design and Principles of Engineering.

The PLTW grant application process is highly competitive for schools. To receive a grant, schools went through a rigorous application process, which included demonstrating that the school met specific requirements and eligibility criteria to be awarded grant funds. The requirements included district and community support, contractual agreements, teacher professional development, technology acquisitions, and many others.

“Project Lead The Way is committed to providing the highest quality STEM education to prepare today’s students for the global economy,” said PLTW President and CEO Vince Bertram. “We were pleased to receive so many quality grant applications, and we look forward to partnering with MHS to prepare our nation’s next generation of innovators. Finally, we’d like to thank our generous industry partners who made this grant possible.”

PLTW provides students with a proven path to college and career success in STEM fields through three comprehensive programs: Gateway To Technology for middle school students and Pathway To Engineering and Biomedical Sciences for high school students. The hands-on, project-based curricula show students how what they are learning in math and science class applies to real-world challenges. Each course emphasizes problem-solving, critical thinking and teamwork – the top in-demand skills identified by business and industry leaders for success in the global economy. For more information on Project Lead The Way, visit pltw.org or contact Jennifer Cahill, PLTW director of communications, at jcahill@pltw.org.

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MHS garners numerous accolades at Iowa National History Day

Posted on May 2, 2012 by marshalltownschools

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Marshalltown High School had an outstanding showing at Iowa’s National History Day contest Monday, April 30, at the State Historical Museum in Des Moines, with every student taking home an award and some advancing to national competition.

The group performance by Susie Pratt, Ellen Podhajsky, Hannah Stone, “Carrie Chapman Catt: Leading the Woman’s Rights Revolution”, earned a bid to the national contest June 10-14 at the University of Maryland.

Runners-up in group documentary and also winners of the “Best of Iowa” and “History of Agriculture” special award were Jonathon Kirner, Isaac Medina, Adam Willman for “All we ask is Justice: The Cedar County Cow War”.

Runners-up in group website and also winners of “Outstanding Entry Related to Science and Engineering” special award were Molly Major and Erin Woltjer for “Changing the Treatment of Tuberculosis: Revolutionizing Society’s Attitude”

Emily Barske earned the “Sports History Award” for “Title IX: The Revolutionary Law that Changed the Role of the American Girl”.

Students weren’t the only ones receiving honors on Monday. MHS Extended Learning Program teacher Susan Fritzell was also named Iowa’s “National History Day Teacher of the Year”.

Students began work on their projects in September, each focusing on a topic related to the theme “Revolution, Reaction, Reform in History”.  Student did extensive research, visiting Iowa State University’s Special Collections department and the archives at the State Historical Library in Iowa.

Students qualified for the state contest at the regional competition March 28, 2012, at Central College in Pella.

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Tonya Hernandez named AEA 267 Outstanding Paraeducator

Posted on May 1, 2012 by marshalltownschools

Outstanding Paraeducator Award recipient Tonya Hernandez with her daughter, Katelyn Husemann (left) and Amy Knupp (right) from AEA 267.

Marshalltown High School’s Tonya Hernandez is a recipient of AEA 267’s Outstanding Paraeducator Award for 2012.

“I was very surprised and honored to receive an award for a job that I look forward to doing every day,” said Hernandez, who is finishing her fourth school year as a paraeducator and bilingual tutor at the high school.

“This year is especially emotional for me because my freshman that I started with are graduating this year and I feel very proud to have been a part of their learning and lives,” she said.

MHS teachers Kelley Dickey, Jessica Cakrasenjaya and Kristie Miranda nominated Hernandez, noting her dedication and compassion.

“Tonya’s ability to connect and determination to help each individual student creates a special kind of relationship with these students,” Cakrasenjaya said. “There is a mutual respect between Tonya and her students in a professional relationship while still having the ability to be someone the students can count on for anything.”

Working with students has inspired Hernandez to return to the classroom herself, taking college courses on the path to becoming an ELL teacher.

“It is a real honor to receive this award and be recognized for the work I do and I thank all of the people that recommended me for it with all of my heart,” Hernandez said. “But I also must admit that working with the students and seeing their faces light up when they grasp even the smallest concept is an award in itself!”

Hernandez is one of three paraeducators across AEA 267 honored with this award out of its 57 public and 20 non-public school systems. Several other Marshalltown paraeducators were also nominated for this award: Mary Borton, Deena Chedester, Robert Griffin and Greg Lacey.

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Miller bands earn four Division I ratings at large group contest

Posted on April 30, 2012 by marshalltownschools

Miller Middle School’s concert and jazz bands earned four Division I ratings at the SCIBA Large Group Contest Saturday, April 21, at Waukee North Middle School.

The seventh grade concert band, seventh grade jazz band, eighth grade concert band and eighth grade jazz band each received the top marks. Six other Iowa middle schools performed at the event.

Miller competes at Drake Festival of Bands

On Saturday, April 28, the Miller concert bands competed against 22 other middle school bands and orchestras at the Drake Festival of Bands, held at Advertureland in Altoona.

The seventh grade band earned at Division III rating and the eighth grade concert band earned a Division III+ rating.

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MHS competes in IT-Olympics

Posted on April 30, 2012 by marshalltownschools

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Marshalltown High School’s IT team competed at the IT-Olympics April 27-28 at Hilton Coliseum in Ames, placing second in Game Design and seventh in Cyber Defense contests.

The IT-Olympics is the culminating event for students participating in IT-Adventures, “an innovative program that is dedicated to increasing interest in and awareness of IT among high school students through inquiry-based learning focused on three content areas:  cyber defense, game design programming, and robotics.”

MHS’s IT Team, the “Kamikaze Wizards”, competed against 25 teams from schools across Iowa.

The Game Design team, made up of three ninth graders – James Talbert, Brody Gethmann, and Julio Ordaz Dirks, placed second.

The Cyber Defense team, comprised of Ben Anzis (10th grade), Sumeet Panchal (9th grade) and Aaron Schwandt (11th) finished 7th.

In addition to preparation, which included setting up webservers for Cyber Defense and creating a video game for Game Design and competing in many “real time challenges” at the actual event, the team had to complete a community service project before attending. The MHS team created the “Kamikaze Challenge” for students at Lenihan Intermediate, in which they had to create and program LEGO robots to complete a set of tasks in a given amount of time.

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