Miller student selected for Opus Honor Choir

Frank Iole, a seventh grade student at Miller Middle School, has been selected for the 2011 Seventh/Eighth Grade Boys Opus Honor Choir.

The Iowa Choral Directors Association will sponsor the twenty-sixth annual Opus Honor Choir on Thursday, Nov. 17, 2011, at Iowa State University in Ames.

Members of the honor choir are selected through an audition process. Iole was one of more than 3,200 students who auditioned for one of four Opus choirs. The choir is made of of 180 of the best singers from around the state of Iowa. The Seventh/Eighth Grade Boys Opus Honor Choir will be under the direction of Steve Woodin.

He will spend the day rehearsing and working with world-class directors and give a concert that evening for parents and community.

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Bobcats advance 17 to Special Olympics State Bowling

The Special Olympics Central Area Bowling competition was held on Oct. 7, 2011, at Totem Bowl, with 17 Bobcat Special Olympics Athletes advancing to the state tournament.

“The athletes all showed great sportsmanship and effort at the central competition,” said Wendy Olinger, head bowling sponsor. “Our first place finishers are looking forward to competing in the state tournament on Nov. 19 in Des Moines, with our last practice for the season being held on Nov. 3.”

All first place finishers from the Central Area competition move on to the state tournament.

First Place

Dillon Black Vanya Brown/Jonny Laughlin
Steven Clayton Joey Fisher
Cody Freese Oscar Gutierrez
Frank Iole/Abbie McDonald Andres Levia
Bea Leon Richard Olmstead
Zach Peterson/Daniell Sanchez Page Shattuck
Skylar Smith Isaac Youngblood

Second Place

Christian Banderas Katie Bjelland/Francisco Rodriquez
Liz Bovee Ashley Gaunt/Tesa Nichols
Martin Herrera Katie Johnson/Crysa Vergauwen/Samantha Lammert/Alexis Schrafel
Colton Lubbert McKenze Lubbert
William Myers Brittany Ryerson
Lindsay Wiegand/Breanna Wooldridge

 

Third Place Fourth Place Fifth Place
Trevor Lewis/Miguel Salas Drake Fisher/Katie Matney Leticia Flores
Tre Underhill John Johnson Nick Hildreth/Lexi Jones
Daniel Wieland Curtis Klingsporn Wyatt Slinker
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AEI names Webb Middle Level Art Educator of the Year

Carol Webb, Art Educators of Iowa Middle Level Art Educator of the Year

Miller Middle School art teacher Carol Webb is the Art Educators of Iowa’s Middle Level Art Educator of the Year.

Webb, who has taught art at Miller for 15 years, will be honored at an awards ceremony Saturday, Oct. 8, during the AEI Fall Conference in Des Moines.

“Teaching middle school art is full of rewards and challenges,” Webb said. “I continually find new significance in art instruction each school year. In the words of many art and education professionals who have impacted my career, the way to teach art is through connections – connections to creative experiences, to the personal and the global in art interpretation and art making, and, most importantly, connections to the students with whom we interact daily.”

During her tenure at Miller Webb had worked tirelessly to connect students to art. Each year she takes eighth grade art students to the Des Moines Art Center.

“Her students are among the best prepared for their experience at the Art Center,” said Madelyn Mayberry, retired MCSD art teacher and Art Center docent. “It is obvious to us that Carol has shown her students images of artworks they might see and that they also have experience in the process of discovery. They use quite sophisticated art terms to describe, analyze, and interpret the meaning they find in the art. Carol does an outstanding job of empowering her students to get the most out of their touring experience by teaching them observation skills and encouraging grounded, personal dialogue about the art.”

Webb has also created numerous after-school art classes, routinely seeking out funding for them. She has also received three different “Artists in Schools” grants from the Iowa Arts Council, resulting in unique artistic collaborations that include “The Homework Machine”, a collaborative piece by T.J. Moberg now displayed at the Marshalltown Public Library.

She spent two years on the School Re-Organization Committee, serves as treasurer and framing coordinator for the annual “Young Artists of Marshalltown” district art show, regularly mentors new Miller teachers and is an informal mentor and adviser to other MCSD art teachers.

Webb is an 11-year member of the AEI Board, serving as an area rep, membership chair, and the last five years as treasurer.

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MHS National Honor Society hosts Blood Drive Oct. 12

The Marshalltown High School National Honor Society is hosting a Blood Drive Wednesday, Oct. 12, from 7:45am to 12:45pm in the MHS/Community Auditorium Lobby.

Donating blood is safe, simple and it saves lives! It takes just one hour to make a life-saving blood donation, which will impact the lives of up to three different hospital patients. You can make a difference in your community by helping to maintain the local blood supply when you donate blood with LifeServe Blood Center

For more information or to schedule an appointment to donate, please contact Diane Strehlow at (641) 754-1130 or dstrehlow@marshalltown.k12.ia.us. You can also schedule your appointment online at www.lifeservebloodcenter.org.

Download the Parent/Guardian Consent Form HERE.

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Woodbury Elementary opens new pick-up/drop-off area

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On Tuesday, Oct. 4, Woodbury Elementary families began using the new pick-up/drop-off cutout on North 7th Avenue, improving safety and organization in front of the school.

“We are excited to have this new area for drop-off and pick-up,” said Principal Sarah Johnson.  “We now have much safer access for students and their families.”

Last year, Mrs. Johnson petitioned the school board about creating a safer area for students and their families.

“We had kids running across the middle of the street to get to where their parents had parked on the other side,” she said. “It was very difficult to police with parents parking on both sides of the street.”

The new arrangement involved cutting a lane on the west side of 7th Avenue, where families can pull up and stay with their cars while they wait for their students.  Staff members manned signs on the east side of the street advising families that it was a “No pickup or drop off area.”

The project not only made the street safer for the students, it also added brick and beautiful fall flowers to the front of Woodbury. Mums were donated by Drug Town.

“Tuesday was a great day to start using the new drop off and pick up area,” said Rita Byers, third grade teacher and one of the many staff members on duty.  “The front of the school is decorated with yellow fall flowers and the trees are changing colors.  It was a great way to make sure everyone was safe.”

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Fisher third grade sings: “It’s fun to learn like a cool Fisher Cat”

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Fisher Elementary students had their first assembly of the school year Thursday (Sept. 29), which featured a special performance by third grade.

The students wore hard hats as a nod to the ongoing construction project at the school, then sang a song about Fisher Elementary to the tune of The Village People’s “YMCA”. The lyrics embodied the school’s expectations for behavior.

Fisher CAT (YMCA) Theme Song

Fisher, there’s no need to feel down
We said, Fisher, pick yourself off the ground.
We said, Fisher, ‘cause you’re in Marshalltown;
There’s no need to be unhappy!

Fisher, there’s a place you can go,
We said, Fisher, when your knowledge is low
You can stay here and I’m sure you will find
Many ways to have a good time.

It’s fun to learn like a cool Fisher Cat!
It’s fun to learn like a cool Fisher Cat!

We have everything that you need to enjoy
You can hang with most teachers oh boy!

It’s fun to learn like a cool Fisher Cat!
It’s fun to learn like a cool Fisher Cat!

You can get ready to learn
You can always be safe
Re-spon-si-ble; re-spect-ful.

Fisher, are you listening to me?
We said, Fisher, what do you want to be?
We said, Fisher, you can make real your dreams;
But you’ve got to know this one thing.

No one does it all all be himself,
We said, Fisher, put your pride on the shelf.
And just go there like the C-A-T-S!(actions)
Teachers can help you with that.

It’s fun to learn like a cool Fisher Cat!
It’s fun to learn like a cool Fisher Cat!

They have every-thing that you need to enjoy
You can hang out with most teachers; oh boy!

It’s fun to learn like a cool Fisher Cat!
It’s fun to learn like a cool Fisher Cat!

You can get ready to learn
You can always be safe
Re-spon-si-ble; re-spect-ful.

Fisher, we all do our best
We said, Fisher, hard work is the test.
We can learn here; each and every—day
To-get-her we can go all the way!

That’s when someone came up to me
And said, students, who do you want to be?
There’s a place here where learning is grand
Come along with us to make a huge stand

It’s fun to learn like a cool Fisher Cat!
It’s fun to learn like a cool Fisher Cat!

They have every-thing that you need to enjoy
You can hang out with most teachers; oh boy!

C-A-T-S ( body actions & movement)
It’s fun to learn like cool C-A-T-S (actions)
Fisher, there’s no need to feel down.
Fisher, pick yourself off the ground!

C-A-T-S (actions)
Then just be cool C-A-T-S (actions)
Fisher, we have all gone to school
Fisher, we said, follow the golden rule
C-A-T-S

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MHS senior named “Commended Student” in National Merit Scholarship Program

Marshalltown High School senior Gwendolyn Morrison has been named a Commended Student in the 2012 National Merit Scholarship Program.

About 34,000 Commended Students are recognized throughout the nation for their excellent academic promise. Although they will not continue in the 2012 competition for the National Merit Scholarships, Commended Students placed among the top five percent of more than 1.5 million students taking the PSAT/NMSQT.

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Tomi DeGrado’s trip “Over the Edge” for Special Olympics

Watch Bobcat Tomi DeGrado go “Over the Edge” for Special Olympics!

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The Harlem Quartet performs at MHS

The Harlem Quartet is touring Marshalltown Schools today thanks to the generosity of the Marshall County Arts & Culture Alliance, Ames Town & Gown and the Martha-Ellen Tye Foundation. This morning they performed for Marshalltown High School music students in the MHS/Community Auditorium.

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The group also visited with LOL (Literature Over Lunch) before heading to Lenihan and Miller for assemblies. Tonight they’ll hold a free concert at St. Mary’s Catholic Church.

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Bobcat QB named ESPNHS Midwest Player of the Week

Bobcat quarterback Blake Gimbel is the Midwest Player of the Week for ESPNHS.

Here’s what ESPNHS has to say about him:

Blake Gimbel, Marshalltown (Marshalltown, Iowa)
The 6-foot-4, 170-pound junior quarterback broke an Iowa state record by passing for 562 yards in a 63-41 shootout victory over Sioux City East (Sioux City, Iowa). He connected on 42 of 62 passes with five touchdown tosses to five different receivers. The 42 completions was one short of the state mark of 43. The yardage mark bettered the previous state record of 542 set in 2007 by D.J. Freesmeier of Central Lee (Donnellson, Iowa). Gimbel opened the season with 405 passing yards vs. Roosevelt (Sioux City, Iowa). He has now passed for 1,922 yards in five games and could threaten the state single season mark of 3,729 yards set in 2007 by current University of Iowa quarterback James Vandenberg of Keokuk (Keokuk, Iowa).

http://espn.go.com/blog/high-school/football/

Go Bobcats!

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