Bobcats Making Headlines

Marshalltown Schools Employee of the Quarter winners from left are Jenny Allen of Lenihan Intermediate School, Jerry Flathers of the transportation department and Valerie Corson of Marshalltown High School.

Three staff members of the Marshalltown Community School District were recognized with Employee of the Quarter awards for the first quarter of the school year and they include Jenny Allen from Lenihan Intermediate School, Valerie Corson from Marshalltown High School and Jerry Flathers from the transportation department.

Jenny Allen
Jenny Allen works as an instructional coach at Lenihan Intermediate School. She is in her 21st year  in the district. This past year, she took on the role of mentor to Cristina Saiz, a new Lenihan teacher from Spain. Saiz and Sue Cahill nominated Allen for the award.

“Jenny has made an incredible connection with Cristina, both in the classroom and out,” Cahill said in her nomination form. “Jenny helped Cristina secure housing. She helped her secure household items.  Jenny brought her family’s truck and trailer to move Cristina from an apartment into a home.”

Valerie Corson
Valerie Corson is in her fourth year working as a counselor at Marshalltown High School. Corson was nominated for the award by Director of Special Services Matt Cretsinger.

“One of Val’s most valuable skills is her ability to collaborate and communicate with all stakeholders,” Cretsinger said. “She works hard to have a strong, positive relationship with everyone she works with while also keeping the work focused on what is in the best interest of the student.”

Jerry Flathers
Jerry Flathers in the lead mechanic in the transportation department, where he has worked for 29 years. He was nominated for the award by Transportation Director Rex Kozak.

“Jerry is a team player and has been absolutely a key part of the transportation team,” Kozak said. “He is very positive and willing to do whatever he is asked to do without hesitation.  He is proud of what he does and he has made an impact on others.”

Pictured from left are Erica Finders, Dr. Theron Schutte, Jenny Allen, Cristina Saiz, Kyle Young and Sue Cahill.

Pictured from left are Connie Gardalen, Rebecca Whalen, Jacque Wyant, Lydia Arevalo, Valerie Corson, Justin Boliver, Meri Edel, Matt Cretsinger, Deb Holsapple and Dr. Theron Schutte.

Pictured from left are Connie Reinert, Dr. Theron Schutte, Jerry Flathers, Chuck Springer, Rex Kozak, Chad Novotny and Paulette Newbold.

Lana Bradstream, news editor at the Marshalltown Times-Republican, spoke about the field of journalism to students in the Heritage Spanish class at Marshalltown High School on October 24.

Marshalltown Times-Republican newspaper news editor Lana Bradstream gave an insight into the world of journalism as she visited the Heritage Spanish 3 & 4 classes at Marshalltown High School on October 24.

Heritage Spanish teacher Kristin Stuchis invited Bradstream to present because the classes put together Spanish language digital news publications monthly, written by the students.

Bradstream told the students she was interested in writing at a young age and reading led to that interest in writing.

“I wanted to transfer my own thoughts and ideas and creativity onto paper,” Bradstream said.

She talked about a typical day at the newspaper, how it gets published and answered a wide range of questions from the students.

Bradstream said it’s important for an editor to know what people in the community want to read about.

“You need to have your finger on the community,” she said.

Heritage Spanish
The Heritage Spanish classes at MHS are designed for students who have grown up with Spanish spoken in the home. Because most Heritage Spanish students speak and understand Spanish, the emphasis is on building reading, writing and public speaking skills. Stuchis said she came up with the idea for the classes to produce a Spanish language publication so they could work on collaborating on projects as a team.

Cast members from the Miller Middle School fall Play “The Monsters Under the Bed” rehearse a scene recently. Pictured from left are Ella Spitzli, Makia Long and Lily Marquess.

The Miller Middle School Drama Club will present the fall play titled “The Monsters Under the Bed” at 7 p.m. on Thursday, October 24 in the Miller auditorium.

The story follows a young girl, Stephanie, as she and her friends discover exactly what lives under her bed. They must face their fears as their nightmares come alive. Come see Miller students perform in this family-friendly adventure.

The play is directed by Miller teacher Katie Mayotte with assistance from Shawna Hutchison.

Admission is free and open to the public.

Cast: 

More rehearsal photos

Pictured from left at the Forecast5 conference are from left, Eric Smith, vice president of Forecast5, MCSD Superintendent Dr. Theron Schutte, MHS Principal Jacque Wyant, and Michael English, CEO of Forecast5.

The Marshalltown Community School District was honored by Forecast5 Analytics at its national conference recently with the 2019 Project of the Year for its Bobcat Ready effort.

The student report card that was developed, in partnership with 5Lab, and various recognitions presented at the high school to graduating seniors set MCSD apart from other districts throughout the country that are doing similar work. The Bobcat Ready effort tracks college and career readiness indicators for high school students.

Accepting the award at the conference held in Schaumburg, Illinois was MCSD Superintendent Dr. Theron Schutte and Marshalltown High School Principal Jacque Wyant. District Instructional Design Specialist David Stanfield was instrumental in this effort as well.

“At our annual Forecast5 National Conference, we were thrilled to deliver a 2019 Project of the Year award to the leadership team at Marshalltown Community School District,” said Michael English, CEO of Forecast5 Analytics. “The Bobcat Ready certificate is a culmination of the team’s hard work and their focus on preparing students for success after high school.  While many districts have started the process, Dr. Schutte and his team are one of the first groups in the country to pass a significant technological milestone to connect all of the relevant data and deliver readiness information in the form of a student certificate.”

See a video which was presented at the conference at this link.

Marshalltown High School student Brooklynn Coburn is pictured at The World Food Prize Global Youth Institute, held October 17-19 in Des Moines.

Marshalltown High School junior Brooklynn Coburn met with students and leaders from across the world as part of The World Food Prize Global Youth Institute October 17-19 in Des Moines.

During the symposium, student and teacher delegates participated in the Borlaug Dialogue, the leading international symposium on food security and international development, which brings together over 1,000 international experts and policy leaders from 65 countries.

Coburn attended the World Food Prize Laureate Award Ceremony in the historic Iowa State Capitol and was able to interact with, and learn from, students from across the world during many discussions.

“Of course it was inspiring but it also made me feel like I had the opportunity to change things,” Coburn said. “I learned how you can use your own strengths to change the world.”

Coburn said she would like to promote the World Food Prize to more students at MHS and a long-term goal is to one day be the founder of a successful non-profit organization. Coburn was selected for this global program after presenting a paper at the World Food Prize Iowa Youth Institute this past April.

Susan Fritzell, Extended Learning Program teacher at MHS, also attended the global event as a Global Guide participant. Fritzell said they have started a World Food Prize group at MHS to look into how they can work to solve food insecurity issues in Marshalltown.

Marshalltown High School sophomores visited the new police and fire building as part of careers tours held by the students the week of October 14 to 18.

Marshalltown High School sophomores participated in the annual career tours the week of October 14 to 18 throughout the community.

Students were surveyed and narrowed down into different career fields of interest and visited businesses that have careers that match their interests.

“We are thankful for the partnership between the local businesses and the school for allowing these experiences for our students,” said MHS counselor Rebecca Whalen who works with the Class of 2022.

Whalen said it was important for the students to make face-to-face connections with people working in a variety of jobs in the area.

“At each tour it was beneficial for students to hear the range of requirements for different positions,” she said. “Our hope with these experiences is that students make the connection to what they are doing now and what they want to do in the future by making intentional choices in picking the high school or dual credit courses that fit their interests.”

These tours also align with the Bobcat Ready effort in the school that encourages college and career readiness.

“We are encouraging students to work towards being Bobcat Ready by meeting career and college readiness indicators so they are prepared for whichever route they pursue after high school,” Whalen said.

The tours were organized by the Student Partnership Committee of the Marshalltown Business Education Alliance and MHS staff.

MHS sophomore Nolan Bartlett goes on the air with KIX 101.1 radio personality Doris Day.

Marshalltown High School seniors Caleb Jones, left, and Aida Almanza have been named student leaders for the Class of 2020 through AmeriCorps and will help their peers with college and career readiness.

Two Marshalltown High School seniors have been selected as student leaders to help their peers with college and career readiness this school year through the AmeriCorps program.

Aida Almanza and Caleb Jones have been selected as leaders and will work a total of 300 hours as part of the program, which pays them a stipend and scholarship funds for college through AmeriCorps.

The students will help senior classmates with college and financial aid applications, family nights and other duties to help the senior class staff at MHS.

“This is a great opportunity for them to get some experience in leadership,” said Connie Gardalen, Gear Up coordinator. “They will help with college and career readiness in any way we need them as peer leaders.”

Almanza wants to one day become a surgeon and plans to attend Iowa State University and major in kinesiology.

“I want to help everyone achieve their goals just like I want to achieve mine,” Almanza said.

Jones has a goal to work in law enforcement and plans to major in criminal justice. He is undecided on a college as of yet.

“I enjoy being a leader and I enjoy helping others,” Jones said.

Miller Middle School seventh grader Emma Bradbury talks to John Christen of Marshalltown Company about the building construction module at the Modular Technology lab open house held on October 16 at Miller.

Local representatives from business sponsors and members of the public toured the new Modular Technology lab at Miller Middle School during an open house held on October 16.

Modular Technology is a career based simulation class that allows students the opportunity to explore different avenues in many different career fields.  Local businesses and companies sponsored each of the modules in the class in the new lab.

View more photos from the open house at the MCSD Facebook page.

Read more about the mod tech lab here.

Miller seventh grader Adam Boone works on the flight simulator in the flight transportation module as Stephen Valbracht of Marshalltown Aviation looks on.

Miller Middle School seventh graders Matthew Scharpenter, left, and Paloma Castro work in the graphic design module in the school’s Modular Technology lab recently.

A new school year brought a new lab and class to Miller Middle School which has students learning about careers in a hands-on way. The new Modular Technology (Mod Tech) Lab is up and running at the school.

Modular Technology is a career based simulation class that allows students the opportunity to explore different avenues in many different career fields.

“We have 17 different modular stations, most of which are sponsored by local businesses,” said teacher Siera Schwartz. “Having the local Marshalltown business community involved allows for the students to see what they may be interested in and where they are able to find jobs in that particular career field.”

Every seventh grade student will have the freedom to explore at least three to four different career clusters as they spend a quarter in Modular Technology. Each module gives the students 10 days of learning and understanding what each career may entail.

“It allows them to see a small glimpse into the education that goes into each career as well,” Schwartz said. “With experience in many different careers at the middle school level, we are hoping to help the students become more interested in each career cluster as they learn and grow.”

The lab will be open to the public for a special open house from 11:30 a.m.- 1 p.m. on Wednesday, October 16.

The 17 modules are:
Building and Construction
Career and Community
Computer Animation
Culinary Arts
Digital Audio Production
Digital Photography
Engineering structures
Finance
Flight Transportation
Graphic Design
Home Maintenance
Horticulture
Hospitality and Tourism
Nutrition and Wellness
Precision Measure
Veterinary Sciences
Web Page Design

Business sponsors for the project include:
Marshalltown Company, Mechdyne, JBS, Trending Media (KFJB/KIX101.1), Stalzer Photography, Clapsaddle-Garber Associates, Structural Engineers, P.C., Great Western Bank, Marshalltown Aviation, LRI Graphics, Alliant Energy, Marshalltown Area Chamber of Commerce, UnityPoint Health Foundation, Emerson and Dr. Dennis and Heidi Drager.

Student Diego Ramirez works in the building and construction module.