Bobcats Making Headlines

Shelley Lechnir, aquatics director at the Marshalltown YMCA-YWCA, reads the book “Josh the Baby Otter” to kindergarten students at Rogers Elementary School on May 16. This water safety program is being delivered to all Marshalltown kindergarten students this month.

The Marshalltown Rotary Club and the Marshalltown YMCA-YWCA are sponsoring a water safety program focused on the book “Josh the Baby Otter” for all Marshalltown kindergarten students during their physical education classes this month.

Presenters from Rotary and the Y deliver the one-time program about how to stay safe around water from the point of view of Josh the otter, who is featured in the book. Students receive a free book to take home to share with their families. Shelley Lechnir, aquatics director at the YMCA-YWCA, visited Rogers Elementary School on May 16.

“Kindergartners were very receptive to the tale of Josh the Baby Otter,” said Nicki Boliver, PE teacher at Rogers Elementary School. “The importance of water safety is something that many of the students have already been introduced to and this activity helped reinforce the efforts of our community and its mission to keep kids safe around bodies of water. As the activity concluded, kindergartners pledged to stay away from water unless they were with an adult. They made a real connection to what was being taught to them through this program.”

Miller Middle School special education teacher Anita Ringgenberg, left, honors retiring Miller special education teacher Linda Russell during the MEA/MCSD retirement tea held on May 15.

Nearly 250 years of combined service to the district was recognized during the Marshalltown Education Association/Marshalltown Schools annual retirement tea held on May 15 at Dejardin Hall on the Marshalltown Community College campus. Many of the school employees set to retire in just a few weeks were in attendance.

“The impact they’ve had on generations of students cannot be truly measured,” said School Board Member Sean Heitmann.

MEA Scholarships

The MEA Scholarship recipients were Trenten Finders (left), who plans to attend Marshalltown Community College and Juliana Arifi (right), who plans to attend Grand View University.

Friend of Education Award

Franklin teacher Angie Pietig, right, presents volunteer Shirley Mann with the Friend of Education award.

The Friend of Education Award was presented to Shirley Mann, a retired teacher who volunteers in third grade at Franklin Elementary School.

“I cannot think of a more deserving individual for this award,” said Franklin teacher Angie Pietig.

Below are more photos of retirees who were honored at the event:

Sue Cahill, left, honors retiring Woodbury Elementary School 3rd grade teacher Rita Byers.

Hoglan Elementary School Principal Amy Williams, left, talks with retiring Hoglan 2nd grade teacher Deb Friday.

Rogers Elementary School teacher Chris Melde, right, honors retiring Franklin/Rogers music teacher Jolene Kubli.

MHS nurse Stacy Tool-Crawford, left, honors retiring Woodbury Elementary School nurse Elly Mack.

Other retirees not in attendance included Rollie Ackerman, Mike Eggleston, Darlene Gilliland, Jeff Hoogensen, Mike Loupee, Leah Mattox, Elda Reyes and Maralyn Schulze. Piano music was presented prior to the start of the event by Miller 8th grader Hannah Seltman.

Miller Middle School eighth grader Yessenia Alvarez Zamora holds a cat as she learns from Dr. Grant Jacobson at the Hometown Veterinarian office during a job shadow experience recently.

Eighth grade students in the Extended Learning Program at Miller Middle School are participating in a job shadowing program which has them at several area businesses learning real world skills.

“Before my students set off for high school and really start focusing their studies on a career path I wanted to give them some exposure to what careers really look like in practice,” said Miller XLP teacher Ann Jackson. “Each student conducted some background research on a career they were interested in, and then I tried to find something similar in the Marshalltown area to give them a real-life experience.  The students then go to the work sites for a half-day to get a feel for their chosen career. “

Students have chosen a wide variety of careers from chemical engineers to librarians and Marshalltown businesses have been tremendously supportive and accommodating for our students.  A student interested in architecture got to go to the Crosby Park Townhomes construction site. A student interested in veterinary medicine got to do a pregnancy check on a cow and another student interested in physical training learned how to set up workouts.

“I feel like these job shadows are a great way for my students to learn not only the academic requirements needed for success in the workplace but also the ‘soft skills’ they will need, like collaboration, time management, and collegiality,” Jackson said.

Mrs. Jackson would like to thank the following local businesses for supporting this effort: Stover Controls, the Marshalltown Public Library, Crosby Park Townhomes, Steckelberg Vet Clinic, Hometown Veterinarian, Sports Plus, Wertzberger Architects, Emerson and Clapsaddle-Garber Associates.

Nate McCormick of Emerson presents to seventh graders at Miller Middle School as part of the Junior Achievement “JA in a Day” program on May 14. Students learned about the global marketplace from 18 Emerson employees who volunteered as instructors.

Emerson employees volunteer to instruct on global marketplace

Eighteen volunteers from Emerson gave an entire day to help Miller Middle School 7th graders learn more about business in the Junior Achievement program “JA in a Day” held on May 14.

Students rotated through five different lessons presented by Emerson employees as part of the JA Global Marketplace curriculum including Business and Customer, Business and Culture, Global Trade, Why Countries Specialize and Trade Barriers.

The students also were able to learn about Emerson, which is a global leader in valve manufacturing and one of the largest employers in Marshalltown.

“This is a great opportunity for Emerson to partner with Miller Middle School and really highlight to the students the impact they can have on the global marketplace,” said Jason Olberding, engineering director at Emerson.

Thank you to Emerson and Junior Achievement for partnering with us on this special day.

For more photos from the event, visit the MCSD Facebook page.

Jason Olberding of Emerson points out a valve manufactured by the company.

Keri Gaschler of Emerson helps out a Miller student.

Woodbury Elementary School fourth grader Hector Aguilera, right, helps his classmate Fernando Cano on the ST Math program at the school. Woodbury utilizes peer coaches to assist students in the program.

Students at Woodbury Elementary School are turning into peer teachers as part of a coaching program for the ST Math curriculum.

Students who advance through the curriculum are offered opportunities to coach other students in need of help after undergoing training from Woodbury Instructional Coach Julie Thede. Coaching is going on at all levels between kindergarten and fourth grade at the school.

Click below for a video on this ST Math coaching program. Note: when bells ring in the video that means math problems are being solved correctly.

Pictured are visitors and the teacher in the Heritage Spanish class at Marshalltown High School on May 9. From left is University of Northern Iowa professor Dr. Elise DuBord, MHS teacher Kristin Stuchis, UNI student and MHS graduate Martha Ortiz Diaz and UNI professor Dr. Juan Carlos Castillo.

Two University of Northern Iowa professors and one student presented on Spanish opportunities to the Heritage Spanish classes at Marshalltown High School on May 9.

Dr. Juan Carlos Castillo and Dr. Elise DuBord, and a recent MHS graduate and UNI student, Martha Ortiz Diaz, presented at MHS. Martha just completed the UNI program called Spanish for Heritage Speakers.  Both Martha and her professors said that students form lasting bonds through their shared experiences in Spanish for Heritage Speakers.  In fact, the class inspired Martha to major in Spanish in addition to Social Work.

“Students discovered that UNI offers a variety of classes such as translation, linguistics, film, language teaching and even sports in Spain,” said MHS Heritage Spanish teacher Kristin Stuchis. “Throughout the classes, MHS students asked a variety of practical and personal questions.”

Heritage Spanish class at MHS
The Heritage Spanish class at MHS is designed for students who have grown up with Spanish spoken in the home and will expand into three levels next year. Because most Heritage Spanish students speak and understand Spanish, the emphasis is on building reading, writing, and public speaking skills.

Pictured behind a new bench at Hoglan Elementary School dedicated to Darla Ubben are from left, Darla’s husband Eugene Ubben and their children Madison, Samantha and Conner.

Bench honors wife of Hoglan Elementary School counselor

A bench installed to honor the memory of Darla Ubben was dedicated at the Hoglan Elementary School playground on May 10. Darla is the wife of Eugene Ubben, who is the counselor at Hoglan in Marshalltown. She died on December 4, 2017 after a battle with cancer.

“This bench will be utilized by many students for many years,” Eugene Ubben said. “Darla would love to know that this was given in her memory.”

Funds collected by district counselors, Hoglan staff and families paid for the seat, which is considered a “buddy bench” for students to sit on if they are looking to find a friend.

“This represents Darla,” Eugene Ubben said. “She was welcoming.”

Darla was a leader in the community of Conrad, serving as the director of the Conrad Chamber Main Street for many years. Several Marshalltown school counselors attended the dedication event as did school district leaders and Darla and Eugene’s three children – Conner, Samantha and Madison.

JBS employees Nicolas Aguirre, left, and Patty Taylor, right, present a check to Marshalltown High School Principal Jacque Wyant. The $5,473 donation will go to the fund for new MHS marching band uniforms. The money was raised during a pork sale held at MHS on April 13.

JBS provided a donation of $5,473 to go to the fund for new marching band uniforms for the Marshalltown High School marching band. The money was raised during a frozen pork sale and a cookout held in the MHS parking lot on April 13.

“I’m so grateful for the support of the community and the opportunity to collaborate with JBS on our marching uniform fundraiser,” said MHS Band Director Brett Umthun. “This gives us a huge step forward in reaching our goal. The JBS staff is wonderful to work with and their donations for the grill were amazing. Thank you so much to everyone who helped with this event.”

The band continues fundraising for the new uniforms with hopes to have them purchased and delivered in time for the March 2020 trip to play at Disney World in Orlando, Florida.

Photo by Penny Hoffman

The Marshalltown High School boys soccer team has won 13 straight games and is now 7th ranked in Class 3A.

They play at top-ranked Waukee on Friday, May 10. They will be back home next week for games against Ames on Tuesday, May 14 and Johnston on Thursday, May 16. All varsity games start at 7:30 p.m.

Click below for a brief video to hear from players Jose Torres and Jesus Munoz and from Coach Scott Johannes about how the season is going.

These Marshalltown High School students in a construction tech class turned the back end of a junk car into a couch as part of a class project. Students pictured from left are, Efrain Ramos, Derrick Garth, Gustaw Chechelski, Myles Miller, Au’Ron Greenwood, Hector Yanez, Shane Holmes and Javon Lewis.

MHS construction class turns old car into a couch

Marshalltown High School construction tech teacher Larry Kadner saved a 1999 Monte Carlo from the crusher at a junkyard earlier this year. What his students were able to make out of the back end of the car is nothing short of amazing.

Over the span of the past month, the class turned the back end of the car into a comfortable couch.

“It looks great,” said MHS student Shane Holmes, who was part of the project. “It looks like a piece of art.”

The students added plywood and Kadner was able to acquire the seats used on the couch from an old Chrysler. He said the students enjoyed the project.

“I wanted to show them what they could do with a piece of junk,” said Kadner, who is retiring at the end of this school year.

Kadner said they have one more part of the project to work on before it’s complete as they plan to add some electrical wiring to get the taillights to light up.