Bobcats Making Headlines

Pictured are Marshalltown Community School District students who competed in the National History Day regionals at Central College in Pella. Front row, from left, Desy Sung, Layla Buschbom, Gracelyn Bethel, and Averi Bolar. Back row, Klaudia Hernandez, Emma Kuhlers, Katelyn Schwartz, Taylor Jones, Kaisa Stanley, Mary Kate Gruening, Mang Sang and Sofia Whaley.

The Marshalltown Community School District had an excellent showing at the National History Day regional competition at Central College in Pella on March 28, with several becoming state contest qualifiers.   This year’s theme was “Conflict and Compromise in History.”

Lenihan Intermediate School 
Lenihan had three sixth graders participate in National History Day with great success.  Katelyn Schwartz earned an honorable mention for her exhibit “Auschwitz: Home of the Angel of Death and How He Failed to Compromise.”

Desy Sung and Layla Buschbom will be attending the state National History Day competition with their exhibit “The Rise and Fall of the Berlin Wall.”  Desy and Layla were also able to obtain pieces of the Berlin Wall from a community member using the Extended Learning Facebook page to enhance their project.

State qualifiers Layla Buschbom and Desy Sung

Miller Middle School
Miller Middle School brought two group projects to the National History Day regional competition.  Seventh graders Averi Bolar, Gracelyn Bethel, Mang Sang and Kaisa Stanley entered a group performance titled, “Isadora Duncan: Conflict & Compromise through the Modern Dance Movement.”  This group won a special award for creative entry.

Eighth graders Emma Kuhlers and Taylor Jones entered a group documentary titled: “Iowa Girl’s Basketball: Changing the Game for Equality through Conflict & Compromise.”  This group qualified for the state competition and won a special award for outstanding use of a local topic.

Marshalltown High School
Three ninth grade students from Marshalltown High School attended the contest and all received awards in the senior division. Both of the entries in the individual exhibit category qualified for state. Mary Kate Gruening’s exhibit was titled “Carrie Chapman Catt: Achieving Women’s Suffrage First, Fighting for World Peace Second“ and Klaudia Hernandez’s exhibit was titled ” Mendez v Westminster: The Forgotten Conflict That Triggered Desegregation in Schools.”

Sofia Whaley received honorable mention and runner-up for the state contest in senior research paper with her entry,  “From Peasants to Generals: How Russians Made Great Compromises to Defeat Napoleon.”  Sofia also received a special award for outstanding bibliography.

The National History Day state competition will be held on April 30 at the Iowa Events Center in Des Moines.

State Qualifier Klaudia Hernandez

State Qualifier Mary Kate Gruening

Fisher Elementary School raised $1,900 for the House of Compassion during a recent penny war. Pictured are, from left, student Quinn Eastman, teacher Mary Pepper, House of Compassion Director Karen Frohwein, teacher Emily Keppler and student Nicholas Wise.

Fisher Elementary School presented a check for $1,900 to the House of Compassion during a special assembly on March 29. The money was raised during a recent penny war at the school by students and donation jars for staff and families.

This is the second consecutive year the school has conducted a penny war to raise money for the House of Compassion.

“This year we surpassed our goal by $325,” said Fisher first grade teacher Mary Pepper. “Our families were amazing and it took a community effort from all students, families and teachers to achieve our goal.”

House of Compassion Director Karen Frohwein gladly accepted the check at the assembly and said it will go toward their meals program which feeds those in need.

“This is really huge and it’s going to feed people right here in Marshalltown,” Frohwein said of the donation.

Miller Middle School teacher Anita Ringgenberg helps seventh grader Angel Madrigal on a project which donates rice to those in need.

Miller Middle School students in reading classes taught by Anita Ringgenberg went the extra mile on a project recently, and ended up with a windfall of rice for those in need.

A group of students completed a project on the website freerice.com. For each question answered correctly on a wide range of subjects on the site, 10 grains of rice is earned and donated to those in need through the United Nations World Food Program.

Over the span of four days, the students were able to donate 138,170 grains of rice, due to answering 13,817 questions correctly.

“They were really proud of themselves,” Ringgenberg said. “They constantly wanted to know how much they earned. It was a great experience for them.”

Jesse Pereznegron works on problems on the website freerice.com.

This group of Marshalltown High School students participated in the State Science and Technology Fair on March 22 at Iowa State University. Pictured are, front row, from left, Angel Avila andCarlye Castillo. Back row, Stephanie Zavalza Flores, Ben Harris and Abbey Welden.

Five Marshalltown High School students participated in the State Science and Technology Fair at Iowa State University of March 22.

Senior Ben Harris won third place in the biomedical division for his exhibit “Using Diatom Growth to Estimate Dumping Time of a Body of Water.”

Freshman Stephanie Zavalza Flores received an honorable mention in the human behavior category for her exhibit “Personal Space? Bursting the Bubble of the Myth.”

Also presenting from MHS were Abbey Welden, who presented “The Impact of Age and Gender on Generosity,” and freshman Carlye Castillo and sophomore Angel Avila who presented “Free Throws: Overhand or Underhand?”

“These students have been working on their projects since September during their Extended Learning Program time,” said MHS Extended Learning Program teacher Susan Fritzell. “They developed research questions, formed a hypothesis, designed and conducted experiments to test their hypothesis, collected and analyzed their data, drew conclusions, and finally shared their projects by creating a board and presenting it to many judges during the fair.”

Ben Harris

Stephanie Zavalza Flores

Abbey Welden

Angel Avila, left, and Carlye Castillo

The pictured Marshalltown High School students were inducted into the National French Honor Society at MHS on March 20. Pictured, front row, from left, Donovan Gavagan, Aye Aye Khaing, Priscila Vergara and Ashly Wiegand. Back row, Abigail Murty, Jace Doran, Carmen Araiza Solorio and Alexander Weidenaar.

Marshalltown High School inducted its newest group of students into the Societe Honoraire de Francais (SHF), a high school National French Honor Society sponsored by the American Association of Teachers of French during a ceremony at MHS on March 20.

SHF recognizes outstanding scholarship in the study of French language and promotes leadership and activities around French language and literature.

This is the second class inducted into the society from MHS, after the charter members were inducted this past fall. A grade point average of 3.5 or higher in French and a 2.7 GPA or higher in all other coursework is required for membership.  Charter members as well as MHS French instructor Naomi Musal and Associate Principal Deb Holsapple assisted with the event.

MHS students inducted into the society at the event included: Carmen Araiza Solorio, Donovan Gavagan, Jace Doran, Aye Aye Khaing, Priscila Vergara, Abigail Murty, Ashly Wiegand and Alexander Weidenaar.

Students René Hernandez Andrade, Daniela Lagunas, Liz Vargas Perez, Louis Ramirez, Melissa Hernandez, and Jose Palmerin Andrade were not in attendance, but will receive their membership at a later point.

Pictured are employees from Lennox donating a $500 check to the Miller Middle School food pantry. Pictured are front row, from left, Luis Medina, Shea Hill (Miller Middle School teacher), Carol Smolik, and Maria Ibarretz, Back row, Miguel Gutierrez (Lennox plant manager), Melinda Young, Gary Springer, Tracy Leavy, Travis Keeler, Chris Olivier, Deb Kerr and Deb Sams.

Lennox employees donated $500 to the food pantry at Miller Middle School with a check presentation on March 20.

Staff purchased Lennox T-shirts to raise money for the pantry, which helps provide food to families in need. The donation was part of an initiative from the Lennox employee group known as Marshalltown Making a Difference, which engages in community service projects.

Miller Middle School teacher Shea Hill accepted the check at the Lennox facility.

“It will be perfect to help our families that are in need,” Hill said of the donation.

Fisher Elementary School art teacher Maggie Parks works with first graders on a design project. Fisher students produced a design that will be put on a giant egg to be displayed at the White House during the Easter Egg Roll on April 2.

A design for an egg created by students at Fisher Elementary School in Marshalltown will soon have its place in holiday history. The design will be on display as part of the annual Easter Egg Roll at the White House on April 2.

President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump will host the event rich with tradition on the South Lawn and Ellipse of the White House. They are inviting schools across the nation to decorate an egg representing their state or territory and Marshalltown was selected to create the design which represents Iowa. These decorated eggs from across the country will be displayed as guests enter the event.

Fisher Elementary art teacher Maggie Parks worked with students in grades 1-4 to create a collage for the design using Iowa symbols such as the state flower (wild rose), silos, the Iowa state flag, wind turbines, bur oak trees (state tree) and other symbols.

A digitized image of the egg design created by the Fisher students was sent to Washington, D.C. and will be transformed into a 4 foot high, 2 foot wide, two dimensional egg to display at the White House event.

Parks said Marshalltown was selected for this honor by the Iowa Department of Education due to her involvement with the Iowa Alliance for Arts Education.

Here is the final design created by the students featuring symbols of Iowa.

Third grader Allison Cano displays a flower she made for the project.

Teacher Maggie Parks and third graders at Fisher work on the project.

Marshalltown High School junior Phoebe Osgood has been selected as an outstanding performer and has been invited to perform at the All-State Festival of the Iowa High School Speech Association at the University of Northern Iowa on March 26.

Marshalltown High School junior Phoebe Osgood has been selected as an all-state performer from the Iowa High School Speech Association. Osgood was among the outstanding performers selected from the recent state competition, which resulted in her qualification for the All-State Festival.

The All-State Festival will be on March 26 at the University of Northern Iowa.

“I’m so excited,” said Osgood. “I’m most excited about performing, but it’s also super awesome to see the other people performing.”

Osgood qualified in the storytelling category and will recite the story “The Princess and the Pony” by Kate Beaton at the festival. She said she has been practicing this work for nearly one year.

“I love to be able to practice something so long and to get to be able to share it with people,” Osgood said.

It was also special for the student to be able to share in the good news with her coach, MHS teacher Jocelyn Frohwein.

“She’s on top of the world,” Osgood said of Frohwein’s reaction.

A total of 464 outstanding performers have been selected out of nearly 9,000 student performers who started the competition at the district level in Iowa.

Manny Scott, who was one of the original Freedom Writers, will give a public presentation at 5 p.m. on April 11 in the Marshalltown High School/Community Auditorium. He is a sought after speaker who delivers a message of hope and lessons to help people transform their lives.

Manny Scott, an author and one of the nation’s most sought after speakers, will speak on three occasions in the Marshalltown Community School District on April 11, one of which is open to the public.

Scott is an original Freedom Writer whose story is told in part in the 2007 hit movie “Freedom Writers.” Scott has energized almost two million leaders, educators, volunteers, and students worldwide with his authentic, inspiring messages of hope.

“I do not speak to impress people,” Scott said, “but to impress upon them some invaluable lessons that could literally change the quality of their lives forever. When I speak, I try to make sure audiences are crystal clear about how to ‘turn the page’ — to transform their lives.”

Scott will present a speech that is free and open to the public at 5 p.m. on April 11 in the Marshalltown High School/Community Auditorium. His public presentation will provide ways for parents to position their child for success.

Previously that day, he will speak to students at Miller Middle School in the morning (9:30 a.m.) and to all Marshalltown Community School District staff in the afternoon (2 p.m.).

As a result of his presentation to district staff, our students will dismiss two hours early (1:20 p.m./1:25 p.m.) on April 11 throughout all schools in the district.

For more information on the speaker, visit his website at www.mannyscott.com.

Spanish

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Manny Scott, un autor y uno de los más buscados presentadores estará presentando en tres ocasiones en el Distrito Escolar de la Comunidad de Marshalltown el 11 de abril, una de esas veces será abierta al público.

Scott es un original Freedom Writer cual historia se cuenta en la película exitosa del 2007 “Freedom Writers” (Escritores de Libertad). Scott ha excitado a casi dos millones de líderes, educadores, voluntarios y estudiantes en todo el mundo con su inspirador mensaje auténtico de esperanza.

“Yo no hablo para impresionar a las personas,” dijo Scott, “pero para impresionarlos con algunas lección valiosa que literalmente podría cambiar su calidad de vida por siempre. Cuando hablo, trato de asegura que el público esté muy claro en cómo ‘voltear la página’ – para transformar sus vidas.”

Scott presentara un discurso que es gratis y abierta al público a las 5 el 11 de abril en el auditorio de Marshalltown High School/Community. Su presentación al público proporcionará formas para que los padres posicionan a su hijo con éxito.

Previamente ese día, él hablará con los estudiantes de la escuela Miller en la mañana (9:30 a.m.) y al personal del Distrito Escolar de la Comunidad de Marshalltown en la tarde (2 p.m.).