Bobcats Making Headlines

Miller Middle School student Marek Jablonski presented at the AEA 267 Student Technology Conference in Cedar Falls on April 28.

Marek Jablonski, an eighth grader at Miller Middle School, presented at the AEA 267 Student Technology Conference on April 28 in Cedar Falls.  He presented his Christmas light display, which he programmed via computer coding.

Marek’s 20-minute presentation contained a video of his light display, which he coordinated to music and a demonstration of how he would begin to code a new display.  Marek even brought along 12 strands of Christmas lights so the audience could see the coding turned into a beautiful display.

The AEA 267 Student Technology Conference was created to provide students an opportunity to collaborate with, learn from, and present to others how they are utilizing technology to drive their own learning and to shift their learning environment by making connections beyond the classroom. Marek submitted a proposal to present at the conference, which led to his selection.

Marek’s holiday display was featured in the Times-Republican in December.

Andrew Potter, communications director with Marshalltown Schools, received an award from the Iowa School Public Relations Association for the “Bobcat Pride 2017” video which was released in March.

Marshalltown Community School District Communications Director Andrew Potter received an award of merit from the Iowa School Public Relations Association during its spring conference held April 21 in West Des Moines.

The award was in recognition of a video titled “Bobcat Pride 2017,” which was released in March. The video spotlights current Marshalltown students detailing their career aspirations and successful alumni in a wide array of professions.

The Iowa School Public Relations Association (ISPRA) consists of 55 members who are school communications and community relations professionals from across the state.

To view the Bobcat Pride video, click here.

Marshalltown High School students Emily Miller, left, and Jane Ragland presented research papers at the World Food Prize Iowa Youth Institute on April 24.

Marshalltown High School students Emily Miller and Jane Ragland attended the World Food Prize Iowa Youth Institute at Iowa State University on April 24.

Prior to attending, each student researched a selected country and wrote a paper about a food security issue in that country.

At the symposium, Jane presented her research paper on water scarcity in the Dominican Republic and Emily presented her paper on climate change in Mozambique.

Jane and Emily worked on these papers as an extension activity in Suanne Willman’s English 10 honors class at MHS. Other students who wrote papers, but could not attend the symposium due to scheduling conflicts were, Fatima Perez Negrete, Zyrus Whitehead, Emily Sickles, Monica Carroll and Kassandra Wilkins.

This was a collaborative effort between the English Department and Extended Learning Program at MHS.

MHS Spring Band Concert April 30
The Marshalltown High School spring band concert will be Sunday, April 30 at 3 p.m. in the MHS/Community Auditorium. Admission is $5 for adults and $3 for K-6 students with preschool free.

Featured will be the symphonic band under the direction of Brett Umthun and the wind ensemble under the direction of Bret Lee. Also featured will be a percussion ensemble, clarinet quartet, brass quintet and sax duet.

Jazz Coffee Concert May 8
The Jazz Coffee Concert will be held in the Marshalltown High School cafeteria on Monday, May 8 at 6:30 p.m. Admission is $5 for adults and $3 for K-6 students with preschool free. Featured will be the Lenihan Intermediate 6th grade jazz band under the direction of Bret Lee and Paul Sibbel, the Miller Middle School jazz band under the direction of Michael Albarracin, MHS Jazz II under the direction of Brett Umthun and MHS Jazz I under the direction of Bret Lee. Coffee, punch and desserts will be offered.

The Marshalltown High School Envirothon team placed 9th in the state championships held on April 24 at Springbrook State Park in Guthrie Center. Pictured are team members, from left, Hannah Gardea, Jasmine Mendoza, Zyrus Whitehead, Emily Sickles and Monica Carroll.

The Marshalltown High School Envirothon team finished in 9^th place at the state championships of Envirothon on April 24 at Springbrook State Park in Guthrie Center on April 24.

Sixteen teams attended the state contest after qualifying from a field of 60 teams in the regionals held in March. The MHS team placed first in the aquatics category and tied for third in the forestry category at state.

The team is coached by MHS teacher Susan Fritzell and is part of the Extended Learning Program at MHS. Fritzell believes the future is bright for this team.

“The team is comprised of only 9th and 10th graders, so they are excited to improve on their 9th place finish next year,” she said.

Team members include Hannah Gardea, Jasmine Mendoza, Zyrus Whitehead, Emily Sickles and Monica Carroll.

Envirothon is a team competition for high school students testing their knowledge of natural resources. In the field and classroom, teams of five students are challenged to use their knowledge and critical thinking skills to conduct hands-on investigations, solve real-life scenarios and answer written questions covering five categories — aquatics, forestry, soils, wildlife and current environmental issues.

Beth Burkemper is pictured with art that is part of a silent auction to raise money for the Marshalltown High School art department. The art is located at her shop Midwest Frame and Gallery at 506 S. 9th St.

A local business owner is hoping to raise money for the Marshalltown High School art department as part of a silent auction.

Beth Burkemper, of Midwest Frame and Gallery, is holding the silent auction of art currently until May 11 at her business at 506 South 9^th Street.

Art has been donated by professional artists, including many local residents, for the auction with proceeds going back to the MHS art department to help bring in guest artists and assist with supplies.

“It’s my little way of helping out,” Burkemper said. “I’ve always thought that art was an area that could use some support and attention.”

The auction will end with a special public event from 5 to 7 p.m. on May 11.

The shop also has an ongoing sale of ceramic work by MHS students for sale with all proceeds going to the MHS art department. For more information on the store call 641-752-2647.

Pictured are ceramic pieces created by MHS students that are part of an ongoing Marshalltown High School art department fundraiser at Midwest Frame and Gallery.

The Marshalltown High School CyberDefense team placed second at the IT-Olympics held April 21 and 22 at Hilton Coliseum at Iowa State University. Pictured are, from left, team mentor Adam Kithcart, Tavis Reisdorf, Joe Gerads, Aaron Walker and Quinten Woolery.

The Marshalltown High School Hyperstream team competed at the IT-Olympics on April 21 and 22 in Hilton Coliseum at Iowa State University in Ames.

CyberDefense
In the capstone event – CyberDefense – the MHS team placed second and less than 2 points out of first place. This competition involved setting up a network of virtual computers so that one team of users could access and use the system, and the hacker team could not interfere with and shut down the system.

“Our group put in many hours outside of school to get their system up and running and worked under the guidance of our three mentors: Adam Kithcart, a networking specialist for General Dynamics in Des Moines, as well Mark Krukow and Josh Wesley of MCSD’s technology department,” said MHS Extended Learning Program teacher Susan Fritzell.

The MHS robotics team competed at the IT-Olynpics at Iowa State University. Pictured with their “funny robot,” from left, are Ronaldo Ordaz, Andy Bitker and Sam Estrada.

Robotics team
Also competing for MHS was the robotics team. Competing in the more competitive Gold Division, they made it to the semifinal round of the sumo-bot competition on Friday, losing only three of their 17 rounds. They earned a three-way tie for first on the second day for their “funny car” which had wheels made of oranges.

More than 60 high schools from across Iowa participated in the IT-Olympics. Funding for the Hyperstream team came from a Governor’s Scale-Up Grant and the group was sponsored by the MHS Extended Learning Program, facilitated by Mrs. Fritzell.

Teen Tech Help
In addition to preparing for this competition throughout the year, the Hyperstream team sponsored Teen Tech Help at the Marshalltown Public Library on Wednesday afternoons. For two hours each week team members volunteered their time to help Marshalltown citizens with phones, laptops and other technological devices.

The Marshalltown High School math team placed sixth at the Iowa Great Plains Math League Championships held in Iowa City on April 22. Pictured are team members, front row, from left, Jacob Eberle, Jay Drummer and Mitch Eberle. Back row, Jordan Anderson, Zach Swartz and Trevor Ketcham.

The Marshalltown High School math team competed in the Iowa Great Plains Math League Championships on April 22 at Iowa City West High School. The team placed sixth in the large schools division and also had students place with impressive results.

MHS student Mitch Eberle placed second in the target round among all seniors and will advance to the regional competition in Kansas City on May 12. When combining target and sprint round scores, Mitch was 10th among all high school students in the state of Iowa.

Among the 9th graders, MHS students Zach Swartz and Trevor Ketcham placed 5th and 7th respectively in the target round.

The team is coached by MHS staff member Rob Griffin and is sponsored by the Extended Learning Program at MHS.

Iowa Department of Education Director Dr. Ryan Wise talks with kindergarten students Daniel Thawng, left, and Lee Reh during a visit to Rogers Elementary School on April 25. Dr. Wise visited four schools in the Marshalltown Community School District as part of his visit to Marshalltown.

Iowa Department of Education Director Dr. Ryan Wise visited the Marshalltown Community School District on April 25.

Wise visited district leadership as well as four schools including Rogers Elementary School, Woodbury Elementary School, Marshalltown Learning Academy and Marshalltown High School.

Dr. Wise met with dozens of students and staff and talked about a wide range of topics.

Rogers
Dr. Wise learned about the data wall at Rogers and visited third grade and kindergarten classrooms.

Woodbury
Dr. Wise was informed of the dual language program at Woodbury Elementary and saw a classroom of the program in action.

MLA
Students and staff talked about a recent underwater robot project and also students’ ability to earn college credit while attending high school.

MHS
Dr. Wise visited the Biomedical Science class as part of Project Lead the Way at MHS.

These three Marshalltown High School students spoke at the Stand Against Racism community event on April 24. Pictured, from left, are Brandon Avalos, Phoebe Osgood and Ma Tway.

Three Marshalltown High School students were among the speakers at the community Stand Against Racism event on April 24 on the Marshall County Courthouse lawn.

The event was sponsored by the Marshalltown YMCA-YWCA and the Not in Our Town anti-bullying initiative.

Speakers from MHS included students Brandon Avalos, Phoebe Osgood and Ma Tway.

Brandon read “I Am Joaquin” from Rodolfo “Corky” Gonzales, Ma read the speech “Watch Out” by Maung Maung of Burma and Phoebe read Dr. Martin Luther King’s “ I Have a Dream” speech.

MHS teacher Jocelyn Frohwein assisted the students in getting ready for their speeches. The community event was attended by several other Marshalltown students including the Al Exito group.