Bobcats Making Headlines

Desy Sung is a fifth grader at Lenihan Intermediate School and wants to be a doctor someday.

Desy Sung and her family moved to America seeking a better life. And Desy is on track to make sure she takes full use of that opportunity.

Her family fled Burma as refugees to Malaysia and made its first American stop in Buffalo, New York. Eventually, they made their way to Marshalltown, where other family members were located.

The 10-year-old is now in the fifth grade at Lenihan Intermediate School. She wants to be a doctor someday.

“I want to help people who are sick or need helping,” Desy said.

She might not yet be a doctor, but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t help people right now. Desy is involved in the Lenihan student leadership group Richochet, which helps out with community projects and her teachers say she is kind and compassionate to her classmates. She also puts maximum effort into her class work.

“She is a fantastic kid,” said Lenihan teacher Diane Simpson.  “She always goes above and beyond in the classroom. I can tell she has such a high value for education.”

Desy admits she was shy when she arrived in Marshalltown and was a kindergarten student at Rogers Elementary School. She said school staff members, her friends and family helped her come out of her shell.

“They made me feel really comfortable and I started to love school and I still love school,” Desy said.

She has also become a budding writer. Desy’s work was recently honored by the American Legion as she won first place in a “What the Flag Means to Me” essay contest.

“I was really proud of myself ,” Desy said of her winning essay. “It was a really great experience.”

Opportunities will continue to open for Desy into the future.

“She takes advantage of every learning opportunity,” Simpson said.

Registration for preschool and kindergarten students in the Marshalltown Community School District for the 2017-18 school year will be from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, February 25, 2017 during the Healthy Family Fair at the Marshalltown Mall (2500 S. Center St.)

Preschool registration is for children 4 years old on or before Sept. 15, 2017. Kindergarten registration is for children 5 years old on or before Sept. 15, 2017. 

Preschool
For preschool there is no registration fee or monthly tuition. Bring a copy of the child’s proof of birth. Preschool is offered in the morning or afternoon four days a week at all Marshalltown elementary schools. New this year will be bus transportation offerings for preschool students for MCSD resident students.

Kindergarten
For kindergarten registration there is a $40 book fee (cash or check only). Bring a copy of the child’s proof of birth and immunization records.

For more information on this registration, visit the Marshalltown Schools website at www.marshalltown.k12.ia.us or call 641-754-1000. Registration for grades 1-12 will be in June.

For a video on our preschool program, click here.

These Lenihan Intermediate School students received recognition as part of an American flag essay contest from the Iowa Elks Association. Pictured, front row, from left, Willow Schmidt, Connor Hugen, Jason Strand, Averi Bolar and Kaisa Stanley. Second row, Locke Bloomquist, Ashten Finders, Annmarie Zhou, Elexus Ocasio and Lupita Ortiz. Back row, Yessenia Alvarez-Zamora, Sarah Gooding, Jenna Van Law, Joshua Reynolds and Jackson Bowie.

Several Lenihan Intermediate School students have been honored by the Iowa Elks Association for their “What the American Flag Means to Me” essays.

Six students received top three local awards in their categories including girls Averi Bolar (1^st Place), Annmarie Zhou (2^nd place) and Yessenia Alvarez-Zamora (3^rd Place) and boys Jackson Bowie (1^St Place), Locke Bloomquist (2^nd Place) and Jason Strand (3^rd Place). These placewinners will be invited by the Marshalltown Elks Lodge 312 to an awards night on June 15.

Lenihan teacher Vanessa Engel said the Iowa Elks Association was very impressed with all of the essays from Lenihan.

Marshalltown High School senior Colin Lura has been named an award winner in the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards contest from the Belin-Blank Center at the University of Iowa.

Marshalltown High School senior Colin Lura has been notified he is the recipient of the Silver Key award in Science Fiction as part of the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards from the Belin-Blank Center at the University of Iowa.

Lura submitted his novella “I, Jack Mason” for the contest. The science fiction piece centers on a man who is half human and half alien.

Lura said he started out writing the novella just for fun and then later realized he should turn it in for the contest after some encouraging from MHS staff.

“It’s always great to see students doing work outside of school and something that they are passionate about,” said MHS English teacher Jocelyn Frohwein.

Lura will receive his award on March 11 at the University of Iowa. He is already working on the next novella in the series.

“I just like using my imagination and getting my imagination out there,” Lura said.

Pictured are members of the Marshalltown High School Show Choir known as South Side Transit. The ensemble has had a successful season so far including a Grand Champion award at North Polk on February 11.

Ensemble received Grand Champion award at North Polk

The past couple of weeks have been very exciting for the Marshalltown High School Show Choir, known as South Side Transit. The ensemble, which includes 26 singers/dancers, eight show band members and six crew members, competed at the State Show Choir Festival held in the MHS/Community Auditorium on January 30. They earned straight Division I ratings from all three of their judges, but didn’t stop there. They took the constructive comments from their judges that evening and forged ahead to their most recent success.

South Side Transit competed at the North Polk Comet Sensation Show Choir Festival in Alleman on February 11. Their performance earned them top honors in several categories. They were honored to receive the caption awards for Best Male Vocals, Best Female Vocals, and Best Choreography, with one additional award going to senior, Nicholas Cooper, for Outstanding Male Soloist for his solo in “Transylvania Mania.” They also earned 1st place in the 4A division and were awarded Grand Champion overall of the festival.

“I am very proud of this group of performers,” said choir director Amy Ose. “They are not the biggest group out there, but they have a drive to succeed and are truly a pleasure to work with. They take constructive criticism and turn it around to better the group. Coming home with so many honors this past weekend was thrilling, but in the end, it is the family that this group has created amongst themselves that makes them so much fun to be with.”

South Side Transit is not done with their competition season. The group has one more competition at 1:50 p.m. Saturday, February 25 at Southeast Polk High School.

“We welcome any hometown family and friends to come down and help cheer us on in our quest for success,” Ose said.

South Side Transit in the “Ghostbusters” theme with Grand Champion award at North Polk.

Lenihan Intermediate School held its gravity cruiser challenge on February 10. Pictured are the winning teams. Front row, from left, is Derek Ketcham and Klo Hsi. Back row are Hser Paw, Lupita Avalos, Mue Thaw and Neftali Camarena.

Lenihan Intermediate School sixth graders were able to take plastic, pennies, tape and other items and produce self-propelled gravity cruisers as part of a STEM project.

On February 10, the students held a competition in the gym to see which cruiser could travel the farthest using a lever and weight system. Cheers rang out as some traveled farther down the gym floor than others.

Taking first place in the morning science class group was the team of Derek Ketcham and Klo Hsi while first place finishers in the afternoon science classes were the team of Hser Paw, Lupita Avalos, Mue Thaw and Neftali Camarena.

Top seven place finishers in each category won ribbons.

For a video of the event, click here.

Marshalltown High School students Molly Bach, left, and Ashley Macbeth hold their art which was selected as part of a high school art contest and exhibit at Simpson College in Indianola.

Two Marshalltown High School students produced art which was selected by Simpson College to be on display as part of a high school art contest. Junior Molly Bach made a pottery piece and senior Ashley Macbeth had a charcoal drawing selected for the display.

Macbeth had art selected for last year’s Simpson exhibit and received a fourth place award.

“I’m very proud of them,” said MHS art teacher Wade Judge.

A ceremony announcing the winners will be held at Simpson College on February 24. Their art is currently on display in the Willis Gallery at Simpson.

Iowa Assessments testing the week of Feb 6-10

Dear Parents:
During the week of February 6th-10th, your 3rd grade-11th grade child will be taking the Iowa Assessments® . Each of our schools creates its own daily schedule for testing. Information about your child’s academic achievement is needed to help them excel and succeed.

The Iowa Assessments:
provide detailed information about your child in a variety of important content areas including Reading, English Language Arts, Mathematics, and Science.
help determine how students are performing on the state curriculum as described in the Iowa Core measure student growth and progress from year to year
help teachers identify a student’s strengths and identify areas that may need additional emphasis
produce information that enable sound decision making and provide a focus for teachers to evaluate their instruction
provide information about your child’s performance relative to the school, the state of Iowa, and the nation
Using the results of the assessment, we encourage you to work together with your child’s teacher to identify and address educational needs. The results will help prepare your child for the next step on their educational path.

How can you help your child do his/her best?
be present every day
be to school on time every day
get plenty of sleep each night
eat a healthy breakfast each morning
encourage your child to take the tests seriously
Thank you for supporting your child and Marshalltown CSD! The results of these annual tests are used in many ways by our schools, district, and the state government. The results are part of decisions about summer school attendance, course placement, and enrollment in post-secondary classes for high schoolers. We appreciate your interest in helping your child succeed!

Sincerely,

Dr. Lisa Stevenson
Director of Instruction
Marshalltown Community School District

Evaluación de Iowa

Estimados padres:

Durante la semana de Febrero 6-10, su hijo(a) del grado 3 al 11 tomara la Evaluación de Iowa. Cada una de nuestras escuelas crea su propio horario para las pruebas. Información sobre el logro académico de su hijo es necesario para ayudarlos a superarse y triunfar.

Evaluación de Iowa:
proporciona información detallada acerca de su hijo en una variedad de áreas de contenido importantes incluyendo Lectura, Artes del Lenguaje Inglés, Matemáticas y Ciencias.
ayuda determinar cómo los estudiantes están realizando en el plan de estudios estatal como esta describido en el Iowa Core.
ayudan a maestros identificar las fuerzas de los estudiantes e identificar las áreas que podrán necesitar énfasis adicional.
produce información que permite tomar decisiones acertadas y proporciona un enfoque para que los maestros evalúen su instrucción.
proporciona información sobre el desempeño de su hijo en relación con la escuela, el estado de Iowa y la nación.

Usando los resultados de la evaluación, animamos que trabajen con el maestro de su hijo para identificar y atender necesidades educacionales. Los resultados ayudarán a su hijo estar preparado para el siguiente paso en su camino educacional.

¿Cómo puede ayudar a su hijo hacer lo mejor posible?
estar presente todos los días
llegar a la escuela a tiempo todo los días
dormir mucho cada noche
comer un desayuno saludable cada mañana
anime a su hijo a tomar las pruebas en serio

¡Gracias por apoyar a su hijo y la Comunidad del Distrito de Marshalltown! Los resultados de estas pruebas anuales son utilizados de muchas maneras por nuestras escuelas, el distrito y el gobierno estatal. Los resultados son parte de las decisiones acerca de la asistencia a la escuela de verano, la colocación del curso y la inscripción en las clases de post-secundaria para los estudiantes de secundaria. ¡Agradecemos su interés en ayudar a su hijo a tener éxito!

Sinceramente,

Dr. Lisa Stevenson
Director de Instrucción

Marshalltown High School hosted the Iowa High School Music Association State Jazz Band Festival on January 23 in the MHS/Community Auditorium. Judges were Steve Citta from Cedar Falls, Jim Vowels from Waverly and Kevin Brown from Iowa City.

Schools attending were Marshalltown, South Hamilton, Roland Story, East Marshall, South Tama, Benton Community, GMG and Vinton Shellsburg. Schools performed and then received an on stage clinic from the three judges.

Marshalltown Jazz II performed for comments only and Marshalltown Jazz I earned a Division I rating from all three judges. MHS Jazz I has earned a Division I for the last seven years.

Other school ratings include GMG a Division I, East Marshall a Division II, South Hamilton a Division I, Roland Story a Division I, South Tama Division II, Benton Community a Division I and Vinton Shellsburg a Division I.

“Thank you to all the students, parents and staff who helped in making the festival evening a well run event,” said MHS Director of Instrumental Music Bret Lee.

The Marshalltown jazz bands will travel to Southeast Polk High School on February 11 to compete in the SEP Jazz Fest.

Two Lenihan Intermediate School fifth graders received awards for their flag essays from the American Legion. Pictured from left is Desy Sung (first place) and Rogelio Ceren (second place) and local American Legion Post 46 Commander Randy Kessler.

Two Lenihan Intermediate School fifth graders were recognized for their essays with the theme “What the Flag Means to Me” by the American Legion on February 2.

Taking first place was Desy Sung, who received a $50 prize and taking second place was Rogelio Ceren, who received a $25 prize. Both students also received American flags.

“These students worked very hard during their writer’s workshop group and really put a lot of thought into these essays,” said Lenihan Extended Learning teacher Vanessa Engel. “The students read their essays to a room full of veterans and received ample applause.  I am exceedingly proud of the both of them.”

Below are the winning essays:

Flag Of The U.S.

By Desy Sung

To me the American Flag is an exquisite piece to our country!  The flag describes our freedom and our independence from the British.  Some people don’t really care about the flag but it describes America and how hard we fought for our rights!  When I look at the American flag I think about all the soldiers who fought for us in the wars for our independence, they put their life on the line for us, to make America a superior country!  Whenever I look at the flag I’m just so grateful to be in a wonderful country that I can get good education, unlike my parents.  My mom went to school until 4th grade and my dad went until 8th grade because we were very poor.  I am just so grateful to be in an amazing country with freedom and really good education that can lead me to a really good jobs and opportunities.  The flag really means to me good education that I can get without paying money, where I come from which is Myanmar  you had to pay money to go to school and it cost a lot!   To this day I just think what could’ve happened if my family and I didn’t come to the U.S.  I wouldn’t have the education that I get now which is really good! My family and I came here for jobs too, America is just a great place for opportunities which the flag really describes.  My mom and dad really wanted me to have an incredible life filled with opportunities for the future so I am genuinely overjoyed by that! That is what the Flag means to me! Our great American Flag!

What The American Flag Means To Me

By Rogelio Ceren

To me, the flag means freedom and the soldiers that fought for the country so we can be safe. When I see the flag I think of all things that our country has been through.I think people that live in America are lucky to have good education. We are lucky to have good jobs and good government. I think the flag means all those things. America had it’s ups and downs but we still show all the countries how great we can be. If we didn’t get our independence from the British we would not be an independent country. The american flag is very important to America because if we did not have it what would we would we pledge to and look up to. There would not be a national anthem before games or special events. When I see the flag every morning for the pledge I think of all toughness we have and integrity. It is very important to respect the people that served our country. When you see the flag for the pledge you just put your hand in your heart and say words. I do that sometimes but when I was writing this I really thought about my opinion on it. I hope when you start reading this you will see what Your opinion is on the American Flag.