Bobcats Making Headlines

Marshalltown High School students in the fall musical “Footloose” are pictured during a rehearsal. Pictured in the front row, from left, are Hadley Wagner, Bell Russell, Hannah Shirar and Nick Cooper. The musical will be presented at 7 p.m. both November 11 and 12 at the MHS/Community Auditorium.

The musical “Footloose” is coming to Marshalltown High School in less than one month.

Directed by Heather Lee and Amy Ose, rehearsals are continuing at the high school in anticipation of the shows, which will be at 7 p.m. both Friday, November 11 and Saturday, November 12 at the MHS/Community Auditorium.

The musical is based on the 1984 hit movie of the same name. It centers on the ban of dancing and rock music in the small town of Bomont and the teenage rebellion that followed the ban.

Many of those who were around in the 1980s will remember several of the hit songs that were part of the soundtrack including “Holding Out For a Hero,” “Almost Paradise,” “Let’s Hear It for the Boy,” the title track “Footloose” and others.

“The songs people will remember but the music is a little more theatrical,” Ose said.

The buzz is building around the musical, which has been moved to the fall this year at MHS.

“A lot of people are excited about the show,” Ose said. “I believe it matches the strengths of the students.”

Admission is $5 for adults, $3 for children (kindergarten through eighth grade) with activity tickets honored.

For a brief video of the rehearsal, click here.

Lucas Thiessen, left, and Eva Hernandez are pictured in a rehearsal for “Footloose.”

The Bobcat Marching Band is pictured during the Homecoming parade last month. The band has had a successful competition season.

The Marshalltown High School Bobcat Marching Band is winding down another fine season of competition and other performances. The band competed September 24 in the Marching Dutch Invitational in Pella where they placed 5^th in Class 4A and 6^th overall out of 21 bands.  The following week the band competed in the Urbandale Marching Invitational in Urbandale where they again placed 5^th in Class 4A and 8^th overall out of 20 bands.  The MHS Drill Team was named best guard in Class 4A and received the highest score of all competing bands.

On October 8, the Bobcat Marching Band competed in the Iowa High School Music Association State Marching Band Festival in Fort Dodge and received a Division I Rating with a score of 83.2.  This is the band’s 16th consecutive Division I rating.

Future events

Band Extravaganza show October 17
The Bobcat Band Extravaganza is planned for 7 p.m. on Monday October 17 in the MHS/ Community Auditorium.  Featured groups for the show include: MHS Jazz II under the direction of Brett Umthun, MHS Jazz I under the direction of Bret Lee, several Drill Team solos under the direction of Megan Umthun and the Bobcat Marching Band.  Admission is $5 for adults and students in grades 7th-12th and $3 for students in kindergarten through sixth grade with activity cards honored.

Pasta dinner is October 25
The annual Bobcat Band pasta dinner is scheduled for Tuesday, October 25 from 5 to 7:30 p.m. in the MHS cafeteria. Tickets are $5 and can be purchased from an MHS band student or at the door. Proceeds will be used to help fund registration and transportation costs for the MHS Band as well as building the marching band uniform fund for future uniform purchases.

This group of students from Marshalltown High School, Miller Middle School and Lenihan Intermediate School took a trip to Des Moines on October 7 to learn about history at the Iowa Historical Building.

A group of students from Marshalltown High School, Miller Middle School, and Lenihan Intermediate School went to an event at the Iowa Historical Building in Des Moines on October 7 focused on this year’s National History Day theme, “Taking a Stand in History.”

Students had the opportunity to listen to the real-life experience of John Tinker of Tinker vs. the Des Moines School District (Supreme Court case).  In regards to taking a stand, Tinker emphasized “the importance of obeying your conscience” and encouraged students to “think for yourselves.”

Students rotated through sessions about creating documentaries and exhibits, writing papers and building a performance to demonstrate their learning.

All students who were on the trip are Extended Learning Program (XLP) students from fifth grade all the way through the high school in the Marshalltown Community School District.  XLP teachers Susan Fritzell (MHS), Ann Jackson (Miller), and Vanessa Engel (Lenihan) were all a part of the trip.

Marshalltown High School students participated in training in Mentors in Violence Prevention (MVP) at the high school on September 28.

Mentors in Violence Prevention (MVP) held a day of leadership training at Marshalltown High School on September 28. Mentors in Violence Prevention trains students at MHS to serve as mentors for younger peers and to help provide support.

There were 82 MHS students who attended either the morning or the afternoon sessions where there was a discussion led by MHS staff members Meri Edel, Meredith Goldman, Eric Weeden, and Rod Whitmore. The panel discussed privacy laws, sexting laws, and what to do if students share sensitive information with them during their mentoring experiences.

There was also team building activities led by MHS Principal Jacque Wyant, where the students had to navigate through a hula hoop without breaking the bond with their hands.

Special guest speakers during lunch included members from Teens Against Human Trafficking and Marshalltown Police Chief Mike Tupper. The group learned about how to be observant and proactive in the community concerning human trafficking situations.

The MVP students are planning to attend an MVP leadership training day at the University of Northern Iowa on October 11.

Team building exercises

Lenihan Intermediate School students and staff wore blue on October 3 to kick off a month of anti-bullying activities at the school. October is National Bullying Prevention Month.

Lenihan Intermediate School students and staff kicked off a month of anti-bullying activities at the school by wearing blue on October 3. October is National Bullying Prevention Month.

The blue shirts were part of the worldwide Stomp Out Bullying Blue Shirt Day for bullying prevention.

The school will take part in several activities and will get reminders on ways to combat bullying throughout the month of October and through the school year.

“The more awareness that is created during the month of October, and all year round, is one step closer to putting an end to bullying,” said Lenihan Principal Kyle Young.

Marshalltown High School art instructor Kirk Niehouse, right, is pictured holding the Outstanding Secondary Art Educator Award he received from the Art Educators of Iowa on October 1 in Burlington. At left is Marshalltown Schools elementary art teacher Maggie Parks, who is a past winner of the award at the elementary level.

Marshalltown High School art instructor Kirk Niehouse has received the Outstanding Secondary Art Educator Award for 2016-17 from the Art Educators of Iowa.

Niehouse accepted the statewide award in Burlington on October 1, which was presented in association with the National Art Education Association.

“It is a great feeling and an honor to receive this award,” Niehouse said.

Niehouse joins a long tradition of statewide art award winners from the Marshalltown Community School District. Marshalltown elementary art teacher Maggie Parks won the same award at the elementary level last year. Throughout the years, several art teachers from Marshalltown have won the award.

“The fact that other art teachers in the Marshalltown Community School District have won this award shows the dedication to Marshalltown students and the advancement of the arts Marshalltown teachers have,” Niehouse said. “It’s a honor to have my name added to the list of great art teachers from the Marshalltown Community School District.”

Niehouse credits past MHS art teachers such as Don Lovell, Mary Ann Tordsen and Julie Bousum for influencing his work today at the school.

“One of my daily goals is to maintain the quality of the MHS art program that was set by Mary Ann, Don and Julie,” Niehouse said.

Niehouse teaches pottery and graphic design at MHS. He has taught at MHS since 2001 and is a 1978 Marshalltown High School graduate.

Kirk Niehouse is pictured in the pottery room at MHS.

Fisher Elementary School students demonstrated different physical education activities to parents during a special event on September 29 at the school. Pictured are fourth graders at the school.

Parents and grandparents arrived throughout the day at Fisher Elementary School on September 29 to take part in a walkathon.

As part of the day, the visitors were able to walk to different stations to see the types of physical education equipment used by the students and several activities both in the gym and on the playground.

The Fisher parent teacher organization held a fundraiser in conjunction with the event.

“We’ve had a lot of interaction with parents asking questions,” said Mike Eggleston, physical education teacher at Fisher. “Hopefully they see how we are doing things.”

The preschool and two third grade classes will hold their walkathon on October 4 at Fisher.

Fisher Elementary School kindergarten students display physical education activities on September 29.

Carlos and Rosa Aleman are pictured with their granddaughter, Avyanna, at Marshalltown High School on September 29. Carlos and Rosa visited the Spanish classes taught by their son, Sadrac, to help the students practice their Spanish.

Two visitors from Nicaragua visited the Spanish classes taught by Sadrac Alemán at Marshalltown High School on September 29 as a way for the students to practice their Spanish. They were visitors known very well to Mr. Alemán as they were his parents, Carlos and Rosa Alemán.

Students in the Spanish 1 class played a game with numbers with the visitors while the Spanish 2 class students asked questions of Carlos and Rosa. Question topics ranged from favorite foods (Carlos said “all food”) to favorite sport (Carlos replied “baseball”). Carlos serves as a pastor in Nicaragua.

“The students really enjoyed learning about what life is like in Nicaragua,” Sadrac Alemán said.

Sadrac said his parents enjoyed experiencing a day at MHS and also were taken off guard by having to look up more than they expected.

“It surprised them to see how tall the students are here,” Sadrac said. “They see 14 year olds taller than me here.”

Sadrac’s wife, Heather, and 2-year-old daughter Avyanna also visited the classroom during the day.

Teacher Vanessa Engel is pictured with three Miller Middle School students at the Belin-Blank recognition ceremony at the University of Iowa on September 25. Students pictured are, from left, Derek Peng, Quinton Lacey and Ellie Draisey (far right).

Three Miller Middle School students attended the University of Iowa’s Belin-Blank recognition ceremony on September 25 along with their former Extended Learning Program teacher Vanessa Engel from Lenihan Intermediate School.  The students who attended the ceremony were Derek Peng, Quinton Lacey and Ellie Draisey.

In the spring of last year as sixth graders, these students took the I-Excel Exam, which is an above grade level test.  These students did extremely well and were recognized for their gifts and hard work at the ceremony, Engel said. Students had the opportunity to nominate a teacher for recognition and one of the students selected Ms. Engel.

The Belin-Blank Center recognized many students and teachers from around the state as well as surrounding states at the event.  There were many students recognized for participating in various programs.

Not in attendance, but also recognized at the event was Gabriela Perez Gonzalez, from Marshalltown High School, for her work through Belin-Blank’s summer creative writing program.

Marshalltown High School Principal Jacque Wyant recognized MHS senior Nicholas Summers for his selection as a Commended Student in the National Merit Scholarship Program during the academic letter award night at the MHS/Community Auditorium on September 28.

Marshalltown High School hosted its annual academic letter awards night on September 28 in the MHS/Community Auditorium.

Current MHS students who received a 3.5 grade point average or higher during both semesters of the 2015-16 school year were honored.

Aside from these honors, MHS senior Nicholas Summers was recognized as a Commended Student in the National Merit Scholarship Program. His selection placed him among the top 50,000 students of more than 1.6 million students nationally who took the National Merit qualifying test last school year.

MHS students Keyara McDowell, Phoebe Osgood and Kassandra Wilkins gave poetry readings and a speech performance as part of the event. The event was hosted by MHS Principal Jacque Wyant and featured closing comments by Superintendent Dr. Theron Schutte.

Marshalltown High School students wait to receive their academic letters during an awards night on September 28. Students received the letters for achieving a grade point average of 3.5 or higher during both semesters of the last school year.