Bobcats Making Headlines

Pictured are 10 Marshalltown High School students who were part of two teams which tied for first in the Envirothon regional competition on March 17. The teams now head to the state contest on April 11. Pictured in the front row, from left, Jacqueline Wahl, Dayana Carrera, Monica Carroll, Emily Sickles and Hannah Gardea. Back row, Jon Ortega, Ryan McDaniel, Martin Runquist, Lucas Duff and Jacob Ramsey-Smith.

Two Envirothon teams from Marshalltown High School tied for first place at their regional competition held at the West Des Moines DMACC on March 17. The top 15 scoring teams are then invited to the state contest. The MHS teams are currently ranked 3 and 4 in the state out of 53 teams who took the same regional tests.

The teams now are preparing for the state contest which will be held April 11 at Springbrook State Park in Guthrie Center.
The MHS teams are led by MHS extended learning teacher Susan Fritzell. The teams include Jacqueline Wahl, Dayana Carrera, Monica Carroll, Emily Sickles, Hannah Gardea, Jon Ortega, Ryan McDaniel, Martin Runquist, Lucas Duff and Jacob Ramsey-Smith.

The 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: Aquatic Ecology, Forestry, Soils, Wildlife and Current Environmental Issues.

Students in a St. Paul’s Preschool class display a card they are making for “Big Cat” Derek Krahn, who answered their questions via a video on tigers and lions recently. Staff pictured in the back row are, from left, Amy Bachman, Priscilla Sletten and Joanna Ruddick.

Lion and tiger expert “Big Cat” Derek Krahn answered questions from a Marshalltown preschool class via a special video made for them. Krahn works at the Center for Animal Research and Education from Bridgeport, Texas.

Joanna Ruddick’s class at St. Paul’s Preschool sent the questions to CARE via Amy Bachman, an assistant at the school.

Ruddick said they thought they might get an email back after they sent their questions and were surprised with a video made just for them.

“It was way more than I expected,” Ruddick said. “The children’s faces lit up when they saw the video.”

Ruddick said she has heard higher grade levels in the elementary schools also using this video in their classrooms. St. Paul’s Preschool is operated by the Marshalltown Community School District.

To view the video, click here.

Top fundraisers from Lenihan Intermediate School in the dodgeball fundraiser for the American Heart Association are pictured. From left are, Cesar Corona, Jake Dunham, Emily Diggins, Hannah Seltman and Emily Heckman.

Lenihan Intermediate School held a dodgeball tournament with Lenihan students, staff, parents and community members to raise money for the American Heart Association on March 31.

The event was led by the Lenihan student leadership group Ricochet and raised more than $1,000. Ten teams competed in the tournament. Ricochet students had to plan a team name, set goals for fundraising, raise funds for the American Heart Association, and plan for concessions. Students who raised the most money included Cesar Corona, Jake Dunham, Emily Diggins, Hannah Seltman, and Emily Heckman.

“A big part of our program is teaching students to reach out to our community and about how they can be a positive member of their team,” said Lenihan teacher Diane Simpson.

Simpson was pleased with the work of the students on this project.

“I think it is a pretty great result for our first try,” Simpson said. “We had well over 250 people attend. It was great to see Lenihan students, staff, parents and community members having so much fun together with a purpose.”

The winning dodgeball team

The first place team in the Battle of the Books on April 1 consisted of Lenihan Intermediate School students, from left, Miguel Becerra, Derek Peng, Mayleen Ramirez, Kaylin Smith and Rebekah Stone.

Lenihan Intermediate School teams competed as part of the 10^th annual Battle of the Books on April 1 at the Marshalltown Public Library.

Students were in teams of four to five people and read dozens of books over the past several months. On Friday, the students were tested on what they learned with the top three teams winning awards.

The Lenihan team of Miguel Becerra, Derek Peng, Mayleen Ramirez, Kaylin Smith and Rebekah Stone took first place. The team was coached by Marnie Stone and Teresa Smith.

The second place team from Lenihan included Jenna Van Law, Yessenia Alvarez Zamora, Locke Bloomquist and Kaisa Stanley. The third place team included Taylor Jones, Lilly Duff, Drake Polley, Norah Wilson and Ellie Draisey.

Students also took part in activities surrounding many of the books they read and visited spots around town. Twenty teams from Lenihan and St. Francis Catholic School took part in the BOB.

Second place team, from left, Jenna Van Law, Yessenia Alvarez Zamora, Locke Bloomquist and Kaisa Stanley.

Third place team, from left, Taylor Jones, Lilly Duff, Drake Polley, Norah Wilson and Ellie Draisey.

Dr. Dennis Drager of Animal Clinic The Vet reads to children at Anson Elementary School as part of Dr. Seuss Day at the school on April 1.

Several community members visited Anson Elementary School on April 1 to read books on Dr. Seuss Day. Many readers donned Dr. Seuss hats and several students got dressed up for the occasion.

Readers included Marshalltown Fire Chief David Rierson and firefighters Dan Oswald, Josh Warnell and Tyler Homeyer, Marshalltown Police Chief Mike Tupper, Police Sergeant Rick Bellile, Dr. Dennis Drager and Heidi Drager from Animal Clinic The Vet, school board members Mike Miller, Ross Harris, Janelle Carter and Sean Heitmann, Marshalltown High School students Ben Harris and Nate Harris, retired school staff Peggy Schoer and Meg Sponseller, Marshalltown Schools Central Office staff members Andrew Potter and Shauna Smith, Anson Principal Ronnie Manis and Anson counselor Ashley Chyma.

The event was coordinated by Anson teacher Heather Pals.

Pictured are the top four teams in the regional AEA 267 math bee held on March 30 in Marshalltown. The four students in each row on the left side are from Lenihan Intermediate School. 

Lenihan Intermediate School teams placed first and third in the regional math bee held at the AEA 267 office on March 30.

The math bee featured rounds of written math tests for sixth grade students from Lenihan, St. Francis Catholic School, BCLUW and Timothy Christian.

The first place team included Lenihan students Colin Schmit, Derek Peng, Brynn Van Buren and Erick Sanchez. The team from Lenihan which placed third included Lilly Duff, Erin Stanley, Jose Vergara and Ellie Draisey.

Lenihan also had the top overall individual competitor in Derek Peng.

Other Lenihan students who qualified in the top 15 individuals included Lilly Duff, Kaylin Smith, Marcus Barker, Erin Stanley, Rochelle Avalos, Drake Polley, Colin Schmit and Norah Wilson.

Top individual and team place winners qualify for the AEA 267 math bee on May 12 in Cedar Falls.

Individual place winners from the AEA math bee.

Third grade students in Tanda Stanton’s class at Woodbury Elementary School received an award from Delta Dental for a video they made about healthy eating and brushing their teeth.

Students in Tanda Stanton’s third grade class at Woodbury Elementary School are now award-winning video producers.

The students won an award in the “Celebrate Your Smile” video contest from Delta Dental. The music video highlighted the importance of eating healthy and brushing your teeth and featured students in the class.

On March 31, representatives from Delta Dental including Beth Jones presented the award to the class during a special assembly and each student received an electric toothbrush.

“They were really creative,” Jones said of the video the class made. “They recreated a whole song.”

Helping Stanton with the video were Woodbury teacher librarian Sue Cahill, music teacher Sarah Wherry and nurse Elly Mack.

To view the video, click on this link.

Marshalltown High School senior Nathaniel Harris accepts a $1,000 check from Gayle, left, and Vic Hellberg. The money will be used to purchase American flags for district classrooms.

Marshalltown High School senior Nathaniel Harris feels patriotism could be represented more in schools and a local couple is on the same page.

Vic and Gayle Hellberg, of Hellberg’s Jewelers, presented a check to a grateful Harris on March 31 at MHS to purchase American flags for classrooms in Marshalltown Schools (many classrooms in the district do not have flags).

Harris has presented to the school board about his wish to grant the opportunity for students district-wide to recite the Pledge of Allegiance. The pledge is currently recited only at the lower grade levels. Along with that request, the need arose for flags in classrooms.

With this donation, that is no longer a need.

Vic Hellberg, a U.S. Navy veteran, said both he and his wife Gayle come from families with strong military backgrounds. He also feels more can be done to instill patriotism in the younger generation.

“We need to instill it in the young folks,” Vic Hellberg said.

The donation will be paid to the American Legion and Harris will be able to draw from this fund to supply flags in classrooms. Harris was pleasantly surprised when he learned of the donation.

“It’s incredible,” Harris said. “It’s very generous.”

Harris is expected to present to the school board at a later date about his request on the Pledge of Allegiance. There is currently no policy on the pledge in the district.

Gary Schaudt talks about the financial services field to students at Lenihan Intermediate School on March 30. 

Gary Schaudt, a financial advisor with SagePoint Financial in Marshalltown, made a stop at Lenihan Intermediate School to talk about his profession to classes taught by Laura Fricke and Raul Arevalo on March 30.

Schaudt highlighted his career and spent time talking about the ins and outs of the stock market, which he has been involved with since he was younger.

“I made my first trade when I was in high school,” Schaudt said.

Schaudt had the students compare a set of company stock prices over the course of 10 years and talked about the fluctuation of the market. For instance, Schaudt said Amazon’s stock was trading at $37.04 just 10 years ago and it has gone up to the $600 range.

Schaudt is a Marshalltown native who lived throughout the country before returning home and entering the financial services field.

Fricke said it’s important for students to learn about the different career options there are available for them.

“It helps give these kids ideas of other opportunities out there,” Fricke said.

Lenihan Intermediate School sixth graders display the healthy eating options they selected as part of a taste test focus group. Pictured from left are, Bway Htoo (displaying asparagus), Ashton Hinkle (displaying black-eyed peas) and Maima Freeman (displaying blackberries).

Students in Jen O’Neal’s sixth grade class at Lenihan Intermediate School served as taste testers to add healthy options to the school’s menu recently.

The students tested a variety of fruits and vegetables and selected three as their favorites – blackberries, black-eyed peas and asparagus. The three favorites were on the lunch menu on March 30 and were well received by fellow Lenihan students.

“This was an effort to increase variety in the diets of the students,” said Lynn Large, district food service director. “It is important for students to expand their taste preferences for different fruits and vegetables as each one offers our body something different nutritionally.”

The taste test focus group was held March 2 in Mrs. O’Neal’s class.
“They were very excited,” O’Neal said of the taste test.

The three new items will be added to future menus based on availability.