Congratulations to our Gold Star Teachers!

Meghan Bruns

2nd Grade

Cedar Heights Elementary

Brenna Griffin

English

Cedar Falls High School

Shantel Kahrs

7th Grade Social Studies

Peet Junior High

Congratulations to CFHS Jazz One on being back-to-back State Champions in Class 4A! They gave an incredible performance at the Iowa Jazz Championships. This is the 2nd time in school history they've earned first place honors. The top 15 bands in Class 4A in the state all perform as part of the day show, and they award places 3-15 at the end of that session. The top two bands in each class are then invited to come back and perform again in the night finals.

"The students played really well at the day show, and played even better at night. It was a treat to watch them interact on stage, and play with a ton of maturity, joy, and professionalism," said Kyle Engelhardt, Band Director.

Outstanding soloists included: Colten Thomas (piano), Henry Giddens (bass), Kate Galyen (drum set), Kristen Engelhardt (trombone), and Liam Hendrickson (trombone).

Jazz One members 22-23:

Saxophones: Gabby Townsend, August Phillis, Holden Fromm, Isabelle Cuhat, Britain Atkins.

Trombones: Kristen Engelhardt, Alex Stoner, Liam Hendrickson, Henry Rouw

Trumpets: Pascal Cuhat, Taylor Johnson, Ethan Christ, Skylar Zimmerman, Conner Trunnell

Rhythm Section: Colten Thomas (piano), Paige Sommerfeldt (guitar), Henry Giddens (bass), Kate Galyen (drums)

Hearst Center for the Arts annual Cedar Falls Student Art Exhibition!

Exhibit open from April 15 to May 21, 2023

The Hearst Center's tradition of celebrating students and teachers continues this spring with an exhibition of work created in the art rooms of community schools.

Cover art: Mariah Benson, Self Portrait, Colored pencil, 7th grade, Holmes Junior High, Teacher: Bailey Klammer

Learn more at: https://www.thehearst.org/

Congratulations to the CFHS Science Team members for their hard work at the state Science Olympiad Tournament! The team medaled in 11 individual events and won 3rd place team in the state!

Individual medalists include: 

Param Sampat & Pranav Kota - 1st place in Anatomy & Physiology and 1st place in Disease Detectives

PJ Even & Asa Posey - 1st place in Trajectory

PJ Even, Cedric Liu, & Ed Lin - 1st place Bridge

Akshat Mehta & Param Sampat - 1st place Green Generation, 3rd place Environmental Chemistry

Abby Sliwinski & Akshat Mehta - 2nd place in Chemistry Lab

Nadia Patel & Elliot Purdum - 2nd place Flight

Cedric Liu & Ed Lin - 2nd place Detector Building

Anurag Anugu & Pranav Kota - 2nd place Cell Biology

Stella Johnson & Amy Tran - 3rd place Forestry

Congratulations to the Holmes Junior High Science Olympiad team and their sponsors, Mr. Jim Duff and Mrs. Amanda Johnson, for their third place finish at the state competition! 

Holmes won gold medals in:

Anatomy & Physiology (James Peng, Kevin Du)

Codebusters (Rishika Shettigar, Grace Sliwinski, Ahan Tandon)

Crave the Wave (James Peng, Kevin Du)

Experimental Design (Ahan Tandon, Parker Zylstra, Solimar Acevedo)

Green Generation (Helen Peng, Kevin Du)

Meteorology (Kevin Du, Laura Walker)

Silver medals in:

Can’t Judge a Powder (Mattea Sink, Arjun Anugu)

Rocks and Minerals (Grace Sliwinski, Rishika Shettigar)

Write It Do It (Grace Sliwinski, Rishika Shettigar)

Storm the Castle (Alex Lena, Matthew Shores).

Bronze medals in:

Bio Processes Lab (James Peng, Arjun Anugu)

Disease Detectives (Helen Peng, James Peng)

Fast Facts (Ahan Tandon, Mattea Sink)

Road Scholar (Meghana Kota).

Anika Bhardwaj won the gold for the trial event Science in the News.

CAPS TO SHOWCASE PROJECTS AND EXPERIENCES ON APRIL 26th

Over 25 exhibits will showcase projects and experiences from 6th-grade teams and high school student associates from nine area high schools at the annual CAPS celebration.

The high school programs involved in the Cedar Valley Centers for Advanced Professional Studies (CAPS) are hosting their signature event at the end of April to showcase the experiences of the student associates and their project work with local businesses.

The 2023 Innovation Celebration will take place on Wednesday, April 26, from 5:30- 7:00 pm at the Bien Venu Event Center in Cedar Falls, with admission being free and open to the public, with sponsorship support from the Black Hawk Economic Development, Cedar Falls Schools Foundation, Cedar Falls Utilities, Hawkeye Community College, Jam City, Kryton Engineered Metals, Lost Island, MercyOne, University of Northern Iowa, Veridian Credit Union, Viking Pump, and the Western Home Foundation.

“Educating our student associates is a community effort, and we believe that involving the public in our Innovation Celebration Showcase is an opportunity to showcase our team's talent and hard work,” said Cedar Falls CAPS Director Ethan Wiechmann. “This event also allows community members to engage with the next generation of leaders and innovators."

More sixth-grade teams from Cedar Fall Aldrich Elementary School have been added to the event this year. These students will exhibit alongside the high school students as they exhibit the Team Innovation projects they have completed this school year.

Throughout the school years, CAPS associates immerse themselves in real-life projects and professional experiences to give them valuable experience in supporting the mission and goals of local businesses and organizations. Business partners and CAPS instructors support the development of the student associates by nurturing durable skills while working on real-world projects. Ultimately the work performed through CAPS has the goal of providing value to the business partner and impacting the companies, organizations, and communities of the Cedar Valley.

CAPS is a Profession-Based Learning program built around the four cornerstones of Innovation, Problem Solving, Professional Skills, and Career Exploration, with the mission to Prepare ALL Students for their Purpose.  

Cedar Valley CAPS began in 2017 with the Cedar Falls CAPS program and has expanded exponentially since then, serving 230 high school students region-wide. The Cedar Falls High School program offers six industry strands, while students involved with programs associated with Charles City, Columbus Catholic, Denver, Don Bosco Catholic, Jesup, Dunkerton and Wapsie Valley and Waterloo high schools offer an all-inclusive CAPS pathway that helps prepare all students for their purpose through experience, skills, and exposure to various industries and professions.

The Cedar Valley CAPS programs are partners in the Iowa CAPS consortium and members of the national CAPS Network.

For more information on engaging with CAPS in the Cedar Valley, go to www.cfcaps.org or email nate.clayberg@cfschools.org.

Help us GROW the TPC with GreenState Credit Union!

As a GreenState member, you can direct a donation in the amount you'd like to give (up to $500), by going to their Give & Grow website – https://www.greenstate.org/give-and-grow-initiative.html between April 1-30. You'll be directed to select Black Hawk County, then Cedar Falls Schools Foundation and enter your gift amount.

Not a GreenState member, then join today and designate your gift! GreenState will send your gift, and their matching gift, to CF Schools Foundation in May. Foundation staff will confirm your gift is directed the Tiger Performance Center!

Mens Gymnastics Regionals (Region 4) took place Saturday, April 1, in Minnesota (for Iowa, Wisconsin, North and South Dakota, Minnesota and Nebraska). The Cedar Falls Level 7 Boys Gymnastics Team (with Cedar Valley Gymnastics Academy) made it to the the Mens Western National Championships in Texas on April 30! 

Pictured from left to right:

• Joseph Winland, Freshman at Peet Jr High
• Coach John Syharath, Boys Coach, All Levels
• Kintu Beck, Sophomore, CVCS Columbus High School

Community fliers and links to community fliers are not Cedar Falls Community School District publications, nor are they in any way endorsed or sponsored by the district. They are being provided only to inform you of other available community activities and opportunities.