Mason City Community School District |
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Spring break is an excellent time for students and staff to recharge the batteries to finish the last ten weeks of school. The last ten weeks of the school year are crucial to student success for the next school year. Teachers will introduce new concepts that students will need for the following year, and high school students will work on finishing second semester to earn credits toward graduation. In addition, our schools will administer the Iowa State Assessments of Student Progress in April, which will help us determine if our students are making yearly progress. As you can see, the last ten weeks are crucial for our students. One key to success in school is attendance. Students can't learn if they are not attending. Therefore, attendance is vital for student success.
According to the National Center for Educational Statistics, 72% of the schools in the United States saw an increase in chronic absenteeism following the pandemic. Mason City Community Schools, and most school districts in Iowa, have experienced a decline in student attendance since the pandemic. Being present is the first step to success and a trait we want our students to carry with them long after they leave our school system.
I ask our parents to help ensure your students attend school regularly. Our students, parents, and community will benefit significantly from our students being present. Have a great spring break!!
Go Riverhawks!
Pat Hamilton
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Mason City Community School District buildings and offices will be closed the week of Monday, March 13 through Friday, March 17, 2023.
Classes will resume on Monday, March 20, 2023.
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2023-24 Kindergarten Registration
Kindergarten registration for the 2023-2024 school year is now open! Children who turn five years old on or before September 15, 2023 are eligible for kindergarten. Please take a moment to read through this information and get your child registered! If you have any questions please reach out to your elementary school!
Click Here to Register for Kindergarten
Is your student five years old but not quite ready for kindergarten? Mason City Community School District is excited to announce that we are opening two transitional kindergarten (TK) classrooms. Space is limited so there are several criteria for enrollment including, but not limited to, birth date, preschool teacher recommendation, and previous school experience. Feel free to reach out to your elementary principal if you have any questions.
Click Here to Register for Transitional Kindergarten (TK)
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Kick Off to Kindergarten
Open House
When: Thursday, April 27, 2023
Time: 6:00-7:00 p.m.
Where: Your student’s elementary school
This is an opportunity to meet teachers and staff, tour the building, pick up any health forms, and have questions answered!
We are looking forward to meeting our future Riverhawks!
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Mason City High School
Construction site progress continues!
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Back to School Immunization Clinics
Cerro Gordo Public Health will be offering "back to school" immunization clinics within the buildings this spring. This is an opportunity to beat the rush and get required immunizations taken care of.
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March 28 & 30 - 4:00-6:30 p.m. at Lincoln Intermediate (walk-in clinic)
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April 13 - 9:00 a.m. at MCHS (Scheduled clinic, signed consent by 3/31/23)
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May 15 - 4:30-6:30 p.m. at JAMS (walk-in clinic)
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Riverhawks Flying High Feature | |
Layla Phillips - 3rd Place | |
Taryn Boehmer - 7th Place | |
Piper Phillips - 4th Place | |
The Riverhawk Girls Wrestling team definitely made history in their first ever season. Some of the girls continued that momentum as they competed at the USA Girls Folkstyle Nationals in Omaha, NE. Mason City Riverhawk Girls Wrestling had one coach and three athletes compete on the Team Iowa National Duals team. The team finished in 2nd place. The girls that made the team are Layla Phillips (100lbs), Kyleigh James (132lbs), and Taryn Boehmer (200lbs). Jake Phillips was a coach for the team.
There was also an individual tournament where we had two high school All-Americans and one middle school All-American. Layla Phillips took 3rd place in the 100lbs Jr. Division and Taryn Boehmer took 7th place in the 180lbs 16U Division. Middle School student Piper Phillips finished in 4th place in the 79lb 14U Division. Congratulations to these Riverhawk athletes and coach. The future of Riverhawk girls wrestling looks very bright!
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Students at Harding Elementary had artwork chosen by the MacNider Art Museum for display! Colorful Foundations is a collection of student art from area elementary schools. Congratulations to Thea Bartholomew (kdg), Teagan Johnson (kdg), Thiana Powell (1st grade), Amelia Cresswell (3rd grade), Thia Carr (4th grade), Malia Hickman (4th grade), Tayton Witt (4th grade), and Amy Zieman (4th grade). | |
Things are getting swampy at Hoover! The 2nd graders held an awesome SWAMPED Party music program on Thursday, March 2, 2023. They sang songs including "Just a Little Tadpole," "A Frog in Your Throat," and got down to "The Swamp Stomp." There were alligators, frogs, spiders, flies, and butterflies...OH MY! The Hoover Gym was full of all kinds of swampy animals. It was a great program and the kids did AMAZING! Mrs. Barragy really knows how to get the kids singing and dancing! | |
Read Across America Week is always a favorite week at Jefferson Elementary. Students enjoy amazing literacy activities, dress up days, and just hearing about GREAT books! This year we read books about great friends, books about courage, books about places, books that celebrate a growth mindset and books about influential Americans.
We can't wait until next year!
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Students in 7th grade science have been busy building paper roller coasters. The students are put into groups and given the challenge of creating a roller coaster that they will present to an amusement park owner for bid. This activity addresses four of the engineering standards in middle school science with an emphasis on constraints, criteria, design, testing and modifying. Once complete, the students present their roller coaster to the "amusement park owner." The students earn points for excitement value, height, theme, length of the ride, and quality of their presentation. Ms. Twigg shared that she loves this lesson as it allows students to tap into their creativity and lean on each other to figure things out. This helps to begin to prepare them to be independent learners. | |
Lincoln Intermediate
"What a time to be at Lincoln Intermediate!" This is the statement flowing through the halls after our Tchoukball tournament, Solo Festival, and the Kimball/Schulze debate championship. After a phenomenal tournament, 5th grade's Roe/Rozen and 6th grade's Lantz/Weitzel teams emerged as champions of Tchoukball! They will hold the trophy until the 2023-24 school year. Our band's solo fest was a blast. Kairi Lewis, Audriana Ziegler, Christina March, Sofia Tagesen, Keira Billings, and Elly Gutierrez finished with the rating of Outstanding! We couldn't be prouder of our Lincoln students! The Kimball/Schulze debate championship took place Monday, March 6 and it was a sight to see. Each sided did a marvelous job, but in the end Miss Kimball's class earned the title of champions over Mrs. Schulze's class. As we gear up for spring break, we hope everyone is safe and returns ready to finish the year strong.
#LincolnTogether
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Mason City Alternative School | |
The Mason City Alternative School held its annual Health Fair last week. Presenters from the Cerro Gordo County Health Department shared information with students on several different health topics. | |
Several students from the Mason City Alternative School had the opportunity to tour Sukup Manufacturing. It was a great experience for the students, especially the seniors. | |
Men and Women of Honor is a strength based group model that empowers young men and women to find belonging and create, build, and maintain healthy relationships while learning and developing positive character traits to become respectful leaders and connected allies at school, as well as in the community. This is achieved through role playing, discussion, and peer to peer interactions of skill building group sessions. These sessions consist of Aggression Replacement Training (ART), Character Counts, and Mentors in Violence Prevention(MVP). | |
The Mason City Academic Decathlon Team competed in their state competition in Urbandale last weekend. The team placed 7th in the Large School Division and 3rd in the Medium School Division. Members of the team earned five medals: Kaitlyn Thangaraj won a bronze medal in Interview and Essay, Ryleigh Penn won a silver medal in Music, Isaac Hines won a gold medal in Mathematics, and Gina Johnson won a bronze medal in Mathematics. The following students competed at the State Competition:
Honors Division: Karim Eldadah, Maya Sajadian, Kaitlyn Thangaraj, Alternates: Sofia Ahari, Jonathan Thangaraj
Scholastic Division: Ryleigh Penn, Brooklyn VanHauen, Alfonso Villarreal
Varsity Division: Isaac Hines, Gina Johnson, Leighton Penn
Coaches: Jeff Hines, Allia Yarrow
Great job, Decathletes!
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Mock Trial
Let the games begin! Two MCHS Mock Trial teams were readying to argue either the plaintiff or the defense side of the 2023 court challenge. Mock Trial competition employs absolutely everything a student learned to this point in their school career. Learning about the legal process is added to the mix and the fun begins. Mock Trial Coach Dan Ramaeker shared that this years group is the hardest working of any event he has ever coached. Students set their own practice schedule and made sure any member not making practice knew how important they were to the team. Constantly showing up outside of regular practice for individual help showed how driven to succeed the team members were. Anyone experiencing contact with this crew, soon realizes the next generation is up to the task of leading our state and country forward!
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Pinecrest Center students who were on integration into a regular classroom for over 10 days earned a special outing. These students had the opportunity to go to Birdsall's Ice Cream. They were able to tour the ice cream shop, learned how the ice cream is made, and also enjoyed a dish of the locally famous treat! | |
The 3rd graders at Roosevelt Elementary have been learning about embryology as they study how chickens develop in the egg over time. Over the weekend, the students gained some new additions to the classroom, as many of the eggs hatched! There are lots of baby chicks being held and taken care of this week at Roosevelt. In other exciting news, Roosevelt was selected to receive a donation from a local business to use towards new books in the library. Ms. Staudt, teacher librarian, was on hand to accept the check from Ross Dress For Less. A big thank you to the new business joining the Mason City community! | |
Administrative Center
Deb Thorsen is an administrative assistant for Human Resources at the Administrative Center. This is her 29th year with MCCSD. She spent 13 years as the secretary at Roosevelt and five years as a secretary for Title I. She is a proud alumni of MCHS and graduate of the University of Iowa (Go Hawks!) Deb loves MC Schools because we have an amazing staff who work hard every day to educate and improve the lives of our students. She also adds that it is an amazing feeling when she gets to help hire someone she knew when they were a student! A fun fact about Deb is that while attending the U of I, she was a ballet major and a member of the U of I Dance Co. before getting her BA in Social Work.
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Harding Elementary
Erin Crum is a secretary at Harding Elementary. This is her 7th year with MCCSD. She worked for three years as a paraprofessional before taking on her current role. Erin is a graduated of Nora Springs-Rock Falls and NIACC. She loves MC Schools because she works with the best staff! She loves talking to the students when they come through the office and making connections with them. A fun fact about Erin is that her and her husband have three very active kids, which means they spend more time attending their sporting events than they do at home!
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Hoover Elementary
Beverly Christeson is a special education paraprofessional at Hoover Elementary. She works with the behavior strategist to help students learn strategies of self regulation. Beverly attended school in New Hampton. She loves MC Schools because of the continuation and implementation of trauma responsiveness and new stratgies that are provided. In her 24 years with MCCSD, Beverly has had the pleasure of working with a great group of people who make the job fun and they truly care about the kids they serve. A fun fact about Beverly is that she is the proud owner of two sassy Standard Poodles, Bowie and Renee. She likes to call them her therapy!
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Jefferson Elementary
Kay Mason is a secretary at Jefferson Elementary. She started working at MCCSD in 2007 after spending 19 years in other areas of education. Kay graduated from Batavia High School in Illinois and received her BA from North Park University in Chicago. She was born born in Des Moines, so it makes sense she ended up back in Iowa!
(GO HAWKS!) Kay loves MC Schools because of all the little smiling faces - what a great way to start each day! The staff genuinely care about the students, not just their educational needs. A fun fact about Kay is she met her husband in Chicago when they were both college athletes majoring in physical education. They are both still die hard Cubs fans!
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John Adams Middle School
Manuel "Manny" Martinez is in his first year serving as hallway monitor/campus security at John Adams Middle School. Manny is originally from Mason City and is an MCHS alumni. Prior to joining the JAMS team, Manny worked at Curries for 33 years. What makes Manny MC Proud is the enjoyment of interacting with the students and getting to see them every day. He shared that "7th and 8th grade is a tough age and I like to help point them in the right direction." In his free time, Manny enjoys working out, fishing, and spending time with his family. A fun fact about Manny is that he enjoys several hobbies including collecting sneakers, collecting football and baseball cards, and detailing cars.
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Lincoln Intermediate
Alecia Kimball is a 6th grade literacy and social studies teacher for Lincoln Intermediate School. This is her third year with MCCSD. Alecia attended Wartburg in Waverly, IA. Along with teaching, she also coaches Mason City Riverhawk volleyball, basketball, and softball. What Alecia loves most about MC Schools is working with students and staff in Mason City and watching students excel. A fun fact about Alecia is that she was a collegiate athlete.
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Mason City High School
Russ Kramer is a band teacher at MCHS. After graduating from MCHS, Russ went on to pursue a bachelor's of music education from Iowa State University and then a master of arts in band conducting from the University of Iowa. This is his 21st year at MCHS. Russ is MC Proud because of his students and the work they do. He and wife Cindy, a kindergarten teacher at Roosevelt Elementary, have a son Miles, an MCHS alum who attends the University of Iowa. Some fun facts about Russ are that he conducts the Mason City Municipal Band, continues to play his trumpet in three different groups, is the All-State Band Chair, and is the current Iowa Bandmasters Association Mentorship Chair.
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Pinecrest Center
Sara Buehler is a paraprofessional at the Pinecrest Center. This is her fourth year with the MCCSD. She attended Clear Lake High School and NIACC. What makes her MC Proud is being there for students when they need extra support. A fun fact about Sara is she started babysitting at 9 years old and still currently babysits. She will be retiring from babysitting, however, when her baby arrives in May!
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Roosevelt Elementary
Brooke Neal is a 3rd grade teacher at Roosevelt Elementary. She strives to have a positive impact on her students each and every day. This is her third year with MCCSD. Brooke loves MC Schools because of the diverse community and the warm welcoming environment that is created in the schools. A fun fact about Brooke is that she loves to travel and her favorite state is Alaska!
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MCCSD Virtual Backpack
Make sure to check out the Virtual Backpack website! Here you will find events, camps, and opportunities for students and their families from district and community organizations.
Click HERE to check it out!
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Athletics & Activities Announcements
Boys Basketball Team Members:
*Michael Goepel and David Willemsen - IBCA Team First Award
*Kale Hobart - IBCA Academic All District and First Team All-Conference IAC North
*Jess Cornick and Davion Maxwell - Second Team All-Conference IAC North
*Ethen Roberts and Tate Millsap - Honorable Mention All-Conference IAC North
Girls Basketball Team Members:
Reggi Spotts - IGCA All-District Class 4A Northeast and First Team All-Conference IAC North
*Machaela Trask - First Team All-Conference IAC North
*Grace Berding and Kelsey McDonough - Second Team All-Conference IAC North
*Jaelyn Falls - Honorable Mention All-Conference IAC North
All-Iowa Honor Dance Team Members:
Kyra Iles, Addi Menke, Macy Schlitter - Performed at Girls State Basketball Tournament
State Individual Speech Participants
Sofia Ahari, Rose Askildson, Grace Bryant, Brynn Christianson, Karim Eldadah, Rei Elliott, Angelina Frank, Maggie Gerrietts, Marshall Hackbart, Annemarie Hansen, Ishnoor Kaur, Emily Manchester, Sky Martin, Mya McWilliams, Hailey Roberts, Claire Sampson,
Alexander Shipman
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