School News

Saturday, February 28, Mid-Prairie sent 21 speech participants in 27 events to Tipton for the Iowa High School Speech Association district-level individual speech contest. At the end of the day 15 participants had achieved the top rating and will be going to the state contest at Vinton-Shellsburg Saturday, March 14.
District participants were: Becca Mansfield (acting), Josue Rivera (spontaneous speaking), Katie Michaelis (prose, after dinner speaking, Michael Leedy (acting and spontaneous speaking), Jordan Adam (storytelling and acting), Kyle Fisher (radio news), Ashley Hawley (prose), Troy Wilkins (acting and improv), Kat Hershberger (original oratory), Barry Schintler (review and improv), Sam Johnson (poetry), Gesen Nisly (acting and spontaneous speaking), C.K. Allen (poetry), Aimee Moberly (poetry), Ryan Shelladay (literary program), Cody Knapp (improv), Lindy Miksch (literary program), Bethany Campbell (storytelling), Moriah Powell (literary program), Jacob Lampe (storytelling), and Ariel Fugate (prose).
Going on to state are: Becca Mansfield, Josue Rivera, Kyle Fisher, Ashley Hawley, Troy Wilkins (two categories), Barry Schintler (Reviewing), Sam Johnson, Gesen Nisly (two categories), Aimee Moberly, Ryan Shelladay, Cody Knapp, Lindy Miksch, Bethany Campbell, Moriah Powell, and Ariel Fugate. Any participant who achieves the top rating and receives enough judge recommendations will go on to All-State on Monday, March 30 in Cedar Falls.

By Mary Zielinski

When they honored four retiring teachers Monday, the Mid-Prairie Board did not just acknowledge dedicated employees but said farewell to good friends.
For a combined 95 years of service, the four, Mark Dalton, Kathy Conway, Kathy Shellday and Becky Curtis, counseled students, taught them to read, to play music and, in many cases, to deal with life in all its ups and downs.
Dalton, special education teacher at the high school, “Would tell it like it is,” said fellow teacher Jessica Jones. “There was no sugar coating,” noting it was an approach that reached students no on else could.
Principal Gerry Beeler agreed that Dalton provided “life lessons,” using Dalton’s methodical approach to golf as a metaphor.
Among those who acknowledge Kathy Conway was her daughter, vocal music teacher Collette McClellen, who said since she was 14 and a Mid-Prairie student she could always find her mother to talk to when needed. Conway has served as the secondary media specialist (she prefers to be called librarian) for 22 years.
“We were a department of two,” said elementary media specialist Phyllis Casper, “and we really got to know each other. I will miss you.”

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The following students were named to the second quarter honor roll at Mid-Prairie High School.
Freshman Gold Honor Roll 3.75 - 4.0 GPA: Sarah Altenhofen*, Anna Barthelman, Kayla Burrows, Carrie Fiordelise, Jasmine Fugate, Jessica Henrichson*, Brodie Johnson*, Jordyn Kelso, Amanda Kramer, Matthew Miksch, Hannah Miller, Nicole Murray*, Tyler Nicholson, Ryan Shellady*, Amanda Stout*, Taylor Troyer, and Magdalene VanRoekel*.

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By Mary Zielinski
A Mid-Prairie elementary school, the middle school and the high school will get a total of $1.2 million improvements this year. The Mid-Prairie Board of Education Monday approved starting with replacing the chiller at Kalona Elementary School and, following a public hearing, approved a bid opening for 2 p.m. March 19. Contract for the project, with a total cost estimate of $133,200, is expected to be awarded March 23.
The two other projects–replacing all the roof at the middle school except the segment done in 1997, and a fully handicapped accessible elevator at the high school–also were approved. A public hearing on the projects is set for 8 p.m. March 9 at the high school. The roof project initially was estimated at $722,286, but could be nearer $300,000 since it is not the entire roof. The elevator cost is estimated at $325,00 and would see a new shaft for it built at the front of the high school.
“We have enough funds,” Superintendent Mark Schneider told the board Monday. Asked what would become of the old elevator at the high school, described as virtually a freight elevator, Schneider said it could taken out and the space used for storage.
Work on the chiller is expected to be done by August 7.

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By Mary Zielinski
Improvements to Mid-Prairie buildings, providing everything from a new roof at the middle school to an elevator at the high school, would total $1,207,486, the board learned at its meeting Monday. Details were provided by Shive-Hattery, Inc., of Iowa City, about three separate projects: chiller replacement at Kalona Elementary School; elevator addition at the high school, and roof replacement at the middle school.
The single most expensive is the roof, projected at $722,286 to be done in 2009-2010. There also is a three year plan, covering masonry improvements reroofing,that would total $423,540.
Mitchell R. Kelschen, roof and building envelope consultant, noted that project could be done over “a couple of years.” The board also was told about the Tremco Cooperative Purchasing Program. It was suggested the district consider bidding Tremco as a separate alternative when it seeks roof replacement bids.

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Seven Mid-Prairie Elementary students particiapted in the District Invent Iowa convention Thursday, February 19, in Cedar Rapids. Representing Mid-Prairie were Hannah Van Roekel from Wellman Elementary with her invention “The Pet Screen Saver.” Jami TeBockhorst and Montana Hart from Kalona Elementary, with their invention “The Bag Buddy,” and from Washington Township, Kelli Linderman and Amber Kral with their game “A Day at School” and Eli Gingerich and Caleb Davis with the “Safety Sled.”
Three of the inventions were awarded Regional recognition and will be moving on to the state level. The inventors Hannah Van Roekel, Jami TeBockhorst and Montana Hart, and Caleb Davis and Eli Gingerich will represent Mid-Prairie at the state Invent Iowa April 25, at Hilton Coliseum in Ames. Invent Iowa is sponsored by the Belin Blank Center at the University of Iowa. The State Convention is hosted by the Engineering Departments of the University of Iowa and Iowa State University.

Mid-Prairie elementary students Caleb Davis, Eli Gingerich, Montana Hart, Jami TeBockhorst and Hannah Van Roekel advance to the state Invent Iowa competition April 25 in Ames.

Four of the seven Mid-Prairie state finalists earned I ratings from all three event judges during the large group speech team state finals in Pella February 7. The categories were a one-act play, three ensemble acting pieces, two musical theatre scenes and one group mime.
The speech contestants will give the Mid-Prairie community a chance to see their top ranked performances when they repeated them Thursday, February 12 in the high school auditorium. The event is free and starts at 7 p.m.
The state competition and this week’s encore marks the conclusion of weeks of preparation by all the students, including qualifying for state.

The Mid-Prairie Board of Education Monday hired Kelly Swift as the district’s At-Risk Advocate at a salary of $22,910.69 for the rest of the current year. She will start her duties December 17.
The meeting was a work session in which Principal Gerry Beeler and Terra Huber reviewed the Iowa Core Curriculum, a system to assure that essential subject matter is taught students. By December 17, every M-P teacher will be expected to give their building principal a one month printed curriculum map. The maps will be evaluated December 18 and 19.
There also was about a half-hour closed session for the superintendent’s evaluation.

Mid-Prairie High School Drama Department will be performing Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Nights Dream at 7:30 p.m. November 7 and 8.
This comedy focuses on three separate plots involving a forbidden wedding, tradesman turned actors,

and fairy mischief in the woods. Director Tamara McClintock hopes that members of the 2000 cast of Midsummer as well as their parents will return to see this production. Both nights, she will call on these former cast members to stand and be recognized during intermission.

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By Mary Zielinski
“There is no issue about doing this. It is what is right,” Mid-Prairie Board President Jim Hussey said.
The “what” is an additional $20,905.18 payment to the city for Wellman for natural gas usage at the

There is no issue about doing this. It is what is right

high school last winter for which the district was vastly undercharged.
Probably problems with the city’s gas meters resulted in readings that were about a third of actual usage, said Superintendent Mark Schneider.
“We have no way to know how much gas was really used,” he said, but charges for the four prior years showed an average of $34,663.88. Last year, the bill was $13,758.70 and, as Schneider noted, “considering what the winter was like, it could not be right.”

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By Mary Zielinski
With substantial increases in students needing Individual Education Plans (IEP) at Kalona Elementary, and the highest enrollment ever at the Alternative Learning Center, the Mid-Prairie Board of Education approved two additional staff positions at its meeting Monday.
Kalona Elemetnary School will have another special educaiton associate to help with a total of 33 IEP students. Of those, 15 currently have Intensive Plans, said Superintendent Mark Schneider.
The new position, which will be advertised, is an Elementary Special Education Associate, and will be paid for with Special Education funds.

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