Newsletter 1

Midland Newsletter Volume 21, Issue 2165 December 2015

I N S I D E T H I S I S S U E

2 News From The Nest

3 Eaglet’s Elementary View

4 Elem News Cont / Mrs. Reilly Info

5 We Care Pkg. / FFA/ Midland Apparel

6 Nurse/Counselor/Food Drive/Yrbk/Dr Ed

7 Dec Menu / Misc. 8 Blood Drive/Misc

Administrator’s Message by Superintendent Rodenberg

As the Thanksgiving Holiday approaches, my wife and I would like to wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving. I am very

thankful for the opportunity to be your superintendent over the past six and half years. The support for the school that the

community has demonstrated has been wonderful.

We are getting closer, with the passing of each month, to the reality of our new school building. Numerous meetings have

been held with the architects, interior designers, and engineers to get the final plans drawn up and develop the bidding

documents. The final drawings will be approved at the January board meeting and the bids will be open in late February. At

this time, it appears that the ground breaking will take place sometime in late March or early April. The project is projected to

take 18 months to two years to complete. I will be setting up meetings throughout the district to show the most recent

drawings of the project. Also, feel free to stop in my office and take a look at the current drawings.

With winter fast approaching, I wanted to remind you that a decision about delaying or cancelling school is usually made by

6 or 6:30 AM. Once a decision is made, John Stender and I contact about a dozen different media outlets. I would encourage

you to get signed up for the Iowa Alerts system, which is the first one that is posted. The TV and radio stations are contacted

next and they usually announce or scroll those in alphabetical order. The decision to let out early in the case of a storm that

comes in during the day is usually made by 11 AM. Student safety is the major focus when making these decisions.

Another legislative session will be opening up in January. I would like to thank the elected officials for the work they do

and understand how difficult of a job they have. I would encourage you to advocate for equity in school funding. The reality

is that, this issue really impacts three major areas. First, the rule by which school funding is to be set. The rules state that the

State Supplemental Aid (SSA) is to be set within 30 days after the legislature receives the governor’s budget. That has not

been followed for a number of years. Last year, we did not get final notification what our state aid was going to be until July

3rd

, while our budgets were due by April 15th. Second, is the difference districts receive in state aid paid per student, based on

the school funding formula some districts are getting $175 less per student in state aid. Midland is getting $86 less per student

than those districts that get the maximum amount. For this year, that means we are getting $45,322 less in state aid. The final

issue deals with transportation costs. Midland spends approximately $487 more per student, which is approximately $200,000

more than the average school in Iowa. The school board and other educational advocate agencies have passed resolutions that

are asking our legislature and governor to address these major funding questions. The lack of funds, the excessive costs and

the timing of knowing the level of state aid is detrimental to the education that Midland and other districts in the state can

provide for their students.

I would like to send a huge thank you out to the school board members who serve as community leaders. Three board

members and I attended the 70th Annual Iowa Association of School Board convention in Des Moines held November 18

th and

19th. At the convention, we heard about school finances, the importance of advocating for education, leadership lessons to be

learned from the Battle of Gettysburg and being willing to try new initiatives to better meet our student learning styles. School

board members serve without pay as well as spending time at and preparing for meetings. The school board members are

driven by the duty of doing what is best for the students in our district. Our current board members are Clay Pestka; President,

Tom Orr; Vice President, Keith Larson, Terry Lineburg, Dawn Rupp, Roberta Rupp and Nikki Rushford. Thanks again for

serving the Midland district.

Take some time and reflect on those things for which you are thankful. Thanks again for giving me the opportunity to serve

you as your superintendent. I am truly honored.

Happy Holidays from

our family

at MCSD to yours!

School dismisses for Thanksgiving break on Tuesday, November 24 at 1PM.

School dismisses for winter break on Tues, Dec 20 at 1PM and resumes on Monday, Jan 4th

Newsletter 2

7

NEWS FROM THE NEST

AT WYOMING

M

WINTER CONCERT/PLAY

Please join us for an afternoon of music on Dec. 6th at 2:00PM at our 6-12th grade Band and Choir Winter Concert! We look forward to seeing you and sharing

our holiday spirit with you! Band members need to be at school by 1:15 for warmups.

We also encourage you to head downtown Wyoming and help celebrate the Christmas City with various

activities taking place, then return for STOCKING STUFFERS , which will be presented by the MHS theatre department on December 6th, at 7:00PM. This year's performance will coincide with Wyoming's Christmas City Celebration. Stocking Stuffers is a fun-filled comedy intended for the entire family, featuring such famous characters as the Easter Bunny, Cupid, a Thanksgiving pilgrim, numerous elves, and the big guy in red

Thank you for supporting Midland Fine Arts!

CLASS RINGS A representative will be at MHS from Jostens on Jan. 11 during

seminar. Any students interested in hearing his presentation on class rings should let their seminar teacher know. He will return Jan 15th to take orders. This is an optional service for students.

POST SEASON AWARDS ANNOUNCED

Special recognition to

FB All District Co-Defensive MVP Brandon Dirks and Coach of the Year Casey Hack!

Congrats to All District football selections: 1

st team offense: Alex Martens, Connor Harms &

Dawson Paulsen; 1st team defense: Jadon Dodge; 2

nd

team defense: Austin Smith & Landon Hunter;

Honorable Mention: Fisher Bisinger & Trace Jensen

Congrats to TriRivers All Conference

Volleyball players:

1st team Rylee A, 2

nd team Ashely F, Honorable

Mention to Kara G! Congrats to Coach Gennifer

Zirkelbach on a great first season!

OPEN MINDS OPEN DOORS CONFERENCE

Recently several 7th and 8th grade girls attended the Open

Minds, Open Doors program at Coe College. The girls

chose from a variety of sessions that centered around STEM

careers. The girls attended several sessions, ate lunch in the

Coe cafeteria, and then attended a presentation directed by

Rockwell employees. Presenters also had tables of interest

in the gym where the girls could talk to different interest

groups like Coe Science Team, Go Daddy, Robotics Team

etc. The program not only sparked the interest of the girls

into different areas of STEM fields, but also gave them

access to a college campus, which the girls were very

impressed with. It was a very rewarding experience for

these ladies. Thanks to Mrs. Greenfield for taking them!

MS DANCE WELL ATTENDED

Middle School students in grades 6-8 danced the night away

in the school cafeteria. They enjoyed dance and socializing

with their friends. Snacks were offered for purchase by

members of the PBIS team. Thanks to middle school student

council sponsor Kellie Kelck and her band of volunteers

who helped make this event possible for our middle

schoolers!

HIGH TECH GUYS DAY EXPERIENCED

Thirteen gentlemen from grades 8-11 attended High Tech

Guys Day at Kirkwood in Cedar Rapids on Oct. 23. Students

attended sessions on computer software development,

network and system administration, graphic communication

technology, computer support and hardware repair, and web

technologies. Students attended 3 sessions and then broke

for lunch. After lunch a speaker addressed the students about

career opportunities Information Technology.

FFA WREATH SALES FFA students are taking orders for holiday wreaths again.

Call them at 488-2292 x 1150 or contact a FFA member or

email jchristiansen@midland.k12.ia.lus to order.

St Ambrose Honor Band Participants

Nice job Abbie,

Amanda, Anna,

Kristen!

Midland Newsletter 3

Eaglet’s Elementary View

Hello Midland families!

Well, the holidays are here, the sound of holiday music has been echoing throughout the halls as our students prepare for their winter concert on Thursday, December 3rd. The kids have been working very hard and under the direction of Ms. Freeman, will once again have a show that displays many aspects of our Midland music program.

Please join us on the 3rd at 6:00 pm. The concert will be held in Wyoming. Student should arrive no earlier than 5:40 pm in the high school cafeteria.

The holidays are also a time for giving! As we did last year, Midland will be holding a canned food drive to benefit the food pantries of Lost Nation, Oxford Junction and Wyoming. Please give to this cause if you are able. There will also be a friendly competition between the elementary and the secondary. I do not plan on dressing as an elf and singing to students at lunch this year, so please help everyone out with this great cause!

Parent / teacher conferences were a great success once again this year. They were quite a bit later than usual in November, but this was a great opportunity for us to hand parents their report cards as they discussed their students' progress. We are open to feedback regarding conferences, as we will be planning for next year in January and February. Please send any input you have my way. It is appreciated!

I would also like to thank our Midland PATS organization, which is under new leadership, for their ongoing support of the Elementary School! Our Chip Shoppe fundraiser generated about $7,000 in profits for PATS, which will be used to purchase items that directly impact all students. Speaking of new leadership, please welcome Kelsey Fields (President), Heather Scott (Treasurer) and Kim Krutzfeld (secretary) as the new PATS leaders! They will bring a lot of great ideas to our organization! Thank you all for your support!

I wish you all the best during this holiday season! Have a great Thanksgiving and Christmas season! Enjoy time with friends and family!

Sincerely, Dan Wendler, Elementary Principal

WINTER CONCERT

@ Wyoming gym 6 PM:

Grades K-5

Thursday, December 3 Students should be dropped off at 5:40

– no earlier – in the HS cafeteria - - - - - -

PATS will be sponsoring a bake sale

at the concert. Please

drop off donations

of baked items at the

elementary building or

bring them to the concert.

Shout It Out!

The Annual Midland Cheer Clinic will be held

January 29, 2016. Participants will perform

between games at the high school during their

basketball contests against Cedar Valley

Christian. Be looking for forms to be coming

home in December. Cost will be $15 and

includes a sack lunch and t-shirt. The clinic is

open to PK-5th grade students and is run by

the Midland Fall and Winter Cheerleaders and

sponsor, Deanna Martens. Go Eagles!

Jones Co. Naturalist, Michelle Olson visited Preschool this

month to teach students about the wild turkey.

Thank you to PATS for recess equipment which was

ordered through the Campbell soup label program.

Midland Newsletter 4

WYOMING CENTER IMPORTANT PARENT INFORMATION…… As we are moving to Standards Based Grading and working to ensure that each student completes all the required learning tied to each course, we are going to try something new at the end of this semester. This will not affect students in grade six.

As students in grades 7 - 12 move through their courses on Friday, December 18th, they with be notified by their teachers if they have successfully met the learning requirements for success completion of each of their courses. In a Standards Based Grading Classroom, this means that a student must have completed 80% of the learning targets at proficiency (receiving a score 85% or higher) and the remaining 20% of the learning targets must have received a score of 75% or higher. In a traditional grading classroom, the student must have an overall semester grade of 70%.

Any student who has demonstrated successful completion of all their courses will receive a letter stating that they do not have to attend school on Monday, December 21 or Tuesday, December 22. Students do have the option of attending on one or both days if they have learning targets that they want to continue to work on to deepen their learning. These two days will not impact perfect attendance.

Any student who has not yet completed their learning for any course or courses will receive a letter indicating that they need to attend on Monday, December 21 and Tuesday, December 22 to finish the required learning necessary to pass the requirements of the course. These two days are required days for students not yet meeting the minimum course requirements. If the student neglects to attend on Monday or Tuesday, he or she will be considered unexcused will receive a failing grade for the course.

If a student completes all of his/her remaining learning by Monday at noon, he or she will be excused from attending in the afternoon and Tuesday. (No school transportation will be provided at noon, but students may stay at school under the supervision of staff until normal bus time.)

If a student completes all of his/her remaining learning by Monday at 3:10, he or she will be excused from Tuesday’s attendance. Our goal is to be able to provide additional attention and instruction for students who still need or want it and to provide every possible opportunity for students to pass their courses with a high level of learning. Please ask your student for their letters on Friday when they arrive at home to verify whether they need to attend on Monday or not.

All sixth grade students will be required to attend on Monday, December 21 and Tuesday, December 22.

OJ NEWS CONT….

Midland

Elementary

students thanked

local veterans for

their service after

the Veteran's Day

assembly

Elementary RRC award winners for October

Midland Newsletter 5

Let u

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hoppin

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sta

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arly

…..

Orders d

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!

Congratulations to Cole Lineburg on earning his American FFA

degree. Requirements include having earned and productiv5ely

invested at least $7,500 or have earned and productively invested at

least $1,500 and worked 2.250 hours in excess of scheduled class

time, have a record of outstanding leadership abilities and

community involvement (50 hours documented).Only .5% of FFA

members achieve this recognition. Cole is the 11th member of the

Midland FFA to be awarded the American FFA degree by the

National FFA Association.

Congratulations to the Midland FFA Ag Issues team for competing at

the National Competition and earning a bronze award. Members of

the team are Madi Markmann, Madison Gravel, Tommy Ostrander,

Ethan Wherry, Rylee Andresen, Eli Slouha, Sydney Stender, and

Kara Gnade (alternate). This group of students became educators

themselves as they were able to teach others about the pros and cons

of the regulations associated with school lunches. This is the first

team that has won the state competition and advanced to Nationals.

Midland Newsletter 6

CHANGE IN NURSES OFFICE HOURS:

Tuesday & Thursday at Wyoming from 7:45AM-3:45PM

Wednesday & Friday at Oxford Junction from 7:45AM-3:45PM

Students with health issues should visit the nurse’s office if she is in the building. If the student needs to go home

she will contact the parents.

Please stay healthy this winter by washing hands, eating healthy, not sharing beverages! Students who have a fever

should not return to school until they have been fever free for 24 hours. Temperature should be taken in evening as

the body temperature is naturally lower first thing in the morning. Thanks for your help with this!

Check out my webpage for more useful health info at http://www.midland.k12.ia.us/default.asp?NewsCategory=DistrictInformation_Nurse

NURSE NOTES BY CHRISTINE GENT

COUNSELOR’S CORNER

A few things are on the horizon that you should

know about…

The Iowa College Access Network (ICAN) will present

College Planning and the FAFSA Night together on

Wednesday, January 6 at 6:00PM in room 125 at the high school.

If you have ANY question about you, or your student, paying for

college come get answers.

A.C.T.: On the website, www.act.org, is a test prep portal with a

daily ACT or SAT or GRE question to prepare students who are

contemplating taking the exam in the near future. Many college

counselors have advised for all juniors to take the ACT in the

spring semester of their junior year. Any questions...I would love to

guide you and/or your student(s).

Schedule changes – all students must have all schedule changes

for second semester made by the end of the day on Tuesday,

January 5th. I highly encourage them to get these made in

December so they are not missing class time when it starts in

January. They can stop in my office before school, during blocks

1, 2 or 3 or after school to discuss your schedule.

Jan 6 – College Planning / Financial Aid Night 6:00 ICN room

Jan 11 – Kirkwood Open House 6:30-8:00 pm @ Monticello for

any students who are interested in taking academy classes next

school year

Have a happy, healthy and safe holiday season! ~ Mr. Ahouse

Summer Drivers Ed

Midland students can sign up for drivers

education class which will be held during

June & July, tentative start date is June 13.

Students must have their driving permits and

pay the course fee by the first day of class.

Cost of course is $400 payable by first day of

class. Tentative schedules available at the

office, we will try to work around MS

softball/baseball schedules.

November 30th – December 15th

Midland Students at both the Oxford Junction and Wyoming Centers will be conducting a food drive to provide for the Lost Nation,

Oxford Junction and Wyoming Food pantries this holiday season.

There will also be a friendly competition between the buildings. Last year some festive

holiday caroling was involved!

If questions contact Mrs. Reilly or Mr. Wendler 488-2292

Midland Newsletter 7

Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri

1 OJ: Beef & noodles,

Peas, Peaches

WY: Beef stew,

Peaches, Dinner roll

2 Green beans, Pears

OJ: Chicken patty/ bun,

WY: Hot ham/bun,

Hash browns

3

Tomato, Applesauce

OJ: Hot ham/ bun,

Hash browns

WY: Taco w/Cool

ranch chips, meat, salsa

4

Pineapple, Romaine

OJ: Chili soup,

crackers, corn bread

WY: Crispito, Cottage

cheese

7

OJ: Hot dog/bun, Corn,

Banana, Corn chips

WY: Tenderloin/bun,

cooked carrots

8 OJ: Hamburger/bun,

Potato, Coleslaw,

Mixed fruit

WY: Chicken strips

Mashed potato & gravy,

Beets, Peaches, Dinner

roll

9 OJ: Chicken drummies,

mashed potatoes/gravy,

Peaches

WY: McRib/bun, Corn,

Pears

10 Applesauce

OJ: Corn dog, Cooked

carrots,

WY: Chili soup,

Crackers, Veggies,

Sandwich, Cheese slice

11

OJ: Goulash, Black

beans, Romaine,

Cheesey Breadstick ,

Mandarin oranges

WY: Hot dog or/ bun,

French fries, Black

beans, Pineapple

14 Orange sections

OJ: Pepperoni pizza,

Black beans, Cottage

cheese

WY: Hamburger / bun,

Coleslaw

15 Peaches

OJ: Chicken alfredo,

Mixed veggies

WY: Shrimp, Au gratin

potatoes, Peas, Dinner

roll

16 OJ: Meatballs in sauce,

Potato, Tropical fruit,

Sandwich

WY: Chicken patty/bun

Baked beans, Pears

17 Applesauce

OJ: Beef stew,

Romaine, Cookie

WY: Baked potato bar

w/ meat & cheese sauce

18 Pineapple

OJ: Little Smokies,

Mac n Cheese, Cooked

carrots

WY: Stuffed crust

sausage pizza, Cottage

cheese, Romaine

21 OJ: Tenderloin/bun,

Baked beans,

Strawberries

WY: Corn dog, baked

beans, Banana

22

OJ: Sausage & shell

pasta, Corn, Mixed fruit

WY: Chicken fajita,

cooked carrots, Lettuce,

Applesauce

23

NO SCHOOL

24

NO SCHOOL

25

NO SCHOOL

Breakfast Menu at the OJ Center

Cereal or oatmeal, juice

and fruit; Cheese stick

Breakfast pizza

Fruit Smoothie

Juice and fruit

Alternating weeks:

Breakfast Burrito or

Pancake

Cereal or cereal bar;

Yogurt; Juice, Fruit

Juice and fruit

Alternating weeks:

Eagle Biscuit or Toast,

Omelet & Hash browns

Breakfast Menu for Wyoming Center

French toast, sausage

link, fruit & juice

Pancake/sausage wrap,

Fruit & juice

Sausage gravy over

biscuit; Fruit; Juice

Breakfast pizza

Fruit & juice

Eagle biscuits

Fruit & juice

December

All items listed at the top are offered at each center. Any changes between buildings are indicated OJ for

Oxford Jct. & WY for Wyoming. All meals include milk. Salad bar at both centers every day.

Whole grain rich bread & buns are served.

OJ Daily Veggie bar: Lettuce- iceberg and/or romaine, carrots, tomatoes, broccoli,

cauliflower Occasionally: Peppers – red & green, cucumbers, celery, diced meat or

egg

WY Daily Veggie bar: Lettuce- iceberg and/or romaine, carrots, tomatoes,

cucumbers, broccoli, celery

"USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer"

Parents – our students

could use replacement school supplies –

especially pencils.

Please check with your

son/daughter to see if they are in need!

Great stocking stuffer

idea!

Thanks!

MIDLAND GROUPS PARTICIPATING IN CHRISTMAS CITY FUN….

WE INVITE YOU TO JOIN US!

Christmas City Celebration will be held in Wyoming on Sunday, December 8 from

4-8PM. The following things will be taking place there involving Midland groups:

2PM – Winter Concert in gym

7PM – HS Play “Stocking Stuffers” presented in gym

NHS members are making s’mores

Christmas Caroling - Choir students, their family and alumni of the Midland High

School Choir are invited to meet in front of Bear Creek Cafe following the HS Winter

Concert (3:30-4 is generally when we finish).

Little Eagles Learning Center is raffling off a 48” Smart TV at the Christmas

Tree Walk in Calkins Barn - Tickets are $5 each or 5/$20. If interested contact the

HS office or Little Eagles Center.

Midland Newsletter 8

PATS

BLOOD DRIVE

Tuesday, December 29

Wyoming cafeteria

3-7PM

To make appointments

call Andrea Hunter at

319-480-2463

This month’s activities can be located on rSchool http://www.tririversconference.org/g5-

bin/client.cgi?G5genie=273&school_id=24

You can look at items by calendar date OR you can pull them by sport or

activity and level (Middle School/JV/V) this will be the most accurate source

of information. If you like the old format you can look online at

http://www.midland.k12.ia.us/pdfs/activitiescalendar.pdf

Midland Community Schools

MIDLAND SCHOOL NEWSLETTER

A Tradition of Excellence

Midland Community School 109 Green Street PO Box 109 Wyoming, IA 52362

WE ARE GRATEFUL…..

For those who volunteer at either building for academic or athletic programs!

For our student leaders in each grade level.

For outstanding staff members throughout the District.

For the chance to get to know the parents in our district!

For the support of organizations like PATS who gives us great support at the

elementary level and Athletic Boosters or Music Boosters at the secondary!

For the overwhelming outpouring of support from our community when asked!

Like the $500 donation to Back Pack Program from Wyoming Auto!

For having the opportunity to educate your children, thank you for your vote of

confidence!

Happy Thanksgiving to All!