Panther Newsletter

Central Springs High School students spent the day giving back to our five communities—Hanlontown, Manly, Plymouth, Rock Falls, and Nora Springs—by helping with cleanup, raking, tree planting, and other service projects. Thank you to everyone who donated gloves or shared tools, and to the community leaders who helped organize the day!

After the hard work, students returned for a picnic lunch and a fun afternoon of dodgeball, kickball, spikeball, pickleball, and a slip-and-slide, thanks to help from AJ Stone and the Manly Fire Department. It was a great day of service, teamwork, and celebration!

Little Paws preschool held an event at Bosworth Park in Manly! Families had a picnic supper, participated in activities and Miss Jennifer read an Earth Day book! It was a great turn out and wonderful evening!!

Our seniors took a trip to the Iowa State Capitol to learn more about state government. They visited the Secretary of State’s office to see the Iowa Constitution, met with Senator Campbell and Representative Bloomingdale, and took a photo with Governor Reynolds. They also visited the Iowa Supreme Court and spoke with Associate Justice Mansfield.

On April Fools’ Day, Mrs. Shook’s class got a hilarious surprise. The office “called” to say a doctor was coming to check everyone's feet. Students were told to take off their shoes and socks and put their feet on their desks. Everyone got a good laugh!

After completing their ISASP tests, intermediate students enjoyed a fun-filled day of mini courses designed to help them relax and recharge. Activities included making quesadillas, bookmarks, paper flowers, and spaghetti towers, along with playing kickball and volleyball. Students also planned their dream vacation and also learned about the upcoming talent show. It was a great way to mix creativity, movement, and fun after a week of focused testing.

The Top of Iowa Conference held its annual art show on May 6. Several of our students participated in the event. Check out their artwork below and see how they placed!

On Friday, April 18th, the high school held a fun Easter egg hunt. Students searched for 30 hidden eggs, each marked with a number. After the hunt, five numbers were randomly drawn, and the lucky students who found those eggs received a prize.

The winners were: Zaila Dahlstrom, Thomas Haas, Tate Wymore, Bryce Barker, and Chase Beier

On April 7, Mrs. Lorentzen’s class celebrated National Schwa Day! Students learned that the schwa is the most common vowel sound — an unstressed /uh/ or short /i/ — found in words like the “a” in pizza.

To honor this relaxed sound, everyone wore pAjamas or cOmfy clothes to stay “unstressed” or "relaxed," just like the schwa.

On April 11th, Mrs. McDonough's English 10 classes had the opportunity to learn and make connections to "Mental Health and Behavior Issues" from Laken Rodenmaker, a behavior specialist at Prairie Ridge Healthcare. In connection to the literature unit, Hamlet by Wiliam Shakespeare, students have been analyzing the impact stress and trauma has on mental health. Students have analyzed the changes in the characters of the play, but also made connections in their own lives. Laken Rodemaker was once a teacher's aid at Central Springs High School and is always willing to come back and work with our students to raise awareness and share strategies to create mental health wellness. Her interactive presentation with the students covered substance abuse to cope with mental health issues, how our brains change due to trauma, and also provided helpful strategies to cope with stress and anxiety. Students then made concrete connections between the information in the presentation to their own lives and their reading of literature.

- Mrs. McDonough

Each year NIACC has an optional CTE (Career & Technical Education) signing for those students who will be enrolling for the fall.

Mrs. Shafer's Nora Springs Kindergarten Students are Earth Day Heroes! As part of their study of the 3 R's (Reduce, Reuse & Recycle), students picked up a ton of trash around the school. They feel so proud and are confident that their generation can save the planet. With hard work comes great reward; in kindergarten, that means popsicles!

On Sunday, April 27th Abby Pippert was honored with the Governor's Scholar Award.

This year, the 7th grade class participated in the Stock Market Game during our stock market unit. The students worked independently on investing in various companies. The students had to research companies, work on reading stock quotes, and track their stock investments throughout the unit. They spent multiple weeks on this and were competing not only against their classmates but also against other middle schools throughout the state. This year, 7th grader William Phillips won the Middle School division for the state of Iowa.

- Mr. Bass

The Spanish IV Group went on their lunch outing to Agave Azul on April 29. They got to use their Spanish skills and had a great time talking and ordering in Spanish!

The Math Bee competition requires students to think more deeply. Students do not simply answer questions; they must understand and interpret the problems.

These are not multiple-choice tests. There are no hints. Just problem-solve, and put your answer in the blank provided. One of the best environments for students to compete, develop socialization skills, and meet math state standards.

Great job to Perrin Echelberger, Violet Poulter, Josiah Prazak, and Thad Heimer, who participated in the 6th grade Math Bee last Friday.

A special ‘shout out’ to Thad Heimer. 12 schools participated. Thad Heimer came in 3rd place, missing 1st/2nd place by one point.

NOTE:

The 6th-grade Math Bee Competition tests these areas:

Pattern & Function

Ratio-Proportion & Percents

Geometry & Measurements

Number Sense & Estimation

Probability & Statistics

The 8th graders have been working on their Civil War scrapbook right now. The project is a culmination of their research skills and being creative in how they display their information. It also challenges their time management skills and prioritization of finding the most prevalent information.

The Central Springs Boys Track & Field Team recently completed yard cleanups in Nora Springs, lending a helping hand to community members. Great work, team, and thank you for giving back!

Band 5-8

5/13 5-8 Band Solos (NS) 4:00 pm

Central Springs FFA members recently traveled to Ames for the State FFA Convention.

Congratulations to Tate Wymore for qualifying for National Archery! He earned his spot by placing in the top 10 at the State level and will compete at 11 a.m. on May 10th in Louisville, Kentucky.

Tate is one of over 5,000 Eastern National NASP qualifiers — a huge achievement and an exciting opportunity. Good luck, Tate!

Both the Girls and Boys Golf teams will compete in the conference Golf meet on Monday, May 12.

The Boys Rugby Team has had a great season and is headed to the State Tournament on May 9!

The Girls & Boys Track Teams will host their home meet on Monday, May 12, before heading to Districts on Thursday, May 15.

Trapshooters have competed in several tournaments recently and are now beginning preparations for the upcoming State Shoot on May 31. The photo was taken at a tournament last month, where Adler Rowe earned 2nd place in the 12th Grade Males division, and Grace White and Emma Nachazel placed 2nd and 3rd respectively in the 11th Grade Females division.