We would like to introduce our new 8th grade science teacher at Mid-Prairie Middle School, Marissa Tunning. Marissa earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Chemistry in 2022 and recently graduated from The University of Iowa with her master’s degree in teaching. She is originally from the Caroll, Iowa, area. In her free time, she loves to cook new recipes, read, and knit. Marissa also loves to watch scary movies with friends. This year, she’s looking forward to meeting everyone at Mid-Prairie and growing as a teacher. #mphawks
Mid-Prairie is now on Instagram! Make sure to visit our profile and give us a follow so you don't miss any updates! #mphawks
https://instagram.com/midprairiecsd?igshid=MjEwN2IyYWYwYw==
Mid-Prairie staff were recognized for their years of service at the all-district meeting on Friday. Thank you for all the years you have dedicated to our district and students!
#mphawks
Cindy Malichky was recognized for 45 years of service, and she is the longest serving current MP employee. She was presented with a watercolor painting of Mid-Prairie Central Office, painted by Kathy Shellady, a retired Mid-Prairie teacher.
35 Years: Karen Bender
30 Years: Jeff Murphy and Cindy Duwa
25 Years: David Kunz, Renee Fisher, Pete Cavanagh, Jessica Jones, Erin Cavanagh
20 Years: Sara Puttmann, Traci Zahradnek, Paula Yoder, Megan Neal
15 Years: Mo Gingerich, Tonya Hovey, Emily Pennington, Jaynie Bontrager
10 Years: Anita Beachy Miller, Kelby Bender, Mackenzie Kos, Steve Mayer, Audra Hershberger, Molly Steinbrech, Carrie Schweitzer, Elena Beachy, Lisa Steckly (Not Pictured: Ericha TeBockhorst)
5 Years: Sarah Ihde, Cherie Miller, Melanie Saresky, Shawna Sieren, Kim Troyer, Marci Stanfield, Amanda Smith, Ron Swartzendruber (Not Pictured: Jeremiah Lassy and Mark English)
MP Activities Week of Aug 21st
Next, we would like to introduce our new 6th grade science teacher, Mikaela Lunsford. Mikaela earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Biology M.A.T. She loves anything outdoors, kayaking, hiking, and going on nature walks. She has started to visit national parks, go backcountry camping, and is interested in identifying trees and flowers. Mikaela loves traveling. She has been to Ireland and Costa Rica, and hopes to visit many more places. She also enjoys being active, from running to weight training. #mphawks
The 2023 School Board Elections are open! Check out the process and due dates at the link below. You can also contact Jeff Swartzentruber, Board Secretary at jswartzentruber@mphawks.org or 319-646-6093 with questions. #mphawks
https://www.mphawks.org/district/leadership/school-board/elections
We would like to introduce our new 3rd grade teacher at West Elementary, Lexi Stanerson. Lexi attended The University of Northern Iowa and graduated in May 2023. She has always wanted to be a teacher. What she loves most about teaching is learning about and creating relationships with the students. Outside of the classroom, Lexi enjoys spending time outside walking or hiking, being active, reading, and playing with her dogs. #mphawks
The new track is all finished, and it looks great! #mphawks
Next, we would like to introduce our new school counselor at East Elementary, Maria Schlabaugh. Maria earned her Master of Arts in Counseling with a concentration in School Counseling from Johnson University. She was previously an elementary school counselor in North Carolina for three years before she and her husband recently moved to Iowa this summer to be closer to family. She loves being a school counselor, as her job involves teaching guidance classes, providing individual counseling, group counseling, and referral to community resources. During her free time, she enjoys spending time with her dachshund puppy dog, reading books, and being with family. She is looking forward to this school year! #mphawks
SAVE THE DATE - Mid-Prairie would like to recognize the 2008 district champion football team before kickoff of the Homecoming game this year, Sept 15th! If you were a member of this team we would like to invite you back to MPHS. More details later.
We would like to introduce our new 6th-8th grade band director at Mid-Prairie Middle School, Jenn Zeglis. Jenn earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from Western Illinois University. She and her husband are both band directors and recently moved to the area from the Quad Cities. She loves spending time with their two daughters, working out, making music, reading, and working on different projects around their new house. #mphawks
The Mid-Prairie football and basketball teams volunteered this morning to help clean up the next property for the student built housing project. Lots of hands made for relatively light work! Great service leadership!
Next, we would like to introduce our new 5th-8th grade art teacher at Mid-Prairie Middle School, Madigan Young. Madigan earned her bachelor’s degree in Exercise Science and MAT in Art Education from The University of Iowa. She also has completed her Yoga Teacher Training certification and Personal Training certification. In her free time, she enjoys hiking, traveling, and spending time outdoors with her husband and dogs. At home, she can be found cooking, baking, reading, or watching movies. Madigan is also a lifelong Hawkeye fan. #mphawks
Huge thank you to Kevin Kron and Flamin Flips BBQ for donating a great meal to the MP coaches and sponsors for our annual start of year meeting! The food was amazing!
9TH GRADE ORIENTATION:
Just a reminder that 9th grade orientation will be held at MPHS on Monday, August 21st, from 6:00-7:30 pm. For more information, check out the information letter at the link below. #mphawks
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Ei0neMIYw4Z3ThsSyKVuM-vGlYTmream/view?usp=sharing
Next, we would like to introduce our new kindergarten teacher at East Elementary and volunteer assistant for high school volleyball, MaKenzie Mantz. MaKenzie earned her bachelor’s degree from Iowa State University with endorsements in reading, special education, and coaching. She enjoyed playing on the Iowa State volleyball team for 4 years, and she is looking forward to building new relationships in the Mid-Prairie district and community. In her free time, MaKenzie enjoys going on walks with her dog and spending time with family and friends. #mphawks
Gatorade Scrimmage is Friday, August 18th at 7:00 PM. Admission is a gatorade donation. Limited concessions will be available.
The 2023 School Board Elections are open! Check out the process and due dates at: https://www.mphawks.org/district/leadership/school-board/elections. You can also contact Jeff Swartzentruber, Board Secretary at jswartzentruber@mphawks.org or 319-646-6093 with questions. #mphawks
We would like to introduce our new 5th grade teacher at Mid-Prairie Middle School, Stephanie Schlabaugh. Stephanie attended the University of Iowa and earned her BA in Elementary Education with endorsements in reading and middle school science, social studies and language arts. She graduated in 2017 and has taught in the Iowa City Community School District since then. While there, she taught 5th, 4th, 6th, and 3rd grade. Stephanie has lived in Kalona for a long time, and she and her husband Ryan have 5 kids, Grant, Lily, Noah, Drew, and Ethan, who all have attended or are attending Mid-Prairie. Her favorite things are reading books on her porch, chocolate, her dog Stella Jane, traveling with her friends, laughing, British murder mystery shows, and being anywhere with her family. #mphawks
We would like to introduce our new 2nd grade teacher at East Elementary, Marisa Bieschke. Marisa graduated from the University of Northern Iowa in 2023. In her free time, she enjoys lifting and loves music, especially Bruce Springsteen. She is the oldest of 4, has a cat named Barry Allen, and grew up on a farm in Benton County, where she lifeguarded and taught lessons for 6 summers. While attending UNI, Marisa held Director of Academic and Director of Philosophy positions in her sorority. She also played on the UNI Rugby team for a semester and had the honor of illustrating a book cover for the Jacobson Center. #mphawks
