On November 5, 2024, the Martensdale-St. Marys Community School District will ask voters to approve a $15.95 million referendum to fund improvements to the school.

This plan includes:

• A shift to make the “front” of the building north facing.

• The addition / renovation of a parking lot and bus loop on the north side along with a main drive and an entrance off of Highway 28.

• The addition of a single safe and secure entrance on the north side serving both the elementary and secondary components of our school operation. Both the elementary and secondary offices would be located here, including space for both counselors and others.

• The addition of a gymnasium that would be large enough to ensure that we can host post-season events in volleyball, basketball, and wrestling moving forward and provide our students in physical education with a first-class facility to participate in during school.

• Upgrades to the HVAC System, Fire Safety Systems, and Electrical System throughout the existing building.

• Furniture replacement throughout the building to include student spaces.

Learn more about the project by visiting the MSTM Bond Information website here: www.mstmbond.com

We constantly monitor current conditions and the forecast for inclement weather. Through this process, we consult with the National Weather Service, the Iowa Department of Transportation, and other local schools. While every situation is different, we will do our best to communicate changes to the school schedule due to weather in a manner that provides as much advance notice as possible.

In general, we will work to decide before 9:00pm the night before, no later than 5:30am the morning of, or by 11:00am for an early dismissal.

Communication Plan

When a decision is made, we will communicate accordingly:

MSTM Staff

• We will initiate our phone tree among District leaders who will then communicate directly with their teams.

• We will e-mail all staff using their mstm.us e-mail account.

MSTM Students and Parents

• We will initiate communication with all families via JMC in the format of a text message, phone call, and e-mail.

• We will post the information to the district website.

• We will post the information on these X (Twitter) accounts:

  @MSTMSupt and @MSTM_BlueDevils

• We will share the information with these media outlets: WHO Radio 1040am, WOI TV Channel 5, KCCI TV Channel 8, WHO TV Channel 13

District Services

Bus Routes

When we have a 2-hour weather delay, bus routes will coincide with this delay and buses will pick up students 2 hours later than their normal pick-up time. When we have an early dismissal, bus routes will coincide with the early dismissal in that buses will pick up students from school earlier than their regular dismissal time and will drop off students earlier than their normal drop-off time.

Daycare Services

• If school is delayed, Daycare services will open as scheduled unless there is an issue with the building itself.

• If school is dismissed early, Daycare services will be offered for 90-minutes unless otherwise communicated.

• If school is cancelled, Daycare services will be cancelled.

School Start Times

When there is a 2-hour delay, school will begin at 9:55am at both the Elementary and Junior High School / High School.

ool will follow the Elementary Schedule; if school is delayed, there will be NO 3-Year-Old Preschool.

In most instances, we will utilize 1:00pm as our early dismissal time for weather-related dismissals.

Activities

• If school is delayed, morning activities are cancelled.

• If school is dismissed early, a decision on activities will be left to the discretion of the Superintendent.

• If school is cancelled, all activities are cancelled with limited exceptions left to the discretion of the Superintendent.

Mollie Myer was recently selected to participate in SCIBA Middle School Honor Band.

Alexi Fournier, Band Director at MSTM, had this to say about Myer’s selection:  “The SCIBA Middle School honor band is difficult to get into with having to memorize scales, learn very difficult passages, and have strong musical technique all performed in front of a judge! Schools from all over Central Iowa have students auditioning for this honor band. I am excited that Mollie Myer could live up to the challenge and work hard during this time! She is a strong musical leader in the Junior High Band department, and I know she will continue to grow in her skills.”

SCIBA Honor Band will perform on Tuesday, November 5 at 7:00pm at Ankeny Centennial High School.

McKenzie Straub was recently selected for participation in the 38th annual Opus Honor Choir Festival. Over 2,400 students were nominated by their directors for 720 positions in the four Opus Honor Choirs. Selections were made by means of a recorded audition.

Guest conductors of the choirs include Jennifer Ghelf, 5th & 6th Grade Honor Choir; John Hayden, 7th & 8th Grade Bass Clef Honor Choir; Rachael Wragge, 7th & 8th Grade Treble Clef Honor Choir; and Meg Byrne, 9th Grade Mixed Honor Choir.

The 2024 Opus Honor Choirs will perform at 4:00 p.m. November 21st in C.Y. Stephens Auditorium in the Iowa State Center in Ames. The Opus Honor Choir Festival is made possible by the Iowa Choral Directors Association, Inc.

While Election Day is November 5, you can vote early starting on October 16, weekdays through November 4.

Early Voting

Warren County

Warren County Administration Building

301 N. Buxton Street

Indianola, Iowa  50125

Monday – Friday:  8:00am – 4:30pm

Saturday, November 2:  7:00am – 3:00pm

Madison County

Madison County Courthouse

112 S John Wayne Drive

Winterset, IA 50273

Monday – Friday:  8:00am – 4:30pm

Saturday, November 2:  8:00am – 5:00pm

---

Election Day – November 5, 2024

Polls are open 7:00am – 8:00pm

Where do I vote?  Visit the Secretary of State’s Website at:  https://sos.iowa.gov/elections/voterreg/pollingplace/search.aspx

Warren County

Jackson Precinct – St. Marys American Legion – 112 Iowa St. St. Marys

Jefferson Precinct – St. Paul’s Lutheran Church -615 Iowa Ave Martensdale

Lincoln 1 Precinct – St. Thomas Aquinas Church – 210 S. Wesley St. Indianola

Linn Precinct – Carper Vineyard and Winery – 4603 Dakota St. Norwalk

White Oak Precinct – Annett Nature Center – 15565 118th Ave Indianola

**

Madison County

Trinity Lutheran Church – 1195 Prairieview Ave, Rural Van Meter

Jackson Building (south end) on County Fairgrounds – 1146 W Summit, Winterset

On Friday, October 11, MSTM will host a Career Fair. As part of this event, we will block off a portion of Burlington Avenue west of the school from 8:00am – 12:00pm.

Those arriving after 8:00am for school will either need to park on the streets south of the school or enter the parking lot from Highway 28 using the bus lane. Visitors to the school during this timeframe are encouraged to park south of the school on the street.

On Monday, October 7th Martensdale-St Marys teachers, counselors, and administrators participated in a full day of professional development about Professional Learning Communities, PLCs.

The three big ideas of PLCs are a collaborative culture, a focus on learning, and results orientation. Every teacher and counselor is part of a PLC team that meets weekly to plan, analyze student data, and make instructional decisions to ensure we are meeting the learning needs of all students.

We are committed and engaged in our own learning to provide high quality instruction and learning for our students.

The Martensdale St Marys Music Boosters is excited to share our expansion in becoming the MSTM Fine Arts Boosters. The Fine Arts Boosters (FAB) will now support ALL Fine Arts educational experiences (band, choir, art, drama, speech, etc) for our MSTM students K-12. As the Fine Arts Boosters President Trudy Eaton noted “Our focus is on the encouragement and recognition of our student’s fine arts talents”.What has the Music Boosters and now Fine Arts Boosters provided historically**?*** Food and beverages for students attending: Marching Band Camp, Elementary/Junior/High School concerts, Honor Events, etc. 

• Supplies (reeds, robe cleaning, fabric for art projects, etc) 
• Scholarship opportunities for seniors.
• Audio equipment.
• Tickets for students to attend Fine Arts Events in our metro community.Looking to get involved?  The Fine Arts Boosters meets the first Tuesday of every month (6:30 pm) during the school year in the Music Room. Stay in touch! Join our Facebook page to stay updated on all FAB activities: https://www.facebook.com/mstmfineartsboostersWant to volunteer for upcoming events? Check out the Facebook page and find the ongoing Sign Up Genius link. Have questions? Ask [email protected]Thank you for your past Music Booster support and looking forward to enhancing our Fine Arts experiences in the future.