Dragons Make Their Name Beyond Iowa
May 29 Commendations
Over the weekend, our Dragons were out and about, making quite the names for themselves around the nation. Yes, the nation. Congratulations to our hard-working Dragons, their coaches, and supporters. If you have group or individual commendations, please send them to Laura Sprague, JCSD Director of Communications. The following commendations and photos were submitted by parents and/or coaches and are not meant to be all-inclusive of every student activity taking place.
Hayley Hanson, JMS student
Hanson Named a NY Times Student Editorial Contest Finalist
Johnston Middle School student Hayley Hanson, an eighth grader, has been named a finalist in the fifth-annual New York Times Student Editorial Contest. A record-number 9,275 essays were submitted from students around the world on issues that matter to them.
From the loads of persuasive essays submitting through the contest, the NY Times team selects 10 winners, 26 runners-up and 38 honorable mentions. Among the honorable mentions is Hanson, who wrote her essay, “Grades: The Enemy of Learning” as part of RaeAnn Skeers’ Advanced Language Arts class.
A list of the winners can be read here: https://static01.nyt.com/files/2018/learning/TheNewYorkTimesLearningNetwork2018StudentEditorialContestFinalists.pdf
Lorenz Named JHS Volunteer of the Year
The Johnston Athletic Department would like to congratulate Sam Lorenz for his well deserved Volunteer Of The Year honor! Sam sets a great example of stewardship and service with the work he does for student athletes and coaches at Johnston. Please join us in congratulating Sam when you see him at school and in the community.
Summit Odyssey of the Mind Team Named National Champions
Seven Summit Middle School students made state history on May 26 when they were crowned the Odyssey of the Mind World Champions, beating 70 other teams from 13 countries and 26 states for the title.
Sixth graders Jack Coen, Jack Gabby, Kennedy Kramersmeier, Drew MacGregor, Will Safris, Caroline Throener, and Lauren Wessling are the proud team members. They practice at their coaches’ home in Johnston, averaging about 4 hours per week after school and on weekends. The team is coached by Kate and Steve Safris.
More than 20,000 students and supporters from around the world traveled to Iowa for the 39th annual Odyssey of the Mind World Finals May 23-26 at Iowa State University. Students from different cultures and widely varying economic backgrounds proved that creativity is universal by coming together for this event. They demonstrated their creative solution to an Odyssey of the Mind problem while appreciating the creativity of others.
Among the many teams who competed, five were from Johnston schools. The teams have worked throughout the school year solving an OotM problem and were judged as the most creative in a series of rigorous state and national competitions. At ISU, the teams represented their state and country in hopes to prove that they are the world’s most creative problem-solvers.
Meet the Odyssey of the Mind World Champions! Team members are: Jack Coen, Jack Gabby, Kennedy Kramersmeier, Drew MacGregor, Will Safris, Caroline Throener and Lauren Wessling. The team is coached by Kate and Steve Safris.