Pekin

• Pekin’s student council members went to Blessing’s Soup Kitchen in Ottumwa last Wednesday to lend a helping hand. This was the fourth year Pekin’s student council had gone to help out for a day. The students enjoy seeing the progress the soup kitchen has made since they have expanded into the Top Hat Coffee Shop, and all they have to offer the community. The students served food, washed dishes, bused and cleaned tables, mopped and cleaned everything that needed it. — The Clarion-Plainsman

Colfax-Mingo

• A switch to divide the academic year into three trimesters at the elementary school was one of the most notable changes found in Colfax-Mingo Community School District’s 2018-19 school calendar, which was unanimously passed on March 19. While the change might seem minor and unnecessary to some, the elementary staff members say it will have lasting effects on their students’ overall learning. For the 2018-19 school year, the three trimester grading periods are currently scheduled to end Nov. 15, Feb. 27 and May 24. — Jasper County Tribune

Hudson

• Hudson Community School’s 2016 yearbook “MARVLoUS” has received national recognition. The cover and back endsheet, both designed by Class of 2016 graduate Carmen Finn, are featured in Josten’s annual publication, The Look Book. This year 13,500 Look Books will be distributed nationwide. Hudson was one of three schools to represent Iowa. — Hudson Herald

Winterset

• The Winterset Dance Team exhibited its prowess in three of four events it competed in over the weekend at Nationals in Dallas-Fort Worth over the weekend. They swept the military, pom and novelty divisions and finished runner-up in the hip hop division. Because the team captured three of the four events in which it competed, the Winterset Dance Team was crowned as the overall Grand National Champion in the small school division. — Winterset Madisonian