T-R FILE PHOTO
Before the halls of Marshalltown High School are crowded with students making their way to class on the first day of school Aug. 26, students and families will be able to get their bearings at the MHS back to school event Aug. 22.

Late July is a time many local students are enjoying time with friends, working a summer job and enjoying the last few weeks before another school year begins.

The key date this year is Aug. 26, when the 2019-20 school year begins for Marshalltown students. Before they head back, parents and students will be getting registered for school, consulting school supply lists and preparing for back-to-school nights at each of the district’s buildings.

“The online registration is continuing. We prefer people register by Aug. 1,” said district Communications Director Andrew Potter. “We still need a few people to register, and we hope they do so soon.”

Online registration is back for a second year and Potter said it is going smoothly once again. So far, he said about three-fourths of expected registrants have gone through the process, so about 25 percent have yet to register.

Potter said he has been reaching out to parents to remind them of registration via email, social media and text message.

Registration may sound routine, but Potter said it is extremely important for district officials to know how many students they have and where they are coming from to get to school.

“That way, we can get everything aligned as far as transportation needs, food service needs,” he said. “You don’t want to wait until the day before school to get them registered. The earlier the better that way we can get the ball rolling.”

School supplies

Each year, parents and students are given lists to consult as they go shopping for school supplies, or as they look to recycle last year’s supplies.

Those lists, organized by grade level, are available on the district website.

“We also send lists out to local stores, too,” Potter said.

Rogers Elementary Principal Mick Jurgensen said the school lists are important to look at from year to year. While many of the items listed are the same as last year, he said changes in educational curricula sometimes mean different supplies are needed from one year to the next.

“That’s why we flex it each year,” he said of the Rogers Elementary list.

At the elementary level, supply lists include items like No. 2 pencils, pens, glue sticks, erasers, scissors, folders, Play-Doh and ear buds.

The lists get smaller at higher grade levels. For Lenihan Intermediate School and Miller Middle School students, supplies include ear buds, pencils, a three-ring binder, highlighters and notebooks.

Marshalltown High School students are asked to have a planner, scientific calculator, a backpack to hold their Chromebooks, as well as regular items like pencils, pens and notebooks.

Back-to-school nights

The traditional Back to school events return this year and offer families an opportunity to get acquainted with school buildings and staff. One key difference this year is the events are slated for Aug. 21 and 22, while the school year begins on Aug. 26, so there will be a few days between the events and the first day of school.

“This is a great way for them to meet their teachers and bring their school supplies,” Potter said. “It’s a nice way to ease them back into the school year.”

Jurgensen agreed, and said Aug. 21 will also be the day teachers are welcomed back to their classrooms to prepare for the upcoming school year.

He said the events allow parents to meet those teachers and for students to get to know the location of their classrooms and lockers, as well as begin to build relationships that will be key over the next nine months.

“Back to school night functions kind of like an open house,” Jurgensen said.

All the elementary schools and Lenihan Intermediate School will host their back to school events Aug. 21. Lenihan will be open 4:30 to 5 p.m. and the elementary schools 5 p.m. to 6 p.m..

Miller Middle School and MHS will host their back to school events Aug. 22. Miller’s doors will open 5 p.m. to 6:15 p.m. for seventh graders and their families, and 6:45 p.m. to 7:45 p.m. for eighth graders and their families that evening.

At the high school, doors will open 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.

For more information on back to school events, school supply lists, registration and more, visit

https://www.marshalltown.k12.ia.us/