Dear Muskie Stakeholders:

In the fall of the 2015-16 school year, our District Advisory Committee, comprised of teachers from all levels and buildings, began discussing, creating, and streamlining “The Muskie Way – putting students first” and making that statement the core of our decision making.  With this discussion in mind and in collaboration with students, staff, parents and community members, the decision was made to unite the Muskies across our district.

In hopes of uniting all of our schools as Muskies, we are excited to share that beginning with the 2018-19 school year, all of our students Pre K-12th grade will adopt the Muskie name and colors. Many things have occurred this summer to support the “Muskie Way” as well as our district’s target of “Students will learn in a positive and supportive environment.” Below is a list of some of the school projects completed over the summer:

1. We are in the second year of our three-year furniture rotation that focuses on collaborative learning – providing flexibility of learning space for all students and classrooms. This summer Colorado, Franklin, and Madison received a complete furniture install.
2. Painting is being completed in all seven of our elementary buildings. The painting scheme will incorporate purples, golds, and grays.
3. All seven of our elementary buildings received the Muskie branding inside and outside of their buildings.
4. New Muskie entryway mats were installed in all seven elementary buildings and West Middle School.
5. New blinds were installed at Colorado, Franklin, Madison and West Middle School.
6. New lockers and painting of existing lockers in the Muskie colors at West Middle School took place.
7. New carpet and tile were placed where needed in buildings that aligned with the furniture rotation.
8. New playground surfaces were installed where needed.
9. The new high school PE complex is scheduled to open by mid-September.

Our hope is that as students arrive for the 2018-19 school year, they will thrive in their new educational environments and take great pride in standing united with over 5,000 of their fellow Muskies.

Select this link to see a small sample of some of the branding and furniture that has been installed this summer: 

Muskie Visits: Something else to look forward to prior to the start of the 2018-19 school year is that all our elementary schools, 6th grade, and 9th grade students will have an opportunity for a Muskie Visit from educators from their schools this summer. The main goal of these 10-15 minute meetings is to connect and work with families to ensure students have a successful school year.  

Branded Apparel: To kick off the theme of uniting all students/buildings as Muskies, we are excited to announce that we have partnered with Team Elite Sports to offer t-shirts for each school building. The online store is now open and will be accepting orders through August 9, 2018. (Items ordered within this timeframe will be delivered to the schools by August 17th.)  

To access the online store, go to: https://stores.teamelitesports.com/muscatine_schools/shop/home

Go Muskies!

Sincerely,
Jerry Riibe
Superintendent