Dear Families, Staff, and Community Members,

As we move into November, the changing seasons remind us of the importance of preparation and connection within our schools and community. I want to highlight several key areas this month, from winter readiness to community engagement and student support.

Winter Weather Preparation

Although we may not be mentally prepared, winter is just around the corner. With colder weather approaching, our district is ready to ensure student and staff safety throughout the winter months. There is much work that goes on behind the scenes from preparing our heating systems to prepping our vehicles for the winter weather. Whenever we have a forecast for extreme cold, ice or snow, I’m working with neighboring districts, local authorities and continually monitoring updated weather models to be able to make a decision that keeps our students and staff safe. This typically begins days in advance and our goal is always to have a decision made by 6:00 am whether to delay or cancel school. We will utilize our messenger system, post on social media and on local television channels as soon as a decision is made. Be sure that your information that is on file with the district is up to date. Safety is our top priority.

Engaging Our Community Through TeamMates Mentoring

A strong community means stronger schools, and we’re excited to announce an opportunity for community members to engage with our students through the TeamMates mentoring program. As we move into our second year of TeamMates, we are still looking for adults to mentor students in our district. Please consider being a mentor and making a positive impact on the life of a student in our district. If you are interested in mentoring a student in Colfax-Mingo, please contact Lindsay Porter at lporter1@colfaxmingo.org. Together, we can inspire our students to reach their full potential

Free Community Meal on November 14th

We’re thrilled to invite everyone to a free community meal on November 14th. This event will be held from 5:30-6:30 at the Jr/Sr High Cafeteria. This is a wonderful chance for families, friends, and neighbors to come together, enjoy a free meal, and strengthen the bonds that make our community so special. Many local businesses have sponsored the event and will be providing the food and drink. We hope to see you there!

Fostering Excellence for All

Our district mission “To Foster Excellence for All” drives the work that we do in the district. This month, we continue our commitment to high expectations, inclusivity, and meaningful support for every student, student engagement and community support. Thank you for being part of this journey and helping us create a positive and empowering environment for learning.

Stay safe and warm, and thank you for your continued support and partnership.

Tim Salmon, Superintendent

Colfax-Mingo, CSD

515.674.3646

We want to hear from you! If you have any upcoming events or activities that you’d like to share, please send the details to cmactivities@colfaxmingo.org. We’ll be happy to include them in our newsletter to keep everyone informed and engaged.

Thank you for helping us build our community!

Youth Wrestling

Please view this link for information regarding our Youth Wrestling Program

College and Career Fair 2024

CM's own career fair hosted in the new gym! Learn about various colleges and career opportunities.

🦃Wednesday, November 27-Sunday, December 1

No School --- Thanksgiving Break

Thursday, November 14th

Free Community Dinner

Jr/Sr High School 5:30 - 6:30 PM

Colfax-Mingo CSD staff and students honored community veterans at our annual Veteran's Day assembly on November 11th. This included a breakfast for veterans prior to assembly and a keynote message from Dr. Dau Jok. Thank you veterans for your service!

Pending school board approval, we are thrilled to announce that Zach Tomas has been selected as the head coach for the inaugural Colfax-Mingo high school girls' soccer team! Coach Tomas brings an impressive 18 years of dedication to our district, during which he has built countless lasting relationships with students and former athletes. His passion for coaching and proven experience in growing and sustaining teams make him the ideal leader to launch this exciting new program.

Coach Tomas has been instrumental in the success of our Cross Country and Girls Track & Field teams, where he has served as head varsity coach for 15 years. Under his guidance, these programs have flourished. When he first took over the cross country team, it had only four students in grades 7-12. Today, thanks to his encouragement and commitment, the team consistently boasts over 20 athletes each season! His track record includes 4 team conference championships (2 in Cross Country and 2 in Track & Field), 41 individual state qualifiers in Track & Field (with three earning state medals), and seven state-qualifying Cross Country runners, including a girls’ team qualifier in 2014 and an individual state medalist in 2016.

Soccer has always been a passion for Coach Tomas, with over 30 years of experience both on the field as a player and on the sidelines as a coach. We are excited to see how his expertise, enthusiasm, and commitment to student-athletes will help lay a strong foundation for our girls' soccer program. Welcome, Coach Tomas! We can't wait to see all that you’ll accomplish with this new team.

Tigerhawk Nation: Together We Rise

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Pending school board approval, we'd like to welcome Jen Holtan as our new varsity softball coach. As a coach, she started coaching at the junior high level when she was in college. She then coached at East High for a couple of years, learning from the best coach she has ever known, Bob Ligouri. After graduating from college, she started coaching at Winterset. Her first year she was an assistant at the high school level, and the next year, she worked with the junior high team. At Woodward-Granger, she also spent time coaching at the varsity level as an assistant coach and as a head coach. Last season, she had the opportunity to coach our junior high at CM.

Here is a message from Coach Holtan - Softball is at the core of who I am; as a child, my summers were for softball. I grew up playing for East Des Moines Girls Softball Association, where I played league ball and traveled with a tournament team. I also spent a few years of my childhood playing at Grandview Little League, on both the league team and an All-Star team. In high school, I played at Des Moines East. With this came the opportunities to play on some club teams during the off season as well. I played as much as I could, as often as I could, so I was continuously getting better. We worked hard all year long to be the best we could be; my junior year we won the state championship. My senior year we had a 40+ win season with 4 losses. It was incredible. After graduating from high school, I went on to play for two seasons at Buena Vista University, where, as a freshman, I received the rookie of the year award. In all of my experiences with softball, I have had the opportunity to play every position on the field, and have learned more about the game than I ever knew was possible.

Softball is very much a part of who I am, and as the leader of the CM program, it is my goal to share that love with the athletes and encourage them to always want to do their best while being supportive of their teammates and having fun.

Ashlynn did a great job representing Colfax-Mingo at the State Cross Country meet this past Saturday! She finished in 82nd place out of over 150 runners and was the 13th best freshmen in class 1A. Ashlynn ran the 5K course in 21:33, which was her 2nd best time of the season. Big thanks to the other members of the HS Girls Team that came to support Ashlynn.

5 dancers compete at the ISDTA state qualifiers in Newton!

Our girls did AMAZING. They left their hearts on the floor and it truly showed.

Congrats to our Division 1 Ratings: Brooklyn, Sydney & Selma.

Congrats to Selma for being placed in the top 10 today!! She will be competing during the ISDTA State Dance Championships in December!

We are CM PROUD!

As we enter cold and flu season, I want to remind everyone of some important guidelines to help keep our school community healthy:

1. Illness Expectation:
If your child has a fever of 100 degrees or greater, vomiting, or diarrhea, please keep them home for 24 hours without the use of medication to relieve their symptoms before allowing them to return to school.

2. Use Your Best Judgment:
If you believe your child is sick or contagious, please keep them at home. It’s always better to err on the side of caution.

3. Head Lice:
There have been cases of head lice reported to the school. Please check your child's head weekly and begin prompt treatment if they have lice. Remind students to not share, hats, scarves, or brushes.

If you have any questions or concerns, don't hesitate to reach out to me. My email is lcummins@colfaxmingo.org. You can also call me at either school building. Thank you for your support in keeping our school healthy!

Lindsey Cummins BSN, RN

District Nurse

Colfax-Mingo Community School District

• Indoor Track Only = $50.00
• Cardio Room + Indoor Track = $100.00

Hours of usage

The Colfax-Mingo Fitness Center will be available for public usage during the following hours and days:

• Monday-Friday: 5:00am-7:30am, 6:00pm-10:00pm
• Saturday/Sunday: 5:00am-10:00pm
• Holidays: Closed

The district reserves the right to alter the hours of usage to accommodate school activities. In the event of an indoor event being held in the facility, use of the fitness center will be limited, including no use of the indoor track. Hours may vary in summer months and during school breaks.

by Director, Stephanie Ver Helst

The special education department came together on Monday, November 4 during the district-wide professional development day to share common learning around the topic of best practices in the design of quality positive behavior intervention plans. All of the PK-12 special education paraeducators and teachers were together for this collaborative approach to learning. The participants analyzed current behavior plans for various required elements and learned how to interpret and implement the behavior plans for individual students.

There were rich discussions that will result in improved outcomes for our students as the department continues to learn and grow together. Moving forward, the special education paraeducators will be meeting once a month with each of their designated special education teachers in small groups to proactively collaborate about student progress, student engagement, behavior intervention support plans, student accommodations and to share ideas to meet the needs of our C-M students.

by Director, Stephanie Ver Helst

In August of 2024, the C-M School District was awarded a $10,000 grant from the Iowa State Department of Education. This grant is designated to assist districts with the responsibilities associated with enacting the McKinney Vento Act. This act requires districts to support students that are displaced or experiencing some form of homelessness by removing barriers of getting to school and having their basic needs met that are commonly associated with these circumstances. Stephanie Ver Helst, Lindsay Porter, and Jes Jones represented the C-M School District by putting together a shopping list, taking the school Suburbans, and making the purchases at Lowe’s, Sam’s Club, and 2 regional Walmart stores. The grant allowed for shelving and storage units to be purchased to hold the supplies. With this, we built the Tigerhawk Resource Hub for those in need.

The money was used to purchase nonperishable food items, personal hygiene items, household cleaning supplies, bedding, clothing, undergarments, other health and medical-related items, coats, shoes, boots, baby care supplies, and emergency kits. The clothing and shoes range in size from newborn to adult. The district also purchased a new washer and dryer to assist those students and their family members who do not have access to that resource while they are in need. Our hope is by meeting the basic needs of our students and their families during these difficult times, we are able to continue to help them focus on the joys of learning and being with their friends at school while reducing some of the hardships they face. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Stephanie Ver Helst, sverhelst@colfaxmingo.org.

November 18-22, 2024

Thanks to all of our dedicated staff!

The Colfax-Mingo School Board is dedicated to ensuring the best educational experience for our students. We make decisions on school policies, budget allocations, and program development, all with the goal of enhancing the quality of education in our district. Your feedback and involvement are essential to our success!

🔷CLICK ON THE LOGO FOR BOARD AGENDAS AND MINUTES🔷

Upcoming Meetings:

Date: November 18, 2024

Time: 6:00 pm

Location: Central Office Building, 1000 N. Walnut St., Colfax, IA 50054 (south of Kum N Go)

We encourage all community members to attend and participate. Your voice matters, and together we can make a positive impact on our schools.

Thank you for your continued support!

Kaylee Collins, a senior at Colfax-Mingo Community School, was selected as the new student representative for school board meetings.

We’re excited to keep you connected with the latest updates, news, and events happening in our district through our monthly newsletter! To ensure everyone stays informed, we encourage you to share the newsletter with your families and friends.

If they’d like to receive future editions directly, please remind them to hit the subscribe button! By joining our email list, they’ll stay up-to-date on important announcements and community happenings.

Thank you for helping us spread the word and strengthen our community!

It is the policy of the Colfax-Mingo Community School District not to discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, disability, religion, creed, age (for employment), marital status (for programs), sexual orientation, gender identity, and socioeconomic status (for programs) in its educational programs and its employment practices. There is a grievance procedure for processing complaints of discrimination. If you have question or a grievance related to this policy, please contact Tim Salmon, Superintendent, at 1000 N. Walnut St., Colfax, IA 50054, 515-674-3646 or tsalmon@colfaxmingo.org