News Blog - Marion Community Schools

Highlights

News for Marion Community Schools

It's a great time to be a Giant — just ask our students!

Posted: Feb 17, 2017 by Patricia Gibson, Communications Director

YOU should be a Giant. Why? We'll let some of our best and brightest tell you:

District Office phones down (2/16)

Posted: Feb 16, 2017 by Patricia Gibson, Communications Director

The phones at the MCS District Office are currently not working.

We apologize for the inconvenience. We are working to have the issue fixed as quickly as possible.

Please reach us via email. You can click here for our staff directory, which includes email addresses.

MHS students earn honors at regional art competition

Posted: Feb 14, 2017 by Patricia Gibson, Communications Director

Three Marion High School students earned the highest honors for their artwork submitted to the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards at the Fort Wayne Museum of Art, and their works will continue on to national-level competition.

Greer Decker, an MHS junior, earned four Gold Keys, for her works titled "They're Here", "Doll Face", "The Battle", and "Unexpected End", which appear below, from top down. She also earned an Honorable Mention for her work titled "Long Forgotten", which appears below, at bottom.

Shyan Artis, an MHS senior, earned a Gold Key award for her drawing titled "Blue" (below left), and she earned a Silver Key for her drawing titled "Shyan" (below right).

Courtney Hiles also earned a Gold Key award for her sculpture "Today's Dress" (below top), and earned an Honorable mention for her sculpture "Lazy Day Chair" (below bottom). It was the second year in a row Courtney earned a Scholastic Art award. She earned in Honorable Mention in 2016.

The museum’s scholastic competition involves 52 counties in northeast Indiana and northwest Ohio, and all artworks will be on display at the museum, 311 E. Main St., Fort Wayne, from Feb. 12 through April 9. For museum hours, admission fees and directions, click here to visit the museum’s website.

All pieces that earned a Gold Key will be part of a competition in New York this spring. According to the FWMoA website, the high caliber of entries into the Fort Wayne competition has propelled the region to be one of the top regions for national awards given in the past few years.

This is the fourth year in the last five that Marion High School students have earned top awards in the competition. MHS students earned honors in 2013, in 2014, and in 2016.

MHS JROTC cadets earn highest finishes ever at Purdue U. competition

Posted: Feb 14, 2017 by Patricia Gibson, Communications Director

Marion High School JROTC cadets brought home two top finishes from the JROTC Regional Drill Competition hosted by Purdue University last weekend — recording the highest placements ever for the Giants at this competition.

The Giants were among 30 schools and private academies from the five states competing in this annual event designed to test the precision movements and synchronization of the cadets in a variety of events.

An MHS color guard team led by cadet Jackie Chueng, a senior, earned a second place finish, the highest placement ever for a Marion team in any event at the Purdue competition. The team also included cadets Stephanie Charlton, a senior, Joseph O’Donnell, a junior, and Miller Betz, a sophomore.

“I am so proud of my team,” Cheung said. “We have been practicing a lot, and it really showed today.”

Two additional MHS color guard teams earned fifth and sixth place in this event.

“This is by far the toughest event we attend each year, and we continue to get better,” said retired Command Sgt. Maj. Jon Smith, the Giants’ coach. “With schools and private military academies from several states, and with more than 200 total teams competing in the various events, we more than held our ground. We also won more hardware than we have ever earned at Purdue.”

Cadet DJ Smith, a sophomore, earned a third place finish in the solo exhibition event — the first time a cadet from Marion has ever finished in the top three in this event. Smith demonstrated his creativity, precision and athleticism by spinning, throwing, and catching his drill rifle while marching about, all under the close scrutiny of the drill sergeants grading the event.

“I was so nervous, but knew I had to keep going,” Smith said.

Overall it was a great experience, Sgt. Maj. Smith said.

“Our results are even more impressive when you consider that two of the schools attending this competition are usually top finishers at the JROTC National Championship,” he said. “Our teams competing in other events performed very well, and everyone stuck together as a team. I am very proud of all 15 cadets that came this year. HOOAH!”

The Giants will travel this Saturday to compete at the University of Kentucky.

YOU'RE INVITED: Don't miss Livin' Fat on stage at MHS (2/25)

Posted: Feb 14, 2017 by Patricia Gibson, Communications Director

Originally published on Jan. 25, 2017

A family faces tough decisions in the MHS Black History Club's play, Livin' Fat. We invite YOU to come and watch the story unfold!

The play is set for 7 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 25, at the Walton Center at Marion High School.

Livin' Fat launched the career of Judi Ann Mason, one of first female African-American television sitcom writers. She wrote it at the age of 19, and with it earned a comedy award sponsored by the Kennedy Center. Her work caught the eye of TV producer Norman Lear, who hired her as a writer for the classic series Good Times. She went on to write for several other series, including A Different World and Beverly Hills 90210, and was also one of the writers of the movie Sister Act 2 starring Whoopie Goldberg. She continued writing plays as well, and earned the Kennedy Center's Lorraine Hansberry Award for her play A Star Ain't Nothin' But a Hole in Heaven.

Through Mason's lense, big ideas become personal choices with far-reaching consequences. Livin' Fat, set in the 1970s, tells the story of the Cooper family. While working as a bank janitor, David Lee, finds a packet of cash dropped by fleeing robbers, takes it home and begins buying his financially strapped family the things they've long wanted but couldn't afford. But the unexplained gifts worry righteous mother Biddie and father Calvin, who becomes convinced David Lee robbed the bank and wants him to return money — even if it means going to jail.

The cast members are:

Stacia Tyson, an MHS senior, playing Mary Lee Cooper (Big Mama)
Tae'lor Tyner, an MHS senior, playing Biddie Steen Carter (Mama)
Manual Davis, an MHS junior, playing Calvin Ray Carter (Daddy)
Leilanu Jackson, an MHS sophomore, playing Candy Carter
Amonte King, an MHS junior, playing Eberneezer Goodson (Boo)

We hope you'll join us for this special production! Tickets are $7 and can be purchased in advance or at the door. To purchase advance tickets, call 664-9051, ext. 2234.

And make sure to get here early to enjoy the '70s fashion show featuring students and community members, before the play gets started!

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