At a special school board meeting held on Tuesday, June 8, 2021, Tyler Hamilton was hired as Underwood's middle school principal/7-12 activities director for the 2021-22 school year. Mr. Hamilton received his bachelor's degree from Iowa State and his master's degree from Wayne State. He has been teaching mathematics at Marrs Middle School in Omaha and has served most recently as a dean of students. He also has experience coaching football, girls' basketball, and track. He will be transitioning with Mr. Jacobsen in anticipation of his formal starting date of August 1, 2021. Welcome, Mr. Hamilton!

Congratulations to coach Tyler Ridder for being named the All-Iowa boys' track and field coach of the year after leading Underwood to its first state title. 

https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/sports/high-school/2021/06/03/underwood-tyler-ridder-wins-2021-all-iowa-awards-boys-track-and-field-coach-year/7489331002/?fbclid=IwAR37sx-2ZHTJRiqVi2tu57499i4SsfouWP8cqOPyXHYe34rFCv16WjwPlFc

The boys track team capped an amazing three days at the 2021 State Track Meet at Drake Stadium with a win in the 4 x 400 Meter Relay, which also ensured the team would bring home the State Championship trophy!  The team battled back and forth with conference rival Treynor throughout the meet.  Senior Brayden Wollan capped off his career with three gold and one silver medal in the meet.  He anchored the 4 x 400, won the 200 and 400 meters, and placed 2nd in the 100.  Other top finishers were Scott Pearson placing 2nd in the 800 meters, Chris Gardner placing 3rd in the shot put, the distance medley relay of Collin Brandt, Bryce Patten, Alex Ravlin, and Scott Pearson placing 2nd, and the 4 x 800 team of Bryce Patten, Josh Ravlin, Alex Ravlin, and Scott Pearson placing 3rd.  

The girls track team had many outstanding performances at State as well.  Sophomore Aliyah Humphrey placed 3rd in the 800 meters, senior Zoe Rus placed 4th in the shot put, senior Haylee Seidler was 7th in the discus, and freshman Alizabeth Jacobsen placed 8th in the high jump.  A number of first-time qualifiers in relays means the future is bright for the girls team, too!

Congratulations!

Results:

Discus

Haylee Seidler        7th        121' 05"

Chris Gardner        10th        135' 08"

Shot Put

Chris Gardner        3rd        52' 0.25"

Zoe Rus                4th        39' 9.5"

High Jump

Alizabeth Jacobsen    8th    5' 2"

Sydney Leaders        22nd    4' 10"

Long Jump

Jordyn Reimer        16th    15' 6.5"

100 Meters

Brayden Wollan    2nd        11.23

Chase Ryan          21st        11.77

200 Meters

Brayden Wollan    1st        21.86

400 Meters

Brayden Wollan      1st        47.73

Aliyah Humphrey    8th        59.65

110 Hurdles

Hailey Martin        18th    17.07

800 Meters

Scott Pearson      2nd     1:58.87

Aliyah Humphrey    3rd    2:17.46

4 x 100 Relay        

Chase Ryan   

Joey Anderson   

Quinn Kuck   

Collin Brandt    20th     45.39

Shuttle Hurdle Relay

Hailey Martin    

Alizabeth Jacobsen

Ellie Hackett

Jordyn Reimer    11th    1:11.39

Jake Reimer

Hayden Goehring

Wyatt Baker

Carter Davis    15th    1:04.61

4 x 200 Relay

Kinsley Ferguson

Tayler Krueger

Chloe Clawson

Jordyn Reimer    15th    1:50.58

4 x 400 Relay

Kinsley Ferguson

Jordyn Reimer

Allie Witt

Aliyah Humphrey    18th    4:15.38

Scott Pearson

Alex Ravlin

Bryce Patten

Brayden Wollan    1st       3:25.42

4 x 800

Georgia Paulsen

Allie Witt

Clair Crilly

Aliyah Humphrey    12th     10:14.49

Bryce Patten

Josh Ravlin

Alex Ravlin

Scott Pearson    3rd    8:16.02

Distance Medley

Collin Brandt

Bryce Patten

Alex Ravlin

Scott Pearson    2nd      3:38.71

 

 

 

 

 

Mrs. Patricia Schreiber was one of four recipients of the Charles E. Lakin Outstanding Teacher Award for the 2020-2021 school year.  Mrs. Schreiber is a third-grade teacher at Underwood and has been a teacher in the district for 42 years.  Mrs. Schreiber was completely surprised by the award and was very grateful for the honor.  She said, "There are a lot of great teachers here at Underwood."  Mrs. Schreiber was selected from over 200 submissions.

 

Mrs. Schreiber was nominated by Kirk and Emily Hughes, who have two children in the district, Jackson in fifth grade and Riley in third grade.  Both boys had Mrs. Schreiber as a teacher and absolutely loved her.  She is positive, energetic, and inclusive. 

 

Mrs. Schreiber received a $10,000 check to do with as she pleases.  Congratulations to Mrs. Schreiber for her achievement and all of her hard work over the past 42 years here at Underwood!

 

Here is the 2021-22 School Calendar:

2021-22 School Calendar (version 1)

2021-22 School Calendar (version 2)

MAY 2021 DISTRICT DISPATCH At the regular school board meeting held on Monday, April 12, 2021, the Underwood Community School District Board of Directors approved the certified budget for the 2021-22 school year at a total maximum amount not to exceed $12,468,224. Key information shared with the school board members during the meeting included the following: (1) taxable valuation in the school district has increased from $276,197,752 to $290,534,241; (2) the general fund property tax levy rate is projected to decrease from 11.73236 to 11.42332; (3) the management fund property tax levy rate is projected to increase from 0.94135 to 1.03528; (4) the schoolhouse property tax levy rate will remain at 0.33000; and (5) the debt service property tax levy rate will decrease from1.48875 to 1.43527. The grand total property tax levy rate is projected to be 14.22117. This is a decrease of 0.27129 from last year’s grand total property tax levy rate of 14.49246. The school district’s financial condition remains healthy in spite of low levels of supplemental state aid in recent years. In order to maintain the school district’s healthy financial condition, efforts must be made to limit expenditure increases and guard against becoming overstaffed and underfunded. Our goal is to maintain a cash balance backed by spending authority which enables us to operate for two or three months without having to borrow any money. The Underwood Community School District is joining the other 326 school districts in Iowa to honor its elected school board members during Iowa School Board Recognition Month throughout the month of May. “Leading Through Uncharted Waters” is this year’s Iowa Association of School Boards’ theme. This theme recognizes that Iowa’s volunteer school board members are providing innovative leadership through responsibilities ranging from strong financial stewardship to ensuring high-quality curriculum in order to make sure that all students are prepared to meet the challenges of the 21st century. As elected leaders, they represent the citizens of the Underwood Community School District in a continuing commitment to local citizen control. Too often the efforts of school board members go unrecognized and unrewarded, so let’s take this opportunity to thank them for their service. The members of our local school board are Jeff Bonsall, Matt Brummett, Rick Larson, Teresa Mace, and Michelle Soloth. When the opportunity presents itself, please join me in telling them “thank you” for a job well done. Speaking of “uncharted waters,” the 2020-21 school year fits that description very well. The COVID-19 pandemic has been a significant challenge, but I am proud of the way our community members, parents, faculty members, staff members, and students have risen to the challenge. We are making progress toward returning to a pre-pandemic state of normalcy, but continue to be cautious and closely monitor positivity rates. We are confident that we will begin the 2021-22 school year with our PK-12 student body members attending all-day/every-day, but we are in the process of working with the Pottawattamie County Department of Public Health, the Iowa Department of Education, healthcare professionals, and legal counsel to determine whether items such as our existing masking and social-distancing protocols need to remain in place. Details will be available at the time of registration on Monday, August 2, 2021, if not before. Due to the need to make up days missed previously during this school year, the last day of classes for students will be Thursday, May 27, 2021. We will have an 11:30 a.m. dismissal that day. Have a great summer!