Centennial Service Club to receive honorable mention at Iowa Character Awards banquet
CHARACTER COUNTS! is awarding the Centennial Service Club with an honorable mention at their 2023 Iowa Character Awards banquet for their efforts in the Ankeny community. The banquet will be held Friday, July 28th, at the Prairie Meadows Event Center in Altoona. The Centennial Service Club will be gifted 10 complimentary tickets so that members’ friends and family can participate in celebrating their achievement. Out of the many groups that are nominated, only one winner and two honorable mentions are chosen for each award category.
The Centennial Service Club was also awarded Ankeny Youth Club of the Year by the Mayor’s youth council in April. The club has organized and participated in many charitable events this year such as two food drives, a winter clothing drive, a book drive, and a sock drive. They also organized a parking lot cleanup project, planted 28 trees at Northview Middle School, and made and donated 60 tie blankets.
CHARACTER COUNTS! is a non-profit organization housed at Drake University’s Robert D. and Billie Ray Center. The organization was founded in 1997 and has been active in the Des Moines area since. Their mission is to, “…recognize, enhance and sustain the positive qualities of Iowans in order to promote civility through character development.” They have been hosting the Iowa Character Awards since 2005.
Kindergarten Jumpstart in Early August
If you have a child preparing to start kindergarten in the fall remember to sign up for Kindergarten Jumpstart, an early August program designed to prepare new kindergartners for the upcoming school year. The program offers incoming students the chance to explore their school, tour their new classroom, and get excited to start learning. If you haven’t already signed up your child for Kindergarten Jumpstart, now is the time to do so!
Free Summer Meal Locations
Take a break from prepping lunch and bring your kids to our free summer meal sites! No cost or enrollment required. Open to all children 18 and younger. Enjoy a tasty meal at two locations. Don’t miss out on this opportunity to give your kids a nutritious lunch this summer. Visit us today!
No service Monday, July 3rd through Tuesday, July 4th.
Autumn Ridge Estates
11:15 am – 12:00 pm
Crestbruck Park
11:30 am – 12:30 pm
CHS Theater Department to participate in the Iowa High School Musical Theater Awards Showcase
Ankeny Centennial High School’s theater department will participate in the 2023 Iowa High School Musical Theater Awards Showcase, presented by EMC Insurance Companies, in honor of the school’s achievements for its April production of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.
Produced by Des Moines Performing Arts as the culmination of a year-long education initiative, the Showcase will be held at the Des Moines Civic Center on Thursday, June 1 at 7:00 p.m. and will recognize a total of 94 schools from across the entire state.
Ryan Henzi and Abby Fickbohm each earned Outstanding Performance in a Principal Role Awards and are eligible to participate in the Triple Threat Award program with other advanced performing students. In addition to a special performance at the showcase, students will audition for theater camp scholarships and the opportunity to represent Iowa at the National High School Musical Theatre Awards in New York City this summer.
Ryan Henzi will perform an excerpt from his award-winning role in The 25 th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee as William Barfée.
Additionally, select students will represent Ankeny Centennial High School by performing in a collaborative inter-school medley led by a guest Broadway music director and choreographer.
Ankeny Centennial will also be recognized with the following awards and honors:
- Distinguished Scene – “The I Love You Song”
- Special Recognition for Performance in a Principal Role – Rai San Martin as “Chip Tolentino”
- Special Recognition for Achievement in Choreography – Kenzie Halbach,
- Kaitlin Like, Rai San Martin, Drew Carter, & Caroline Trout
Tickets to the Showcase, which start at $15, will go on sale on Friday, May 12, 2023 at 10 AM at DMPA.org, the Des Moines Civic Center Ticket Office, and by phone at 515-246-2300.
The Awards Showcase will be live-streamed at IowaPBS.org as part of a collaboration with Iowa PBS. Iowa PBS will also broadcast a highlights special of the event on Friday, July 14 at 8:30 p.m. and on Sunday, July 16 at 1:00 p.m.
Register Now for Summer Enrichment Camps and Activities
Explore a wide range of summer enrichment camps and activities by visiting any of the Summer Enrichment links below. Whether it’s a cooking class, learning about horses, arts, reading, or sports, there are a variety of options for children of different ages and interests.
| Activity | Description | Contact |
| Career Exploration Opportunities | We have a wide range of career exploration opportunities to help you find your passion and prepare for your dream job. Our career exploration programs include internships, job shadowing, mentorship programs, informational interviews with professionals in various fields, career fairs, and networking events. Whether you’re a high school student or in middle school, we have programs and resources to help you explore different careers, gain valuable experience, and connect with industry professionals. Let us help you take the first step towards a fulfilling and rewarding career. | Career Exploration website |
| Reading Activities to help prevent Summer Slide | Suggestions to encourage children to open books even after school doors close. Have some fun and avoid the summer reading slide. | 10 Weeks of Summer Reading Adventures
2023 Summer Library Program for all ages – Find Your Voice Scholastic Article: KIDS & FAMILY READING REPORT THE SUMMER READING IMPERATIVE |
| ACSD Summer Classes | Ankeny Community Engagement is proud to offer quality continuing education courses for students and adults in the Ankeny community and surrounding areas. Whether it’s an adult fitness class, evening or weekend enrichment for kids, or a class to keep your finances in check, you’ll find a wide variety of courses. View our Summer Course Catalog.
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Kristopher Koehler
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| DMACC Kids College Youth Camps | Youth Tech Inc. in cooperation with Des Moines Area Community College West Campus’s Celebrate! Innovation program is an interactive computer camp that focuses on providing enrichment opportunities to students in the world of computers. Classes offered at DMACC’s West Des Moines Campus or virtually. Various courses offered. Age range: 6-17. Registration fee. | DMACC Kids College website |
| Blank Park Zoo Summer Safari Camps | Explore the world of animals and nature. Week-long half-day or full day camp options that consist of hands-on lessons, games, art, zoo explorations and live animal encounters. Age range: 3 years through 7th grade. Registration discount for zoo members. Registration fee. | Blank Park Zoo Safari Camps website |
| Climb Iowa Summer Youth Camps | Climb Iowa camps introduce young adventurers to climbing. Children will learn about trust, teamwork and problem solving while developing their rock climbing skills through interactive games and activities. Ages 8-12. Registration fee. | Climb Iowa Youth Camps website |
| Jester Park Equestrian Camps | Four fun-filled mornings of summer camp at Jester Park Equestrian Center. Enjoy learning all about horses and spending plenty of time riding, along with participating in other fun camp activities like games and crafts. Ages 5-12. Registration fee. | Jester Park Equestrian website |
| Living History Farms Day Camps | Half-day and full day camps offered for children entering kindergarten through eighth grade. Registration fee. | Living History Farms Camps website |
| Polk County Conservation Day Camps | Variety of day camps offered for ages 6+. These day camps are designed to encourage hands-on learning through outdoor explorations, activities, games, crafts, and more. Camps will be led by naturalists. Campers are asked to bring a water bottle and sack lunch for day long camps. Prepackaged snacks will be provided. Registration fee. | Polk Country Conservation Camps website |
| Love Lunches | Love Lunches is served every weekday all summer long to kids and families in Ankeny that have need. Hot and cold lunches served daily at Ankeny Presbyterian Church, 317 SE Trilein Drive in Ankeny from 11:30 am-12:30 pm. Monday-Friday and at Sunset Park, 1320 SW 3rd Street in Ankeny, 11:30 am – 12:30 pm, Monday-Thursday. | Love Lunches facebook page
Mary Kohlsdorf, 515-965-1737, ext. 224. holly.szcodronski@gmail.com (Sunset Park location – Holy Trinity Lutheran Church) |
| Ankeny Park & Recreation Department | The Parks and Recreation Department offers a variety of leagues and activities for children ages toddler to 18. Click link for full listing of leagues, camps and courses. | Ankeny Parks and Recreation Activity website |
| Des Moines Performing Arts Summer Camps | Young people sharpen their skills, stretch their imaginations, and create unique memories through a variety of Des Moines Performing Arts education opportunities. With theater professionals as the instructors, students gain a deeper understanding of the process, build confidence, and benefit from a fresh jolt of creative energy. Grades 3-12. | Des Moines Performing Arts Summer Camps website |
| Des Moines Community Playhouse Summer Camps | Variety of Camps held for grades K-12. | Des Moines Community Playhouse Summer Camps website |
| Real Food 4 Kids | Hands on cooking camp for kids and teens, ages 6+. Three options offered for 4 –day sessions. | Cooking Class website |
| Elementary Math Activities and Games | Have fun this summer incorporating math into each day. You and your child can play dice and card games, engage in conversations about a picture, or solve a problem together. You will find FREE resources to help you and your child develop a love of mathematics. | Math Summer Resources |
| Des Moines Y Camps | Overnight and day camp options for ages 6-13 (daycamp) and ages 9-12 (overnight camp). What better place for your child to spend their summer days than at the Des Moines Y Camp located in Boone?
Under the supervision of trained staff your child will spend their summer enjoying the outdoors through various program activities all while building new friendships and growing in the four Y values of caring, honesty, respect, and responsibility. Daily traditional activities may include: climbing, hiking, archery, fishing, canoeing, field games, Imagineering, crafts, swimming, gaga ball, horseback riding (additional fee), and so much more! VIP Program for ages 14 – 17 |
Des Moines Y Camps website |
68 Students Selected for Opus Honor Choir Festival
This fall, sixty-eight Ankeny Community School District students, grades sixth through ninth, were selected for the 36th Annual Opus Honor Choir Festival hosted by the Iowa Choral Directors Association, more than any other school district in the state. Nearly three thousand students were nominated by their directors for one hundred-eighty positions in each of the four OPUS Honor Choirs. Judges made their selections by scoring a recorded audition from each nominated student. The 2022 Opus Honor Choirs performed on Thursday, November 17th, in CY Stephens Auditorium in Ames.
Congratulations to the hundreds of Ankeny students who submitted recordings, especially to our outstanding selected musicians (below) and their directors: Emma Feldhans and David Sponder, Parkview; Emily Battani and Lisa Rehms, Prairie Ridge; Riley Anderson and Caroline Edgeton, Northview; and Jill Bjorklund and Nick Oswald, Southview. Additionally, Nick Oswald had the distinguished honor of serving as the guest director for the 7th/8th Bass Clef Choir this year. JJ Menke, Logan Peterson, Jackson Robie, Brannen Shanahan, and Landry Wagner performed as featured soloists or small group members at the concert as well! Congrats to all!
5th/6th Choir
Chatham Beck (PR)
Roman Bockes (PV)
Natalie Hall (PR)
Nora Huebsch (PR)
Sebastian Rivera-Alvarez (PR)
Zoe Saunders (PV)
Elisabeth Skog (PR)
Katharine Yoder (PV)
7th/8th Treble Clef Choir
Elin Alber (PV)
Calista Beck (NV)
Krista Bogers (PR)
Gwenyth Carl (PV)
Emily Doubleday (SV)
Natalie Ford (SV)
Carla Foster (NV)
Maylin Gustafson (SV)
Savannah Hulse (SV)
Delphine Johnson (SV)
Whitney Lee (NV)
Jaleigh Moen (SV)
Sara Phillips (SV)
Rhonda Rullestad (SV)
#Landry Wagner (SV)
7th/8th Bass Clef Choir
Austin Albaugh (SV)
Cael Austin (SV)
Lincoln Blessing (SV)
Seth Buxton (SV)
*Caleb Crouse (SV)
Keegan Elliott (NV)
Jack Kent (SV)
Andrew Langholz (NV)
Lennox McCracken (SV)
#JJ Menke (SV)
Adrian Morales (PV)
#Logan Peterson (SV)
Derek Pross (PV)
Gus Ringholz (NV)
#Jack Robie (SV)
Blake Sauer (SV)
Ezekiel Scroggs (NV)
Berritt Sipes (SV)
Jaxon Speer (SV)
*Zane Wickencamp (SV)
9th Mixed Choir
Jonas Adams (SV)
Mya Backstrom (SV)
Connor Behrens (SV)
Ella Breuer (SV)
Sareena Casady (SV)
Caitlyn Chance (SV)
^Ben Colby (SV)
Nathan Gerth (SV)
Abe Groen (NV)
Jayden Huegel (SV)
*Harrison Jansen (NV)
Jasira Jones (SV)
Kaii Jones (NV)
Oliver Klein (SV)
Erik Kleve (SV)
Zach Kragel (SV)
Addy Lehman (SV)
~Lilian Monthei (SV)
Allison Muehr (SV)
Brendan Perry (SV)
Ethan Quinn (NV)
Anders Repp (SV)
Ella Schulz (SV)
#Brannen Shanahan (SV)
Kyra Swenson (SV)
Abby Willardson (NV)
^Alternate
*Solo Finalists
#Selected Solo/Small Ensemble
~Selected for All-State Choir
PV=Parkview
PR=Prairie Ridge
SV=Southview
NV=Northview
Skilled Trades Camp – a big success!
This summer, Ankeny students got a hands-on look at different jobs within the trades industry. The skilled trades camp, put on by the Des Moines Home Builders Association, allowed these future graduates the chance to learn about additional options to a viable career outside of the school setting. Students traveled to different unions and were able to interact with specific responsibilities of plumbers and steamfitters, electricians, carpenters, as well as non union job sites. This opportunity provided clarity which pathway to take which could help them plan their next few years of high school and beyond. This camp gave our students confidence in making decisions about their pathway after high school. Check out the video!
Dustin Roland Named Head Varsity Girls Wrestling Coach For Ankeny High Schools
ANKENY, Iowa (June 24, 2022) – Dustin Roland has been named as the head girls wrestling coach for the new girls wrestling program at Ankeny High School and Centennial High School. Dustin previously served as the head wrestling coach at Lincoln High School in the Des Moines Community School District.
Coach Roland has a rich background in wrestling and coaching. In addition to wrestling, he has served as an assistant coach for many sports in the Des Moines, Southeast Polk, and Bondurant-Farrar school districts. Additionally, Dustin is the 16U USA-Iowa Wrestling Division Director and has experience working within several levels of the USA-Iowa Wrestling Program.
Selection committee members were able to ask questions and give feedback on finalists. Committee members noted that Coach Roland’s wealth of background knowledge in how to lead a program makes him an excellent fit for starting a new program. They also indicated that he showed commitment to building a state-contending team and to increasing the interest in girls wrestling in Ankeny and across the state of Iowa.
Southview Middle School activities director Mike Bakker and Northview Middle School activities director Holly Anderson collaborated to lead the interview and selection process since both high schools are transitioning to new activities directors that will start on July 1.
“Dustin Roland was selected from a pool of highly qualified candidates to lead the process of starting the Ankeny Girls Wrestling program,” said Mike Bakker, Activities Director at Southview Middle School. “His experience as a head wrestling coach at DM Lincoln, his role with the USA Iowa Wrestling program, and his background in coaching multiple girls’ sports in his coaching career make him a natural fit. Dustin is highly respected in the wrestling community by his peers and will work closely with the boys’ programs and coaches at Centennial & Ankeny High Schools.”
The Iowa High School Girls Athletic Union sanctioned girls’ wrestling for the 2022-23 school year, and there is much excitement surrounding the program. Ankeny High School and Centennial High School are partnering together through a co-op agreement to pioneer the Ankeny girls wrestling program. More information about the program will be available soon.
Law Day Celebration
The annual Law Day celebration was held on Monday, May 2 and was presented by the Polk County Bar Association. Law Day has been celebrated on or around May 1 since 1958 when President Dwight Eisenhower signed the proclamation declaring it a day to celebrate and strengthen the American heritage of liberty, justice and equality under the law. The Polk County Bar Association partners with ARAG each year to give Polk County area students a chance to get creative with the law as part of our annual Law Day celebration. Students in grades K through 12 are invited to compete in the visual arts, music, essay and poetry categories.
This year’s theme was “Toward a More Perfect Union: The Constitution in Times of Change.” Numerous Ankeny students from across the district won awards and are mentioned below.
High School Poetry Competition
Emma Smith, Centennial High School
2nd place
High School Essay Competition
Elizabeth Deng, Centennial High School
1st place
Finn Stukerjurgen, Southview Middle School
3rd place
High School Visual Arts Competition
Josie Bishop, Northview Middle School
2nd place
High School Technology Competition
Noah Yeager, Ankeny High School
1st place
Middle School Technology Competition
Aakansha Ganesh, Prairie Ridge Middle School
1st place
Middle School Performing Arts Competition
Lauren Boka, Katelyn Henzi, Camryn Johnson, Abigail Willardson, Cathy Owusu-Awkye, Josefina Willkom, Maia Bredice, Kaley Swanson and Sydney Heithoff, Northview Middle School
1st place
Middle School Poetry Competition
Rosie Howieson, Northview Middle School
1st place
Middle School Essay Competition
Kalyani Bhat, Northview Middle School
1st place
Harrison Jansen, Northview Middle School
2nd place
Martha Willard, Prairie Ridge Middle School
3rd place
Middle School Visual Arts Competition
Hollin Hansen, Southview Middle School
1st place
Eve Russell, Prairie Ridge Middle School
2nd place
Jamie Miara, Lauren Harmon, Ava Barten, Marleigh Munger and Mabelle Way, Northview Middle School
3rd place (tie)
Elementary School Poster Competition
Ainsley Schnurr, Ashland Ridge Elementary
1st place
Jillian Tournier, Ashland Ridge Elementary
2nd place
Thomas Dunne, Northeast Elementary
3rd place
Elementary School Visual Arts Competition
Brinley Feuerbach, Ashland Ridge Elementary
1st place
Jillian Moses and Siena Peddicord, Northeast Elementary
2nd place
Stella Heither and Lia Meyer, Ashland Ridge Elementary
3rd place
Elementary School Coloring Competition
Camryn Taxted, Prairie Trail Elementary
1st place
Elle Evans, Prairie Trail Elementary
2nd place
Kyla Leach, Prairie Trail Elementary
3rd place
Elementary School Essay Competition
Brynlee Moeller, Southeast Elementary
1st place
Elementary School Poetry Competition
Clayton Gardner, Prairie Trail Elementary
1st place
Elementary School Technology Competition
Chatham Beck, Ashland Ridge Elementary
1st place
Madeline Lynch, Northeast Elementary
2nd place
Kaitlyn French, Ashland Ridge Elementary
3rd place
Celebrating our Assistant/Associate Principals!
The Ankeny Community School District would like to recognize all that assistant and associate principals that have persevered amid the pandemic and considered what their ever-expanding and evolving role might look like moving forward. Through it all, our AP’s have demonstrated unwavering leadership—becoming a source of strength and inspiration for us all. If ever there was a time to express how much your AP means to you and your school community, this is it. Visit our Thank You page, add your message, and hit submit to deliver to their inbox—it’s that easy!
Ankeny Centennial High School – Adam Busch, JD Hunter
Ankeny High School – Kelsie Goodman, Wade Grinhaug
Northview Middle School (8-9) – Caleb Hales, Cameron Wendt
Southview Middle School (8-9) – Nicole Kuhns, Chris Novak
Prairie Ridge Middle School (6-7) – Andrea Bruns, Kathleen Steffen
Parkview Middle School (6-7) – Ben Huebsch, Emily Rash