News : Revival of yard party tradition helps VS Middle School celebrate current success

Yard party: Eve Kisling, Ashlee Thomas and Campbell Dlouhy were among those sporting face paint.

Principal Petersen and the VSMS student body celebrated their 'Exceptional' rating at a yard party

VSMS students take a selfie during the yard party.

Carli Lang tries to keep the large Jenga stack from falling at the VSMS Yard Party.

The silliness had a serious source; the hours of play was a celebration of years of hard work.

The Vinton-Shellsburg Middle School students filled the lawn south of the school, participating in wheelbarrow races, some inflatable games, and other activities.

The yard party – a revival of a school tradition that many of the students' parents can remember – was a reward for the students' personal achievements, as well as the school as a whole. VSMS was ranked 5th in the state on the most recent Iowa Department of Education Report Card.

Principal Shelly Petersen explains in more detail the reasons for the celebraton:

“The students all set goals for themselves in all core areas for their Iowa Assessments,” says the principal. “We told them if they met their goals, we would do something fun.”

VSMS was one of only nine middle schools in all of Iowa to earn an “Exceptional” rating from the Iowa Department of Education – the highest possible status.

“Of those nine, we were ranked fifth,” says Petersen.

The celebration took place on Friday morning, with teachers cooking the meal and leading activities.

Several members of the community participated in the party, says Peterson.

“Many people helped make this day special. School staff brought in or created outdoor games for the students, supervised, and grilled their lunch. The Vinton Parks and Rec Department let us use the dunk tank and some lawn games. Kyle Schminke brought in his grill for us to use. Harting Farms brought in their llamas. Shopko's monetary donation earlier in the year along with the the 7th Grade Team working at McDonalds for the evening in the spring brought us in the money to rent giant inflatables and pay for the popcorn, ice cream, and prizes for the students. Our food service department prepared sack lunches and Les Bearbower and his crew went above and beyond to make sure we had everything we needed ahead of time as well as helped us tear down.”

And, says the Principal, it appears that VSMS is on track for a similar celebration next year.

“This year, all of the students met or exceeded their goals. As far as the official results we will not get those until fall of next school year for the State Report Card, but with the goals they set and the scores they produced it appears they made significant growth.”

On the Vinton Today photo album of yard party photos, someone posted the phrase “#kids going places.”

“It was a great day having fun with students and celebrating their success,” says Petersen. “I am extremely proud of our students and my staff.”

See more photos of the party HERE.