May 2024 Newsletter

Early Learning

Preschool has been busy with their end of the year activities! The month of May has brought fun and exciting events such as field day, our family picnic, and graduation. Our youngest learners have been full of excitement as they engaged in these fun and memorable activities. Our dedicated and hard working staff have ensured to make this time of year special for them. We also appreciate all of the time and help from our parent volunteers and visitors during this time of year!

Childcare and Preschool/Pre-K Registration Opens May 23, 2024

Our childcare (6 weeks to three years) and Preschool/Pre-K registration will open tomorrow, May 22, 2024. You can find more information and the registration link under "Early Learning" on the Pipe Creek Elementary home screen. Contact Angela Johnson, Director of Early Learning, for more information.

Pipe Creek Elementary

As always, the month of May is a very busy and exciting time at Pipe Creek! We always squeeze many fun events into just a few weeks of school! This year was even shorter than usual, so it was a whirlwind of activities! Our students had fun on field day playing games indoors this year due to the weather. Our Kindergarteners traveled to The Ark in Converse for some outdoor adventures such as canoeing, rockwall climbing, and ziplining! Our amazing PTO planned many excellent activities to recognize our hard working staff this month also! We enjoyed a catered lunch, a snack bar, and a coffee bar. They also sponsored East End ice cream day this week for the whole school! We love our PTO! It sure has been a busy last month of school!

Maconaquah Elementary

May has been a whirlwind of excitement! Our 4th and 5th graders demonstrated their talents in the Spring Music Program. Meanwhile, the 4th grade took a trip back in time, experiencing the challenges and joys of Pioneer Life. They cared for animals, handcrafted keepsakes, and even played some classic games. Fifth graders embarked on an adventure along the Lost Sister Trail at Mississenewa. To top it all off, the entire school celebrated the talents of our students at the talent show and the end of the year with a thrilling Field Day!

Maconaquah Middle School

We made it to the end of the year, and I want to say thank you for your help, support, and the time you have given to help everyone be successful. I have written in the past that the days can go slow but the weeks fly by, and here we are and the school year is over.

Congratulations to the nearly 100 students who received awards during our awards celebration. The National Junior Honor Society also inducted 50 new members this past week. You do not have to look far to see all the good things happening at Maconaquah Middle School. It has been a fun and eventful year with lots of good memories. It can be sad as we say good luck to our 8th graders who are moving on to high school, but it is their time to shine in a new light.

Around one-third of the 8th grade class traveled to Washington DC this month and it was a memorable trip that these students will never forget. Mr. Drollinger, Mr. Barnett, and 8 parents traveled with the group as chaperones and had an amazing time. These students were very well-behaved and we had zero student issues during this trip. They represented Maconaquah as well as any group could have.

Finally, we want to wish a Happy Retirement to Mrs. Knolinski. She has spent 32.5 years educating children with the last 26.5 at Maconaquah. Her first six years were spent in New Orleans. Over the years she has been part of many projects and initiatives. She was instrumental in the elementary STEM certification process. Mrs. Knolinski received training to become a HAM radio operator with the sole intention of being able to communicate with the International Space Station. A goal she accomplished and then followed up by arranging a visit from Dr. David Wolfe, NASA astronaut and Hoosier native. She was willing to be the first sponsor for taking students to Space Camp. If you cannot tell, she loves space! One of her bucket list items was to chaperone a middle school dance, which she accomplished last month. Mrs. Knolinski has been a blessing to Maconaquah School Corporation.

Maconaquah High School

MHS Choirs

The month of May; the Senior Awards Ceremony, AP Testing, Top 10 and M Awards Ceremony, NHS Chord Ceremony, FFA Banquet, Spring Choir Concert, and Laptop turn in just to name a few. May has been anything but dull. It seems like one day ran into the other. Parents, you must be worn out!!! MAY? Who would change this time of year with the rain letting up the last few weeks? Every night has had numerous events. The Spring Choir Concert was one of many highlights this month. Several Seniors performed for their final time in Maconquah High School’s Auditorium. The seniors included Isabella Head, Molly Tenny, Sydnee Judy, Molly Schultz, Haley Washburn, Jacob Sayger, Josiah Pyke, Kaylee Futrell, Oshianna Brabbs, and Lily Peebles. Mrs. Michelle Lybrook did a fantastic job throughout the year teaching and coaching the students on how to hone their skills in their final performance. Mr. Walsh has been busy teaching the next generation of Tech Theater students how to maneuver the behind-the-scenes work that creates these great performances.

Track Season Success

The boys' track and field team has had a great season. They have brought home (3) 1st place trophies this season. The boys' team started strong during the indoor season with AJ Kelly placing 8th in the state in the 60-meter dash. Towards the latter part of the season, the team faced some tough competition at sectional and conference, placing 2nd at both. (7) individuals and (2) relay teams qualified to move on to regionals. Sectional champions included Isaiah Wittenberg in the 800m and AJ Kelly in the 200m and the 400m. Additional qualifiers were Kyler and Kaden Hanson in the pole Vault, DJ Elliott in the long jump, Oakley Reeser in the high jump, and Jacob Sayger in the shot put. The 4x100 team of Kelly, Elliott, Kile, and Sullivan and the 4x400 team of Kile, Elliott, Dausch, and Kelly both qualified for regionals. The boys performed well all season and continue to do well in the post-season.

The Maconaquah Lady Braves entered the 2024 season as the defending Three Rivers Conference Champions. This year’s model of the Lady Braves had much experience with only a few seniors, causing optimism on the team.

The Lady Braves Track team posted victories with dual meets against Northwestern, Southwood, Caston, and Lewis Cass. They finished in 4th place at the Big Orange meet at Hamilton Heights and were crowned champions at the Argyll Relays at Madison-Grant.

Maconaquah defended their Apache Invitational title at Wabash, then defended (shared) the Three Rivers Conference title before heading into sectionals, where they finished in 3rd place overall.

The Lady Braves had five individuals and two relay teams advance to regionals. Lauryn Merrit (discus), Leilena Beachy (pole vault), Elaina Montgomery (400M dash), Zoie Laber (800M run), and Chloe Jordan (1600M run) each advanced in individual events, while the 4 x 400M and 4 x 800M relay teams also moved on to the regional round, which was held on Tuesday, May 21.

Hats off to the Lady Braves on a successful season!

2024 Seniors

For all you Seniors, I would like to thank you for making it a memorable first year as your Principal. Whether you are going directly to the workforce, college, or the armed forces, I wish you the best for the future.