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Prairie Backpack

College Community School District’s “green” approach to distributing information from school sponsored activities and non-profit organizations.

All Ages

Events

  • MACR Sharks Swim Team — Evaluations for Spring/Summer are Underway

    Location
    Cedar Rapids Metro YMCA, Cedar Rapids, IA
    Audience
    Swimmers ages 6 and over
    Cost
    Varies by practice group
    RSVP
    Apr 06, 2026
    Organization
    Cedar Rapids Metro YMCA
    Contact
    Donald Pirrie
    Email
    iowayswimming@gmail.com
    Phone
    (319) 573-9294

    Information

    Ready to level up your swimming, make new friends, and be part of something bigger?

    The MACR Sharks Spring & Summer Swim Season is the perfect opportunity for swimmers to grow their skills, build confidence, and experience the excitement of competitive swimming in a positive, team-first environment.

    Practices are offered daily at the downtown YMCA for kids ages 6 and over. From novice swimmer to skilled competitor MACR has a practice group for your swimmer!

  • CoderDojo with PBS Education!

    Location
    Foundation 2 - 1st Floor Training Rooms: 305 2nd Ave SE. Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401.
    Audience
    K-5th graders and families
    Cost
    Free
    RSVP
    Mar 07, 2026
    Organization
    NewBoCo
    Contact
    Ashley Turner
    Email
    ashley@newbo.co
    Phone
    (319) 412-5222

    Information

    CoderDojo is a free, hands-on program designed for kids in kindergarten through 5th grade who are curious about STEM. Children can explore a variety of science, technology, engineering, and math-themed stations at their own pace, with friendly mentors available to help them get started. It’s all about learning through creativity, curiosity, and play. More about CoderDojo.

    This Sessions Special Guest: Iowa PBS Education with Phenomena-driven instruction.
    Phenomena-driven instruction helps students engage in practices to develop the knowledge and skills necessary to explain or predict the phenomena. It’s the phenomenon plus the student-generated questions about the phenomenon that guides the learning and teaching. The practice of asking questions or identifying problems becomes a critical part of trying to figure something out. PBS will students and families through some science – related phenomena!

    Please register for this event so we can adequately prepare.

  • ExploreU

    Location
    Iowa City West High School
    Audience
    Girls completing 6,7 and 8th grade
    Cost
    $120
    Organization
    ExploreU
    Contact
    Elizabeth Kleiman
    Email
    exploreustem@gmail.com
    Phone
    (319) 467-1906

    Information

    ExploreU is a week-long, STEM program for middle school girls completing 6th, 7th and 8th grade, held annually in the summer. The program is designed to help young girls learn math and computer science skills while having fun.

    During the program, students use Scratch software to analyze patterns and learn the fundamentals of programming. This program teaches important mathematical and computational ideas while helping girls to think creatively, reason systematically, and work collaboratively.

  • Prairie School Foundation: Dueling for a Cause

    Location
    Olympic South Side Theater
    Cost
    $35/ticket
    Organization
    Prairie School Foundation
    Contact
    Alicia Tjelmeland
    Email
    aliciatjelmeland@crprairie.org
    Phone
    (319) 848-5200

    Information

    Join us for a Tailgate Dinner and cash bar followed with entertainment provided by Dueling Pianos!

  • 2026 Walford Ball Season Signup!

    Location
    Walford
    RSVP
    Mar 20, 2026
    Organization
    City of Walford
    Contact
    Parks and Rec Director
    Email
    Parks@CityofWalfordIowa.com
    Phone
    (319) 846-3103

    Information

    Registration is now open through March 20th! More details will be available soon, but please
    register as soon as possible to allow for planning. Rosters will be finalized by the first week of
    April. Practice and game schedules will follow.
    Parent Information Meeting will be scheduled in early April.
    Families will only be responsible for purchase of their player’s jerseys to participate in the
    program. NO additional season cost. More information on jersey purchases to come after
    teams are finalized.
    T-Ball | Grades Pre-K & K [Co-ed]
    Coach / Mechanical Pitch | Grades 1 & 2 [Boys & Girls Separate]
    Girls Little League Softball | Grades 3,4,5
    Girls Pony League Softball | Grades 6,7,8
    Boys Little League Baseball | Grades 3,4,5
    Boys Pony League Baseball | Grades 6,7,8
    Iowa Valley League Baseball/Softball Season Dates:
    More details to come soon!
    Use the link below to sign up:
    https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe0WBcRGE8W2jDlwRB14VXVQsEECML
    h-3QPT6jhZh8wIItLRQ/viewform?usp=header
    Please email Parks@CityofWalfordIowa.com with any questions relating to registration.

  • Project Creating Responsive Action Through Empowering Resources and Strategies (CRATERS)

    Location
    University of Iowa's College of Public Health 145 North Riverside Drive Iowa City, IA
    Audience
    middle school and high school students
    RSVP
    Mar 27, 2026
    Organization
    The University of Iowa-College of Public Health
    Contact
    Ebonee Johnson, Ph.D.
    Email
    ebonee-johnson@uiowa.edu
    Phone
    (319) 335-5188

    Information

    Mental Health Training Developed For Teens By Teens

  • Spring Soccer & Flag Football with Swisher Youth Sports

    Location
    Castek Park - Swisher
    Cost
    $30-$40
    RSVP
    Feb 28, 2026
    Organization
    Swisher Youth Sports
    Contact
    Brittany B.
    Email
    info@swisheriasports.org
    Phone
    (319) 857-4539

    Information

    At Swisher Youth Sports, we are a recreational non-profit organization dedicated to creating a fun, positive, and supportive environment for young athletes of all skill levels.

    Spring Soccer includes one weekday practice and one Saturday game each week for a total of six weeks.

    Flag Football includes one practice per week, one game per week, and six weeks of games and scrimmages.

    All Swisher Youth Sports teams are coached by parent volunteers who are passionate about helping our athletes learn, grow, and build confidence. With registration, each participant will receive either a personalized jersey or a league t-shirt, depending on enrollment.

    Our goal is to teach the fundamentals of each sport, introduce game strategies, encourage proper sportsmanship, promote healthy competition, and most importantly — HAVE FUN!

  • CoderDojo with Iowa Children’s Museum

    Location
    Foundation 2 - 1st Floor Training Rooms: 305 2nd Ave SE. Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
    Audience
    K-6th
    Cost
    Free
    RSVP
    Feb 21, 2026
    Organization
    NewBoCo
    Contact
    Ashley Turner
    Email
    ashley@newbo.co
    Phone
    (319) 412-5222

    Information

    CoderDojo is a free program for kids from kindergarten to 5th grade. It offers various stations with STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, & Mathematics) activities.
    Join us and the Iowa Children’s Museum for Ramps and Pathways. Students and families will engineer ramps (or inclined planes) to propel balls and experiment with forces. Children will use various blocks, balls and planes to build ramps that are capable of moving a ball without pushing it!

    Please register for this event so we can adequately prepare.

  • CoderDojo with Iowa Ceramics Center

    Location
    Foundation 2 - 1st Floor Training Rooms - 305 2nd Ave SE. Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
    Audience
    Elementary students
    Cost
    Free
    RSVP
    Feb 05, 2026
    Organization
    NewBoCo
    Contact
    Ashley Turner
    Email
    ashley@newbo.co
    Phone
    (319) 412-5222

    Information

    CoderDojo is a free, hands-on program designed for kids in kindergarten through 5th grade who are curious about STEM. Join us and the Iowa Ceramics Center for Creative Clay for Kids – 60 minute workshops tailored to the student’s age and interests. Choose from fun, hands-on projects like pinch pot monsters, coil bowls, or mythical creatures—perfect for all skill levels. Not only are we creating art, but also learning about the science of heating clay and the chemical reaction that occurs to harden it.

    Please register for this event so we can adequately prepare. This event is capped at 40 participants.

  • Prairie Soccer Club Youth Soccer Spring 2026 League

    Location
    Kirkwood lower soccer field (directly across 76th Ave. from the Kirkwood Hotel).
    Audience
    Kids in grades pre-kindergarten through 6th grade.
    Cost
    $60 for pre-K/Kindergarten and $75 for 1st grade through 4th grade.
    RSVP
    Mar 28, 2026
    Organization
    Prairie Soccer Club
    Contact
    Steven Robertson
    Email
    steven.robertson@psciowa.com
    Phone
    (319) 533-0589

    Information

    Prairie Soccer Club’s Spring 2026 youth soccer league is for kids ages 4-12 that want to learn soccer skills and learn to use those skills in weekly games. The league is for 8 weeks and each week the kids will have a 30-minute soccer skills session followed by a game. The games will be 3v3 or 4v4 based on the ages of the kids. The league begins April 12 and ends June 7.