Maggie Moschell

Join us in congratulating Mason City Schools 4th grade art teacher, Mrs. Maggie Moschell, on being named Mason Schools Foundation 2022 ‘Above and Beyond’ Teacher of the Year at Mason Elementary School.

When you walk into Maggie Moschell’s classroom you can’t help but smile at the beautiful artwork displayed around the room! Mrs. Mo, as her students fondly call her, strives to make sure each student feels confident and sees themselves as an artist. She stresses the importance of knowing there isn’t one right way when being creative with art materials and that every one of her students are talented. Mrs. Mo’s art students thrive knowing they are free to be themselves!

Mrs. Mo often refers to author Kurt Vonnegut’s theory that being creative through art helps “grow your soul.” In fact, Vonnegut said, “Creativity isn’t just a process of making art – it’s about discovering your inner self and bringing it out into the open. Creativity gets into your mind and soul and brings out new ideas and thoughts you may never have known were there.” Mrs. Mo inspires her students to “grow their soul” daily through each of their art projects.

Not only was Mrs. Moschell nominated by parent Amanda Smith, but also by her daughter Meeghan who is a current 4th grader at Mason Elementary. “When my daughter talks about her art teacher Mrs. Mo, her eyes light up,” Amanda shared. “When she shows me the amazing art that she has made in Mrs. Mo’s classroom, my eyes light up.” Meeghan looks forward to art class every week where she said Mrs. Mo makes everyone feel important, special and inspired to create a unique masterpiece. “Mrs. Mo has shown me that my artwork is beautiful and that I should be proud of myself and my work,” she shared.

Mrs. Moschell recognized that students needed an outlet to express their feelings throughout the pandemic and decided to start weekly art themed lessons to help them during this confusing time. “For her first social emotional art lesson she chose disappointment and my daughter said every single one of her peers had a story to share, said Amanda Smith. “Through these feelings and art lessons, my daughter connected with others and learned how to handle her feelings about so many things being canceled or changed to keep our family healthy all while she drew cartoon faces and posed looking disappointed.” Other weekly lessons focused on kindness, stress and using artwork as a place to express emotions. “I wish we all could spend a day with Mrs. Mo!” exclaimed Amanda.

Maggie Moschell is a Mason Schools Foundation grant recipient this year. She collaborated with famous artist, Cedric Cox, and work with students and staff to paint murals designed by Cedric. These murals will enhance the walls of Mason Elementary School in 9 different locations. Some of the images on the murals are silhouettes of 3rd and 4th grade ME students, reflecting the diversity of our community. You can view one of the finished murals pictured in the bottom right-hand corner of the collage in this article.

When you think of a teacher who goes ‘above and beyond’ in all that she does you can’t help but think of Maggie Moschell. She not only inspires her art students to use creativity and emotions in their artwork but also cares for their social and emotional well-being providing outlets and lessons to talk about feelings and turning them into art. These are a few examples of the many reasons why she was chosen as teacher of the year!

🌟 Congratulations Mrs. Moschell! 🌟