Sioux Falls School District - Educate and prepare each student to succeed in a changing world

Graduating seniors from Jefferson High School will be walking across the stage at 1:45 PM today! Congratulations to this class of 2024! You can watch live on the SFSD YouTube page here: https://youtube.com/live/f-8a2e9JR7E Photos from all four high schools will be updated throughout the day of the SFSD Flickr page here! https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjBqYrg

Today is the big day! The stage is set for nearly 1,700 students to walk down the aisle and receive their diplomas. Lincoln High School will start the day off at 11:00 AM. All ceremonies will be broadcast live on the SFSD YouTube. The link for LHS is https://youtube.com/live/_AwusRDmKD4 Follow the SFSD Instagram page for reel updates too!

On the last episode of "Spotlight: Conversations from SFSD" we heard from two groups of mother/daughter duos who work within the Sioux Falls School District. This week, we're hearing from one more! Michele Jensen has been a teacher in the District for 29 years, while her daughter, Hannah, is just getting ready to wrap up her first year teaching. Both educators currently teach at Jefferson High School, and we get to hear about what that dynamic is like from both sides of the generational divide. Listen on Spotify or tune in on our YouTube page: https://youtu.be/lqfH8XBL3SM

Only four more days of school left! That means elementary schools all over SFSD are holding everybody's favorite day: Field Day! (Or carnival day, or Fun Run day, or Culture Day, or dunk tank day etc. etc.). Here's just a few photos from JFK, R.F Pettigrew, and Susan B. Anthony Elementaries. For a "drones eye" view of festivities at Rosa Parks Elementary, follow the link! https://youtu.be/uxbOUZJ_p28

The school year is quickly coming to a close (last day is May 23, 2024)! But, school has always been a special place for today's Teacher Feature, shining a bright light on Kelsie Massmann at Discovery Elementary! Let's finish strong!

Yesterday the CTE Academy hosted the Army medical trailer and the Sanford Health trailer. The Army also set up a combat life-saving station, a military vehicles station (a Humvee) and physical fitness station. The trailers provided students with digital simulation in an ambulance setting, emergency room, and trauma situations. Find more photos here! https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjBqzfN

For more than two decades, Jon Mattheis has been making music and encouraging his young students to do the same. The thrill of turning notes into songs and to literally "hearing" the growth of his students in band defines satisfaction for this Memorial Middle School teacher, who is today's feature!

As the schools days wind down, the celebrations continue! Earlier this week SFSD celebrated Assistant Superintendent of Academic Achievement Dr. Teresa Boysen who is retiring at the end of this school year. Dr. Boysen has been with the District for many years and has played an important role in all our schools during that time. Her influence will continue to shape the lives of the students and staff she's impacted over the years. In some parting remarks, she had this to say, "Life is like a book; if you never turn the page, you will never know what the next chapter holds." Enjoy your next chapter, Dr. Boysen!

A lot of work goes into creating an all-school picture! Check out this video of what it takes to get everybody placed jjjuusssttt right to get that one great photo. Using a rainbow theme, Junior Kindergarten-5th Graders at Robert Frost Elementary and the Challenge Center came together to make it happen. See how it all came together! https://youtu.be/2ZTOt1LNAqA

After a long day at school, Abby Berke finds joy in the simple things like peace and quiet. The Lincoln High teacher would love to enroll in Advanced Foods if she could take any class at her school and if she wasn't teaching, she would have chosen a career as a talk show host! Today's Teacher Feature introduces you to Abby Berke!

At last week's Middle School Choir Festival Shane Wuebben, Fine Arts Coordinator for SFSD, announced that the Sioux Falls School District was named one of the Best Communities for Music Education by the NAMM Foundation. This is the second year in a row SFSD has been honored with this designation, and it stands as a testament to the quality our instructors and the dedication of our students. https://youtu.be/HBbG-C5VII8

Last night SFSD held the annual Native American Honoring Ceremony. This event honors our graduating (and 8th grade into 9th grade) Native American students in a way that is culturally significant and closely tied to certain practices and traditions. Congratulations to everybody who was honored! View photos from the event here: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjBqebm View the full ceremony here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7rM47ZiWqw

As the school year comes to a close there's a lot to celebrate! Major accomplishments, overcoming problems, moving on to the next step. Celebrations are happening often throughout SFSD, like earlier today when new first- and second-year elementary teachers gathered to commemorate their milestones. Coaching teams and admin help teachers navigate these formative first years, and they put on the celebration for them today. When we support our teachers we support our students, and our communities are able to grow and flourish. Congratulations to all!

Teonna Randle credits the 8th Grade Poetry Slam with starting her love for, and success with, poetry, writing, speaking and performing. Last summer, her skills took her to New York City. She's won regional and national awards for her perspectives. And this spring and summer, she'll take 2 trips to national speech competitions and enjoy all-expenses-paid experiences she's earned at Brown University and Wake Forest University to improve even further. Things came full circle this week when she was invited to perform at this year's SFSD Poetry Slam as an inspiration to young writers. Meet this remarkable young woman. https://youtu.be/Gcz03I_RT_Q

In case you missed it - the Sioux Falls School District and Boys & Girls Clubs of the Sioux Empire held a groundbreaking for Sioux Falls' first out-of-school time Club being built on to a school! The groundbreaking was held on Tuesday, May 7th. Follow the link to hear about all the amazing things this will mean for the Sioux Falls community! https://youtu.be/vyGZaBIwiFs

Sports offer huge benefits to the girls involved: Leadership opportunities, scholarship possibilities, and self-development are just a few. But perhaps most important - it's FUN to participate and spend time with friends old and new! Learn about high school sports opportunities for girls in the Sioux Falls School District. https://youtu.be/fSWJw1wX4Iw

In case you missed it last week - With the latest grant awarded to the PE and dance teacher at Eugene Field A+ Elementary, the Education Foundation has surpassed more than $1 million raised and donated to teachers and education professionals in the SFSD for innovative projects for student learning! Watch the event here, which also features long-time vocal music and drama teacher Laura Tjaden from EFA+ who is retiring at the end of this year! https://youtu.be/sCRS1sMFJgs

Construction at the Sioux Falls School District's newest school, Marcella LeBeau Elementary, is well underway! Here's a quick progress update from a birds eye view. The school is expected to be open to serve the families of northwest Sioux Falls in Fall 2025. https://youtu.be/DknwBMS7Noo

Earlier this year students in Washington High School's Okichiyapi Club held a children's book drive. Last week they got to deliver two van fulls of books to the Yankton Sioux Indian Reservation at Lake Andes. Bruce Rekstad with the Oceti Sakowin Owaunspe at WHS said, "In Lakota, children are called Wakanyeja (sacred gifts) and these pictures certainly depict that!" Great work WHS Okichiyapi Club!

As summer break approaches, please be aware that SFSD is once again offering the Free Summer Meal Program. See attached for information.