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

Laura Wilder Elementary fourth and fifth-grade band and orchestra students (and their teachers) have been working hard over the past few months. They have been learning how to play new notes, new ways to play their instruments, and new songs to showcase in their upcoming concert. Earlier this morning, these students got to show off their musical talents in front of classmates at a matinee performance. Later tonight, families will fill the gym and get to see the hard work of their students pay off. This concert is just one of many other band, orchestra, choir, and fine arts performances coming up this spring. Be sure to check our events calendar so you don't miss out!

Please help us celebrate our 25 Year Honorees! 🎉 Thank you to these incredible individuals for sharing their time and talents with the students of the Sioux Falls School District. Their commitment to public education is unmatched and worthy of celebration!

One week from today we'll celebrate our 69 Teacher of the Year nominees and one of these five finalists will be named the 2022 Dr. John W. Harris Teacher of the Year! https://youtu.be/bqVziaQ7qA0

The March edition of What's the Scoop, a new e-newsletter from our Child Nutrition Department, is here! In this month's publication, we take you through an elementary school lunch line, and show you what's on the menu this month! View here ---> https://www.smore.com/hpt79

This past week, we were lucky to have some of our staff train with Diane Sweeney, author of Student-Centered Coaching. It was an honor to work with her!

As Read Across America Week comes to an end, here are some fun photos from Washington High School's Teacher Pathway students reading to Rosa Parks Elementary students!

Today, March 4 is National Employee Appreciation Day! Thank you to all of our wonderful Sioux Falls School District employees who go above and beyond each day for our students. We couldn't do it without you! #ProudToBeSFSD

Starting a brand new high school band program from scratch is not for the faint of ❤️. Luckily, Jefferson HS had Shane Macklin. JHS bands have already seen success, & everything's in motion to create a tradition of excellence. Our newest Staff Star. https://youtu.be/pq2kZT9zGJ4

This could be a 1st for Staff Stars: an entire team being nominated by administration! The EAs at the Elementary Immersion Center bring many years of experience to their jobs, but more importantly, they bring lots and lots of love. Meet them. https://youtu.be/aY-mnBDP35I

Last week, SD schools celebrated School Board Appreciation Week. Who better to express our thanks & appreciation than the students who directly benefit from Board members' important work?! https://youtu.be/rrWg9ufQa2g

Want to have fun while working this summer? Join our Summer Kids Inc. team! WHAT? Swimming, field trips, and lots of time outside! WHEN? June 6, 2022 - August 5, 2022. No nights/weekends! WHERE? John Harris Elementary, Oscar Howe Elementary, R.F. Pettigrew Elementary, and Robert Frost Elementary. HOW TO APPLY? Submit your application here: https://sf.tedk12.com/hire/index.aspx?jcat=Summer%20Session%20-%20Kids%20Inc

The Sioux Falls School Board Election scheduled to be held in conjunction with the City of Sioux Falls on April 12, 2022 will be canceled. Two seats were up for election this spring, including current Board Members, Carly Reiter and Nan Baker. Friday, February 25 was the cut off date for interested individuals to turn in their candidate package with 20 signatures from registered voters residing in Sioux Falls School District boundaries. Both Baker and Reiter filed petitions to run for re-election, securing enough signatures to get on the ballot. No other petitions were turned in to the Office of the Business Manager or sent via mail postmarked on or before 5 pm on February 25. There will be a Board Agenda item to cancel the election at the next School Board Meeting on March 14, 2022. Baker and Reiter will reclaim their seats and take their oaths as normal at the first meeting in July. The City Election will run as normal.

Superintendent Jane Stavem hosted nearly 50 future educators Tuesday for "Bagels with the Boss." Student teachers currently working in SFSD classrooms joined us to learning about job opportunities, hear about the support offered by the District's Instructional Coaches, and connect with leadership. We look forward to adding many of these new teachers to our team in the Fall!

The Sioux Falls School District is excited to partner with Siouxland Libraries for a community-wide reading initiative. Throughout the month of March, students, staff, parents, and community members are being encouraged to track how many books they read. View the Count here! https://www.sf.k12.sd.us/page/everybody-reads The goal is to create a community of readers ages 0 –100!

Native American Connections program renamed to Očéti Šakówiŋ Owáuŋspe (OSO)! The Native American Connections program, often referred to as ‘NAC’ is a program in the Sioux Falls School District that connects Native students with the culture, traditions, and heritage of the Oceti Sakowin. To center Indigenous language and culture in its programming, Native American Connections has collaboratively determined to rename its programs to Očéti Šakówiŋ Owáuŋspe or OSO. The program will continue to have OSO facilitators in all elementary buildings and offer OSO classes to Indigenous middle and high school students. In addition, OSO has renamed its Lakota language classes at the high school level which will now be titled Languages of the Oceti Sakowin. Our Languages of the Oceti Sakowin and Indigenous Studies courses are available to all high school students in the Sioux Falls School District. See more here: https://youtu.be/HdDc-JLLRCE

It's the college and career fair at the CTE Academy today! Students, universities, military reps, local businesses and industry come together to plan for the future!

This week on the District News Minute: A new community-wide reading initiative gets underway, the SFSD's brand new website is up and running, & summer learning opportunities are available for a variety of students. https://youtu.be/5XcprAdz1_g

Project Search 2022! While it may not be a brand-new program, it is one that is having a huge impact on many Sioux Falls School District students! Project Search is an innovative, business led transition program for special education students ages 18-21 who have completed all high school requirements. The program is a partnership between the Sioux Falls School District, Dow Rummel Village, Department of Human Services, Transition Services Liaison Project, and Department of Labor and regulation. With the help of a classroom environment and Sioux Falls School District staff, students in the program learn and develop their employability skills. Students then apply those skills while participating in targeted internships at Dow Rummel, 5 days a week. The ultimate goal of Project Search is to find competitive employment for each intern upon completion of the program. The program’s strong partnerships are helping to develop the workforce of tomorrow, while gaining valuable interns and future employees along the way. To see more about Project Search, visit our YouTube page: https://youtu.be/5NsEybdUU94

1st grade is a critical year for learning to read. The successful SIPPS instructional model the SFSD has adopted is only as good as the teachers implementing it. Julie Tverberg is an expert at teaching kids how to read, but her heart is why her coworkers want her recognized. https://youtu.be/EuyGL663ZzU

John Harris Elementary has been a school for 30 years this year. Since the school’s opening, there has been a contest amongst fifth graders to create a new flag that represents the motto for learning for the school year. Students draw and submit their artwork to be judged by the JHE staff and PTO leadership who determine the winner. This year’s theme was, “Everything you don’t know is something you can learn.” Over 40 fifth graders submitted their artwork to the competition this year and there were four finalists. The finalists included Henry Combs, Sullivan Martin, Finley Salon, and Jake Van Rooyen. The winner of the flag was Sullivan Martin. His winning flag will be hung amongst the other 29 flags and be part of JHE history! Congrats, Sullivan!