If you visit SiouxperCon 2023 this weekend, stop by and say hello at the Jefferson PBL booth in the kids zone!
Looking for something to listen to this weekend? How about this weeks episode of Teacher Talk, brought to us by our friends at South Dakota Public Broadcasting. The topic this week is setting boundaries. How can this help an educator get the most out of their career? Find out here https://bit.ly/3PFhAby
Jefferson HS had BIG reasons to celebrate this morning, & they did so with decorations, bow tie stickers, treats for staff, visits from top District officials, and a serenade. Congratulations, George Hawkins, 2024 South Dakota Teacher of the Year! https://youtu.be/K8TTD4mOYcs
Teach. Learn. Grow. These are key words that reflect the SFSD theme for 2023-24: Cultivate. This morning students at Eugene Field A+ Elementary spent some time learning (and digging!) with Iron Fox Farm, an urban farm near the school. Thank you, Iron Fox Farm, for tending to the soil, while also nourishing the minds of these future leaders!
A HUGE congratulations goes out to George Hawkins tonight as he was just announced the official South Dakota Teacher of the Year for 2024! Mr. Hawkins is on a roll this year, having been named the Sioux Falls School District Teacher of the Year this past spring. Anyone who has gone through a class with George can tell you all this praise is well deserved. He was up against four other amazing educators across all corners of South Dakota, and we congratulate them on their nominations as well. Thank you for all you do everyday George! The talented educators who are part of SD Teacher of the Year show why it's so important to #SupportSDPublicSchools
We’re happy to report that power has been restored at Roosevelt HS and JFK Elementary. This short outage was only a slight inconvenience but teaches students an important lesson about resilience! Enjoy the rest of the day!
Roosevelt HS and JFK Elementary are currently without power. No other schools in the area are reporting outages. Students are safe and learning will continue this afternoon with the necessary modifications. Xcel Energy is estimating the power will be restored in about an hour. We will keep you posted.
This weeks SFSD All Star is Heidi Schneider! Heidi is Building Technology Specialist at Memorial Middle School. She was nominated by her co-worker Jera Potter, who had this to say, "Heidi has a servant's heart and is always willing to help when technology trouble arises. She does her best to meet student and staff technology needs quickly. Heidi's willingness to help others is to be admired. Because she shares her time and talent, the students and staff at Memorial are able to access technology effortlessly in order to enhance learning."
Yesterday, members of Let’s Skate (a local skateboarding advocacy group) and city leaders broke ground on the Barb Iverson Skate Plaza. The new skate plaza is named after the late Barb Iverson, who taught English at Patrick Henry Middle School for over 30 years.
Xavier Pastrano, who is currently an English teacher at Lincoln High School, had this to say: “It’s pretty amazing that we have this skatepark being named after a teacher, and I think it speaks volumes about the quality of educators we have here in Sioux Falls, and also the true meaning of being a teacher.”
Barb played a huge roll in a lot of students lives, and although she is no longer with us, her legacy will live on for many years through this state of the art concrete skate park.
#SupportSDPublicSchools
In our inaugural Seniors Who Shine, we feature a fully-bilingual, AP & college-course taking, humble servant leader who is also one of the best setters in the US. But that's not why the staff at WHS believe she makes them better every day. Meet Macie. https://youtu.be/bQsMETw4k7o
🗣️New Podcast/Vodcast Alert!📢
The Sioux Falls School District has a podcast (which can be found on Spotify or here: https://bit.ly/3Zq8SCf ) that puts out new episodes monthly, but this week we're trying something new with a "vodcast"!
If you've watched a Roosevelt High School football game recently, either through streaming or on KLRN, chances are you've heard the voices of Lucas Simonsen and Hunter Sieler. The two juniors at RHS have been calling games for a while now, and it's starting to get them quite the following.
In this conversation, the boys sit down with Superintendent Stavem to talk about their love of sports and how it sparks a drive to succeed, both on, and especially off the field. Sometimes stepping outside of our comfort zones and trying new things can open up doors we never even knew existed.
Watch here! https://youtu.be/ozoGqgxhnPo
Monday afternoon members of the Sioux Falls Chamber of Commerce, Sioux Falls School Board and Mayor Paul TenHaken officially broke ground on the new elementary school soon to be constructed on the northwest side of Sioux Falls.
This school is a long time in the making, and is the last part of the $190 million capital improvement bond passed by voters in 2018. It will be home to about 680 students and is scheduled to be open in the fall of 2025.
More photos here: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjAVcHY
You may have heard that the SFSD applied for, & received, a multimillion-dollar grant to address chronic absenteeism. One of the first actions we took was hiring & training additional staff to work directly with families. Learn more: https://youtu.be/GGPPULqv4_Y
All Stars videos are back for 23-24! She's the glue that holds together the Learning Lab, the EC office, a new preschool & more. She's the phone & in-person ambassador for the parents of our youngest learners, & Crystal excels at all of it. Meet her: https://youtu.be/CpI2Pz1A2Kk
Mark your calendar for Tuesday at 6pm! SFSD and experts from Avera are teaming up for the second year of the Family Forum Series. It's 30-minutes of online learning that includes practical advice to strengthen families. September 19 Topic :Benefits of Setting Limits.
The Sioux Falls Public Schools Education Foundation is celebrating their 15th anniversary TODAY! For 15 years they have been providing funds to help support teachers, schools, and students. They are asking YOU to donate $15 today (9/15) to help them continue their important work for the next 15 years.
View an informative video here:
https://youtu.be/SUiuXBpP00o
And donate here!
https://sfpsef.kindful.com/?campaign=1259096
Congratulations to George Hawkins (Jefferson HS History/Government Teacher) on being a Region 2 South Dakota Teacher of the Year Finalist! He was the recipient of the SFSD TotY award this past spring, and will now be an excellent representative of our District at a statewide level. Selection is Sept. 28th in Mitchell, SD. Keep up the amazing work, Mr. Hawkins!
View more information on George Hawkins here:
https://doe.sd.gov/teachsd/emails/091323/Region2.html
This week's episode of Teacher Talk, presented by South Dakota Public Broadcasting, focuses on the role rewards play in the classroom. This fascinating conversation zeros in on the changing ways some teachers measure student growth. Listen here! https://bit.ly/3Zm01Sm
It's moving day at the CTE Academy! The 2nd of 2 completed houses, built from the ground up last school year, is being moved to its new location today... that means new space available to build two new houses in 2023-2024! https://youtu.be/80uyqRNCvKk
It's that time of year again: Pumpkin Spice Rockets! CTE Academy Aviation students build, launch and relaunch rockets as one of their first big projects of the year. Check out these spaceship superstars: https://youtu.be/Q4HWd4PGbE8