District Dialogue

Small, but mighty! That’s how Principal Patti Pannell described Renberg Elementary in the School Spotlight as part of the Good News segment tonight! The northern-most school in the Sioux Falls School District has just 169 students, but it is an integral part of the growth happening with multi-family housing units. Renberg enjoys a strong partnership with The Point is to Serve Church and is working to establish other partnerships this school year.

Click below to view the full presentation.

The Sioux Falls School District is dedicated to enhancing professional learning and development for all 3,600 employees on a year-round basis.These activities aim to enhance staff capacity, emphasize customer service, encourage self-reflection, and stimulate innovation, all with the goal of positively influencing student achievement.

Many trainings and orientations have occurred over the past few weeks, and many more will be happening within the next two weeks as we get closer to the first day back at school.

Professional development is an area of emphasis identified through the Sioux Falls School District Priorities, and it exists to act as a career development tool for all employee groups.

Click the link below to view the full report.

The recruitment of teachers in the Sioux Falls School District (SFSD) relies heavily on the use of innovative strategies to attract and retain the best and brightest. Commitment to the Staff Excellence framework of the District Priorities is key to ensuring teacher motivation, engagement, and belonging.

The most utilized recruitment tools for the District are targeted social media campaigns and word-of-mouth referrals.

As the District welcomes all new staff this fall, HR will continue to pursue ways to support staff and elicit their feedback, emphasizing staff diversity and retention efforts, and prepare for the next “hiring season” which begins again shortly after students enter classrooms this fall.

See the full report below.

Each passing week of August brings us a little bit closer to the upcoming first day of school! As you begin to get things ready for the 2023-24 school year, please consult this Back To School Bulletin for a list of important dates and trainings to remember. We look forward to seeing you soon!

The SF School District works year-round to provide students with excellent learning opportunities. SFSD has many camp options to keep students active and engaged throughout the summer. Tune in to hear about camp from the perspective of 7th grader Ahlyvia, who has taken part in many camps over several summers.

We have another round of t-shirts for staff to start out the 2023-24 school year! To make things flow quickly and easily, we will have a pickup event where you can simply cruise by IPC and grab your SFSD shirt, drive-through style.

On Tuesday, August 22nd, staff will be outside ready to hand out t-shirts from 8:00 AM - 10:00 AM and 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM.

Please enter the lane between IPC and Robert Frost from the north side and continue to the southern-most available station. See the attached map for instructions.

If you pick up a shirt for a coworker, please communicate/coordinate with them so we have enough shirts for everybody who wants one. (Please note that you are not required to take one).

If you can't make it on August 22nd, t-shirts will be available at IPC for one week after that date.

Principals/Clerical:

If you choose to make one large order for all the staff in your building, please communicate with them accordingly, so as not to double up. You have received an order form via email where you can order specific numbers of sizes for your staff. Please fill this out before August 22nd, so we can have your order ready for a quick pickup on that date.

Do you have a coworker or colleague who is constantly going above and beyond? Do you notice when somebody is going out of their way to make a student's day just a little bit brighter? Do you have a staff member who consistently brings their best, day in and day out? We want to hear about it! We know that amazing things happen every day in every building of the Sioux Falls School District, and we need your help to tell those stories. Follow the above info (or click the link below) to nominate a coworker to be recognized for their amazing dedication to the work of SFSD.

Imagine Solutions Conference is a nationally known thought leader conference that brings world-class visionaries to share ideas on today's most relevant issues. The conference offers an impressive speaker lineup in topics, such as Science and Technology, Biodiversity, Arts, and much more. We are excited to provide Sioux Falls School District teachers the opportunity to attend this year's conference virtually. Registered attendees will receive a link to the recorded videos in late May of 2023.

This is a small way that we can show our appreciation for all you do for our students.

• All registered teachers will be provided a link to the conference videos from the Sioux Falls School District in late May until October 15.


• Each video is approximately 19-25 minutes in length and can be viewed 24/7.


• All registered teachers qualify for 5 hours of professional development for registering and completing a brief survey after watching all of the videos.

Take a moment to remember the good you do every day. Smile. Appreciate what you do, and let the joy of making a difference fill you! (Keep a list of those joyful moments and watch your mindset become even more positive this week!)

There are several strong reasons why service matters.

First, customers want, need and deserve to be treated the way you’d like to be treated, or even, the way THEY want to be treated.

Second, great service helps SFSD cultivate “The Experience” that creates the reputation that helps everyone achieve more.

Third, great service is good for YOU! As service providers, you cannot GIVE something you don’t already have.

As you align service with your core values, you can’t help but be more grateful, more committed to excellence, more focused on finding the “Silver Linings” in life.

As you use the MAP you can’t help but be more positive everyday, communicate better everywhere, and find ways to be an even better team member at work, and with family and friends.

You deliver what you are in authentic service. The good news?

YOU ARE AMAZING! Just be the wonderful, caring, positive, kind person you are….add a few tips and strategies…and you’ll experience the joy every day of being the best of you.

And I’ll bet family and friends won’t mind it a bit!

New Employee Workshop

SDRS staff will be presenting several ZOOM sessions over the next few months to discuss important topics relevant to new SDRS members, including a brief overview of SDRS and the SDRS-SRP, the importance of designating beneficiaries and appointing custodians for minor children, the SDRS new member packet and ID card, and how to set up online access to MySDRS.

Register for one of the 45-minute Zoom sessions with SDRS!

August 16th -10:00am via Zoom: Register Here!

August 16th - 4:15pm via Zoom: Register Here!

September 11th - 4:15pm via Zoom:Register Here!

Pre Retirement Planning Workshop

Nearing retirement? Come to learn more about SDRS, SDRS-SRP, Social Security, retirement income, and budgeting.

August 22nd - 5:30pm - 8:00pm - Sioux Falls-Holiday Inn

Register Here!

Woman & Financial Planning Workshop

Women encounter unique challenges when it comes to financial planning and retirement, including living longer, investing too conservatively, and taking time off work to care for loved ones. This workshop focuses on strengthening the overall financial wellness of SDRS' largest membership group.

August 21st - 6:30pm - 9:00pm via Zoom: Register Here!

South Dakota Retirement System and Supplemental Plan host a Q & A

The South Dakota Retirement System(SDRS) along with the South Dakota Supplemental Retirement Plan(SD-SRP) are hosting a question and answer session about your benefits with Michelle Humann, the Member Services Manager for SDRS and Jaime Seiner, Senior Retirement Specialist for SD-SRP.

August 17th - 10:00am via Zoom: Register Here!

August 17th - 4:15pm via Zoom: Register Here!

Click the link below to register for Sand Creek EAP’s live webinars.

• Wednesday, September 13th - 12:30pm - 1:30pm - Cultural Myths in Media: Fact or Fiction
• Wednesday, October 11th - 12:30pm - 1:30pm - Empowering Your Influence
• Wednesday, November 8th - 12:30pm - 1:30pm - Competent Leadership
• Wednesday, December 13th - 12:30pm - 1:30pm - Personal Fitness for Life

TAKE A LOOK! freshbenies is a no-cost benefit available to all SFSD employees enrolled in the District Medical Plan and their covered family members. freshbenies’ benefit access continues to have great Telehealth service with $0 visits – served with a new partner, WellVia. Once you log into your app or portal, just click the Telehealth icon to set up your new Telehealth account. It’s easy – do it before you get sick!

How does freshbenies help? Call a doctor (US-based) anytime and get a prescription written, if medically necessary, for treatment of common medical issues like colds, flu, respiratory infections, bronchitis, pink eye, poison ivy, allergies, etc. Unlimited visits with no visit fee and a ten minute average response time.

https://www.freshbenies.com/

Join Sam’s Club today & save! All District staff members are eligible for an exclusive offer for discounted membership rates.

Click HERE to learn more!

Sioux Falls School District is inviting you to participate in Wondr, a digital health program helping people to lose weight and improve their whole health. And it’s available to you at no cost, if eligible.*

Looking for something simple to help you look and feel your best for the rest of your life? Wondr makes it easy for you. There are no strict diets, calorie counting, or exercise equipment needed. It's a straightforward, skills-based solution that provides simple, sustainable, life-long results.

Plus, the program’s available 24/7 through the mobile app and online community, WondrLink, where you can access curriculum and connect with online health coaches and participants anytime, anywhere.

Space is limited.

Learn more at https://www.wondrhealth.com/SFSD

Apply between 9/4/2023 – 9/17/2023

The program begins October 2nd!