District Dialogue

The Sioux Falls Public Schools Education Foundation has been busy this past month! They have been going to schools to award educators throughout the district with grants for their classrooms. 20 grants have been awarded so far with even more to come! 2023 will be a record year for the Education Foundation as they award a record number of grants and overall funding to educators. From drones to tablets, books, games, and education material, all the grants awarded through the foundation will have a direct positive impact on classrooms and students. Congratulations to all the Public School Proud grant recipients! Thank you for going the extra mile to benefit your students! (Be sure to follow the link below for a full list of recipients!)

Fine arts in the SFSD have been on a roll lately! In this week's Good News Report, Boyd Perkins (fine arts coordinator) highlighted the results of the SD State Visual Arts Contest Gallery. Class AA team results are as follows:

• 1st place - Jefferson High School
• 2nd place - Roosevelt High School
• 3rd place - Lincoln High School
• 5th place - Washington High School

That's some great representation for SFSD Fine Arts!

See the link below for the report, which also includes pictures of the amazing student work that was present at the state competition.

Language and communication are at the heart of the human experience. Learning a new language allows students to communicate and interact in multilingual communities in Sioux Falls and across the world. The Sioux Falls School District offers various language courses to allow students to explore, develop, and maintain proficiency in two or more languages, including the student’s first language.

See the full report below.

April is extremely flexible and creative. She established our own training and reference link so all new staff will be able to go to one stop and learn program basics. When describing what we need to do she dives in to the details and understands the accuracy in her presentations for CN compliance. In the absence of a manager at a Middle or High School, April is the one to jump in and cover. Currently she is doing double duty while we wait to fill a position at Whittier. She is doing this without complaint, (WMS Admin want to keep her permanently). April understands the vision we have to continuously improve the quality of meals for our student, how customer service starts with us individually and spreads to the students we serve. While she can come across as quiet at times there is spunk in her which is so needed in todays world with added stressors on the role we serve. She has a servant heart and not looking for attention. It would be great to spotlight an amazing hard worker employee like April

Jessie is exemplary in every aspect of her position at Hawthorne Elementary. She is a wealth of knowledge when it comes to all things behavior and the realm of special education. Jessie works tirelessly to brainstorm, support, and implement all sorts of plans to provide students the access to success. Jessie can be found multi-tasking in her room with multiple learning groups going on while also managing some of the toughest behaviors in our school. She is a life-long learner always looking to gain more experience and knowledge to better the lives of all students at Hawthorne. Spend one day at Hawthorne and you will see all the remarkable reasons that Jessie is a true All-Star!

For 150 years, SFSD has provided a high-quality public education to hundreds of thousands of students. Student success is heavily dependent upon the adults who guide learning, develop expectations, and personally display a positive attitude and caring spirit. This award celebrates staff members who embrace the mission/vision of SFSD with excellence and professionalism, and who leave their mark without fanfare.

The Sioux Falls School District was recently recognized by the National Association of Music Merchants as one of the best communities in the country for music education. The Best Communities for Music Education (BCME) Award celebrates school districts and schools for their support and commitment to music education and efforts to ensure access to music for all students as part of a well-rounded education. To qualify for the designation, SFSD answered detailed questions about funding, graduation requirements, music class participation, instruction time facilities. Research into music education continues to demonstrate the educational/cognitive and social skill benefits for children who make music. Congratulations to all our music educators who work hard everyday and helped to make this possible!

Last week the South Dakota School Counselors Association held their annual conference and Kelsi Buckmiller was honored with the Rising Star award! This award is given to a counselor who is new to the field, demonstrates the highest standards of professional competence, makes outstanding contributions to the school community, and has demonstrated excellent rapport with students, parents and school personnel. Congratulations, Kelsi!

Research shows that Afterschool Professionals make a profound difference in the lives of young people. This week we celebrate all of our Afterschool professionals who positively impact those lives. Thank you to everyone who works to provide students with enriching experiences during out-of-school hours!

47% of school kids live in poverty. This means they might not have money for school lunch, school supplies, winter boots, field trips, or washing their clothes. But you can help level the playing field by participating in some fun and practical ways. Join Levo Credit Union, The Sioux Falls Storm and Air Madness in this great effort.

ATTEND THE GAME
Saturday, April 29, 2023
Enjoy some local football that supports local kids. Bring your friends and family out for a night of food, field goals and fanfare.

50% of net proceeds will be donated to Operation Hope & Caring.

*Group tickets are available. Please contact: Stephanie Richter at stephanie.richter@siouxfallsstorm.com

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

• Wednesday, May 10th - 12:30pm - 1:30pm - A Balancing Act for the Work and Personal Life Seesaw
• Wednesday, June 14th - 12:30pm - 1:30pm - Healthy Living: Navigate Life’s Transitions

Can’t attend a webinar? No problem! Visit https://allonehealth.com/blog/ to view all past webinars.

• The last day SFEA (Teachers) staff may use personal leave or a wellness day is May 12th.
• For all other employee groups (EAs, Clerical, Specialists, Custodial, etc), please refer to each working agreement for specifics, as restricted time frames for personal leave may be different.

Working Agreements can be found here: Working Agreements

Personal and Wellness Day Memo for Teachers – Revised April 2023

No Meeting/No Personal Days 2022-23 – Revised April 2023

SDRS Benefits Manager Michelle Humann and SDRS-SRP Senior Retirement Specialist Jamie Seiner will be hosting a Lunch & Learn via ZOOM on Wednesday, April 26th regarding the SDRS Special Pay Plan (SDRS-SPP).

Additional details can be found HERE

If you are interested in flexible spending for 2023-2024 or want to make any changes to your benefits, you must do so during open enrollment. Please note, you MUST go through the ENTIRE open enrollment. Use the attached enrollment guide to help you through the enrollment.

Not Interested in Flexible Spending for 2023-2024 and Not Making Any Changes?

No action is required if you have no benefit changes and are declining flexible spending. Open enrollment is only for those who have/need to elect flexible spending and/or are interested in making changes to any of their benefits.

• Questions? Contact benefits.sfsd@k12.sd.us

Until the end of April, District staff can bring in their badge and purchase 3 infrared sauna sessions for only $30. What a great way to spend time relaxing and improving your health at an infrared sauna!

Benefits:

1. Detox at cellular level
2. Relax & stress relief
3. Boost immune system
4. Ease pain & tension
5. Lower blood pressure
6. Improve circulation

View the linked document below to learn more!

3 Degrees Promo Information

Last week SFSD employees who are retiring this year, or who have been with the district for 25 years, were honored with a recognition banquet to thank them for their many years of service. View the video above to see a recap of the event.

Were you at the event? Got some photos you'd like to find and download? You can find photos from the event here.

Follow the links below to see a full list of all the 2023 retirees and milestone anniversaries.