Ms. Simmons' Secondary Scoop

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As I shared last week, our district's goal is student growth - the constant pursuit of gaining knowledge and skills and seeing it in measurable results. One platform we are utilizing to monitor student progress and track student growth is IXL. IXL is a personalized learning platform tied to SD standards for English, math, & JH science.

Five times throughout this school year, students will be completing diagnostic testing (also called snapshots) to evaluate the progression of learning and inform instruction. The first round of diagnostic testing will be finished by Fri, 8/26. I encourage you to have your student(s) show you their scores and explain what it means. Teachers are actively reminding students that this first round of scores will likely be the lowest of the year, but not to get discouraged because improvement will be made throughout the year.

It's a common question parents/guardians ask their student(s), and access to online lesson plans provides meaningful conversation concerning homework and what students are learning. Online lesson plans also open lines of communication when students miss school. Students can first check online to see the plan for each of their classes, and follow up with the teacher(s) to complete what was missed. I hope this continues to be a valuable resource for our families.

We're about a month away from homecoming week! The student council and staff have begun the planning process and will provide regular updates as details are finalized.

A couple items to note:

• JH/JV football & cross country will still have their events scheduled on Mon, 9/19; students should be finished in time to attend coronation at 6:30 PM.
• Due to the cross country meet & volleyball tournament on Sat, 9/24, the homecoming dance will be on Mon, 9/19 following coronation until 10:30 PM. We hope this will allow the greatest number of students to attend.

We are looking forward to a wonderful school year and know homecoming week will be a highlight for our entire Herd community.

While junior high and high school students are striving towards independence, there are three important ways to stay connected to your student’s education:

1. Please make sure all current contact information (cell phone, mailing address, & email address) is provided to the school. All three of these communication outlets are used regularly throughout the school year.

2. Please login to the Parent Portal at a minimum of once per week to check your student’s grades and attendance. If you do not have an account, please contact Mrs. Bonnie Yackley by calling the school or emailing her at bonnie.yackley@k12.sd.us.

3. Please follow us on Facebook and Twitter and download our free app, “Elkton School District, SD” to stay up-to-date with school events and activities.

Website: https://www.elkton.k12.sd.us/
Phone: (605) 542-2541
Facebook: facebook.com/ElktonSchool53
Twitter: @ElktonSchool

A few back-to-school reminders as we head into our new year:

• Updated student handbook is posted on the school website: Explore (top right on webpage) - Documents - Secondary

• All lesson plans are online again this year. This enables students and parents/guardians to stay in touch with coursework from anywhere. These can be found on the school website: Explore (top right on webpage) - Staff - click the link below each email address for the staff member/course you’d like to see.

• Link to all school activities: Explore (top right on webpage) - Athletics

As always, please let me know if there's anything I can do to serve you and our secondary students.

Sincerely in Education,