Ms. Simmons' Secondary Scoop

I hope this finds you doing well and excited for our new school year. After evaluating my communication strategies and considering some thoughtful feedback, I am pleased to provide this weekly update for all families with students in grades 7-12. This is where I'll strive to keep you in-the-know of the weekly happenings as well as what's coming up at the secondary level.

We’ve officially kicked off the 22-23 school year! Thank you for your effort to get your student(s) ready: completing annual physicals, shopping for school supplies, filling out technology forms, updating lunch balances, instilling words of encouragement to calm first week jitters, and so much more. I look forward to working together to make this a wonderful school year!

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

Our goal as a school district for the next year (and beyond) is STUDENT GROWTH - the constant pursuit of gaining knowledge and skills and seeing it in measurable results.

How will we measure student growth this year?

• IXL - a personalized learning platform tied to SD standards for English, math, & JH science

• Interim Assessments - practice state assessments developed by the SD DOE to inform instruction & evaluate student understanding

• Smarter Balanced Assessments - annual SD DOE standardized tests

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,