
District Dialogue
Keeping you informed the week of June 12-16, 2023
School Board Meeting (6/12) Recap
Good News Report
SFSD Youtube Update
In the past year, approximately 159 original videos have been posted on the Sioux Falls School District YouTube Channel. While we are proud of the quantity – we are most thrilled with the quality of programming our team produces to use on our social channels, as well as on KLRN-TV: Your Sioux Falls Classroom Connection, Midco Cable Channel 20 and 595 where we feature continuous broadcast of original programming to inform and entertain. As seen in the important message linked above, the communications team pushes out a lot of valuable content via Youtube and social media, and we encourage all stakeholders to spend time consuming this information for a first-hand look at what is going on in our classrooms.
Reports of the Superintendent
23-24 Continue to Learn Plan Updates
SFSD's original Continue to Learn Plan was adopted by the Board on August 9th, 2021 after significant community feedback. The District reviews and updates the document every six months, or whenever the CDC makes significant changes. The School Board approved some minor changes to the document, which will be used for the 2023-24 school year.
Click below to view the full report.
School Bus Inc. End of the Year Review
Members of School Bus Inc. presented the School Board with a Year End Review presentation at tonight's meeting. They highlighted staff leaders and the tools they're using to keep students safe and arriving on time.
Click below to view the full report.
Office Deals for Educators!
Office Depot/Office Max has some exclusive deals for educators this summer!
The Graduation White Board Project
Inspire Education Conference Registration Open
Registration is open for the 2023 Inspire Education Conference, August 2nd-3rd at Jefferson HS! Register soon as spots are quickly filling up!
This conference is open to all SFSD employees free of charge! Topics include MTSS, PBIS, mental health, restorative practices, PLC+, literacy, strengthening core instruction and many more!
Click here to view the full conference schedule and session descriptions.
Click here to view sessions by topic.
Click here to register!
Imagine Solutions Conference
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.
Interested in becoming a Host Family for an exchange student?
Public School Proud Grants
The last two Public School Proud grants were recently given to Katie Rick & Darla Anderson, and Cody Wagner! Congratulations to the Education Foundation on another amazing year! This year they gave out 59 Public School Proud Grants to 91 educators throughout the Sioux Falls School District. $124,000 total was given out in grants, making this another record year! Since 2008 they have provided more than $900,000 to enhance student engagement.
Thank you to the Education Foundation's Executive Director Allison Struck for all your hard work in getting a record number of grants out to educators this year. Thank you also to the Education Foundation board members, donors, and businesses who contribute to the Foundation. You're all helping our educators provide students with amazing new opportunities!
Be on the lookout this fall as they begin to celebrate their 15th anniversary!
HR Radar
HR Radar: Upcoming SDRS Member Events
SDRS Lunch & Learn : SRP Online Financial Planning Tools
We know that retirement is as unique as each individual planning for it. That’s why SDRS Supplemental Retirement defines retirement as your vision for the future — not as dollars and benchmarks. Retirement is different for everyone. What does it mean for you? We'll look at tools we have available that can help get you there. Investing can be critical to your financial future — so it’s important to know about key investment concepts and options that are available for you to plan for your future.
June 14th - 12:10 - 12:50pm 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.
June 21st - 10:00am via Zoom: Register Here!
June 21st - 4:15pm via Zoom: Register Here!
HR Radar: Upcoming Sand Creek Webinars
Click the link below to register for Sand Creek EAP’s live webinars.
- Wednesday, June 14th - 12:30pm - 1:30pm - Healthy Living: Navigate Life’s Transitions
- Wednesday, July 12th - 12:30pm - 1:30pm - Identifying and Addressing Employee Turnover
- Wednesday, August 9th - 12:30pm - 1:30pm - Boosting Your Brain Power
- Wednesday, September 13th - 12:30pm - 1:30pm - Cultural Myths in Media: Fact or Fiction
Benefits Buzz: Life Insurance & Benefits Spring Cleaning
Sioux Falls School District employees have life insurance options through Lincoln Financial Group. These life insurance options include options for spouse and kids! For more information, click here, or email benefits.sfsd@k12.sd.us.
In Spring Cleaning Fashion, please log into the Selerix Benefit System and do the following:
- Verify that your benefit elections look as you think they should. (You won’t be able to change anything in Selerix)
- If you have life insurance, you must add or verify your beneficiary information. (Beneficiary designations are the only modifications allowed in Selerix at this time).
Click HERE to access the Benefit Enrollment Site. Your login is your Employee ID Number. The initial PIN/password for the system is the last four numbers of your social security number plus the last two numbers of your birth year.
Weekly Wellness: How to choose between emergency room care or urgent care?
Visiting the doctor’s office or urgent care center for routine medical needs saves time and money compared to the emergency room. Use this guide to know where to go to get the care you need.
Virtual Visit:
• Cold and flu
• Bronchitis and sinus infection
• Sore throats and allergies
• Fever and headache
• Pink eye or skin condition
Physician’s Office:
• Earaches
• Sore throats
• Fevers that respond to fever-reducing medications
• Ankle sprains and other strains of muscles and joints
• Coughs and colds
• Abdominal pain or other symptoms that resemble an illness that is “going around”
Urgent Care Center:
• Sprains, minor cuts and burns, minor broken bones, or minor eye injuries.
• Earaches, sore throats, minor headaches, low-grade fevers and limited rashes.
Emergency Room:
• Chest pain lasting two minutes or more
• Uncontrolled bleeding
• Sudden or severe pain
• Coughing or vomiting blood
• Difficulty breathing; shortness of breath
• Sudden dizziness, weakness or change in vision
• Severe or persistent vomiting or diarrhea
• Change in mental status (for example, confusion)
Need help deciding the best place to go for care based on your symptoms?
Call Wellmark at BeWell 24/7 at 844-84-BEWELL (239355) to speak to a registered nurse to help guide you to the right place of care!
Adapted from Wellmark