Dear Parent or Guardian,

Spring has sprung and with it brings state testing for grades 3-8 and grade 11. It is the time of year when the Mitchell School District students can showcase what they’ve learned throughout the year (and hopefully the gaps we’ve closed due to absences during COVID). South Dakota is part of the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium where students across the nation are being assessed on common core standards. Longfellow students will test from March 31-April 16.

Please keep these dates in mind when scheduling appointments as we primarily test in the mornings. It is important for our learners to be on time so they can start the testing session with their classmates. We appreciate your efforts to ensure our Longfellow students have a positive testing experience. A good night’s sleep, a healthy breakfast, and encouraging words to do the best they can are a few ways that parents can assist their children. Preparing our children for academic success requires a partnership between home and school. Our Longfellow teachers feel very fortunate to be able to work with such supportive families. Thank you for all you do!

It's time to register your child for the 2025-2026 school year. Please complete your ‘Annual Information Update’ for the 2025-2026 school year. Please follow the online directions, in this newsletter, to update your information for your Begindergarten-4th grade child/ren, during the month of April. If you have a child in BK or KG, please watch your child’s backpack for your GUID/registration number. All information updates need be completed by May 1, 2025. This meets the requirements for registering your child for Longfellow for the 2025-2026 school year. Providing completed forms and updated information will assist us for the upcoming school year. If you have questions, please call the Longfellow office at 995-3092.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Heckenlaible

Doctor Appointments? Vacations?

The South Dakota summative testing window runs from March - May 3rd. We do most of our testing in April. Please avoid scheduling appointments during the school day, if at all possible. Testing with their peers is the most normal testing environment for our students. If they miss testing dates, they will have to make them up during important class time. Your help is much appreciated! More detailed grade-level information will come out when the schedule is finalized.

Please check out the Dates to Remember section of this newsletter as they would be the perfect time to schedule appointments or travel.

Please ask your child if they have headphones for school. If you forgot to send some or they are no longer working, we have headphones in the office available for purchase for $5.00. Our lions use headphones daily.

Doors do not open and supervision doesn't start until 7:30 am. Doors re-lock and supervision ends at 3:30 pm. Thank you for your attention to this matter!

We understand that families need to make doctor appointments and have family vacations. As you are scheduling those, it may help to be aware of these dates.

4/18-4/21 Fri-Mon-NO SCHOOL - Easter

We do the bulk of our statewide testing in April as well (3rd-5th graders). When a student

misses the scheduled testing time, we are required to reschedule for that student. Learners do

better when testing with the rest of their peers. We appreciate you doing your best to avoid

absences or leaving for appointments during those dates.

Teacher request forms will be sent home with our current BK, kindergarten and 1st grade students by mid April. Please watch for those if you are interested in requesting their teacher.

We are very proud of our attendance rates at Longfellow Elementary as we had a 97% attendance rate for the 2023-24 school year!! We are currently at 97% and want to keep that going! We want to thank our parents for continuing to bring their child/ren to school each day and on time.

Attendance is extremely important to the success of each child's education.

Thank you for making attendance and education a priority in your child's life!!

Towards the end of the school year (which will be here before we know it), each grade level/den has the opportunity to attend a field trip. Please note that field trips must be earned by the following rules, showing and being respectful to others, being a positive leader, and upholding their grades (to name a few). Teachers will review their lists and determine all who have earned the privilege.

Parents, please make sure to send your child with a light jacket or sweatshirt (or in some cases they may still need their winter gear). We know the temperature changes frequently during this time of year and we want the students to be prepared for recess. Thank you for your help!

Pick up and drop off can be a very stressful time for parents and students. Everyone is in a hurry and ready to move on to the next part of their day. However, safety is the most important factor! Please remember to go to the corner and cross the street with the crossing guards. Please do NOT encourage your child to cross in the middle of the street. We want to keep our students safe and set a good example.

For the month of March, our PE activities included....

• Read Across America Activities
• Leprechaun Tag
• Boost Up Stations
• Basketball

PLEASE remember that students need proper shoes on gym days. Sandals, cowboy boots, snow boots, fashionable boots, flipflops, crocs, etc., are fine shoes but not appropriate for PE days.

Longfellow does not have spare shoes for students to borrow. Thank you.

***Prizes will be awarded in the 1st week of May for our March challenges. Just a reminder, everyone who submits a picture will be entered into a drawing for the prizes!

Tues. Apr 1 - PTO Meeting

Tues. Apr 1 - Festival Band

Fri. Apr 4 - Longfellow Scholarship Due

Fri. Apr 11 - Student Council Store OPEN

Sar. Apr 12 - Caring Closet Open - Must Pre-Register

Mon. Apr 14 - School Board Meeting

Thurs. Apr 17 - Yearbook Order Forms DUE

Fri. Apr 18 - NO SCHOOL

Mon. Apr 21 - NO SCHOOL

Fri. Apr 25 - Student Council Store OPEN

Mon. Apr 28 - School Board Meeting

May 6 - 5th Grade District Band Concert 7pm @ PAC

May 13 - 5th Grade Show Choir Concert 6:30pm @ PAC

May 22 - 5th Grade Recognition 6:30 pm @ PAC

May 23 - Field Day

Youth Art Month (YAM), an annual event traditionally celebrated in March, is a nationwide program that emphasizes the value of art education for all children and encourages support for quality K-12 visual art programs. Some artworks from Longfellow students are submitted to be in a competition and online gallery for the State South Dakota created by the organization South Dakota Art Educators Association.

The Mitchell Community Scholarship Fund is a 501(c)3 organization created in 2001 and maintained to provide scholarships for every graduating senior from MHS or MCHS that qualifies. This fund assists Mitchell’s graduating seniors to attain their goals of continuing educational opportunities and to demonstrate Mitchell’s belief in their youth. The student must attend a postsecondary institution to receive the scholarship money and complete the necessary claim form. A board of directors oversees the efforts, and all monies raised are done through fundraising and special events. Community members and school representatives are members of the board that has no fiscal relationship with the Mitchell School District or Mitchell Christian School. Funds are held and managed by the Mitchell Area Charitable Foundation with 100% of money raised dedicated to scholarship awards.

The school doors open at 7:30 am. Even if it is cold or raining, we do not have staff in the building to supervise so students will wait until 7:30 am to enter the building. Likewise, our staff leaves by 3:45 and students will need to be picked up before that time. We appreciate you making arrangements to have your children dropped off and picked up within those times.

Building doors open 7:30 am

Breakfast served 7:30-8:10 am

First bell rings at 8:10 am

School begins at 8:15 am (meaning a student is tardy at 8:16 am)

School dismissed at 3:15 pm

Building locks 3:30 pm

If your child needs to leave during the school day or will come late due to an appointment, simply alert the school office at 605-995-3092. If you need to take your child out early, we appreciate you alerting the office ahead of time, if possible. Your child will remain in class until you come inside to sign them out and we will do our best to have them prepared and ready to go as quickly as possible.

All medications must be administered through the office. Students may keep cough drops in their lockers or desks but allergy meds, cold & flu, antacids, inhalers, etc., as well as all prescription medications will be held in the nurse's office. Please stop in to see Mrs. Snoozy, Longfellow's nurse, or call 605-995-3092 and ask for our nurse, if you have any questions.

Please remember that students are NOT ALLOWED to carry any medications on them (even aspirin). It is not safe to have elementary students carrying meds as we don't want them to get into the wrong hands. We are happy to keep OTC medications in the office for your child when/if they need them.

Parents of 5th grade boys and/or 4th grade girls should watch for flyers to come home regarding the nurse's talk "Always Changing & Growing Up".