Sturgis Elementary Newsletter

South Dakota Weather: Just a reminder to please have your students come to school in appropriate dress. If it isn’t below zero, raining, or large winds, students will be outside for recess. Our weather can change drastically during the day. Please make sure to send your child with a coat to school.

South Dakota State Assessment: All third and fourth grade students will be taking a state assessment in the area of English Language Arts and Math. These assessments will occur in the month of April. Teachers have been making preparations by teaching test taking strategies and technology skills that will assist students in completing the online assessment. Students will have four to five testing sessions to break up the assessment. Please make every attempt to minimize appointments to allow us to complete the required state required assessment. Our schedule for testing can be located at the following link:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Yq1m13O_MC3lCS0SrvmKN-PIfVa5gf4BNCAIbp40tq8/edit

School Attendance: Our school has had its share of absences with all the seasonal colds and flus going around. Because of these absences that are out of our control, I kindly ask you to please consider absences that are in your control to minimize the amount of days your child misses from school. The goal is not miss more than seven days in a trimester. Anything more than seven within a trimester is considered unexcused.

Lost and Found: Stop in and visit our lost and found if you are looking for something your child is missing. We have had quite a few items over the recent weeks that has been left in the gym, lunchroom, office and playground.

For parents that are interested in their students attending a smaller elementary school within our district, there is a new opportunity in the upcoming year. Whitewood Elementary will be opening enrollment to Sturgis residents starting in the 23-24 school year.

A bus will run from Sturgis to Whitewood and then back when the school day ends.

Class sizes are limited.

Please call 605-269-2264 for more information

All requests for Meade School District 46-1 bus route changes for the 2023-24 school year must be submitted to the office of the superintendent by April 3, 2023. Requests that are received by the April 3 deadline will be submitted to the Board at its April board meeting. Those requests will then be referred to the transportation committee for review. Action on the bus route change requests will be taken by the Board at the August board meeting.

Change Request Form

Forms can be mailed or emailed to:

Meade School District

1230 Douglas Street

Sturgis SD 57785

tanya.ludwick@k12.sd.us

For other bus related questions or information, click HERE.

• What is your position at Sturgis Elementary?

2-4th grade Self Contained Special Education Teacher

• Where are you from?

• What are your hobbies and interests?

• What made you want to be a teacher?

• What would your perfect day of relaxation look like?

• What was something you saw recently that made you laugh?

• Who has inspired you in your life and why?

• If you could visit one place in the world, where would it be and why?

• What is your position at Sturgis Elementary?

Early Intervention/SPED Teacher

• Where are you from?

Rapid City, SD

• What are your hobbies and interests?

Horseback riding, hiking, kayaking, hunting, DIY projects

• What made you want to be a teacher?

Making a difference in the lives of children with disabilities. I enjoy teaching children to be independent, love school and work on skills to help them excel in life! I love seeing the progress they make over the 3 years they are in my classroom.

• What would your perfect day of relaxation look like?

Going on a hike in the hills, trail riding, or getting a pedicure!

• What was something you saw recently that made you laugh?

The funny things my students say: The other day we were talking about the letter T, and one of my students said "Hey look! I'm a T-post!" That was a good laugh.

• Who has inspired you in your life and why?

I would say my teacher friends inspire me. Having a good connection with people who are in the same career as you is a wonderful thing. You always have someone to get advise from, talk to, bounce ideas with, and understand you. They are your biggest supporters!

• If there was a book written about you, what would it be titled?

• If you could visit one place in the world, where would it be and why?

It would be New Zealand! I have always thought seeing the ocean and going to the beach and then hiking around in the mountains there would be amazing.

• What is your position at Sturgis Elementary?

k-2 Self-Contained Teacher

• Where are you from?

Sturgis

• What are your hobbies and interests?

Camping, wake surfing, coaching and hunting

• What made you want to be a teacher?

I have always loved working with children. I was fortunate to have wonderful teachers who I looked up to and encouraged me to go into the field of education.

• What would your perfect day of relaxation look like?

Sitting on our boat at the lake, enjoying the sunshine.

• What was something you saw recently that made you laugh?

My daughter dressed up for 100th day of school as a little old lady. She would walk really slow with her cane and talk like an old lady calling people "Sonny, and sweetheart"!

• Who has inspired you in your life and why?

My mom, she had neck surgery a few years ago and had some complications due to it and was unable to lift her arms, she has worked so hard on regaining full mobility in her arms and is doing amazing!

• If there was a book written about you, what would it be titled?

Surf, Sunshine and Smiles

• If you could visit one place in the world, where would it be and why?

Africa, I would love to see all the animals and learn about the culture.

• What is your position at Sturgis Elementary?

Special Education Teacher - KIND Room

• Where are you from?

Elk Point, South Dakota

• What are your hobbies and interests?

I love going to yoga classes, reading Psychological Thrillers, getting boba and going to the library, and hiking with my dogs.

• What made you want to be a teacher?

I had an amazing 3rd grade teacher who showed love even to the most difficult students. She inspired me to be a teacher.

• What would your perfect day of relaxation look like?

My perfect day of relaxation starts with a good breakfast and big cup of coffee. I would spend my day doing my favorite things. I would go to a yoga class then read a book with a big blanket while cuddling with my dogs.

• What was something you saw recently that made you laugh?

My Golden Retrievers make me laugh!

• Who has inspired you in your life and why?

My Mom is my biggest inspiration. She inspires me to be a hard worker, and I love her fun spirit. I try to spread sunshine to others like she does. She brightens my days by texting me every day saying, "love you, sweet girl!"

• If there was a book written about you, what would it be titled?

My Life with Frizzy Hair

• If you could visit one place in the world, where would it be and why?

I have a goal to visit every National Park and all 50 states!

Please note that the school will NOT have any extra yearbooks to sell.

Orders must be placed through Lifetouch using the information above.

Hello Families! Spring is here and our hard work in 2nd grade is paying off. We have seen great progress, but need your continued support to finish the year strong. As the days get warmer and stay lighter later, please don’t forget the importance of reading to your 2nd grader and listening to them read. Also, additional practice of math facts (ninja math), counting coins (nickel, dime and pennies), and telling time would be beneficial.

We had a great time doing extra reading activities during the “Reading Roundup” challenge and have been exploring some great science activities.

Thanks so much for your support!

Sturgis Elementary hosted our annual reading challenge March 1-10, 2023. Our theme this year was Reading Roundup - and our readers were ropin' and readin' good books left and right! The Reading Roundup festivities included a reading challenge documenting students' at home reading, staff and student dress up days, a visit from former Miss Rodeo South Dakota Martina Loobey, and a wild western rodeo finale - complete with Mrs. Ligtenberg and Mrs. Jutting "barrel racing" and kissing a calf! New to the reading challenge this year was a Reading Book Swap. Over 1,000 books were brought in to be swapped and students enjoyed lassoing up some "new to them" reading materials! Special thank you's go out to the Long family, Miss Martina Loobey, and the Black Hills Roundup Committee for helping us make this a special event for students at Sturgis Elementary!

Computer Class

Students in computer class have done a variety of different things both on the computers and STEAM activities. Students have done a great job of working hard and being creative in both!

In computer class we are about to begin to learn how to code using a program called “Scratch”. Scratch is a program where students can create stories on the computer and also create animations using animals and different characters or “sprites”. Students have also been working on keyboarding skills on our program called “Typing Club”. Other activities that we have done is a program called gear sketch to learn how gears and chains work together in machines.

STEAM activities we have done this year includes various Lego activities and challenges such as using a shaker table to build stable structures and a challenge to build a raft to make things float. These activities have been enjoyable for all students and it was great to see all the creative ideas the students came up with! We are looking forward to exploring with Lego more and creating more things with them as well as our Makedo tools which we will be beginning shortly!

Sincerely,

Mr. Buus

PTA is hosting a Read - A - Thon!

April 17th - April 28th

Stay tuned - teachers will be sending additional information soon!

Grand Prize - $50 ~~ Top Earner - $25 ~~ Top Reader - $25

Katy Jutting, Assistant Principal

Email: MeadeSESOffice@k12.sd.us
Website: https://www.meade.k12.sd.us/sturgis-elementary/
Location: 1121 Ballpark Road, Sturgis, SD, USA
Phone: 605-347-2386