El Noticiero

Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15-October 15)

October 8: 1st Grade Field Trip to Our Farm Pumpkin Patch

October 9: 2nd Grade Field Trip to Good Earth State Park @ 8:50 AM

October 10- 17: Book Fair (more info to follow)

October 14: No Class - Native American Day Observance

October 15: No Class - Inservice and Parent Teacher Fall Conferences 11:00-7:00

October 21: PASI Meeting at 6:30 PM

October 17: Parent Teacher Fall Conferences 3:00-7:00

October 24: End of Quarter 1

October 25: La Tienda de Lobos

October 31-November 1: Dia de los Muertos

November 8: Veteran's Day Celebration

November 11: No Class - Veterans' Day Observance

November 14: 5th Grade Vocal Music Concert at 6:00 PM

November 15: Save the date! 2024 Great Gatherings at Monick Yards

Nobember 26: Cultural Day at SSE

November 27-29: No Class - Fall Break

Dear Families,

We are thrilled to share some fantastic news! Our school set an ambitious attendance goal of 93% for September, and we exceeded it with an impressive 96% attendance rate! 🎉 This achievement is a testament to the commitment of our students, families, and staff, and we couldn't be prouder.

Regular attendance is crucial for maximizing our students' learning potential. We understand that life can be hectic, and it’s not always easy to ensure perfect attendance. However, by making a conscious effort to schedule appointments and family travel around non-school days, you are making a significant impact on your child's education.

Thank you for your dedication and support in making our school a place where learning thrives. Let's continue this momentum into October and beyond!

We are celebrating our students who attended school every day in the month of September! They all received a badge to display on their lockers as well as a new GREEN ticket! These tickets are used to celebrate our value that ties into attendance, Responsible. These green tickets are worth 5 blue tickets and can be use to purchase items in our school store! Click the image to see who has perfect attendance in each class. Way to go Lobos!

Every month, students have the opportunity to earn a green ticket! Remind your students as we work towards increasing attendance in school!

We have eclipsed 450 tardies for the school year. We would like to remind students and familes that our our doors open at 7:50 and learning begings at 7:55! Arriving late to school can reduce your student's instructional time, but it can also reduce the time spent in the morning on activies to help build connections with their peers which can potentially impacting their social interactions.

We also know mornings can be stressful for families and students. If you need any help with encouraging your student to make it to school on time, please let us know. We have resources and tips available and we would love to help partner with you! We hope you will join us to help reduce the amount of tardies!

Hello!

I hope everyone is having a great start of the school year and enjoying the amazing weather we have been having! Some of you may have already heard about the rising cases of Whooping Cough (Pertussis) in our state. We have had positive cases within our school district and surrounding school districts.

Whooping cough is caused by a bacteria (Bordetella pertussis), and those infected can be highly contagious for weeks. Good news, there is a vaccine available to protect us all against Whooping Cough! If you or your child are not up to date on vaccines, please call your doctor to set up an appointment to receve your booster.

Get ready—the Scholastic Book Fair is coming to our school! This is a great opportunity to connect with your child over the thrill of bringing home new books to dive into again and again. Studies show that kids read more when they choose books for themselves. And fostering a love of independent reading leads to a wide variety of benefits—including academic success and improved mental health. Many of us still remember the rush of finding the perfect book at a Scholastic Book Fair. I hope you’ll join your child at our school’s Fair and share a reading experience they’ll remember forever. Click the picture to view our Book Fair Website!

While you’re there, set up a Book Fair eWallet, the digital payment account that allows your child to shop for books at the Fair without cash. Then share your eWallet link so friends and extended

family can add funds.

When you fund an eWallet, you’ll have the opportunity to contribute to a giving initiative called

Share the Fair™. Your contributions directly support our students who need help buying books from the Fair.

The Book Fair will be at Sonia Sotomayor Elementary on October 10-17. Students will be able to browse and purchase items during the school day. It will also be open during Open house on October 15 and October 17.

Below are the times the Book Fair will be open. After school, students will need to be with their parents and guardians to shop:

• October 9 - 8:00 AM - 3:30 PM
• October 10 - 8:00 AM - 3:30 PM
• October 11 - 8:00 AM - 3:30 PM
• October 15 - 11:00 AM - 7:00 PM
• October 16 - 8:00 AM - 3:30 PM
• October 17 - 8:00 AM - 7:00 PM

You can also shop online October 10 - 12 to support our school. 25% of every online purchase during the Fair directly benefits our school!

Hot, nutritious Free/Reduced priced meals are available to students of income eligible families. The federal program does, however, require a new application be completed each school year and the grace period is ending October 5th. We currently have over 1400 students who participated last year but who do not have an application on file for this year.

https://www.myschoolapps.com/Application

1. All families should review income guidelines. SFSD honors the federal income levels identified AND, thanks to local donations, supports families who barely miss participation in the federal program. If you think you may qualify, it is important to fill out the application.

2. If your student previously participated in the Free/Reduced program or received assistance last year, but you have not completed an application since July 2024, you must complete a new application each school year. Please do so immediately.

3. If you already completed an application and received a response, no action is required. Your student will continue receiving meals based on their Free/Reduced status.

SFSD believes well-balanced meals fuel learning and we invite families to access these programs. To learn more about meal services offered, check meal prices, and menus, please visit us here: https://www.sf.k12.sd.us/page/nutrition-services

We would like to remind families that we do not allow classroom treats for birthdays or other celebrations due to food allergies. Please consider sharing non-edible treats or participating in the Library Birthday Book program (information below) as an alternative.

Birthday Book Program provides a way to celebrate a student’s birthday while building the Library collection at the same time! This is a VOLUNTARY program and you have 2 options:

1. Prior to the student’s birthday, parents can bring a NEW book to the Office/ Library to donate. Parent’s are welcome to come read the book to the class or Mrs. Egstad will read it during Library class. The Library staff will then put a special sticker in the book indicating who donated the book and noting the child’s birthday. After that, the book will be added to the Sotomayor Library. To allow for wear and tear of books in our Library, we ask that books be hardcover. They can be English or Spanish and must be appropriate for all students. We highly encourage the student to be involved in the selection of their Birthday Book, but if parents have questions, they can ask Mrs. Egstad for suggestions.

OR:

1. Parents can donate $10 to the Sotomayor Library and the student will be able to choose from a selection of recently purchased Library bound books to then dedicate with a Birthday Book sticker as their Birthday Book. We will talk about and read this book with their class, same as the first option.

Having involved parents/guardians is a huge blessing to our school! It takes a team and thank you for being apart of it! Every school year, we do need to have a current Volunteer Registration Form on file. If you plan on Volunteering in any capacity during the school day, please fill out the Volunteer Registration Form below. While filling it out, you will not need to complete the background check. This is only if you will ever be with students without staff present. If it is needed in the future, we will contact you to complete it.

District Website Link for volunteering

Volunteer Registration Form - You can print it out here or fill out one of the copies we have in the SSE Office. Only complete section 1.

Email: tracy.vik@k12.sd.us
Website: https://www.sses.sf.k12.sd.us/o/ssspes
Location: Sioux Falls, SD, USA
Phone: 605-367-4655
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SFSpanishImmersion/