Greetings, Sonia Sotomayor Families!
Thank you all for your continued support and dedication to our school wide goal of improving attendance. We’re thrilled to share that in October, 443 students achieved perfect attendance! That means they were present, at least part of the day, every single school day in October. This is a fantastic accomplishment, and it shows just how committed our community is to giving our students the best possible educational experience. The best place for students to learn is in school, with their skilled teachers and peers, where they are challenged, engaged, and supported each day.
A special shout-out to Sra. SanMartin's class, 303, for earning the highest attendance rate for the second consecutive month with an incredible 98.71% attendance in October! Keep up the great work, class 303!
However, there is still an area where we need your help: arriving on time each day. Our school day begins promptly at 7:55 a.m.; it’s important that every student is in their seat, ready to learn, by this time. In October, students were marked tardy 365 times. Arriving late can cause disruptions for the class, create unnecessary stress for the student, and result in missed learning time that can be hard to make up.
Let’s work together to ensure that each child has a smooth and timely start to their day. When students arrive on time, they start the day with their classmates and experience a more consistent learning environment. Please help us in our goal to reduce tardiness and increase daily attendance—together, we can make a difference!
Thank you for your continued support in making Sonia Sotomayor School a place where every student can succeed!
Teamwork makes the dream work!
Warm regards from your principal,
Tracy Vik
At school with Mrs. Biggar students are learning about Empathy: Understanding how someone else is feeling. Your child is learning that people can have different feelings about a situation and that these feelings can change. Understanding similarities and differences between their own feelings and other people's feelings helps children have empathy for others. This in turn, helps them get along better with the many different people in their lives.
In fourth grade students are also learning about different communication styles: passive, aggressive and assertive. Being too passive can prevent students from asking for they want or need. Aggressive communication can cause problems with other students, and adults. Being assertive means asking for what you need or want in a calm, firm, respectful voice. Being assertive can help students be successful in a variety of social and academic situations.
You are encouraged to talk to your children about these topics. You can challenge yourself to make an effort to point out how your child is feeling once a day: "I see you are really excited about getting some IPAD time today". "I can tell you are really disappointed you forgot your viola for school today". "I understand you are really mad at your brother for wrecking your lego creation." Try not to fix the problem but reflect the feeling.
**Parents, if you are cleaning out closets and come across gently used games that are no longer played with in your house, consider donating them to Sonia Sotomayor's Mentoring program!
Every month, students have the opportunity to earn a green ticket! Remind your students as we work towards increasing attendance in school! Click the image to see who has perfect attendance in each class. 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! Way to go Lobos!
We are blessed to have many family members who have served or are currently serving in our country’s military. Each year, we take a moment to celebrate and express our gratitude to these incredible service men and women during a special assembly.
This year, the assembly was held on Friday, November 8th, at 9:00 AM at Sonia Sotomayor Elementary. Veterans and their families were invited to attend and be honored for their service. Here is a link to a recording of the assembly and pictures!
Thank you for your understanding and for supporting our veterans!
You are invited to attend the 5th Grade Vocal Music Concert!
When? Thursday, November 14th, 2024 at 6:00 PM
Where? Sonia Sotomayor Gymnasium
The theme of this year’s concert will be Lobos Divertidos~Spanish songs with games and dances. It will also showcase students' talents and creativity through instruments, dancing, and narration. We are so proud of our 5th Grade Lobos!
You are invited to Great Gathering 2024!
When: Friday, November 15, 2024 at 7:00 PM
Where: Monick Yards, East 8th St, Sioux Falls, SD
This is the kick off to PASI’s 2024-25 School Year Great Gatherings Fundraiser! The Great Gathering 2024 Event consists of silent auction items, raffles, and the ability to sign up for gatherings hosted by Spanish Immersion families, staff, and supporters. PASI, through the Great Gatherings fundraiser, offers families a chance to enrich the daily experiences of the Spanish immersion students with donations of all sizes. Great Gatherings primarily supports international interns in the program, whose contributions to our children's classrooms are invaluable. While the intern program is PASI's main focus, they also fund various other needs within the Immersion programs. The fundraising efforts benefit teacher development, classroom grants, and the enhancement of the Spanish-language libraries across all grade levels.
What is a Gathering? It is a chance to bring together members of the community to participate in an activity or event. The gatherings are all unique and can be whatever the host chooses. The event can be for kids, adults, or both! It can be hosted in a home or a venue. At the gathering a craft could be made, or a meal hosted or sporting event. The sky's the limit! All costs of the gathering are paid for by the host and the money collected for the attendance fee will go to support the intern program. At the Great Gathering you can purchase the opportunity to attend a gathering event. Here is a great video explanation.
A great way to stay updated on the kick off event and PASI is by following on Facebook! Check out the various videos that explain what Great Gatherings is, why PASI is important to our program and more.
Report Cards
CONTACT US
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/