
District Dialogue
Keeping you informed the week of January 22-26, 2024
School Board Meeting (1/22) Recap
School Board Retreat
This afternoon, members of the Sioux Falls School Board and SFSD administration took a tour of the CTE Academy to get an update on all of the new and exciting programming being offered to students. After the tour, members sat down for a mid-year update on career counseling, district priorities and legislative calendars. Audio from that meeting will be made public in the coming days. View more photos from the CTE tour on our Flikr page here! https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjBboWE
Reports of the Superintendent: Legislative Update
Todd Vik presented legislative updates to the school board at Monday evening's meeting. He included bills that are relevant to SFSD and the District's position on them (which can also be found here: https://www.sf.k12.sd.us/page/legislative-positions).
View the attachment below for a full list of SFSD legislative positions.
Operation Hope & Caring
Air Madness on a Day Off!
Use these COLD days indoors to plan your fun in February! Air Madness, SF STORM, and LEVO are teaming up over President's Break to support Operation Hope & Caring - a fund that levels the playing field for SFSD students! See you Tuesday, February 20, 2024!
T Shirts for Sale!
For the past several years, Levo and the Sioux Falls STORM have teamed up for Operation Hope & Caring – a fundraiser to level the playing field for all schools and students, especially those without PTAs/PTOs. As a new twist, we are adding a tshirt to the many options staff have to support this important partnership. Please see the link below to purchase your shirt (and more for your friends and family)! In addition to the tshirts, Air Madness gives a portion of the proceeds from jumping on Feb 20, 2024, Perky coffee can be purchased for $10/bag (100% goes to Operation Hope & Caring), and a portion of the ticket sales for the STORM game on May 4th, 2024 add to the total. Consider how you can support these schools TODAY!
Stampede Wiener Dog Night!
Saturday, February 10th is the 17th annual Wiener Dog Night for the Sioux Falls Stampede! Through an exclusive special, tickets are only $21 for gold level seats, $16 for blue level seats and $13 for gray level seats. Upper-level tickets are just $5 if you follow this link:
https://fevo-enterprise.com/event/wdndtofeb10
There will, of course, be some exciting wiener dog races, along with lots of other fun activities, and it all goes toward supporting the Dakota Dachshund Rescue.
January is National Mentoring Month!
It's hard to overstate how important mentoring is to the SFSD community. Mentoring takes a small amount of time, and delivers benefits that have a huge impact on students lives. The impact of mentoring can be seen in many different ways, including:
- 52% GPA improvement
- 72% unexcused absence improvement
- 89% behavior incident improvement
- 91% of mentees have higher indicators of hope as a result of their mentor
There is always a need for more mentors throughout all Sioux Falls schools. Lutheran Social Services (LSS) and TeamMates Mentoring Program are partnered with the Sioux Falls School District to provide mentors to students who need them.
CLC Health & Wellness Fairs!
The Community Learning Centers are excited to invite you to our Health & Wellness Fairs. This is a great time to beat the winter blues and connect with community agencies, register for door prizes, enter the free bike raffle, take part in learning sessions and enjoy fun activities for the whole family!
One Week Left for Burger Battle Festivities!
CTE Student's Burger Featured at CRAVE!
This burger was a special collaboration between CRAVE and students at CTE Academy. The students crafted a burger that features a cherry Merlot sauce, arugula, puff pastry, brie cheese on a beef burger, finished with a little bit more of the sauce on a brioche bun.
Head to CRAVE and try it out for yourself!
Simply show your school ID when dinning at CRAVE to receive 10% the UnBrieable burger!
CLC Priority Enrollment for SFSD Staff!
We are pleased to announce that the Sioux Falls School District’s Community Learning Centers Summer 2024 and 2024/25 School Year program enrollment will begin on January 18th for SFSD staff!
Since you are a current SFSD staff member, you will be able to enroll during our priority enrollment period.
Registration will begin Thursday, January 18th and will run through Wednesday, January 31st.
To find out more about HOW TO ENROLL, rates, summer locations, payment calendar, etc., please click on the following link:
SFSD Savings Marketplace!
Your work-life balance and general well-being are as important to us as the work you contribute. That's why we’re excited to offer your savings marketplace, your one-stop shop for exclusive and convenient savings on the products, services, and experiences you know and love.
It’s cost-free and easy to enroll. Just visit https://sf.savings.workingadvantage.com and begin saving today on items like:
- Electronics
- Appliances
- Theme Parks
- Hotels, Flights, & Cruises
- Movie Tickets
- Rental Cars
- Gift Cards
- Apparel
- Cars
- Flowers
- Fitness Memberships
- Groceries
- Special Events
- And More!
🌟 SFSD All Stars! 🌟
Laura B. Anderson Paraeducator Team!
When administrators at LBA Elementary wanted to nominate a staff member for All Stars, they couldn’t pick just one - so they nominated their entire para education team. What results is not only an amazing look at all the work that happens via so many people every day in all of our schools, but a love letter to the staff, throughout the school district, who dedicate their days and their lives to children. Meet some of these extraordinary individuals, who literally bring centuries of experience to classrooms.
HR Radar
Important Deadlines for Teachers
RETIREMENT NOTIFICATION DEADLINE: Teachers wishing to retire at the end of the 2023-24 school year must submit their letters of retirement by February 1st. The retirement letter (with signature) can be sent as an email attachment to Jessica Engdahl, HR Benefits Specialist, at benefits.sfsd@k12.sd.us.
GRADUATE CREDIT/DEGREE ADVANCEMENT INTENT FORMS: Teachers planning to advance to steps requiring the BA+24, Master’s Degree, or Master’s + 24 must submit INTENT FORMS by February 1st. This process is online through HR Records. The INTENT FORM is found in the Available Forms section.
Contact Amira Lawrence in Human Resources at 605-367-4692 or amira.lawrence@k12.sd.us with Graduate Credit/Degree Advancement questions.
SHORTAGE AREA - EARLY RESIGNATION STIPENDS $500: The District will provide a $500 bonus to any Teacher from an identified shortage area who is not eligible to receive or has not already received the District Retirement Benefit and/or Health Benefit, if the Teacher submits a resignation to the Human Resources Department by February 1st. Link to Resign https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfR0HFhrh4fHYC-S6flJL_lhn8yinerT6irPfSDZPKNU_hYKQ/viewform
Shortage areas included in this stipend are: Pre-K-12 Special Education, MS Math or Science, HS Math or Science, K-12 Art, Band, Vocal, Orchestra, World Language, Spanish Immersion, CTE
Upcoming Sand Creek Webinars
Click the links below to register for Sand Creek EAP’s live webinars.
Alphabet Soup: Enhancing your EI and WI - January 25th, 2024 from 11:00am to 11:45am
Emotional Intelligence, abbreviated and referred to as EI, has been studied extensively, but many do not understand it or effectively apply it. Combined with WI, Wellness Intelligence, we can expand our understanding two-fold, for an overall pursuit of higher satisfaction with self and others. Learn more as we explore the integration of EI and WI with our counseling and wellness experts.
The Sandwich Generation: The Ultimate Balancing Act - February 14th, 2024 from 12:30pm to 1:30pm
Caring for an elder is an enormous challenge by itself; combining elder care with care of children or adolescents and attempting to balance the demands of a career can seem overwhelming to even the most organized individual. In this session we will focus on establishing balance, recognizing negative emotions, adhering to priorities, and reducing stress
Eating Right for Life - March 13, 2024 from 12:30pm to 1:30pm
If donuts for breakfast, candy bars for lunch, and constantly making impulse decisions while eating on the run sounds familiar, then this is the class for you! Participants in this seminar will learn the benefits of nutrition, including the importance of making informed food choices to develop and maintain sound eating habits. Expect to leave this interactive session understanding what your body needs for optimal health and the key nutritional guidelines to follow.
Upcoming South Dakota Retirement Events
The South Dakota Retirement System (SDRS) has created Retire Ready, a new virtual format for group presentations. The SDRS Retire Ready series will consist of four short presentations, all designed to increase your financial awareness and help you prepare for retirement. All SDRS members, at any stage of their career, will benefit from the information provided. These 45-60 minute presentations are held via ZOOM every Wednesday on a rotating-basis.
SDRS 101: Take a more detailed look at the system and its benefits, including how retirement benefits are calculated, understanding your annual Personal Benefits Statement, availability of survivor and disability benefits, and more.
- February 7, 2024 - 4:00 PM CT/3:00 PM MT – Register via ZOOM
- March 6, 2024 - 7:00 PM CT/6:00 PM MT – Register via ZOOM
SDRS-SRP & SPP: Retirement is expensive and additional personal savings will be key to having a financially successful retirement. Learn more about how the SDRS Supplemental Retirement Plan (SRP) and SDRS Special Pay Plan (SPP) can help you save more for your retirement.
- February 14, 2024 - 4:00 PM CT/3:00 PM MT – Register via ZOOM
- March 13, 2024 - 7:00 PM CT/6:00 PM MT – Register via ZOOM
Steps to Financial Success: Build on your budgeting and savings skills and take charge of your finances to be more prepared for retirement.
- January 24, 2024 - 10:00 AM CT/9:00 AM MT – Register via ZOOM
- February 21, 2024 - 4:00 PM CT/3:00 PM MT – Register via ZOOM
- March 20, 2024 - 7:00 PM CT/6:00 PM MT – Register via ZOOM
Q&A Session: Ask your questions and get answers from SDRS staff. Every session will have unique questions from our members, so feel free to tune in often.
- January 31, 2024 - 10:00 AM CT/9:00 AM MT – Register via ZOOM
- February 28, 2024 - 4:00 PM CT/3:00 PM MT – Register via ZOOM
- March 27, 2024 - 7:00 PM CT/6:00 PM MT – Register via ZOOM
SDRS Lunch and Learn
Grab your lunch and join us to learn more about SDRS, your benefits, ask questions, and more! Held on the second Tuesday of each month.
- February 13, 2024 - 1:10 PM CT/12:10 PM MT – Register via ZOOM
- March 12, 2024 - 12:10 PM CT/11:10 AM MT – Register via ZOOM
63rd Annual Recognition Banquet
Weekly Wellness
Wellness Program Deadline
District Staff participating in the Wellness Program have deadlines fast approaching. In order to earn the Wellness Credit for the 2024-25 school year, all Wellness Program requirements need to be completed by March 1, 2024.
The three requirements for earning the Wellness Credit for 2024-25 are listed below:
- Complete the Personal Health Assessment in the Uprise Health Wellness Portal
- Schedule a wellness visit with your doctor and submit a completed Preventative Care Form.
- Complete ONE Wellness Program Activity:
Participate in the Wondr Health Program
Participate in a Fitness Challenge
Complete 3 Digital Health Workshops
Complete 3 sessions with a Health Coach
If you have not already scheduled your wellness physical with your doctor, call your doctor’s office now to get scheduled before the March 1st deadline!
For assistance or questions, please email benefits.sfsd@k12.sd.us.