Join us December 3rd for a FREE Community Health & Wellness fair at Garfield Elementary. The fair lasts from 4:30 to 7:00 p.m. There will be vendor booths from around the community, kids activities, health screenings, family games, community resources, activity registrations, door prizes, and much more. Bring your family and come and go as you please.
Help shape the future of the Sioux Falls School District by completing a survey about the most desired qualities of the next superintendent. The SFSD School Board is using an educational leadership search firm to gather input. https://hyasurvey.com/SiouxFalls
Great job Garfield families! We achieved over 92% attendance for the week of November 11th through November 15th. That’s NINE weeks in a row we have exceeded 91% attendance. Second grade led all grade levels at a rate of over 95%. Way to go 2nd graders and your families! All grade levels were at 90% or better.
It’s time for our Family Bingo Night on the evening of Thursday Nov. 21st! There will be pizza for the first 250 people starting at 5:30 and bingo starts at 5:45. The evening last until 7:00 pm. We can’t wait to see you! B-I-N-G-O!!
When we say “school starts at 8 a.m.” we mean learning starts at 8 a.m. Our teachers have the entire day packed with learning starting when the first bell rings at 8 o’clock. We have been seeing some sleepy students lately. The time change, fewer hours of sunlight, and other factors can lead to an occasional sleepy student, but if your student is sleepy every day they simply need to go to bed earlier. It is recommended that elementary school students get 10-12 hours of sleep a night. Seems like a lot but when their bodies are growing and they are learning so much during the day, their energy reserves are quickly used. A successful day at school often starts the night before.
Garfield students have earned an additional 853 Leader Cards last week bringing the total to about 75% of our goal of 5,000 Leader Cards. When that goal is achieved we will have a DANCE PARTY as reward for all our students’ hard work.
Great job Garfield families! We reached over 93% attendance for the week of November 4th through November 8th. That’s EIGHT weeks in a row we have exceeded 91% attendance. For the third week in a row 3rd grade led all grade levels at a rate of 96%. Way to go 3rd graders and your families!
Students from Sonia Sotomayor (pictured in this photo) and the rest of the Sioux Falls School District would like to wish you a Happy Veteran's Day! 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
South Dakota public schools proudly recognize and support the brave men and women who have served in our armed forces. Their sacrifices and dedication have upheld the values and freedoms we cherish, and we are deeply grateful for their commitment to protecting our nation.
Our schools are committed to instilling respect and appreciation for veterans among our students, helping them understand the importance of service and dedication. We invite our community to join us in expressing heartfelt gratitude and respect for our veterans.
Thank you to all our veterans for your service and sacrifice!
REMINDER! Sioux Falls School District schools and offices will be CLOSED on Monday, November 11, in honor of Veteran’s Day.
Thank you to all who have served! Especially SFSD staff members who proudly serve(d) in our schools and on the front lines. 🇺🇸
We had our monthly leader assembly on Monday and we were able to celebrate our October Leaders of the Month. These students were chosen by their teachers for their outstanding leadership and following the 7 Leader in Me Habits:
Habit 1 - Be Proactive
Habit 2 - Begin With the End in Mind
Habit 3 - Put First Things First
Habit 4 - Think Win-Win
Habit 5 - Seek First to Understand, Then to Be Understood
Habit 6 - Synergize
Habit 7 - Sharpen the Saw
Join us in congratulating these current and future leaders!
Garfield students have earned an additional 392 Leader Cards last week bringing the total over 60% to our goal of 5,000 Leader Cards. When that goal is achieved we will have a DANCE PARTY as reward for all our students’ hard work.
For SEVEN weeks in a row we have exceeded 91% attendance. For the week of October 28 through November 1 our Garfield families got their kids to school at a rate of over 92%. For the second week in a row 3rd grade led all grade levels. They showed up at a rate of 95%. Way to go 3rd graders and your families!
5,000 Leader Cards = DANCE, DANCE, DANCE!
We have a goal of 5,000 earned Leader Cards. We will have a DANCE PARTY as reward for all our students’ hard work. We’ve already given 2,891 cards. We are over half way there!
Good attendance. GREAT TIMES! At school kids start to form many of those deep relationships that may influence the rest of their lives. We are going to encourage some classroom camaraderie this next month. The classroom with the best average daily attendance in the month of November will be celebrating some GREAT TIMES! Everyone in the winning classroom will be awarded a prize package including Skate City passes, Ring Pops, and more to be announced. Plus, any students who have 100% attendance will be presented with an MVA (Most Valuable Attender) award with additional prizes.
For SIX weeks in a row we have exceeded 91% attendance. For the week of October 21 through October 25 our Garfield families got their kids to school at a rate of over 92%, up one percentage point from last week. Plus, every grade level exceeded 90% with 3rd grade showing up at an outstanding 94%. Way to go 3rd graders and your families!
We want our students to experience success at school! Research has shown the sooner we can build good attendance habits with our students and their families, the better learners they will be in later years. A California study shows 64% of third graders were able to read at grade level when they missed less than 9 days of school in both kindergarten and 1st grade. In turn, only 17% of 3rd graders were able to read at grade level when they missed 18 or more days in each kindergarten and first grade. The first step in achieving that goal of success is being at school on time and ready to learn.
For five weeks in a row we have exceeded 91% attendance. For the week of October 14 through October 18 our Garfield families got their kids to school at a rate of over 91% again. And wow did the 5th graders show up! They topped 96% for the week. Way to go 5th graders and your families!
October 16th is Boss’s Day and we are excited to celebrate ours! Kristin Skogstad, our Principal and Alisha Bell, our Dean of Students, have proven to be good friends to both our students and our staff. Thank you!
For four weeks in a row we have exceeded 92% attendance. For the week of October 7 through October 11 our Garfield families got their kids to school at a rate of over 92% again. For that week third grade really came through showing up at a rate of over 93%. Way to go 3rd graders and their families!
Our students have some SWEET moves! During conferences, October 15: 12:00 - 7:30 pm Thursday, October 17: 3 - 7:30 pm, they’re going to be looking to you to share some sweet moves with them. They will be selling candy and popcorn. The money from these sales will go to things like our dance party and in helping causes in school and the community.
