New Tech High School
May 2020 Newsletter
Mission: Empower students for success in a global society by cultivating leaders who exemplify 21st century skills and Trust, Respect, Responsibility, and Excellence.
Important Dates
May
4th and 5th—Senior locker and graduation items distributed at NTHS-check email for details.
8th—Deadline for Seniors to apply for the Booster Club Scholarship and the Arc of Dreams Scholarship
10th—Happy Mother’s Day!!
15th—Deadline for students to sign up for Dual Enrollment Courses
--Virtual End of Semester Celebrations Ceremony will be distributed
18th-20th—Materials Return (chromebooks, key cards, books, etc.) and Materials Pick up (awards, locker contents, etc.) More info - KEEP READING!
20th—Last day of school
24th--Virtual Graduation will air on KLRN and the Sioux Falls School Dist. YouTube channel at 11:00am
25th—Memorial Day
28th and 29th—Seniors may stop by NTHS to pick up diplomas
June
27th—tentative NTHS live graduation ceremony at Howard Wood Field—11:00am
July
25th—tentative NTHS live graduation ceremony at Howard Wood Field—11:00 am If June does not work.
PBL in a Remote Learning World – May 2020 - Admin Team Report
This month’s newsletter is PACKED with logistical information related to the end of the school year. But first, we would like to celebrate! We are so proud of all of our staff who so earnestly, quickly, whole-heartedly, compassionately, and hard-workingly rolled all of their curriculum to a Remote Learning platform in a short amount of time. They demonstrated dogged determination. We are so proud of all of our students, who despite being sad and frustrated with some parts of Remote Learning; you persevered, you showed grit, you used your resources and you are doing well with remote learning! We are so proud of all of our parents, who encouraged, coached, structured, helped teach, and fostered an environment for learning in the dining room or the basement. You adapted, you set new rules and boundaries, you spent time deepening relationships. As we flip the calendar to May, we celebrate all of you for all the hard work we didn’t know we were going to have to do. #thankyou
Next week, we celebrate Teacher Appreciation Week. If you have some love you would like to share for a teacher, go to our Facebook or Instagram page and share a shoutout. New Tech High - Sioux Falls on Facebook and sfnewtechhigh on Instagram #beststaff
We would like to celebrate the students who got out and sold Booster Club Fundraiser Cards. Even though our annual fundraiser was disrupted, we were able to raise $2,784 for our school.
On Friday, May 15, we will celebrate our school year - which is a large part of our culture here at New Tech. Students will be emailed the link to the virtual celebrations and we will make them available on our social media pages. We love celebrating students and teachers and staff and community members that make this place so special.
On Sunday, May 24, we will celebrate a virtual commencement ceremony. Senior students and parents have been sent information on what this will entail. Our ceremony will air at 11:00 a.m. on KLRN and on the Sioux Falls School District YouTube channel. We encourage you all to tune in and celebrate our Class of 2020. There are two tentative dates scheduled for a New Tech in-person commencement ceremony. We will follow the guidance of the CDC, state and local health officials, and the district for how those will look. The tentative dates (one for June and one for July) are included in the Important Dates in this newsletter. #classof2020
Before we get into the logistics of what the closing of the school year looks like, we would like to remind everyone to keep engaging in the learning. Facilitators are planning activities and tasks to help develop student content and skills. Students should be logging into Echo every school day. We trust that you have found the rhythm of what works for routine in your household. Facilitator office hours are posted on the landing page of each Echo course. We HIGHLY recommend students attend office hours with staff to get their questions answered. This document shows when each staff is hosting virtual office hours each school day. If anything, we know that self-advocacy is a critical life skill needed in life! If students are camera shy, they do not need to turn their camera on during office hours; they can do audio only. Additionally, students can email teachers their questions and/or request a one-on-one meeting to work through a task and ask questions. The work students have completed will be considered as part of their overall second semester grades. It is important that students stay engaged in their courses until the end of the school year. Facilitators have been emailing and calling you as parents if they have worries or concerns about student engagement. Additionally, they have been reaching out to students to help them prioritize tasks and complete assignments. While it is definitely not our preferred method of teaching and learning, we know that we can do it!! Thank you for coming alongside us and working with us! #titanfamily
As always, but now more than ever, if you have questions, please email facilitators or call the school at 605.367.5850. Take care of yourselves. Take care of each other. Please follow the guidelines for social distancing. We look forward to seeing you soon in our drive thru, as we miss all of you. None of us went into education so we could work remotely. Work hard, friends, and let us know if you need anything.
New Tech Administration,
Dolly Ellwein, Principal and Heidi Jorgenson, Assistant Principal
KEEP READING FOR LOTS OF LOGISTICAL INFORMATION!!!
Senior Day Drive Thru Graduation/Locker item distribution - Monday and Tuesday, May 4 and 5
Seniors will come to New Tech on their assigned day/time to drive thru and pick up a variety of items: graduation caps and gowns, locker contents, and any art pieces they may have left in the art room. Seniors and their parents were emailed this information already, but here is a recap:
Distribution Dates and Times (Done by student last name)
Monday, May 4
Last names A - C 10:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.
Last names D - E 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Last names G - J 12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Tuesday, May 5
Last names K - N 10:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.
Last names P - S 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Last names T - Z 12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m.
You must make every effort to obtain your graduation items/locker items during the times given. If neither you nor a family member can be present to pick up during the allotted times, you can email Mrs. Jorgenson (Heidi.Jorgenson@k12.sd.us) to make other arrangements.
There has been a change to the collection of art pieces for seniors - these will now be available in the entry-way drop-off station. You no longer need to sign up for a time to come into the art room to retrieve your art pieces. When you arrive a staff member will bring your art piece(s) out to your vehicle and place them in your trunk/back end of your vehicle. Only SENIOR art pieces are available for pick up and you may not pick up art pieces for a friend. Underclassman will be able to retrieve their art pieces when we return to the building next fall. We will do our very best to be careful with your creations.
All materials will be distributed in a drive-thru, no-contact way. You (or a family member) will come to New Tech during your allotted time. You will drive up in front of New Tech on the east side of the building and give a staff member your name (or your student’s name). You will open the trunk or backend of your vehicle, and the staff member will place all of your materials in your trunk.
Senior Document Transfer - Completed by May 15
Seniors will be getting an email giving them instructions on how to upload items from their school H drive accounts and then transferring their Google Docs to a private Google account. They need to have this completed by Friday, May 15.
Student Materials Collection - chromebooks, and key cards, and books - OH MY!!!
We will be doing drive thru collection for student materials: this includes student Chromebooks and chargers, key cards for the interior doors, and any books from the Book Nook or books students have for teachers.
Drive-thru dates and times are listed below. Each student will be emailed a Google Form to fill out for Chromebook Self-Assessment and Check-In. Students need to have the form filled out by Friday, May 15.
Please ask your student to read his/her email & complete this form by May 15th.
Drive-thru collection of devices and materials will start on Monday, May 18 with seniors and freshmen (see dates/times below). Students and/or family members will come to New Tech on the designated date and time. 1) You will pull up to a drop-off station and a staff member will hand you a large ziploc bag with a sticker. 2) You will put your name and grade on the sticker. 3) You will place your device and charger in the bag and seal it. 4) You will give this to the staff member.
Your key card will then be placed in a designated bag and handed to a staff member along with any books from the Book Nook. If you have other items, i.e. calculators, art supplies, books from facilitators, etc. please bring those in a sealed Ziploc bag with the facilitator’s name on the bag along with your name for easy return.
You will then proceed to a pick-up station. Staff members will bring locker items, celebration/award items, etc. out to you and place it in your trunk. All staff members will be wearing masks and gloves. 9-11th graders take note--NO art pieces or other personal items (course notebooks, etc.) that may be in classrooms will be available for pick up until school resumes in the Fall. Your items will be stored safely in the facilitator’s classroom and you may pick the items up within the first week of school in the fall.
Grades 9-12--PICK UP DATES AND TIMES ARE BY STUDENT LAST NAME
Monday, May 18 SENIORS and FRESHMEN
SENIORS = anytime from 9:00 a.m.-Noon
FRESHMAN A-J =11-1; FRESHMEN K-Z=1pm-3pm
Tuesday, May 19 JUNIORS
A - J = 9:00 a.m. - noon
K - Z = noon - 3:00 p.m.
Wednesday, May 20 SOPHOMORES
A - J = 9:00 a.m. - noon
K - Z = noon - 3:00 p.m.
Students / Families must make EVERY EFFORT to return items during their allotted time frame. If your allotted day/time does not work for you, you must email Ms. Ellwein dolly.ellwein@k12.sd.us or Mrs. Jorgenson (Heidi.Jorgenson@k12.sd.us) to make arrangements for another time.
Bullet Point To-Do List for ALL Students
- Read email (Every. Single. Day)
- Log on to Echo and Complete Course Work (Every. Single. School. Day)
- Celebrate a teacher next week on Facebook (New Tech High - Sioux Falls) and Instagram (SFNewTechHigh)
- Watch celebrations on Friday, May 15
- Fill in the Chromebook Check in Form (sent to your email) by Friday, May 15
- Attend Material Drop-Off / Pick up Day (May 18-22)
- ***Bring device + charger, key card, and any other school materials
- Attend virtual commencement on Sunday, May 24
- Be awesome.
- Wash. Your. Hands. (20 seconds, with soap and water, All. The. Time.)
- Follow best practice guidelines for interacting with other humans. It changes all the time. Pay attention.
Bullet Point To-Do List for SENIORS (in addition to all the things above…)
- Attend Drive-up Day for materials (May 4 and 5)
- Complete document upload and Google Transfer by Friday, May 15
- Pick up diplomas (May 28 and 29)
Dual Credit Registration for Fall 2020
Beginning April 1st, students are able to register for Fall 2020 Dual Credit classes through South Dakota’s State Universities and Technical Colleges. Information on how to register, including eligibility requirements, available classes and costs is on ECHO on Mapping Your Future, Dual Credit folder. Students are encouraged to look through the list of classes and come up with 2-3 options. Questions about classes and registration can be sent to Mrs. Donohoe through email, Vickie.donohoe@k12.sd.us.
NTHS Virtual Art Show
Students and Staff of the Month
New Tech Community Partners - April 2020
Eric Weisser, CEO - Weisser Distributing (Entrepreneurial Mindset)
Matt Paulson, CEO - MarketBeat (Entrepreneurial Mindset)
Corey Gross, photographer - Corey Gross Photography (Photo II)
Tess Wentworth, director of client services - Lemonly (Advanced Graphics)
Contact us
Email: Dolly.Ellwein@k12.sd.us
Website: https://www.sf.k12.sd.us/new-technology
Location: Sioux Falls, SD, USA
Phone: 605-367-5850
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/siouxfallsnewtech/