Garretson Blue Dragon Tales
January 2020
Superintendent's News by Mr. Guy Johnson
Nominations for Teacher of the Year
Do you want to recognize a teacher in the Garretson School District who is making a difference? We would like to invite you to nominate a teacher in the Garretson School District for the Teacher of the Year. The nomination process includes writing a few paragraphs about what this teacher is doing to make a difference in the lives of our children, in our school and our community. The nomination form can be found here: https://bit.ly/2YdXKJg. Please email your nomination to Guy.Johnson@k12.sd.us by January 10. The District’s Teacher Of the Year is also invited to represent the District at the Regional level for the SD Department of Education and the American Legion’s Educator of the Year program.
Building Improvements Projects started
Our schoolhouse is a unique structure. The oldest parts of the building were built in 1923. Additions were made to the structure in the 50’s, and the “old gym” was added, along with some classrooms (4th and 5th grade and special education classrooms) in the mid-60’s. The late 70’s brought another addition, the K-3 area of the building. More classrooms were added to this part of the building in the 90’s, and the most recent addition, which included a remodel of the High School classrooms, the current offices, commons, locker rooms and new gym areas was completed in 2002. Even that “new” section of the building is now 17 years old.
This spring and summer, the District intends to replace some of those pieces that are showing their age. The first project is the replacement of the main chiller unit and the electronic controls for the HVAC system. The District has hired Associated Consulting Engineering, Inc., to develop the proper specs and shepherd the bid and build process. Norm deWit is working with the District as the chief engineer for the project. Our intent is to open sealed bids for the project by the end of the month. Work on this project would happen in the spring and early summer.
The second project we have begun working on is the replacement of approximately 35,000 square feet of the roof. This project will include the replacement of insulation and rubber roof membrane on five different roof structures on the building, including the placement of a membrane over the metal roof on the new gym. We have just started the process of developing specs for the project. The Board has enlisted the help of CO-OP Architecture to develop the specifications for the project and to help us work through the construction process. We intend to go through the sealed bid process required by law in the early spring, with construction starting mid-summer.
Both of these are significant projects for our District. We believe that the District is well-positioned for the bid process, and we are optimistic that the bid process will yield reasonable pricing for both projects. These two projects represent the highest need on our list of potential building improvements. While we want to continue working through our list of necessary improvements, our priorities are getting the items on the list completed as quickly as we can and using our Capital Outlay fund in a way that avoids additional debt for the District. While most people would probably not describe either a roof project or an HVAC project as “exciting,” both of these projects are a high priority to ensure that this building can continue to serve the needs of the District into the future.
Fuel the Dragon
On the first Wednesday of the month, Palisade Oil donates 10¢ per gallon of fuel bought from all of their pumps.
December's donation of $355.11 was given to Garretson School Angel Fund.
Meet Mrs. Erika Brown, K-12 Music Teacher, Oral Interp Advisor, One-Act Play Director
I was born and raised in South Dakota and grew up in the Huron area. My husband and I met at Crown College in St. Bonifacius, MN. We lived in the Twin Cities area for about 3 years after college and moved to South Dakota to be closer to our family. My husband Will and I love taking our dog on walks and hikes in the beautiful parks in and around town. We can often be found checking out food and drink places in the area! Cooking and baking are passions of mine! Learning new instruments is also an exciting venture. Currently, I'm extremely curious about the accordian! Do you know where I could get one?
MS/HS Hallway Happenings from Mr. Chris Long, Principal
Holiday Greetings from the halls of Garretson Middle and High School. We’re excited for our students to get a small break from school and look forward to coming back Jan. 6th recharged and ready to go. Thanks for a great start to the school year!
ADULTING 101
Kudos to Mrs. Pliska for organizing the Adulting 101 day with our seniors on Dec. 18th. The seniors had a busy day, getting a chance to do some organization with their senior experience projects and taking the NCRC assessment.
The NCRC assessment allows students to earn credentials issued at four levels; Platinum, Gold, Silver, and Bronze. The NCRC measures and certifies the essential work skills needed for success in jobs across industries and occupations. With an NCRC, you can:
· Build confidence that your skills meet the needs of employers
· Show prospective employers concrete proof of the skills you have
· Apply real-world use to coursework from the classroom
· Determine skill improvement and training needs
· Improve the opportunities for career changes and advancement
· Earn college credit at many institutions and reach academic goals more quickly
The seniors ended the day hearing from a panel featuring a wide variety of speakers that discussed their school and career experiences and offered advice for our students as they end their senior years and begin to navigate their post-secondary paths.
WINTER SPORTS IN FULL SWING
GMS and GHS activities are off and running. Wrestling and girls’ and boys’ basketball have had multiple contests to this point. They all have a slight hiatus as the holiday moratorium on practices runs Dec. 23-27 and all will resume with contests at different times over the break. Good luck to all our coaches and athletes.
While we are on activities, it’s good to bring up a nationwide problem and something that is not immune to us here in South Dakota…..and Garretson.
OFFICIALS SHORTAGES and WHY
Nationwide, including South Dakota, there is a shortage of sports officials. This shortage is not unique to one particular area or sport, but rather a consistent and persistent issue that is challenging school and state activity associations.
It’s not an obvious problem for those that come to watch the contests, but behind the scenes there are many things that have changed to ensure contests continue as planned. There have been schools that have been forced to change contest dates in order to find officials, officials have had to work in multiple locations on the same day and even the trend to schedule basketball doubleheaders has been partly due to the availability of officials.
The question that most probably have is “WHY?”.
We have an official shortage because of how officials are treated. Not by coaches, not by players…but by the fans.
As a 20+ year official myself, I’ve seen it all. I’ve seen officials come and go (I can count at least 25 that I know myself quit all or partly due to the negative experiences of fan abuse). Recently I was able to participate in a podcast about officiating created by Sacred Hoops director, Alan Bertram, a long-time basketball coach in South Dakota. One of his main reasons for the podcast was to shine a light on the issue of the shortage of officials and to hopefully enlighten others on some of the misconceptions associated with officiating. The link for that podcast is below.
According to the most recent issue of “HST - High School Today” (November 2019) in an article written by Dr. Karissa L. Niehoff, and executive director of the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS), schools all over the nation are being forced to address the issue of fan behavior towards officials, coaches, players and opponents. Recent examples of poor fan behavior have led to groups of fans and even entire student sections being removed from high school contests. A link to that entire article be found below.
As a district, we met with our entire 9-12 student body prior to our winter sports and talked about sportsmanship and expectations in regards to how we treat the officials and our opponents when attending activities. Our students are aware that taunts, obscenities and other inappropriate behavior directed towards anyone will result in removal from the contest and possible consequences for future contests.
If you have attended Garretson home events in the past you have and will continue to notice expectations for our fans in the programs for our events.
It reads:
Sportsmanship- The Fan's Role
The spectators at an athletic contest have an extremely important role in displaying good Sportsmanship. As a group, your actions may have the biggest impact on how others see the reputation of your school and community. Please respect that a ticket is a privilege to observe the contest, not a license to verbally assault others or be generally obnoxious; Respect both players and fans of opposing teams, Know and understand the rules of the game, and Respect the decisions of an official and admire their willingness to publicly officiate student-athletes in the best interest of interscholastic sports.
We hope that all our fans, students and adults alike strive to exhibit respectful words and actions towards all the participants of our activities as detailed in the passage above. It’s important to understand that our words and actions, especially as adults, are setting the example for our students and athletes – they are watching.
Prior to every contest our public address announcer reads the following statement:
“We are pleased to welcome you this evening to Garretson High School. This contest is being conducted under the guidance and regulation of the South Dakota High School Activities Association for the enjoyment and educational benefit of high school students. Good sportsmanship is essential for the success of these programs. Remember, you do not have to be an athlete to be a Good Sport!
We encourage you to cheer loud, support you team and be entertained by the abilities of our student athletes. Realize that mistakes will be made by everyone…yes, even the officials.
Remember that even when they’re right, someone thinks they’re wrong.
Thanks for supporting the Blue Dragons. Below are some additional resources in regards to sportsmanship and officiating. The SDHSAA is always looking for officials, if you have an interest there is a link below for that as well. There is also a great video below expressly for parents, called the “Parent’s Seat” from the NFHS. Be sure to check that out!
Happy Holidays and GO BLUE DRAGONS!
•High School Today Article: https://www.nfhs.org/uploadedfiles/3dissue/HSToday/2019issues/november2019/index.html#
•Memo to Parents:
https://www.nfhs.org/articles/memo-to-parents-stop-criticizing-high-school-officials/
•The Parent Seat (Article): https://www.nfhs.org/uploadedfiles/3dissue/HSToday/2019issues/november2019/index.html#
•The Parent Seat (Video): https://nfhslearn.com/library/videos/478
•Sacred Hoops Podcast: https://www.facebook.com/SHbasketball/videos/2508388565864531/
•How to become an official (SDHSAA): https://www.sdhsaa.com/Officials/Become-an-Official
Meet Mr. Tim Hughes, HS English and History Teacher
My name is Tim Hughes and I teach HS English/US History here at Garretson High School. While it's my 14th year teaching at the school, I've been in the district since 1998, as I was the Head Football Coach from 1998-2013.
I was raised in Aurora, Colorado the youngest of two kids and attended Aurora Central High School (Go Trojans!). After graduation, I attended Snow College in Ephraim, Utah for two years before transferring to Northern State University in Aberdeen. I played football and ran track in college and can honestly say that some of my fondest memories were on the gridiron or on the those sunny (or bitterly cold in Duluth or Bemidji) days with the track team.
As everyone knows, life can get pretty boring unless you have people around to "spice" it up. My wife (Tracey) and my three kids are definitely the "spice" in my life! My wife spends her days caring for the seniors in our society as the Administrator at an Assisted Living Community. My daughter, Morgan, is a freshmen at Southwest Minnesota State University in Marshall, MN, my oldest son, Payton, is a junior at Sioux Falls Lincoln and the baby of the family, Carson, is a 7th grader at Edison Middle School.
When I'm not at school or grading at home, I'm on the run! Literally trying to keep up with the schedules of a college, high school and middle school athlete! I also train football players at Orthopedic Institute, coach with the Midwest Miner's (middle school travel football organization), coach with the Sioux Falls Cyclones (travel baseball organization) and help lead youth group at our church.
I love what I do and I love the kids I get to do it with! Thank you for letting me play a part in the lives of your children!
Middle School Reading with Mr. Andrew Ter Wee
Good day. My name is Andrew TerWee and I teach middle school literature at the Garretson School District. My love of teaching is an extension of my family’s call to service. I grew up in a family that has always served their communities. I grew up watching family members serve as pastors, members of the military, school board members, church board members, county supervisor and various other civic groups. I began my professional career in the business world, but the call to service led me to earn my second bachelors in the field of education. My first goal with students is to create a safe environment within my classroom. I strive to achieve that by setting boundaries and expectations that are attainable and then developing relationships with all students that is based on mutual respect. I am constantly asking students to give me their best effort. I don’t expect students to be “correct” all the time, I do expect them to “try” all the time. I firmly believe students that feel respected, trusted and valued will then extend themselves and give a great effort. My curriculum is based on the philosophy that a person only gets better at something by doing it. Lecture time is held to a minimum and I do not tell the class what the right answer is, students discover it in a variety of ways. Group work, partners, self directed learning, self paced computer programs with one to one support are all used in my classroom. Students also get to choose various novels to support their reading practice time. To sum it up, I lecture to the class as little as possible so they can read and work as much as possible during my classtime.
High School Science with Mr. Jake Heumiller
Hello! I am Jake Heumiller, the new science teacher at Garretson High School. I grew up in Salem, SD in a large family and graduated high school at McCook Central. I received my college education at the University of South Dakota (go Yotes) with a bachelor’s degree in biology and a master’s degree in secondary education, and I also minored in interdisciplinary science. My parents and family are still around the Salem area, so it is a lot of fun being able to see my new home take on my old home in school activities. There are a lot of small-town qualities that Garretson has that I really appreciate, including the feeling of close community that you just cannot find in larger cities. I am excited to get to know Garretson and the people in it!
In my classroom, I strive to give every student a chance to get what they need to succeed in school and in life. Every student is different, and every student has different needs. It is my goal to provide a path to success for every student. There are a few ways this school helps achieve that. The ICU program has been a big help by giving students a chance to receive the extra help they may need. I am always available during this time and before school for any student that needs help in any way! Please do not be afraid to reach out.
I teach four classes including biology, physical science, anatomy, and earth science. In all of these classes we use an “interactive notebook”. In this notebook, the material we learn in class is organized so it is all in one place. On the right side page, we take the notes for the lesson, and on the left side page, we do an activity, drawing, or worksheet that emphasizes the material we learned. There are few reasons I choose to use this method of note taking. The first one is developing organizational skills. Practicing keeping materials we use and organizing them in a manner that is beneficial is a valuable skill. The second reason I use an interactive notebook is it keeps the practice activities we do right next to the notes they apply to. This helps to make sure the work we do in class is not wasted and tucked away in a folder, never to be seen again. The things we do in class are valuable and we should use them! I also emphasize the use of color in these notebooks because of the benefits it has on memory!
I am very much looking forward to becoming a lasting member of this school and this community! If you have any questions or concerns for me, feel free to contact me at Jacob.heumiller@k12.sd.us . I would love to help!
Meet Mrs. Samantha Bruns, Second Grade Teacher
My name is Samantha Bruns and this is my 6th year teaching at Garretson! Before coming to Garretson, I attended The University of South Dakota! Go Yotes! Since graduating, I have had the privilege of teaching in both first and second grade here in Garretson! I also have since met my husband, Aaron, and had two beautiful girls, Bailey and Rebecca. We also share two dogs together, a black lab named Maddie and a beagle named Max! We’ve bought a home in Garretson and don’t plan on going anywhere else any time soon! Outside of teaching we enjoy doing things with our families who are originally from Sioux Falls, Baltic, and Coleman areas. We also enjoy the simple things in life, like playing board games and attending events with our kids such as swimming lessons and gymnastics! During summer we both continue to work, Aaron in contracting and I work for the Cake Lady in Sioux Falls! We’re looking forward to starting a new tradition this summer, taking our kids to the beach in Florida where I grew up so they can build sandcastles and visit their relatives there! Even though I am a naturally born Floridian, I feel so lucky that I have had the opportunity to move to Sioux Falls, venture to Vermillion, and now call Garretson my home! Go big blue!
First Grade...Why Phonics? by Ms. Julie Hersom, First Grade Teacher
Phonics is the teaching of alphabetical letters and the sounds they make. It is a very important decoding skill for children to use in sounding out words when they read, spell and write.
First grade begins the year reviewing each letter, the sound it makes and how it is written. The children practice these letters through guided instruction, games, on worksheets and in their handwriting books. We build and dissect word syllables with consonants and vowels. Our spelling is centered on the phonetic skills which are being practiced at that time.
We begin our year with short vowels that can come in the middle of words or syllables. We use consonants in blends which are found at the beginning or at the end of words/syllables. There are R, L, and S blends at word beginnings like in “track” and “flag.” Blends can come at the end of words such as “sing” and “fast.” Long vowels say their name and can be created by using a silent “e” at the end of the word. They may also be found with another vowel beside them in what we call a vowel team such as “ai” or “oa.” The letter R can control a vowel’s sound when it is found beside the vowel. We call this a “bossy R” sound. We look for L syllables at the end of words. This syllable has a consonant, an L and a silent E like in “candle.” We divide and mark vowels and syllables using what we have learned to finish out our first grade year.
Once these skills are taught, the children are excited and motivated to look for them in the words that are being read in their books or in the words they want to write. They have a better understanding of the structure of their words which starts them on the path to becoming strong readers and writers.
From the Desk of the Activities Director, Kevin Steckler
“It has been said that 99% of us will go pro in something other than sports”
Each year the SDHSAA recognizes Activities that qualify for the Academic Achievement Team Award for the Fall, Winter, and Spring Seasons. With that being said I’m proud to announce the following Fall Activities at Garretson High School have qualified for the Academic Achievement Team Award. In order to qualify for this award each sports team/activity whose students have a combined average GPA (grade point average) of 3.0 or higher qualify.
Activity GPA
•Girls Cross Country Team 3.36
•Boys Cross Country Team 3.51
•All State Chorus 3.73
•Football Team 3.15
•Football Cheerleaders 3.88
•Volleyball Team 3.63
•Oral Interpretation 3.83
•Girls Soccer Team 3.82
Note: Following the Winter and Spring Activity Seasons I will list those Activities that qualify for this Award.
This school year the GHS Students are again promoting a Dress-up Theme for our Home Basketball Games and Wrestling Matches. The student body encourages students and fans to join us in cheering on the Dragons while supporting the following Activity Dress up Themes:
•December 17 GBB/BBB DH Canton ~ Jersey Night
•December 19 BBB Colman-Egan ~ Western
•January 14 GBB Flandreau ~ Denim
•January 16 BBB West Central ~ Frat House
•January 21 GBB/BBB DH Tea Area ~ Neon
•January 23 GBB/BBB DH Luverne ~ Groutfits (Gray Clothing)
•January 28 Wrestling Triangular ~ Blue Out
•January 30 GBB BEC Tournament ~ Flannel
•January 31 GBB BEC Tournament ~ White Out
•February 7 BBB MCM ~ Toga Night
•February 11 GBB/BBB DH Beresford ~ Pajamas
•February 14 Wrestling Quad Garretson ~ Throwback
•February 18 GBB/BBB DH Parker ~ Military Appreciation Night
•February 25 GBB Baltic ~ Classic Mom and Dad
~ Classic Daughter and Son
NOTE: PLEASE SUPPORT THE DRAGONS WITH YOUR ENTHUSIASM AND THEME DRESS, BUT DON’T BRING PROPS…THANK YOU.
Garretson Administration and School Board
Mr. Guy Johnson, Superintendent, 605-594-3451, ext. 300
Mr. Chris Long, MS/HS Principal, 605-594-3451, ext. 302
Mrs. Teresa Hulscher, Elem. Principal, 605-594-3451, ext. 303
Mr. Jacob Schweitzer, Business Manager, 605-594-3451, ext. 301
Mr. Matt Schrank, Technology Administrator, 605-594-3451, ext. 174
School Board Members
Mr. Shannon Nordstrom, President
Mrs. Kari Flanagan, Vice President
Mrs. Rachel Hanisch
Mr. Tony Martens
Mrs. Ruth Sarar
Email: firstname.lastname@k12.sd.us
Website: www.garretson.k12.sd.us
Location: 505 2nd Street, Garretson, SD 57030
Phone: 605-594-3451
Facebook: facebook.com/GarretsonBlueDragons
Twitter: @GHSBlueDragons