New Tech High School
October 2019 Newsletter
Mission: Empower students for success in a global society by cultivating leaders who exemplify 21st century skills and Trust, Respect, Responsibility, and Excellence.
Message from Principal Ellwein
Dear Titan families,
New Tech High had a wonderful start to the school year! Our theme for this school year is “Always Evolving." This theme is in conjunction with our transition to the new Jefferson HS where we will become a wing within that building opening in the fall of 2021. Our model of teaching and learning is great for students. We want to ensure future growth of New Tech HS and the move to the Jefferson HS campus will do just that! We look forward to being able to provide the same great culture and small school feel we currently experience while also providing access to sports, band and orchestra on the same campus. We truly feel that this move will provide the best of both worlds for our students and grow our school. Our new wing can hold up to 500 students! We are excited for this transition, and we hope you are too.
We welcomed our new 9th grade class of Titans with a fantastic All School project called “Titan Impact” Titan 101, where our new freshman were familiarized with the Project Based Learning process and completed their first Project Presentation. Students were placed into multi grade level groups in their houses to help our new students make some new friends, become familiar with the Project Based Learning process and complete their first Project Presentation led by our student experts. The project was centered around giving back and impacting our community in a positive way through community service. As you know our students at New Tech are required to earn 40 hours of community service prior to graduation. We have 25 to 30 community partners per month that give of their time to come and assist with projects as we connect our learning to the real world. In return, we want to give back to the community which supports our learning as well. Our upperclassman did a tremendous job welcoming the new students and teaching them the project-based learning process within groups during the project. We had several wonderful community service organizations that took part in our community service fair during our first day of school. Our students attended the fair, visiting these booths to learn more about each organization and their needs. We are now partnering with Feeding South Dakota, Habitat for Humanity, Special Olympics, The Butterfly House, The Ronald McDonald House and Midwest Honor Flight. We are so excited to work with these great organizations throughout the year as we give back. The level of professionalism brought forth by the 9th graders during their first presentations was impressive. We are so excited to have them join our Titan family!
This past month we held our Homecoming celebrations; we were excited to welcome home alumni as we begin our 10th year as a school!! I want to celebrate our students for making the week, positive, fun and a truly a great celebration of being a Titan!
During the month of October, we will begin recruiting the class of 2024 at the middle schools in town. Our students who have signed up as Titan Ambassadors will travel to each middle school this month to speak with 8th graders along with Mrs. Jorgenson and me. On October 29th and November 7th, we will host Visitation evenings for all interested 8th graders and their families. These sessions will include testimonials from parents, graduates and community partners as they share their perspectives on how New Tech prepares students for the real world of college and work as well as a building tour and a sample of a project presentation.
As the only Project Based Learning School in the state we have a responsibility to continue to assist other districts as well as our colleges in SD in learning more about PBL, and in that vein, we welcome college visits from USF and USD this month. These groups of administrator and teacher candidates join us to learn more about Project Based Learning and how to implement this growing educational movement into their schools and classrooms. Breckenridge Minnesota School district will also pay us a visit in October as they continue their journey of joining the New Tech Network and becoming a Project Based Learning School. We are truly leading the way in education not only in the district but also in the state and the nation. It is a great time to be a Titan!
Thank you for your continued support of New Tech. If you have any questions you may reach us at 367-5850.
Sincerely, Dolly Ellwein, Principal
New Technology HS
Calendar
October
2nd—Serve and Learn Student Association (SALSA) mtg in room 188 during B and C lunches
7th--No School—Teacher Professional Development Day
8th--Retake day for pictures—7:30am-10:00am
-AP Environmental Science field trip to the City Water Division
11th--8:30-9:40am—Recruiting class of 2024 at George McGovern MS
14th--8:30-9:30--Jostens meets with Seniors about Caps and Gowns for graduation-Cafeteria
-6-7pm--Booster Club mtg at New Tech HS –6-7pm
15th--NTHS Comic Con--10-11am--Cafeteria
16th--PSAT exam—for NTHS students that registered to take the exam
18th--Recruiting class of 2024 at Patrick Henry MS
22nd—Breckenridge MN School District Site Visit
-Free flu shot clinic for students 7:30 - 9:00 am
25th—Senior Cap and Gown orders due - Jostens rep at school during lunch
25th--8:30-9:40am—Recruiting class of 2024 at Memorial MS
28th-- End of the 1st Quarter
-USD Administrative Interns site visit
29th—6-7:30pm—8th grade Parent and Student Visitation Night at NTHS
31st—Happy Halloween!!
November
2nd—All State Chorus and Orchestra Concert---Sioux Falls Sanford Premier Center 7pm
Seniors and Graduation Information
I know it seems like October is too early for seniors to start thinking about graduation, but there are lots of senior activities that happen in the fall so seniors are prepared for graduation. The Jostens representative will be here on Monday, October 14th to talk to seniors about ordering items for the Graduation Ceremony (held on Sunday, May 24th, 2020 at 11:00 a.m.). The Jostens rep will be back on Friday, October 25th to collect orders for graduation related items. Like many things, getting your graduation items ordered in the fall is much less expensive than if you wait until April to order those items! All students must have a gown, stole, cap, and tassel. We emphasize this in the meeting as well. If you are experiencing a financial hardship, students do have the opportunity to fill out a scholarship form for cap and gown. There are hard copies available in the office, or seniors can access them online here (they are sent an email as well). The scholarship will cover the cost of the cap, gown, stole, and tassel. Please make sure you thoroughly read through the scholarship form if you are looking to submit an application. We cannot honor scholarships requests submitted after October 24th.
Even though October feels early, we actually started talking to seniors about important, upcoming dates (including graduation) at their Senior Class Meeting in October. At that time, we went over important dates, linked here. We also covered important graduation protocols, which are linked here. If you have any questions, please feel free to email me at Heidi.Jorgenson@k12.sd.us or call 605.367.5850.
Recruiting Kicks off for the Class of 2024
We are kicking off our recruiting efforts for the Class of 2024. We started at the end of September by doing 8th grade visit sessions at Edison and Whittier. In October, we will recruit at George McGovern, Memorial and Patrick Henry. We will host our Visitation Night sessions, which you all know are a required element for students to enter the lottery, on Tuesday, October 29 and Thursday, November 7 from 6:00 – 7:30 at New Tech. Families interested in entering the lottery must attend one of those two sessions.
We are excited to announce that we now have an online application for students interested in the lottery. You can find the online application at the following link: http://www.sf.k12.sd.us/new-technology/enrollment.
Parents still have the option to download a paper copy from the website and we will hand out paper copies at the middle schools when we recruit; however, we are excited to pilot online applications this year.
You can also help with our recruiting efforts by sharing our enrollment posts and events on Facebook. Also, if you are so inclined, consider writing a Facebook or a Google review to help spread the word about the great opportunities open to students in our community. Go, Titans! #pbl4life
Counselors Corner
Filling out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)
Along with selecting and applying for college, students that are planning on attending college or tech school after high school graduation, also need to think about how they are going to pay for school. Filling out the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid), is an avenue for students to secure funding for college. The FAFSA allows for many different monetary awards including loans, grants, and work-study. Most financial aid is dependent upon parents’ and student’s income, some is not. The FAFSA for the 20-21 school year, will be available to complete online starting October 1, 2019 at www.fafsa.gov. For more detailed information about Financial Aid, please visit https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/fafsa.
Campus Visit to University of Nebraska-Lincoln Nov 13th 6:45am-7:30pm
The University of Nebraska-Lincoln will be hosting a campus tour for Juniors and Seniors on Nov 13, 2019. The students will leave Sioux Falls at 6:45am and return at approximately 7:30pm. The cost to attend is $20, which includes transportation and meals. Students that are interested must sign up with Mrs. Donohoe and pay $20—deadline for registration is Oct. 25th. Space is limited, so get your registrations in soon!
New To New Tech - Jesse Krause and Mark Ferri
Mark Ferri
Hey, this is Mark Ferri, the new New Tech Music guy! Team Ferri consists of four members--my wife, Julie; oldest son, Colin (freshman at Augustana); youngest son, Nolan (freshman at Roosevelt).
This is my second year teaching in the SIoux Falls School District. My main school last year was Hawthorne Elementary. I also taught Music in Canton for five years (2010-2015).
When I'm not teaching for SIoux Falls Schools, I'm a part-time Worship Leader at Holy Cross (catty corner from Memorial Middle School). Both Colin and Nolan are active on our church Praise Team and helped make a YouTube video last summer--The Way Ferri Productions (2:11).
My hometown is Omaha, though Julie and the boys were all born in Lincoln. We're huge Husker fans! Go Big Red!
Hobbies include running, lifting, all things music, Magic the Gathering, movies, lasagna and brownies.
Students and Staff of the Month
New Tech Community Partners - September 2019
Brenda Weich Dinsmore, Owner - Bagel Boy (World History)
Mark Ferri and the New Tech Chamber Choir (World History)
Jess Krager, Game Master - Escape 605 (Geometry)
Lindsey Eisma, Reside Property Management (College Prep Math)
Melissa Johnson, Founder and CEO of Oh My Cupcakes! (Algebra II)
Ryan Bechtold, Operations Manager - Sioux Falls Regional Sanitary Landfill
(Environmental Science and AP Environmental Science)
Marissa Begley, Marketing & Communications - Millennium Recycling
(Environmental Science and AP Environmental Science)
Dana Loseke, Chairperson - Friends of the Big Sioux River
(Environmental Science and AP Environmental Science)
Jeremy Hinke, Project Specialist - East Dakota Water Development District
(Environmental Science and AP Environmental Science)
Roberta Forman, Senior Designer - Lawrence & Schiller (Photo I)
Katelyn Short, Designer - Lawrence & Schiller (Photo I)
Casey Goodmund, Senior Designer - Lawrence & Schiller (Photo I)
Heidi Jorgenson, Asst Principal, NTHS (Personal Finance)
Breck Miller, Community Relations Coordinator, LSS Center for Financial Resources
(Personal Finance)
Mary Angela, local cozy mystery author, Professor Prather Mystery series (BioLit)
Chris Martin, SFSD Technology Integration Specialist (BioLit)
Kevin Gansz, Curator of Education and Civil War Reenactor - Siouxland Heritage Museums (AmEx)
Ryan Konz, Mortgage Loan Originator - American Bank and Trust (Seminar 401)
Micah Hansen, Admissions Counselor - Southeast Technical Institute (Seminar 401)
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/