The Warrior
Washington High School Newsletter
Mission: To Develop Lifelong Learners To Succeed In A Changing World
Newsletter Date:
June 2021
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Principal Comments
The 2020-21 school year has come to a close. We did it! I think many of us would agree we were not quite sure how this year would go, but as I look back I am proud of the many accomplishments and triumphs achieved by our students, staff, and families. We would like to wish our graduates the very best as they embark on their next journey. We will miss you, but know that wherever life takes you, “Once a Warrior, always a Warrior”.
This past year, our WHS students accomplished many great things. We were able to celebrate many of their accomplishments at our annual Honorfest school recognition assembly. Many students were recognized for their outstanding academic achievements. Among them, we recognized 132 Regent Scholars, 122 Presidential Education Award winners, 79 AP Achievement Award Winners, 2 National Merit Finalists, 1 U.S. Presidential Scholar, and 21 seniors for maintaining a perfect 4.0 unweighted GPA for all four years of High School. We want to congratulate all of our students for their academic and activity successes this past year.
In addition to recognizing students for their achievements, we recognized Mrs. Alysha Baus as the WHS Booster Club Teacher of the Year. Mrs. Baus teaches in our FACS department and is our Applied Arts Department Chair. We would also like to congratulate Mr. Joel Blankers (community member), Amber Luecke (parent), and Steve Sivertson (staff member) as they were awarded the Spirit of Washington plaque in recognition for their contributions to Washington High School.
For students who will be returning to WHS in the fall, I encourage you to take advantage of the warm summer months by spending time outside with family and friends. I also encourage you to keep your mind sharp by setting aside time to read, keeping your body active, and limiting your screen time.
We will have many opportunities for students to be involved in summer activities at Washington. WHS has several camps, activities, and groups that meet consistently during the summer. To be informed and involved, ask your child’s activity leader for a copy of the summer schedule or look for the summer camp listings in this newsletter.
Lastly, we continue to work to provide a safe learning environment for all students and staff. Even as we enter the summer break, we continue to encourage students to report suspicious behaviors they hear or see to the police or school administration by remembering the phrase “If you see something, say something”. We take all reports seriously, and we work closely with the Sioux Falls Police Department to ensure the safety of all students and staff. Together, we can help ensure that all students have a wonderful and safe summer.
Thank you for your support of WHS as it is a great time to be a Warrior!
Go Warriors!
Kari Papke, Principal
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Superintendent Message
A Year Like No Other
by Dr. Jane Stavem, Superintendent
May 2021
As the school year draws to a close, it may go down in history as both the longest and shortest year ever. Many things have felt different, but there are just as many or more things that feel completely normal, especially at this point in the year.
Over the past two weeks I’ve attended elementary, middle, and high school recognition events and marvel at the accomplishments of our students.
- Our students have stayed in the classroom and excelled academically.
- Our students have stayed on the field and the court and played competitively.
- Our students have stayed on the stage and performed beautifully.
- Our students have stayed the course and completed the year successfully.
As things unfold across the country there are many districts that have only recently returned students to the classroom, and just as many that will not see students in person at all this year. When I think about the future of our SFSD students, particularly our seniors moving on from this year, they will have a tremendous advantage compared to many of their peers. I’m so proud of the resilience they have shown and their accomplishments.
Our District has provided learning in the classroom all year because of the courage and tenacity of our SFSD staff. They showed up under uncertain circumstances, adjusted their way of teaching, changed the structure of the classroom, and altered their daily practice in order to keep kids in school, and we’re grateful. They have functioned as a team, and I am equally proud of their resilience and accomplishments this year.
We missed having our volunteers and people coming to our buildings on a regular basis, and we hope many of those missing pieces can be restored for 2021-22. We became acutely aware of the impact of so many partnerships when we had to do without those connections this year. Our goal is to revitalize and renew those important community relationships as we grow forward next year.
Sioux Falls is an amazing place and we have so many things for which to be thankful. As someone new to the community, I have been overwhelmed more than a few times at the number of people and organizations who care deeply about the well-being and success of both our students and families and our entire School District. So many have contributed time, resources, and expertise all in an effort to have great opportunities for all of our children. I recently met someone who has been volunteering at SFSD events for 63 years! That is a legacy of commitment so many have demonstrated, and we are grateful!
The community embraces our schools and believes in the value of public education. The city welcomes diversity and partners with us as we continue to grow in our ability to make everyone feel seen, valued, and included. I am so grateful for the way this District pulled together and stayed the course. Families, students, staff, and the community - together, we all made this year a reality for our children.
We have great opportunities to grow, improve, and innovate moving forward, including our upcoming summer programs for students, two new schools opening in the fall, and a celebration of the SFSD 150th year. Our new District Priorities will guide the work as we envision a bright future for our children. Thank you for staying the course, and congratulations on the successful completion of this historic school year!
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2021 poetry out loud national finals
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Congratulations Washington Choir!
Alex Strawn, Arianna Edwards, Amber Oakland, Cameron Rahm, Aric Wilcox, Reagan McKay, Jasmine Johnson, Collin Winkleman, Lexy Ward, Carter Bell, Emma Jensen, Jenni Peterson, Kalli Barnhart, Molly Adams, Spencer Peterson, Aden Alvine, Conner Beckstrand, Grace Fromknecht, Alanna Smith, Duyen Nguyen, Jenisha Gurung, Claire Miller, Arianna Person, Abi Kutilek. Jasmine Johnson and Grace Fromknecht had perfect scores
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Congratulations to the class of 2021!!!
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Library Information
Although the WHS Library is not open in the summer, students can still get a hold of great summer reads. Students can download the SORA app to access free ebooks and audiobooks. Your student's username and password is below. Students can also access Siouxland Library's ebooks and audiobooks through the same app. Go to this ppt to get directions: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/18DdwwHQY0DIGQyrBv-KV1mRW3NzyPd-xVCBkyU9lxIw/edit?usp=sharing Students can also use the Siouxland Libraries all summer and participate in their summer reading program. For every three books they read, teens can fill out their reading log and get their name entered in a drawing for a variety of fun prizes to be given out in August.
SFSD Student Login to SORA
Username: 1st part of email address, ie. ks1234
Password: same as their Chromebook password, initials upper and lower, ID number and birth year: ie - Ks1234562006
The WHS Library still has hundreds of books that need to be returned. If you receive an overdue notice with your student's report card, please return the books to the administration office at WHS this summer on Monday-Thursday from 7:00 am-5:00 pm. If we don't get the books back until the fall, it is difficult to know what books to replace over the summer. Students who do not return their books this summer may have to pay for them in the fall. Thank you in advance for your help with this!
Kerri Smith
WHS Librarian
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21-22 Annual Student Information
HELPFUL REMINDERS:
- New Student Online Registration
- This option is open all year and should be used for new families/students to the district (for example, students that have never been enrolled with the district or those students that have left the district and are returning).
- For parents completing registration at home on a laptop or desktop, registration is done through the SFSD Website. (See attached document: 21-22 Online Registration Options, Online Registration - New Student)
- For parents completing registration on a student Chromebook, at the school, or with clerical assistance, registration is done through the Kiosk bookmark “Kiosk-New Student Registration”. (See attached document: Online Registration – Kiosk Options)
- Annual Student Information Update (Existing Students)
- This option is open May through September.
- For parents completing the annual update at home on a laptop or desktop, they should log into their parent portal account, select ‘More’ from the left index and then the “Annual Information Update” link display. (See attached document – 21-22 Online Registration Options, Online Registration – Existing Families)
- For parents completing registration on a student Chromebook, at the school, or with clerical assistance, registration is done through the Chromebook bookmark at the top left of the screen, named “Parent Portal Log-in”. (See attached document: Online Registration – Kiosk Options)
- Parents must be logged in as a parent to see their students. Logging in as a student or staff/teacher will not allow them to see their students or the annual information update link.
- Only Household A parent/guardians will be able to complete an annual update through Parent Portal.
- Household B parent/guardians will be able to access the Annual Student Information Update link within their Parent Portal, but will be given the following message once they open the link: “Online registration is not available at this time for the following reasons: You are not indicated as a guardian for an enrolled student, student is not residing in this household the greater portion of the school year, the account that is being used does not belong to a parent/guardian, an online application has already been submitted for this school year or annual student information updates are not being accepted at this time.”
- ITS will mail blue annual update forms to Household B parents in late July/early August.
- Annual Student Information Update with New Student Added (new Kindergarten student, new foster child, new guardianship, foreign exchange student, etc.)
- This option is open May through September.
- Parents with an active Parent Portal account should update their existing student(s) information following the existing student annual update instructions above. On the Student Tab, parent will have the option to “Add New Student” before submitting the application.
- *REMINDER: You will need to check the entire OLR for new students (including the Language Information pleat, previous schools pleat for IEP/504 information, etc.) on all new students added to the application.
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Warrior Way Podcast
Ep. 33 - Steve Sivertson by The Warrior Way Podcast • A podcast on Anchor
This week I caught up with longtime teacher and Spirit of WHS Award Winner Steve Sivertson. Steve has been an instrumental part of our WHS culture, and we will be sad to see him retire at the conclusion of this school year. Steve has taught many groups of students, but found his passion teaching our ELL population. Steve has also worked at many activities in the Metro Area, and has witnessed many great sports moments as you'll hear. We round it out by drafting our Top 5 MLB Ballparks to watch a game.
https://anchor.fm/warrior-waypod/episodes/Ep--33---Steve-Sivertson-e115hu0
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Yearbook Information
The 2021 yearbook will be wrapped up in early June and we anticipate delivery in August. If they arrive before Warrior Day, provided that the COVID restrictions will allow it, we hope to have them available for pickup for the 2021 graduates. If not, we will use the information provided by the graduates on the survey to get the yearbook to those who purchased.
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Summer food service program 2021
The Sioux Falls School District is committed to keeping our students healthy and well-fed over the summer months. Our Summer Food Service program will begin on Tuesday, June 1, 2021. This program provides FREE hot breakfast and lunches to any child 18 and under. This year, there will be ten (10) school sites including, Laura B. Anderson, Anne Sullivan, Terry Redlin, Hawthorne, Lowell, Garfield, Hayward, Oscar Howe, Rosa Parks, and Memorial
Hot meals will be served Monday through Thursday from 8:00 to 9:00 AM and 11:30 AM to 12:30 PM. Friday meals will be sent with kids on Thursdays. No income guidelines or paperwork necessary. Adults are also welcome, however, there is a cost of $4.25 per meal. The program will run through Thursday, July 29, 2021. There will be no meals served on Monday, July 5, 2021.
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SAM City Buses
Sioux Area Metro (SAM City buses) have the “on-going” program offering the Freedom Pass rides to MS and HS students this summer.
PLEASE remind students to keep their 2020-21 Student ID so they can ride the SAM bus during the summer months.
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WHS Booster Club
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Perky mugs/coffee sales are back!
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Contact us
Website: http://www.sf.k12.sd.us/washington/home
Location: 501 N. Sycamore Sioux Falls SD, 57110
Phone: (605) 367-7970