Dear SWSC Community,

It is hard to believe this is the end of the third grading period already! We were really lucky this winter and missed most of the severe weather. March is sometimes unpredictable but we still have 2 eLearning days if needed so I feel good about our position in regard to weather-related school cancellations.

A lot of exciting things occurred in the past nine weeks. The SWSC Counseling Team received a new grant to continue to grow the SWSC Comprehensive School Counseling Program. As part of the grant, it will establish a full-time counselor at Carlisle Elementary & Middle School, a K-12 College & Career Coach, and provide valuable professional development for our team. I hope you enjoy reading about it and some of the other highlights from the last nine weeks below.

We recently concluded our Read Across America Week at Carlisle and Sullivan Elementary School. The students participated in many fun activities and were treated to many guest readers. Speaking of reading, we have received an IDOE Literacy Grant for the 2023-24 and 2024-25 school year. This will allow us to hire a Literacy Coach to work with and provide support to our elementary teachers as we work to strengthen and improve our students' reading and writing.

The SWSC archery club advanced to the state finals at all three levels: elementary, middle, and high school. They will be competing in the state finals on Saturday, March 11 at the Indiana State Fairgrounds in Indianapolis. We are proud of their individual and team successes!

The Future Chef Competition was held at Sullivan High School on Thursday, March 2. We had 10 awesome students and recipes. It was really great to see the excitement in our students' faces that participated.

Spring Break begins Friday, March 24 and runs through Friday, March 31. School resumes on Monday, April 3. Enjoy your Spring Break!

The fourth nine weeks will be a busy one. When we return from Spring Break in April we will be doing state ILEARN testing in grades 3-8.

Upcoming dates:

Friday, April 7 – Good Friday – No School

Thursday, May 25 – Last Day of School

Saturday, May 27 – Graduation @ 11:00 AM, SHS Gym

Thank you to all students, teachers, staff, parents, and community members for your extraordinary support of our schools.

Remember…We are the best, we are Southwest!

Stitz

It has been a great season for the SWSC archers! In last month's state qualifier tournament,

Sullivan Elementary School, Sullivan Middle School, and Sullivan High School archery teams all recorded team scores that advanced them to the Indiana State Archery Championships. Each team will be represented by 24 archers for a total of 72 students representing the three schools.

SES enters the state tournament ranked 4th in Bullseye (round target) and 6th in 3D (three-dimensional targets shaped like animals). SMS enters the state tournament ranked 5th in Bullseye and 3rd in 3D while SHS enters ranked 6th in Bullseye and 4th in 3D.

The Indiana State Archery Tournament is Saturday, March 11 at the Indiana State Fairgrounds. Entrance fee is $10 with grades 3 and under Free. Parking is $10. You can follow along on the day's progress and results on the NASP website.

The SHS Quiz Bowl season started off strong with a fun scrimmage, hosting Eastern Greene and Shakamak in January for an all-day Saturday tournament. On January 21, SHS hosted the Area Contest for IASP's Quiz Bowl. The team advanced to the February state competition. Qualifying for State gives them an automatic invitation to NAQT High School Quiz Bowl. At the end of February, SHS hosted the WIC Quiz Bowl and secured a first-place victory! The Quiz Bowl team has more than doubled in size this year, giving them enough players for both a varsity and jv team. The team is looking forward to attending a national competition the first weekend of June. Congratulations on a great season thus far!

Students competing include:

Freshmen: Payton Boone, Logan Francis, Grant Jennings, Davus LeDune, and Carter Mischler

Sophomores: Layla Ellis, Hudson Okes, and Ike Thompson

Juniors: Bella Norris, Denys Bastan, and Drew Graves

Seniors: Mackenzie Banfield, Neesa Bonham, Addison Sisil, and Wyatt Springer.

On February 25, Sullivan High School's National History Honor Society (NHHS) competed in the regional National History Day competition at Indiana State University. NHHS had 26 club members competing, representing 15 entries of essays and exhibitions. All of the NHHS competitor projects placed in the top four in each category, which guaranteed their projects moved onto the state competition. A big CONGRATS to these students for all their hard work and moving on to the state competition in April.

ISSMA Solo and Ensemble Competition

In January, Carlisle band members participated in the Indiana State School Music Association (ISSMA) Solo & Ensemble competition. Carlisle had 14 entries and came home with 14 gold medals. SHS had one entry and he came home with a gold medal as well. They were graded on things such as notes/rhythms, intonation, musicality, etc. The gold-medal winners were:

• Lanie Donnar (trumpet solo)
• Williams Clarinet Trio (Danny Williams, Gracyn Souders, Tegan McCammon)
• Dixon Saxophone Trio (Koen Dixon, Ezra Porter, Dilan Pirtle
• Matt Campbell (timpani solo)
• Logan Chastain (baritone solo)
• Gracyn Souders (clarinet solo)
• Elizabeth Nicol (flute solo)
• Ezra Porter (alto saxophone solo)
• Koen Dixon (alto saxophone solo)
• Danny Williams (clarinet solo)
• Ashton Mitchell (snare drum solo)
• Donnar Mixed Brass Trio (Lanie Donnar, trumpet; Wyatt Fifer, trumpet; Logan Chastain, baritone)
• Dilan Pirtle (tenor saxophone solo)
• Dilan Pirtle (baritone saxophone solo)
• SHS student, Haiden Okes (tuba solo)

Circle the State with Song

On Saturday, Feb. 18th, 16 CES and CMS students participated at Circle the State with Song. For Circle the State, students from all over Indiana learn and practice the same songs. They spend the day rehearsing with other students from their region and conclude with an evening performance for families and the community. The participants were the following:

Fourth graders: Halli Walls, Mylee Monroe, Kaci Koogler

Fifth graders: Amelia Grimes, Kenzee Richardson, Elizabeth Hancock, Hayden Thompson, Jeffrey Lockard, Lyndee Stearley, Rylynn Bond

6th grader: Brylee Sparks

7th graders: Danny Williams, Elorah Porter, Tegan McCammon

8th graders: Shaelee McCarthy, Ezra Porter

ISSMA Area Vocal Contest

Sullivan High School competed in the ISSMA Area Vocal Contest on February 4th with more than 15 vocalists singing solos and ensembles and advancing with Gold ratings to State ISSMA held on February 18th at Perry Meridian H.S.

Qualifying state soloists and ensembles included: Lori Alumbaugh, Mackenzie Banfield, Emma Bezy, Hannelore De Meijer, Molly Ranard, Kate Ridgway, Caylee Shorter, Alex Sparks, Chase Catlin, Gabriel Owens, Tyler Smith, and Luis Valencia.

Next Up: ISSMA Junior/Middle/Elementary Organizational Band Contest

Coming up on March 18th is the ISSMA Junior/Middle/Elementary Organizational Band Contest. Both the CMS & SMS Intermediate bands have been working on three pieces for this event. The two bands will be performing as one big band to try to earn a Gold medal rating, This may be the first time that the middle schools have participated in this event. We want to wish them good luck!

Last year, Mrs. Hollis decided to try something new for second semester drama - a broadcast class! This class helps the students develop an entirely different skill-set than live theatre. Mrs. Hollis has been impressed with the students' creativity and focus from the very beginning. Their goal is to release an episode each week. We enjoyed watching the shows. You can find all of the episodes on the SHS website: https://www.swest.k12.in.us/o/shs/page/shs-broadcasting

In January and February, the reality of going to high school gets even more real for students and parents. Our school counselors introduce students to their freshman options, potential pathways, and the different diploma tracks available. They also host parent nights to share this information with parents before their students actually take their next steps of choosing their freshman classes and graduation plan.

To the Class of 2027, finish your 8th grade year strong and we can't wait to see all that you accomplish in high school!

Ten elementary students competed in the Sodexo Future Chefs National Challenge. In this year's challenge, the students had to make a vegetable or fruit side dish that was healthy and kid-friendly, with little waste. Their sides were then judged by a panel of local food experts and connoisseurs.

Competing chefs from CES were: Amelia Grimes (5th grade), Layla Hiatt (2nd grade), Keaton Knotts (5th grade), Kent Kramer (5th grade), and Halli Walls (4th grade).

Competing chefs from Sullivan Elementary School were: Sawyer Irvin (4th grade), Ruthie Pennington (4th grade), Easton Richardson (4th grade), Jayci Wall (3rd grade), and Afton Whitkanack (4th grade).

Sullivan Elementary School student, Sawyer Irvin, with his Sawyer's Super Carrot Apple Slaw, was awarded top chef and walked away with some cool prizes. Congratulations to Sawyer and all the other contestants!

*Petty's Pit Stop and Juicy owner, Jen Petty, offered sides of the winning recipe at Petty's Pit Stop this week. All proceeds from the sales will go to the Future Chefs program. You might still be able to try out Sawyer's slaw tonight or tomorrow at Petty's!

March 2, otherwise known as Read Across America Day, has always been a favorite day for Carlisle Elementary students. This year was no exception. Storyteller, Susan Fowler, captivated students while bringing Thidwick, the Big-Hearted Moose alive. Students also traveled from station to station eating Seuss snacks, planting Truffula trees, making Lorax art, Hop on Pop balloon art, and doing Seuss literacy and math activities, just to name a few.

Additional teachers from Sullivan Elementary School and Carlisle Elementary School participated in Orton-Gillingham (OG) literacy training. The Orton-Gillingham Approach is a direct, explicit, multisensory, structured, sequential, diagnostic, and prescriptive way to teach literacy when reading, writing, and spelling does not come easily to individuals, such as those with dyslexia.

Another great professional opportunity was the awarding of an IDOE Literacy Cadre Grant earlier this month. As a part of the Literacy Cadre grant, SWSC will select a literacy coach that will be a part of the two-year collaborative professional development for K-2 educators across the state based on the science of reading, a compilation of evidence-based research on reading, reading development, and reading instruction. This is another step that the SWSC is taking to help ensure that our students can read proficiently by the end of 3rd grade.

In January, the SWSC was awarded a $15,000 Indiana Department of Education's Digital Learning Parent & Family Support Grant for the 2022-2023 school year.

The Digital Learning Parent & Family Support Grant allows SWSC to design a plan to support parents with topics related to educational technology and blended/virtual learning environments. Through these targeted funds, SWSC will enhance parent engagement by providing professional development, additional technology training, and becoming Class Dojo elementary schools.

On Feb. 9, in conjunction with National School Counseling Week, the Indiana Department of Education announced the recipients of the Comprehensive School Counseling Grant (CSCG). Out of more than 100 applicants, we were thrilled to be one of the 25 grant award winners. The focus of the CSCG is to further develop and expand school counseling services and resources that improve student achievement, well-being, and college and career readiness. The SWSC will be adding a school counselor and K-12 career coach to our current team, which includes SHS school counselors, Dave Lisman and Katie Couch, SMS school counselor, Krista Wells, and Sullivan Elementary School counselor, Dani Hamilton. Also currently under the counseling team umbrella are Emily Jones-Coley, school psychologist, Peyton Goodwin, part-time social worker, Megan Mauriello, SES Clinical Mental Health counseling intern, and Christina Hall, contracted mental health counselor at SHS.

From Dr. Katie Jenner, Indiana Secretary of Education: “School counselors are uniquely positioned to provide students with a number of important services, including guidance in completing all necessary courses and other graduation requirements, encouraging exploration of career and postsecondary opportunities and overall well-being support. The recipients of this grant understand the importance of comprehensive school counseling and the range of support our students need in order to reach their full potential. With this additional funding, they will be better equipped to support the needs of their community, and ultimately, move the needle for their students.”

To see the complete list of grant recipients, click here.

*This week, SWSC was awarded the Lilly Endowment College & Career Capacity-Building Grant through the Indiana Youth Institute (IYI). This competitive grant, valued at over $6,800, will help support our new career coach and K-12 college/career readiness through 1:1 professional mentoring and consultation services.

5 Years

Morgan Welch

Dillon Taylor

10 Years

Candy Markle

Bonnie Ferree

Will Simmons

Tabitha Cooke

Jay Phillips

Kyndal Davis

Paul Retseck

Rachel Dudley

Leslie Bright

15 Years

Amanda Earley

Jennifer Simpson

20 Years

Jill Nichols

Samantha Phegley

Chad LeDune

Alison Lane

John Nave

25 Years

Audrey Badger

Paige Shake

Ron Autrey

Annie McCammon

30 Years

Staci Hollis

40 Years

Lisa Ridge

Thank you for all your dedication and service to the students of the SWSC!

"May your troubles be less, and your blessings be more, and nothing but happiness come through your door."

- Old Irish Blessing

(Teachers and Parents: Have your kiddos write their own! Click here)

Email: cstitzle@swest.k12.in.us
Website: www.swest.k12.in.us
Location: 1502 North Section Street, Sullivan, IN, USA
Phone: (812) 268-6311