April 2026

Dear Parent or Guardian,

Spring has sprung and with it brings state testing for grades 3-8 and grade 11. It is the time of year when the Mitchell School District students can showcase what they’ve learned throughout the year. South Dakota is part of the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium where students across the nation are being assessed on common core standards. Longfellow students will test from April 7 – May 8.

Please keep these dates in mind when scheduling appointments as we primarily test in the mornings. It is important for our learners to be on time so they can start the testing session with their classmates. We appreciate your efforts to ensure our Longfellow students have a positive testing experience. A good night’s sleep, a healthy breakfast, and encouraging words to do the best they can are a few ways that parents can assist their children. Preparing our children for academic success requires a partnership between home and school. Our Longfellow teachers feel very fortunate to be able to work with such supportive families. Thank you for all you do!

It's time to register your child for the 2026-2027 school year. Please complete your ‘Annual Information Update’ for the 2026-2027 school year. Please follow the online directions, in this newsletter, to update your information for your Begindergarten-4th grade child/ren, during the month of April. All information updates need be completed by May 1, 2026. This meets the requirements for registering your child for Longfellow for the 2026-2027 school year. Providing completed forms and updated information will assist us for the upcoming school year. If you have questions, please call the Longfellow office at 995-3092.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Heckenlaible

Please remember that our doors do not open and supervision does not begin until 7:30 am. Student arriving before then will need to wait outside. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation!

Parents, please make sure to send your child with a light jacket or sweatshirt (or in some cases they may still need their winter gear). We know the temperature changes frequently during this time of year and we want the students to be prepared for recess. Thank you for your help!

We understand that families need to make doctor appointments and have family vacations. As you are scheduling those, it may help to be aware of these dates.

4/3-4/6 Fri-Mon-NO SCHOOL - Easter

5/22 Fri-LAST DAY OF SCHOOL

We do the bulk of our statewide testing in April as well (3rd-5th graders). When a student

misses the scheduled testing time, we are required to reschedule for that student. Learners do

better when testing with the rest of their peers. We appreciate you doing your best to avoid

absences or leaving for appointments during those dates.

Doctor Appointments? Vacations?

The South Dakota summative testing window runs from March - May 8th. We do most of our testing in April. Please avoid scheduling appointments during the school day, if at all possible. Testing with their peers is the most normal testing environment for our students. If they miss testing dates, they will have to make them up during important class time. Your help is much appreciated! More detailed grade-level information will come out when the schedule is finalized.

Please check out the Dates to Remember section of this newsletter as well as the section above for dates that we do not have school. They would be the perfect time to schedule appointments or travel.

Para educators play a vital role in the success of students and the overall effectiveness of schools. They provide essential support to teachers by reinforcing instruction, offering individualized attention, and helping create an inclusive learning environment where every student can thrive.

Often working closely with students who have diverse learning needs, para educators build strong relationships that foster confidence, engagement, and academic growth. Their dedication, patience, and adaptability not only enhance classroom learning but also contribute to a more supportive and equitable education system. Recognizing the importance of para educators means valuing the critical impact they have on student achievement and school communities as a whole.

We could NOT properly educate our lions without the dedicated, loving, and patient heroes that we call Paras. Thank you to our LO paras.

Kristina Bartscher

Dylan Buchholz

Hannah Dalton

Charlene Hilkemeier

Cameo Irwin

Lexi Jennings

Erin Miller

Lois Pravacek

Noelle Rust

Lily Seivert

Patricia Sides

Nicole Stange

Lyndsie Stearns

Kim Strehlow

Emma Wegleitner

As we prepare for the upcoming school year, we carefully consider many factors when placing students in classrooms. These include academic progress, class size, a balance of boys and girls, and teacher input about each child’s learning, behavior, and social needs.

If you would like to share any information about your child that you feel is pertinent, please complete this form. We will thoughtfully consider all requests as we make classroom placements.

We are very proud of our attendance rates at Longfellow Elementary and want to keep that going! We want to thank our parents for continuing to bring their child/ren to school each day and on time.

Attendance is extremely important to the success of each child's education.

Thank you for making attendance and education a priority in your child's life!!

Pick up and drop off can be a very stressful time for parents and students. Everyone is in a hurry and ready to move on to the next part of their day. However, safety is the most important factor! Please remember to go to the corner and cross the street with the crossing guards. Please do NOT encourage your child to cross in the middle of the street. We want to keep our students safe and set a good example.

The dental bus will not be coming to Mitchell during this school year. We understand they are expected to come in July of 2026. Please watch the Mitchell Community Chamber page for an announcement.

PLEASE remember that students need proper shoes on gym days. Sandals, cowboy boots, snow boots, fashionable boots, flipflops, crocs, etc., are fine shoes but not appropriate for PE days.

Longfellow does not have spare shoes for students to borrow. Thank you.

2025-2026

WHAT IS THE FITNESS CHALLENGE?

Mrs. Eitemiller will post a video at the beginning of each month. The video will show the different activities to complete with your family that month. As you complete the challenges, take a selfie of your family in action and post it to our private Facebook group. If you do not have Facebook, please email the picture to Heidi.Eitemiller@k12.sd.us. Once your picture has been posted on Facebook or emailed, I will enter your name into the drawing for that month. We will draw for prizes EVERY MONTH! These activities are designed to keep your family active and to have fun!

WHERE DO I POST ON FACEBOOK?

Search the group 2025-2026 LONGFELLOW LIONS FITNESS CHALLENGE and ask to join the group. Once I see your request, I will let you in the group. If you are having trouble, just send me an email at Heidi.Eitemiller@k12.sd.us Don’t forget to post because there are some amazing prizes that you don’t want to miss out on!

FINALL CHALLENGE OF THE YEAR!

APRIL FITNESS CHALLENGES: BASEBALL - PLAY CATCH / BATTING

PRACTICE / PLAY A BASEBALL GAME / GO TO A BASEBALL GAME, PLAYING

OUTSIDE AT A PARK OR OUTSIDE, GO ON A HIKE, GOLF, PET A CHICKEN!

We love with the high school sports teams come to LO before they head off to a big game. This time, we got to cheer on the Girl's Basket Ball team before they left for the state tournament.

April

Thurs 2 - Student Council Store OPEN

3 & 6– No school = Easter break

STATE TESTING - 7-10

Tue 7 - PTO Meeting

Mon 13 - School Board Meeting

STATE TESTING 13-17

Fri 17 - Student Council Store OPEN

STATE TESTING 20-24

Wed 22 - Administrative Assistant Appreciation Day

Mon 27 - School Board Meeting

FINISHING STATE TESTING 27-1

May

Fri 1 - Principal Appreciation Day

4-8 - Teacher Appreciation Week

Tue 5 - Fifth grade show choir concert @ 6:30 pm @ the PAC
Tues 12 – Fifth grade district band concert @ 7:00 pm @ the PAC
Thurs 21 – Fifth grade recognition night @ 6:30 pm @ the PAC
May 22 – Field day!!!

The school doors open at 7:30 am. Even if it is cold or raining, we do not have staff in the building to supervise so students will wait until 7:30 am to enter the building. Likewise, our staff leaves by 3:45 and students will need to be picked up before that time. We appreciate you making arrangements to have your children dropped off and picked up within those times.

Building doors open 7:30 am

Breakfast served 7:30-8:10 am

First bell rings at 8:10 am

School begins at 8:15 am (meaning a student is tardy at 8:16 am)

School dismissed at 3:15 pm

If your child needs to leave during the school day or will come late due to an appointment, simply alert the school office at 605-995-3092. If you need to take your child out early, we appreciate you alerting the office ahead of time, if possible. Your child will remain in class until you come inside to sign them out and we will do our best to have them prepared and ready to go as quickly as possible.

Great job to our LO representatives for the Festival Choir!

Please ask your child if they have headphones for school. If you forgot to send some or they are no longer working, we have headphones in the office available for purchase for $5.00. Our lions use headphones daily.

School announcements, such as weather-related dismissals, late starts, or cancellations, in addition to reminders about Longfellow Elementary events, can be sent to you via text. You can download the app on your device by visiting the app or google play store and searching for ‘Mitchell School District’. If you just want Longfellow information, please select our school. You can select multiple schools if you have children in other levels. Just a reminder that this is how you are notified when your child/ren’s school times are affected by weather. The school does not call individual parents.

Also, please make sure your phone number is updated and stays updated in Campus and with the school. You will receive text notifications, as long as you choose to accept them. These notifications would be primarily for weather related school late starts, early dismissals, and cancellations.

All medications must be administered through the office. Students may keep cough drops in their lockers or desks but allergy meds, cold & flu, antacids, inhalers, etc., as well as all prescription medications will be held in the nurse's office. Please stop in to see Mrs. Snoozy, Longfellow's nurse, or call 605-995-3092 and ask for our nurse, if you have any questions.

Please remember that students are NOT ALLOWED to carry any medications on them (even aspirin). It is not safe to have elementary students carrying meds as we don't want them to get into the wrong hands. We are happy to keep OTC medications in the office for your child when/if they need them. However, if you would like your child to have Ibuprofen, Aspirin, etc. in school, you will need to supply that for them.

In the next couple of months, we will be screening all K-3rd graders, as well as any new students, for hearing and vision. You may receive a letter or phone call from our nurse if any results are at all concerning.

If your child had any health concerns in the past (milk allergy, asthma, etc.) our nurse may be contacting you via a letter in your child's backpack, mail or phone call to confirm. If your child HAS any health conditions we need to be aware of, please contact our nurse so we are aware.