DP Families

February 2026

Every day, we are amazed by the wonderful students who walk through our doors at Dakota Prairie. Their curiosity, kindness, and resilience inspire us constantly. Whether they're helping a friend, tackling a challenging problem with determination, or sharing their unique talents and perspectives, our students show us what it means to be part of a caring community. They bring joy, laughter, and energy to our classrooms. Their growth, both academically and personally, fills us with pride. We are so fortunate to work with such remarkable young people, and we can't wait to see all the amazing things they'll continue to accomplish.

We know life happens...children get sick, family events arise, and sometimes things are simply beyond our control. We completely understand and support you in making the best decisions for your family. At the same time, we want to gently highlight how much learning happens each day at school. Consistent attendance helps children build strong friendships, develop routines, and feel confident in their learning journey. Every day your child is here, they're building on yesterday's discoveries and preparing for tomorrow's adventures. We're grateful for your partnership in helping your child make the most of their school experience whenever possible. We want to work together to help your child stay on track with learning.

When a student misses school, they miss the most important part of a lesson, the teacher’s instruction. Teachers carefully design lessons to build skills step by step. When a child is not present, they miss the explanations, modeling, discussion, and guided practice that make the work meaningful. Completing the makeup work helps give students some understanding of what was taught so they can continue moving forward with the class.

If makeup work is not completed, the learning gap grows. Teachers are then placed in a difficult position: they must choose between stopping instruction to reteach material to one student or continuing forward so the rest of the class can keep learning. When a topic is weak or missing, it becomes harder for students to understand new lessons that build on that skill.

Please know that there is no extra “free time” built into the school day for students to complete missed work. We also strongly believe that recess is essential for children’s physical, social, and emotional well-being, so we do not want to take that time away to catch up on academics. That is why makeup work needs to be completed at home when a student has been absent.

We appreciate your partnership in helping your child complete any assigned makeup work in a timely manner. When students return prepared, it allows teachers to focus on teaching and helps every child stay on pace and feel successful in the classroom.

Thank you for your support in helping us keep learning moving forward.

Sarah Wiebersick

Principal, Dakota Prairie Elementary

We hope you had a warm and safe weekend. We have a couple of upcoming opportunities that the PTA is looking for your support on February 9-12, 2026.

Support the Scholastic Book Fair -Sign up for a 1 hour shift and plan to stop by to shop! https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F044AA8AD2DA2F94-61473055-spring#/

Help cover Conference Meals: Qdoba Taco Bar (10th) and Pizza (12th)

Meal Additions: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F044AA8AD2DA2F94-61459227-meals

Cheddar Up Link to cover Taco Bar and Pizza: https://winter-conferences-dp.cheddarup.com

Small contributions add up quickly and help ensure these events run smoothly for our learning community. We truly appreciate your continued support and involvement.

Thank you for helping make Dakota Prairie Elementary School such a wonderful place to learn and grow.

Screens calm children fast. One video, one game, one scroll, and the stress melts away. For a tired or overwhelmed child, that relief feels instant and powerful.

The problem is what comes after. The brain gets used to fast rewards. Real life moves slower. Homework, meals, conversation, and play can start to feel boring, irritating, or overwhelming. When screens stop, emotions often surge. Children may become restless, angry, tearful, or shut down. This is not bad behaviour. It is a nervous system struggling to cope without quick comfort.

This pattern shows up in many children and young people. It is common in children with anxiety, ADHD, ASD, sensory sensitivities, or emotional regulation difficulties. It also affects children who spend all day holding it together and using their energy to cope. Their behaviour is communication, not defiance.

What helps is not blame or constant battles over screen time. Children need connection, movement, outdoor time, creativity, and shared moments with calm adults. Slower activities help the brain reset and relearn how to cope with everyday life.

When adults understand this, responses change. Less punishment. More support. Less conflict. More connection.

Activities to encourage students to find calming activities at home. These activities will help your child work on self-regulation and resilience building with a fun llama theme.

Mark your calendars for Wednesday, February 5! Families are invited to join our friends at SmartSocial for a Roblox & Minecraft Safety Night. This virtual session will help caregivers understand how these popular platforms work, the real risks kids may face, and the tools and settings available to help keep children safe so you can guide your child with confidence online.

Register here: https://streamyard.com/watch/w9B7QPquTnVP

As parents, we often hear ourselves saying, "If you would just behave better..." or "Why can't you just listen?" But here's an important truth: children's behavior doesn't change simply because we tell them to behave better. Behavior changes when the right conditions are in place.

Think of it this way, when your child is acting out, they're actually communicating an unmet need. Before we can expect different behavior, we need to ensure six essential conditions are met:

Safety - Children must feel physically and emotionally safe. When fear takes over, the learning and self-control parts of their brain essentially go offline.

Connection - Your child needs to feel connected to a calm, available adult. Connection always comes before correction. A child who feels disconnected cannot effectively learn from discipline.

Felt Understanding - Children need to feel seen and understood, not judged. When they feel truly heard, behavior often improves naturally.

Support with Regulation - Children cannot simply "calm down" on command. They need our co-regulation—our calm presence and support—before they can manage their own emotions.

Predictability - Clear routines and consistent responses reduce anxiety and create the stability children need for better behavior over time.

Developmentally Realistic Expectations - Children can only do what their brain development allows. Expecting skills they haven't yet developed leads to repeated frustration for everyone.

This approach doesn't mean ignoring behavior, removing all boundaries, or letting children do whatever they want. Rather, it means teaching skills when children are calm and supported—not when they're overwhelmed.

Remember: You cannot punish a child into emotional safety, and you cannot reward a child into nervous system regulation. Real behavior change happens when we, as adults, change the environment around the child.

We're here to partner with you on this journey.

Have you ever noticed how your child looks to you when they're upset or overwhelmed? Children learn how to cope with big emotions by watching the adults around them. When emotions run high, they instinctively turn to us to guide them back to safety and calm.

Here's the powerful truth: when we stay calm, our children feel safer, their bodies can slow down, their feelings become less intense, and their behavior becomes easier to manage. Being calm doesn't mean being silent or passive, it means being steady and controlled, even in challenging moments.

When adults are overwhelmed, children often feel it too. They may become louder, more distressed, or shut down entirely. This isn't them being difficult; it's their nervous system reacting to stress.

The good news? Your calm presence teaches your child that strong feelings can be handled, problems don't need panic, support is available during hard moments, and safety comes before consequences. In practice, this might look like using a steady voice, slower movements, clear and simple words, pausing before responding, or taking a breath before acting.

Over time, children who experience calm adults are more likely to feel secure, trust guidance, learn self-control, and recover more quickly after stress. Remember: calm adults help children find their calm. We're all learning and growing together in this journey.

We are collecting receipts from Brookings Hy-Vee and Hy-Vee gas! Encourage families to bring in their original receipts. We will have a collection container in the vestibule as well as a box that will be on the counter behind Shelly's desk.

For every $200,000 in receipts, we can earn $1000!

Facebook

B.E.S.T. Award - Nominate staff or students who go above and beyond for recognition at our regular school board meetings! 🔗 brookings.k12.sd.us/best

Alumni Spotlight - Know a BHS grad doing incredible things? Help us tell their story by submitting a nomination! 🔗 brookings.k12.sd.us/alumni

Morning Drop-Off Options:

Parking and Walking In

• You are welcome to park in the designated parking lot and escort your child to the front doors of the school. Please note that staff will not be available to supervise at the front entrance, as they will be assisting students who arrive without a parent or guardian.

• If you prefer to drop your child off at the curb, please ensure that they are ready to exit the vehicle promptly when you pull up. For the safety and efficiency of all, we ask that parents remain in their vehicles during drop-off. This allows the traffic line to move smoothly and helps us avoid unnecessary delays.

Afternoon Dismissal Options:

Walk

• Learners may walk home if that is what the family has chosen for them to do.

Pick Up

• Families are each assigned a number and given 2 tags for their vehicles. As you drive up your number is announced and your child(ren) walk to where ever you are in the drive up. We fill the first 5-6 cars in each line and run two lines at a time.
• If you need to pick up early please try to have it be before 3:00 or it may be hard to get into the parking lot. People start lining up in the pick up lanes early so you will want to park in the parking lot and walk in to sign your child out. The exit to the parking lot is open until 3:15 so you will have time to leave the parking lot before dismissal begins.

Bus

We appreciate your cooperation in following these procedures to ensure a safe and orderly start and ending to each school day. Thank you for your continued support.

We keep all of our lost and found items in the front entry way so that you can come and look at any time, those doors are unlocked Monday - Friday from 7:30-6pm. Please label your items with your family name and if we find them we will make sure they are returned. Unmarked items are taken to Goodwill after the 20th of each month. We have extra clothes, coats, shoes, boots, etc that we lend out to learners as needed. These items are all marked DP so if they end up at your house please return them to school so that others can borrow them!

*Early Release on Wednesdays for School Improvement Planning @ 2:20

February 10 & 12 - ECE-5th Grade Evening PT Conferences (4:00 pm~7:30 pm)

February 13 - Comp Day (For Evening Conferences) - NO SCHOOL for ECE-5th Grade

February 16 - President's Day - NO SCHOOL

March 11 - End of 3rd Quarter

March 12 & 13 - Spring Break - NO SCHOOL

April 2-6 - Spring Break - NO SCHOOL

April 7-24 - NWEA Testing

May 17 - High School Graduation - 2:00 pm

May 19 - Last Day of School for Students - End of 4th Quarter/ End Semester

May 20 & 21 - Staff Development (May 21 is the last day for Teachers)

Email: Sarah.Wiebersick@k12.sd.us
Website: https://www.brookings.k12.sd.us/DakotaPrairie
Location: 111 26th St S, Brookings, SD, USA
Phone: 605-696-4906
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DPElementary