Welcome to the start of a new school year! As we gear up for another exciting year of learning and growth, we want to share some important updates and reminders to ensure a smooth transition for all.

Technology Fee Waiver
We are pleased to announce that the technology fee will be waived for families who complete the Free and Reduced Meal Application. We encourage all eligible families to take advantage of this opportunity. Your participation not only supports your family but also benefits the entire district by ensuring access to essential resources.

Bus Service Registration and Route Information
To enhance communication, routing, and safety, we are implementing a new process for bus service registration. All families who require bus service must re-register. This step is crucial for us to maintain accurate records and provide the best possible service to our students.

Additionally, please note that bus route stops will no longer be public information. This change is made with the safety of our students in mind. Route details will be communicated only to registered families. We appreciate your understanding and cooperation in keeping our students safe.

Communication
Staying connected is more important than ever. In this newsletter, you'll find information on our new Facebook pages to follow and details about the Meade School District App for your phone. The app will allow you to see what’s happening at any school building, keeping you informed and engaged throughout the school year.

We are looking forward to a fantastic year ahead. Thank you for your continued support and commitment to our district. Let’s make this school year one of our best yet!

Best regards,

Wayne Wormstadt
Superintendent
Meade School District

Board President - Justin Jutting

Vice President - Aaron Odegaard

Board Member - Scottie Bruch

Board Member - Sandy Cass

Board Member - Terry Koontz

Board Member - Megan Snyder

Board Member - Lee Spring

Board Member - Darrell Vig

Board Member - Brian Voight

The school board meets on the second Monday of each month at 5:30 p.m. in the board room located in the Williams Administrative Building, 1230 Douglas Street, Sturgis.

All meetings of the Meade School Board are open to the public and all actions authorized or required by law are taken at those meetings. The school board welcomes attendance at meetings by employees, students, parents and members of the Meade School District.

Board Committee Assignments

A school board meeting was held Monday, August 12, 2024. Some important topics discussed and/or approved included:

• FY24 Budget Review Presentation
• Bus Route Change Requests
• Harlow's Bus Renewal Contract for 2024-25
• Food Service Adult Meal Increases
• All staff and teacher in-service is August 20-22

Take a moment to read the unofficial minutes or review the agenda for more details.

After a break filled with memories and adventures, it's time to get back into the routine of teaching and learning with our students and staff members. Superintendent Wormstadt has invited the entire Meade School District staff to come together at Sturgis Brown High School for our kick-off event!

Teacher in-service will take place on Tuesday, August 20 & Thursday, August 22. An all staff in-service will take place on Tuesday, August 21starting at 8:00 am.

The district has hired a few new district staff members for the upcoming 2024-25 school year. Shelly Mikkelson has taken the rural principal/teaching position at Central Meade Co. Schools, Anthony Eads is the new technology director and Leeann Weeldreyer will be the new business office administrative assistant.

Administrative expectations for parents and students when attending open houses is to spend 30-45 minutes at the school their child attends. Schools will be open and available during those specific times and parents should adjust their time accordingly to attend specific open houses.

Sturgis Elementary (Grades K-4):

Open House: Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024; 2:00-4:00 p.m. at Sturgis Elementary.

Whitewood Elementary (Grades K-5):

Open House: Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024; 2:00-4:00 p.m. at Whitewood Elementary.

Rural Schools (Grades K-8):

Open House: Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024; 1:00-3:00 p.m. at each rural school.

Piedmont Valley Elementary (Grades K-4):

Open House: Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024; 2:00-4:00 p.m. at Piedmont Valley Elementary.

Stagebarn Middle School (Grades 5-8):

Open House & Orientation: Tuesday, Aug. 20, 2024; 3:00-5:00 p.m. (6th-8th Grade ONLY)

Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024; 12:00-3:00 p.m. (5th Grade Orientation)

Thursday, Aug. 22,2024; 3:00-5:00 p.m. (5th Grade Open House)

Sturgis Williams Middle School (Grades 5-8):

Open House & Orientation: Tuesday, Aug. 20, 2024; 3:00-5:00 p.m.

Sturgis Brown High School (Grades 9-12):

Freshmen/New Student Orientation: Tuesday, Aug. 20, 2024, 5:00-7:00 p.m.; SBHS Student Services office.

Open House: Tuesday, Aug. 20, 2024, 5:00-7:00 p.m.; SBHS Student Services office.

Computer pickup information:

This year ALL students will be picking up their computers on the 1st day of school during Scooper Time.

New Student Enrollment Forms

All students who will be riding the bus MUST be registered. If your child is not registered to ride the bus, then transportation from school after the first week will not be provided until we receive a transportation form. Registration forms will be provided at the open houses for your respective schools. One (1) form for all your children is all that is needed.

NOTE: There are no bus services in the city limits of Sturgis. If you have specific bus route questions, it's best to reach out to Harlow's directly by emailing Kelli Werlinger or 605-347-5066.

For other bus information, visit the Meade School District website.

Meade School District is gearing up for the start of the 2024-25 school year. The first day of school is scheduled for Monday, August 26, 2024.

Parents can find school information on school hours, orientation, open houses, academic calendar schedule, lunch pricing and bus transportation on the district website located at meade.k12.sd.us.

📢 Please help! 📢

Help us get the word out on our new Facebook pages! Our previous Meade School District 46-1 page had over 3000 followers! We would like to see that number (or more) of followers again! Share the following links with friends, family, co-workers, businesses plus more!

To find our new pages, simply search for "Meade School District 461 Official" in the Facebook search field and make sure to Like or Follow! To ensure you find the correct pages, all of our new page URLs will have the word "official" at the end of the page name.

Sturgis Elem. School 46-1

Sturgis Williams MS 46-1

Sturgis Brown HS 46-1

Whitewood Elem. School 46-1

Piedmont Valley Elem. School 46-1

Stagebarn MS 46-1

Meade Rural Schools 46-1

Important: We recommend going to your Liked Pages in your settings, and unliking or unfollowing any compromised pages.

Thank you for your support and cooperation! Let's stay connected! 💬

DOWNLOAD THE MEADE SCHOOL DISTRICT APP TO RECEIVE ALERTS & NOTIFICATIONS through the IOS App Store or Android Play Store.

With the launch of the new website and app, our key priority is ensuring the accuracy of school notifications. To receive timely updates on school closures, student absences, activity changes, and other important information, it's essential that we have your most up-to-date contact details, including your phone number and email address.

Landscaping is continuing to take place at the new Sturgis Brown HS Activities entrance. Any events that take place, now can enter through the new entrance.

Monument Health is offering sports physical examinations free of charge to school-age athletes at all Monument Health clinic locations.

Patients seen at Monument Health Sturgis clinic are required to make an appointment with a primary care provider which can be a doctor, a nurse practitioner, or a physician assistant. These physicals are not done in urgent care at this location to prevent long wait times. Call 605-720-2600.

The free physical examinations are offered year-round as a courtesy to all local athletes, from grade school to college. Families are invited to schedule an appointment at a local clinic.

Athletic physical forms and the pre-participation history forms (with parental signature) must be completed prior to the athletic physical being performed.

Monument Locations

Participation Forms

The activities department has upgraded the activities calendar to Bound, an online software that handles all aspects of managing statewide athletics and activities.

We have certificated, support staff and extra-curricular activity positions available for 2024-25 school year. Here are just a few, please go to the link to see all positions.

• Several coaching positions
• General Education Paraprofessional
• Special Education Paraprofessional
• High School Special Education Teacher
• High School Art Teacher
• High School CTE Business/Computer Teacher

Did you know that you can volunteer to work in schools throughout the district? Fill out the volunteer form now!

Educating youth takes a community effort, and because of that the Meade School Board is encouraging parents, guardians and other interested patrons to volunteer their time, knowledge and talents.

Members of the community bring new energies and resources into the schools and expand the walls of the classrooms. School volunteers enrich the educational program and strengthen the schools’ relationships with homes, businesses, public agencies and private institutions. All volunteers in the Meade School District do so without pay or employee benefits, except for workers’ compensation. For those interested in volunteering.

If you have a student that attends the Meade School District 46-1, and would like to receive a QuickVue At-Home OTC COVID-19 Test Kit for a family member, please let your building principal know that you would like to receive one as we have them available for you. They are fast, easy and you can receive rapid results in 10 minutes. Each kit comes with two (2) tests and instructions.

Parents/guardians and staff members now have access to review and request changes to contact and demographic information. If you have had an address change, phone number change or email change, log into your parent portal through Infinite Campus and request a change now.

The Dakota Dreams Online Tutoring Program provides free online tutoring to K-12 students in South Dakota in the subjects of English/Language Arts, Math, Science and Social Studies.

School pictures will be in full swing once the year starts! Below is the schedule:

8/26 - HS

8/28 - SWMS

9/6 - Sturgis Elem.

9/11 - Whitewood Elem.

9/12 - Rural

9/13 - Piedmont Valley Elem.

9/17 - Stagebarn MS

Retake Dates:

10/18 - HS

10/21 - SWMS + Sturgis Elem.

10/21 - Whitewood Elem.

10/29 - Rural

11/1 - Stagebarn MS + Piedmont Valley Elem.

Whitewood Elementary offers a FREE after-school program to our district students and families. The after-school program runs from 3 pm to 6 pm Monday - Friday and hosts sports camps, science clubs, robotics group, a video-game design team, and so much more. This year alone, 90% of our students participated in our after-school program.

*Class sizes are limited, please call (605) 269-2264 for more information.

Any child in KG - Fourth grade is eligible to participate on a first come first serve basis. Capable Kids runs from 2:35 pm - 6:00 pm. Monday - Friday. Please call (605) 787-5295 to check on availability. All necessary forms required will need to be COMPLETED IN ADVANCE before your child can attend.

The After-School Program will be available starting Tuesday, September 10 in the library from 3:15 pm-5:15 p.m. on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. Three teachers will be available to help students with homework. Students should arrive by 3:30 p.m. but can leave whenever they complete their work if they have their own ride. Students who need a late bus pass are required to stay until 5:15 p.m. Any questions, contact Mrs. Buchholz at sandra.buchholz@k12.sd.us.

In a move to broaden its outreach, Meade 46-1 is enhancing its support for homeschool families, enabling them to opt for their children's participation in our programs.

The Homeschool Connection Program is dedicated to serving the students and families residing in Meade School District 46-1, offering flexible enrollment options for Kindergarten - 8th grade only that range from part-time to full-time online, as well as the opportunity for partial in-person enrollment.

To see if your student is eligible, apply here or for questions, contact Brit Porterfield.

All Meade School District middle and high school student technology fee's ($25/student or $50/family) will be waived if families complete the Free and Reduced Meal Application, regardless of whether you qualify for the program or not. Unfortunately, the number of applications has dropped since COVID-19 and this puts our Title I funding at risk for our district.

By having more families complete the application, the district can demonstrate a higher level of need to secure and maintain Title I federal funding.

The information provided on the application is confidential, and staff will not have access to the specific details of your application.

Help out your district and fill those applications out now PRIOR to Open House!

Titan Family Portal is now LINQ Connect! Parents can deposit money directly into their child's meal account and can receive emails by clicking on the link "LINQConnect Family Portal" website and setting up an account.

August 20-22: Teacher In-Service

August 26: First Day of School

September 2: No School - Holiday

September 9: School Board Meeting

September 30: SBHS Parent/Teacher Conferences

Sturgis Chamber of Commerce Events & Facebook

Sturgis Community Center website & Facebook

Foothills Area Chamber of Commerce Facebook

Whitewood Chamber of Commerce Facebook

Don't forget to LIKE us on Facebook, TWEET us on Twitter and FOLLOW Us on Instagram! It's a great way to stay up-to-date on the latest school events, cancellations, staff and student spotlights plus so much more! Our website is also full of informative information.