Cossack Connection

As we enter October, I want to highlight two important opportunities for connection and collaboration in our school community.

Parent-Teacher Conferences
Parent-teacher conferences are just around the corner, and sign-ups opened on October 1st at 8:00 a.m. Links were sent directly to parent emails. If you haven’t already, please take a moment to secure your conference time. These conversations are a valuable chance to partner together in supporting your child’s growth and success.

District Mission, Vision, and Core Values Focus Group
We are also inviting all parents and interested students to join a focus group on Thursday, October 9th at 5:00 p.m in the MS/HS Conference Room. The purpose of this group is to reflect on our district’s mission, vision, and five core values and explore how we can make them more tangible in our daily school life. The goal is to generate actionable ideas for how these guiding principles can move beyond being statements on a wall to becoming behaviors and systems that are truly felt, seen, and reinforced throughout our school community.

Your voice and perspective are vital in shaping the culture and direction of Sioux Valley, and I encourage you to participate in both conferences and this important focus group.

With Cossack Pride,

Mr. Bolstad

SV Secondary Principal

October 2 - Picture Retake Day

October 8-9 - Parent-Teacher Conferences

October 9 - Mission, Vision, and Core Values Focus Group @ 5:00 PM

October 10 - No School; Parent-Teacher Conferences Comp Day

October 13 - No School; Indigenous Peoples Day; School Board Meeting at 6:30 PM

October 22 - End of the 1st Quarter

October 23 - Disability Awareness Presentation @ 2:45 PM

November 5 - 1st Cell Phone Review Committee Meeting @ 2:30 - 4:00 in the MS/HS Conference Room

November 19 - Climate Team Meeting - Open to Parents @ 3:30 - 4:00 in the MS/HS Conference Room

December 3 - 2nd Cell Phone Review Committee Meeting @ 2:30 - 4:00 in the MS/HS Conference Room

Parent-Teacher Conferences are coming up soon! These meetings are a valuable opportunity to connect with your child’s teachers, celebrate progress, and discuss ways to best support learning moving forward.

📅 Dates & Times:

• Tuesday, October 8th

• Wednesday, October 9th

🔗 Sign Up Here: Parent-Teacher Conference Sign-Up

We encourage every family to schedule a time. Your involvement makes a significant difference in your child’s success, and we look forward to seeing you!

We invite all interested parents and students to join us for an important focus group on Thursday, October 9th at 5:00 p.m. in the Conference Room.

The purpose of this group is to reflect on our district’s mission, vision, and core values and explore how they can become more tangible in daily school life. Together, we will generate actionable ideas to ensure that these guiding principles move beyond being statements on a wall and become behaviors and systems that are felt, seen, and reinforced throughout Sioux Valley.

Your voice is critical in helping shape the culture and direction of our school community. We hope to see you there!

The Sioux Valley chapter of the National Honor Society proudly inducted 27 new members from the junior and senior classes. The ceremony took place in the PAC and lasted about 30 minutes, followed by a reception in the lobby.

This honor reflects not only each student’s academic achievement but also their leadership, service, and character. None of these students reached this milestone on their own, and it was meaningful to see their teachers, classmates, and community supporting them.

We are proud to congratulate the newest members of NHS:

Abigail Axtell • Mattayah Bell • Addison Coon • Kailey Cradduck • Abygale Degen • Anna Field • Mitchell Guthmiller • Summer Guthmiller • Ethan Hemmestad • Brady Hiltunen • Amelia Jacobson • Brooke Klosterman • Skylar Knutson • Elise Lemme • Morgan Lemme • Kaylee Loy • Audrey Murano • Quynn Nielson • Tyson Norgaard • Aubry Odde • Quinn Peterson • Patrick Quale • Holdyn Ruesink • Jackson Schlimmer • Kendall Schwartz • Kassidy Smith • Riley Stirling • Liberty Trygstad

Congratulations to these outstanding students on this well-deserved recognition! 💙

We are so proud to recognize these outstanding students for their hard work, leadership, and positive example at Sioux Valley:

6th Grade

Evelyn O.

Boe A.

7th Grade

Porter V.

Faith T.

8th Grade

Selah A.

Rennick W.

9th Grade

Thaily M.

Elise W.

10th Grade

Shane C.

Kathryn R.

11th Grade

Amelia J.

Brooklynn S.

12th Grade

Marcus O.

Latoya H.

Way to go, Cossacks! Keep leading with pride!

Attention Senior Families: We’ve gathered everything in one place to help guide you through this important year. Our Senior Information Hub includes key details on:

• ✅ Graduation Requirements

• 🧠 ACT & Testing Resources

• 🎓 Post-Secondary Planning & College Visits

• 💰 Scholarship Opportunities

• 📅 Important Dates (Senior pictures, caps & gowns, etc.)

• 🔗 Helpful Resources and Links

Please encourage your senior to review the information and reach out to the school counseling office with any questions. Let's make senior year a success!

Please remember to send a high-resolution senior picture to Donna.Kahler@k12.sd.us by December 23rd. This photo will be used for senior recognition throughout the year, so make sure it’s a high-quality image.

Thank you!

As our staff has been engaging with The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt, we’re committed to looking critically at our school’s cell phone procedures in light of growing concerns about mental health, distraction, and social development in youth. Haidt and other experts emphasize that smartphones in schools can impair attention, reduce meaningful interaction, and contribute to anxiety and social isolation—advocating for phone-free schools to support healthier childhood experiences.

Who We’re Inviting
We’d like to invite student leaders from Student Council, NHS, FCCLA, FFA, and Junior Honor Society, as well as interested parents, to serve on our Operations & Logistics Team. Together, we’ll review our current phone practices and explore how Sioux Valley can best support focus, engagement, and wellbeing for every student.

Meeting Dates

• Wednesday, November 5 | 2:30–4:00 PM

• Wednesday, December 3 | 2:30–4:00 PM

How to Get Involved
If you’re passionate about helping shape these procedures, we want to hear from you. Please contact Mr. Bolstad at tyler.bolstad@k12.sd.us to express interest or ask questions.

Thank you for helping us ensure that Sioux Valley remains a place where students can learn, grow, and connect—without unnecessary distractions.

We've had a number of questions from parents about the class period times listed in Infinite Campus not matching our actual bell schedule. Thank you for your patience and attention to detail!

Due to how attendance is tracked in the system, we aren’t able to update the period times mid-year without affecting existing records. That said, we do plan to make these updates in Infinite Campus ahead of the next school year to avoid future confusion.

In the meantime, here’s a reminder of our official bell schedule so you can reference it for appointments or daily planning:

If you ever need help navigating scheduling around the school day, feel free to call our office. We’re happy to help!

As we welcome Angie, our new MS/HS Administrative Assistant, we wanted to share some helpful reminders and clarification on how student absences are categorized in Infinite Campus. This is a common question Angie has received, and we want to ensure we're all aligned in how we record and talk about attendance.

✅ Exempt Absences

Do NOT count against a student’s attendance record.
These include:

• School-sponsored activities (e.g., sports, FFA, band trips)

• Medical/dental appointments verified with a doctor’s note (only for the duration of the appointment + travel)

• Funerals or religious observations

• Court appointments (with short travel time)

• College visits for seniors, with pre-approval via the yellow form from Mrs. Jorgenson

📘 Excused Absences

DO count against a student’s attendance record.
These include:

• Parent-requested absences pre-approved by administration

• Personal illness

• Weather-related issues

• Medical/dental appointments that could not be scheduled outside of school hours

• Other situations approved by administration

⚠️ Unexcused Absences

DO count against a student’s attendance record and may lead to interventions.
These include:

• Absences without parent or school permission

• Accumulating 10+ total absences (excused or unexcused) in a school year

• Examples typically not excused unless there are extenuating circumstances:

  • Oversleeping

  • Skipping class for homework or test prep

  • Student-organized activities not school approved

  • Leaving school without checking out in the office

  • Shopping trips, hair appointments, massages, etc.

  • Any absence not communicated with or approved by school administration

Reminder: Any portion over fifteen minutes in the period counts as an absence for that period.

Methodize is a simple, yet effective online learning platform that empowers students to learn new skills and reach their potential. It offers a self-paced ACT preparation course that provides students in grades 9 to 12 with a comprehensive overview of the most effective strategies and the most relevant content for raising their ACT scores. Students who have used Methodize to study for the ACT have seen an average increase of 3 points!

Methodize is available at no cost to all South Dakota students in grades 9-12. This resource is provided by the South Dakota Department of Education and can be accessed through SDMyLife powered by Xello. Students and educators can simply log into their accounts and access Methodize at any time.

To learn more about utilizing Methodize as an ACT test preparation tool in your district, a free tutorial is available via Canvas, and you can register and view that here:

Methodize - Free ACT Test Prep Tutorial

https://sded.sd.gov/browse/division-of-college-career-and-student-success/office-of-student-wellness-and-supports/courses/methodize---free-act-test-prep-tutorial2025

Welcome back to the 25-26 school year! I found a resource I wanted to share with you that is now available at the South Dakota State Library.

Whether you have students prepping for exams or you yourself may need a little extra prep, you should check out Gale Presents: Peterson’s Test Prep, available at https://library.sd.gov. Go to Electronic Resources and search for Gale and choose Gale Presents: Peterson’s Test Prep. You and/or your students will need to log in or sign up to use this resource.

Browse menu to:

• Improve a Test Score in Foundational Skills, High School, College, Grad School and international tests
• Find a School – includes school and scholarship search tools, Financial Aid Quiz and a Teen’s Guide to College & Career Planning
• Explore Careers – includes career advice, online resume builder, job search and a Teen’s Guide to College & Career Planning
• Vocational Test Prep – includes prep for many of the CTE exams

Choose a category and when you click “View all”, you can add the courses to “My Resources” for quicker access.

Praxis exam prep is also available. The library will have this available for 1 year but the more it is used, the more likely they are to renew it.

If you wish to learn more, the library will have a session on Sept 3rd at 3:00pm and Sept 18 at 10:00am. Sign up is required and can be completed at https://library.sd.gov under the Training Calendar tab.

Please call the library at 605-773-3131 if you have any questions.

Thanks!

To provide real-time access to attendance and grades, we have the Parent Portal on Infinite Campus. Many parents/guardians and teachers are embracing technology tools like Parent Portal on Infinite Campus, Google Classroom, and email communication as alternatives to in-person conferences. These tools offer information most relevant to parent/guardian interests.

If you need help connecting to the Parent Portal to view your child's attendance and grades, please feel free to contact Angie Andreasen in the MS/HS Office. We're here to assist you with any inquiries you may have.

Website: https://www.svs.k12.sd.us/
Location: 200 Hansina Avenue, Volga, SD, USA
Phone: (605) 627-5657

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