Whitewood Elementary

• School begins at 8:00AM
• Dismissal is at 3:00PM
• School breakfast begins in the gym at 7:30AM
• Please call the office at 605-269-2264 if your child will be absent
• Sign up for ClassDojo to stay up to date on what is going on in your child's classroom
• It is FREE!
• The after school program will run from 3:00PM to 6:00PM this year
• If your student attends the after school program, an application must be filled out

• They have a fever of 100.0*F or greater
• Students must be fever free for 24 hours without the use of fever reducing medicine
• It is recommended that your child stay home with vomiting/diarrhea if it occurs two or more times in 12 hours
• Please notify the school if your child has any known allergies or medical conditions

If you are new to our school please bring your child's birth certificate and immunization records to the office.

Our teachers use ClassDojo as a form of communication with parents. It is a great way to get in contact with teachers for any questions relating to your child in the classroom. Please call the school with questions about how to get the ClassDojo App. It is free!

We are excited to welcome a few new faces to our teaching team! Please join us in welcoming:

📚 Mrs. Heilman – Kindergarten Teacher
📖 Miss Marr – First Grade Teacher
🧸 Mrs. Herweh – Preschool Teacher

We are so excited to have these wonderful educators joining Whitewood Elementary and look forward to a fantastic school year! Welcome to the team!

Along with our new classroom teachers, please join us in welcoming:

📖Heather Erlenbusch – Speech Pathologist
🤝 Sara Retzlaff – Child & Family Advocate
🏃 Mike Abell – PE Teacher

A note from our Student and Family Advocate:

Parents, we need your help! Please take a few minutes to complete a free/reduced lunch application. Even if you don’t qualify, every application helps our school receive important funding for programs that support all students.

https://www.meade.k12.sd.us/page/freereduced-meals or

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1vNb5oOsJGisj3GBkc8tlaFe2YOYoXYqb/view?usp=sharing

More school information can be found in our student handbook:
https://meadeschooldistrictsd.sites.thrillshare.com/o/msd/page/school-handbooks-supplies

Follow the link to order your Whitewood gear! https://whitewoodwranglers2026.itemorder.com/shop/home/

Orders will be brought to the school for pick up!

PreK - 1st grade families: please bring a dessert to share

2nd - 4th grade families: please bring a side dish to share (chips, salad, etc)

Follow the link to RSVP today! https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0545ACAB29A5FFC43-65460530-backtoschool

A delicious breakfast of biscuits and gravy, banana bread, fresh fruit, and milk or juice will be served. Crooked Horn Coffee will also be available for our guests!

If your child does not have a grandparent who is able to attend the breakfast, please let the school know! We have some wonderful Whitewood grandparents who have generously offered to accompany students so everyone can enjoy this special morning.

Each month, we will highlight one of our amazing staff members, and we’re kicking off the school year with our super principal, Mrs. Mikkelson!

Mrs. Mikkelson grew up in Union Center, where she attended country school from kindergarten through eighth grade. She graduated from Faith High School before attending Black Hills State University.

Her first teaching job was at Belle Fourche Elementary, where she taught for 28 years before joining the Meade School District. For the past two years, she has served as the Rural Schools Principal, and we are so excited to have her at Whitewood Elementary!

Mrs. Mikkelson and her husband, Scott, have two grown daughters and three grandchildren, whom they love spending time with.

To get to know Mrs. Mikkelson a little better, we asked her four questions:

Favorite Food? Mexican- especially chicken chimichangas!

What is your favorite thing about your job at Whitewood Elementary? My favorite thing about my job at Whitewood Elementary is the people I get to share it with. It feels like a small rural school in the middle of the Black Hills with great kids and amazing teachers!

If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go? I would visit Paris, France, to enjoy the beautiful scenery and delicious!

What would be your super power? My super power would be to know exactly what every student needs in the moment.... encouragement, patience, helpful support, or just someone to listen.

Mrs. Silvernail's class has been learning about the art element “line” and exploring all the different ways lines can be used in artwork. Students then put their creativity to work by painting pictures using a variety of lines to create their own unique masterpieces!

Our second graders put their creativity, teamwork, and problem-solving skills to the test as they took on a Tallest Tower Challenge using Magna-Tiles in Mrs. Olson's STEM class! STEM stands for:

• S — Science
• T — Technology
• E — Engineering
• M — Mathematics

Working together, students designed and built towers while trying to make them as tall as possible. Along the way, they quickly discovered that building a successful tower takes more than just stacking pieces—it takes planning, patience, communication, and a little bit of trial and error!

This hands-on activity helped students practice important STEM skills as they explored balance, stability, shapes, structure, and engineering.

Student council will be sponsoring dress up days for Homecoming week, stay tuned!

The next PTO meeting will be Tuesday, September 8th at 3:30 in the staff lounge. We hope to see you there!!! If your child is a student at Whitewood Elementary they will have free access to the after school program during the meeting.

Don't forget to pay $1.00 dues, this gives you the option to vote at the meetings on all of the important decisions that the PTO makes for Whitewood Elementary!

Email: meadewhwoffice@k12.sd.us

Website: https://www.meade.k12.sd.us/whitewood-elementary/
Location: 603 Garfield Street, Whitewood, SD, USA
Phone: 605-269-2264