New School Year Quickly Approaching

It is now August, which triggers the thoughts of the first days of school.  Ipswich Public will be having an Open House on August 20th from 6:00 - 8:00.  We invite parents, students, and patrons to join us that evening.  We are very happy to have a full and qualified staff that is ready to serve the youth of the Ipswich School District.  Please feel free to stop in and visit us we would be happy to speak with you!

Possible Building Project for Ipswich Public

Architecture Incorporated, of Sioux Falls, has been contracted to help the school district with the preliminary steps to our possible building project for the High School and Middle School areas.  This summer Step One of the project will take place.  Step One includes the following activities:

• Needs Assessment of Entire Facilities
• Existing High School and Middle School Facilities Assessment and Report
• Energy Analysis
• Review Condition of Existing Building
• Mechanical
• Electrical
• Building Code Issues
• Accessibility
• Building Envelope
• Interview Stake Holders
• Administration
• Teachers/Staff
• School Board
• Community Meeting
• Prepare and Present Various Design Options
• Revise Selected Option
• Prepare Final Preliminary Drawings Including Exterior Sketches
• Prepare Probable Construction Costs
• School Board Approval

Architects interviewed for Strategic Planning

At the June 4th regular Ipswich School District Board Meeting Architects from four different firms presented information about their services to board members, administration and those in attendance.  Presentations from Koch Hazard Architects, Architecture Incorporated, Foss Architects and HKG Architects were very informative and interesting.  The board will be choosing one of the firms to do a study of the current buildings, population trends and educational direction of the school among many other items.  After this study is completed they will be able to present to the board and the public all of the possibilities for the future of the Ipswich School District.

Ipswich wins "KELO Cup"

The KELO Cup – honoring athletic excellence in South Dakota. 

The KELO Cup recognizes the champions and the championships of South Dakota high schools. Each school year, KELOLAND Sports will award the KELO Cup to three South Dakota high schools – one in each class AA, A and B. Since not all sports have three classes, schools will compete in the class in which they play basketball. 

Schools earn points with each first, second and third place finish in the state championship for each sport. First place is worth 5 points, second place is worth 2 points and third place is worth 1 point. If a third place finisher is not determined as in football, then no points will be awarded. The school with the most total points in its class wins the KELO Cup. 

Congratulations to O'Gorman, Madison, White River, and Ipswich for being the winners of the 2012 KELO Cup!

Current Standings

T1. White River 10 Pts

T1. Ipswich 10 Pts

3. Viborg/Hurley 7 Pts

4. Parker 6 Pts

T5. Canistota 5 Pts

T5. Northwestern 5 Pts

T5. Bridgewater/Emery 5 Pts

T5. Ethan 5 Pts

T5. Summit 5 Pts

T5. DRSM 5 Pts T5. South Central 5 Pts

T5. Waverly South Shore 5 Pts

Information taken from http://kelocup.keloland.com/

Girls State "B" Track Champions

At the recent State Track Meet, held in Rapid City, the Ipswich Girls Track team brought home the championship trophy along with some meet records.  Ipswich 7th grader Macy Heinz was selected as the MVP for the meet.  We would like to congratulate Coach Todd Thorson and all of the Ipswich Track team for their accomplishments, as well as their representation of the community of Ipswich.  Job well done!!

Colony Teacher Carousel

There will be new faces in new places at the start of the 12-13 school year at each of the three colony schools within the Ipswich School District. Janice Perrion will be the new 4-8 teacher at Pembrook Colony, Nichol Osborne will be the new K-3 teacher and Planview Colony at the Rosette school and, new employee, Sarah Sanborn will be the new K-3 teacher at Deerfield Colony.  We would like to wish each of these teachers good luck at their new schools.

Holbeck visits with school board

Last month Jim Holbeck, Superintendent in Harrisburg, attended our board meeting to discuss items that the school district should be aware of when thinking about school remodeling or building.  Many good questions were answered and Mr. Holbeck gave some very good advice on the timeline of making a decision.

In the coming months much will need to be done, as we are only in the infant stages of this decision.  No decisions have been made on the project at this time.  More information will be supplied in this blog as the process starts to move forward.

Gov. Daugaard outlines sweeping education reforms

Gov. Daugaard outlines sweeping education reforms
Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Gov. Dennis Daugaard used his state-of-the-state speech Tuesday to outline a series of sweeping policy proposals that will reshape public education in South Dakota.

Measuring school, student and teacher performance are key components to the governor’s ambitious education agenda. In his speech to lawmakers, the governor referenced a push already underway to revamp South Dakota’s public school accountability system and to change the way teachers are evaluated, calling the efforts central to a new Investing in Teaching Initiative that will financially reward some teachers and strip new teachers of continuing contract rights.

Before outlining his education proposals, the governor used a battery of statistics – enrollment trends, inflation-adjusted spending data, school staffing levels and achievement scores – to establish an argument that additional public school funding doesn't lead to improved achievement. 

“We are not afraid of investing in our young people,” Daugaard said. “But we cannot put money into the same old system.”

The governor praised South Dakota public schools and dedicated educators for helping keep South Dakota achievement scores high, but he expressed concern that test scores have flat-lined. To address stagnant achievement levels, Gov. Daugaard announced a series of policy proposals he believes will improve classroom teaching and better compensate educators, including what he called “the largest investment in the teaching profession in our state’s history.”

Under Daugaard’s plan, South Dakota teachers that don’t currently have continuing contract status will not be granted the protection. The governor said the proposal, which will take effect at the beginning of the next school year, is intended to give administrators the tools to “deal with low-performing teachers.”

Two new programs totaling more than $15 million annually will provide teacher salary enhancements funded entirely by the state.

Math and science teachers at the middle and high school levels will be given a $3,500 bonus each year, beginning in the 2013-14 school year. The proposal meshes with a major workforce development initiative, called South Dakota Wins, which the governor also announced Tuesday. The initiative also coincides with his campaign promise to boost science, technology, engineering and math education at the K-12 level.

In addition, the state’s top performing teachers will be eligible for a $5,000 bonus. To qualify, a teacher must be characterized as a “distinguished” teacher according to a new state-mandated teacher evaluation system. Schools will receive sufficient state funding to provide 20 percent of the district’s “distinguished” teachers with the one-year bonus. The program has a delayed implementation to ensure that the state’s new teacher evaluation system is fully implemented.

The proposals, which are sure to be a hot topic during the 2011 Legislative Session, will be released in bill form later this week.

I.C.U. being used in MS/HS to motivate students

Parents will be receiving a little more communication about missing and incomplete assignments as the MS/HS tries to motivate students who may chronically have missing or incomplete work.  Students who have missing or incomplete work for more than a few days or have a more than two missing or incomplete assignments will be assigned to a time with the staff to make sure to get those assignments finished as close to the due date as possible.

Students who never turn in some assigned work obtain zeros for their assignments which make it difficult to pass required classes.  This extra communication will hopefully reduce the amount of students who are failing classes and in-turn having to retake classes again the next year.

Bullying Seminar reminder

The Ipswich School District has scheduled a seminar on bullying for Friday, February 17th. At the present time students in grades 3-5, 6-8, and 9-12 will get to take part in a very informative bullying prevention session. Staff members and parents will also be provided a session to help prevent bullying. Parents please mark this on your calendar so that you can attend and find strategies to help your child deal with bullying or prevent it. If you should have any questions please contact Trent Osborne @ 426-6571.

School Board Recognition Week

In difficult economic times like these, a community’s elected officials face incredible challenges.  Often, they are required to make choices and decisions that they never dreamed they might face when agreeing to offer themselves up for public service.  It’s called being a leader, and our community is fortunate enough to have five such individuals on the Ipswich Public School District board.

January 9^th – 13^th is South Dakota School Board Recognition Week which provides a perfect opportunity to honor the contributions being made daily by our school board members.  Our board members play a very real role in preparing the district’s students for an ever changing world.  Each month they must develop policies and make difficult decisions on issues that can affect the whole community.  For these and many other reasons, they deserve our support and appreciation during School Board Recognition Week.

The men and women serving the Ipswich Public School District are:

Jerome Schaffner (Chairman)

Justin Davis (Vice Chairman

Camile Geditz

Heidi Sylte

Carol Pond

Sincerely,

Trent Osborne, Superintendent

Ipswich Public School District