October 11, 2017

Scores of Stoughton High School student-athletes gather to celebrate the school receiving the WIAA Award of Excellence on Sept. 25.
SHS presented with WIAA Award of Excellence
Stoughton is one of 15 in the State of Wisconsin to receive the inaugural award
Scores of Stoughton High School student-athletes were on hand to celebrate the school receiving a WIAA ( Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association) Award of Excellence for the 2016-17 school year.

SHS is one of only 15 in the State of Wisconsin to receive the inaugural award, which is presented to WIAA member schools and recognizes efforts and achievements in the areas of sportsmanship, ethics, integrity, leadership and character . A total of 514 high schools are WIAA members, according to the WIAA. 

SHS was officially presented with its award on Sept. 25. The students celebrated the honor later that day during Character Matters, an after school program that encourages SHS student-athletes to make positive decisions in their lives.

" The Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association salutes the 15 schools that met the criteria to be the inaugural recipients of the Award of Excellence in 2016-17," the WIAA said in its press release earlier this year.

Congratulations to students and staff!


Reminder: SASD annual meeting set for Oct. 23
A reminder that the Stoughton Area School District annual meeting begins at 6 p.m. Monday, October 23, in the Administration Building at 320 North St.

The annual meeting provides an excellent opportunity to learn more about our schools and our  district's budget.
River Bluff, Sandhill students grow knowledge of natural world
River Bluff and Sandhill students have been expanding their knowledge of the natural world.

On September 27,  two 6th grade blocks spent a day at the Aldo Leopold Nature Center in Madison to participate in hands-on programs and interactive exhibits.

Last week, students in River Bluff's eighth grade Green Block 
walked to the Yahara River,  made observations about seasonal changes and had fun capturing some of these observations with pictures.


















Sandhill first-graders were also busy learning about nature last week when they went outdoors to  make observations, ask questions and make drawings as scientists, literally framing their object in nature. Afterward, they shared their results with the class.





Kegonsa encourages students to be 'Courageously Curious'
Check out this video to learn how Kegonsa Elementary School uses inquiry-based learning to tap into students' curiosity about the world.

Fox Prairie students learn tips for good Digital Citizenship 
Fox Prairie students have been picking up Digital Citizenship tips during programs at the school's Library Media Center.

Kindergarteners as well as first- and second-graders have started to learn what they can do to stay safe on the Internet. Fourth- and fifth-graders learned about online responsibilities to help understand that good digital citizens are responsible and respectful in the digital world and beyond. This is called the "Ring of Responsibility." Third grade last week was to start learning about the "Ring of Responsibility."

Congrats to our National Merit Scholarship semifinalists
Stoughton High School seniors Isabelle Genter and Gabrielle Skerpan are National Merit Scholar Semifinalists.

"The National Merit® Scholarship Program is an academic competition for recognition and scholarships that began in 1955," according to the program website.

Students first enter the National Merit Program by taking the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT®). Of the 1.6 million entrants, about 16,000 students nationwide reach the semifinalist stage, and ultimately about 7,500 will be chosen for National Merit Scholarships, according to the website.

Congratulations to our students!
Sandhill gets creative with grammar lesson
Sandhill's third grade classes learned about contractions on Sept. 28 and then practiced "surgery" to make their own contractions. 

The kids pretended to be surgeons by donning masks and gloves. The teachers also enjoyed the dress up day!












Tickets now available for SHS production of 'Bye Bye Birdie' 
Tickets are now available for the Stoughton High School production of "Bye Bye Birdie" Oct. 19-21 at SHS.

Tickets are $12 for adults and $8 for students and senior citizens. Performances will be at 7 p.m. Oct. 19, 20 and 21 at the SHS Performing Arts Center.

Tickets can be purchased in advance through www.showtix4u.com or at the door.


Students teaching students
Stoughton High School students in the Research Writing class recently took their own turn at teaching.

The Research Writing (a one-semester elective course that can be taken junior or senior year) students were tasked with creating a lesson plan to teach Language Arts 9 (freshmen) students some of the conventions and strategies that they had learned.

In this activity, Research Writing students were to build lesson plans for teaching the concepts of anaphora, epistrophe, anadiplosis, dash, parenthesis, semicolon and colon. The upperclassmen were free to use presentations, flashcards, handouts, online apps and more to teach the concepts. The Research Writing students were then able to see how well their pupils did on a test of the material so they could reflect on how their lessons went.


SASD in the News: 'Coming together on the court'
NBC 15 visited Stoughton High School on Sept. 28 for an Autism Awareness Night and fundraiser hosted by the SHS volleyball team. It was a particularly special night for one student.

Families: Don't forget to sign up for District text alerts
Families in the Stoughton Area School District can still sign up to receive text notifications about important District events, snow/cold weather cancellations and more.

This is a new communication tool that our District has made available. Families do need to opt into this platform through their Infinite Campus account. 


Fox Prairie reading specialists continue co-teaching program
Fox Prairie's reading specialists are again engaging in school-wide co-teaching this year.

Reading specialists Nicole Girling and Marilee Cronin will be in each classroom at various times throughout the school year to co-teach during the literacy block of classroom teachers. A co-taught classroom has two or more teachers simultaneously instructing a class of students. 

Community Connection
You can find out the latest activities and programs organized by local organizations and nonprofit groups by visiting our  Community Flyers page . You can also download some of the most recent flyers bundled into a single PDF file.

Homework Club available for River Bluff students

A reminder that e very Tuesday and Thursday from 3:15-4:15 River Bluff students are welcome to come to the library for Homework Club. 

This is a quiet atmosphere supervised by a teacher that allows students to work on their classwork and get help if needed.

Norwegian Dancers to perform during Destination Stoughton

The Norwegian Dancers will be part of the Destination Stoughton festivities later this month.

The Dancers first will judge a Halloween Costume contest at 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 28, at the Community Building, 320 North St. A performance will follow at 3 p.m. in the Community Building.
Sculpture inspires students' curiosity

Kegonsa Elementary School has some additional artwork to inspire its students to be "Courageously Curious," its school theme for this year.

Community member Sanford Quayle converted a hook from a 100-year-old crane into a question mark sculpture that now hangs in the school's main hallway. 

The sculpture was officially presented to Kegonsa on Friday, Oct. 6.
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