September 19, 2018 District e-News
A Stoughton High School Band drum major prepares the band for a performance during the September 14 football game at SHS. The new band uniforms (pictured above) will again be featured in the Homecoming game next Friday, September 28.
SASD to celebrate Homecoming next week

Our District will kick off Homecoming Week on Monday, September 24.
River Bluff students, staff bring creativity to new videos about school PBIS program
River Bluff Middle School staff and students have produced a series of videos about the school PBIS (Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports) program, our framework for teaching classroom and school-wide behavioral expectations. The purpose of school-wide PBIS is to establish a climate in which appropriate behavior is the norm.

River Bluff has produced a total of five videos centering on issues such as keeping lockers clean and keeping cell phones off and away during school hours. The featured video in this District e-News is about the importance of getting to class on time. Check it out!
Stay tuned: New Fox Prairie school song
Fox Prairie Elementary School will soon have a new song through a collaborative project with an area songwriter.

On Monday (September 17), Fox students spent time with Ken Lonnquist, a Madison-based singer, songwriter and children's entertainer, and took turns composing lyrics and building upon each other's work. The new song will be rolled out soon!
Stoughton High School captures second straight WIAA Award of Excellence
Stoughton High School has received a WIAA Award of Excellence for the second straight year.

The award recognizes member schools for their efforts and achievements in the areas of sportsmanship, ethics, integrity, leadership and character .



Thank you to our Lunches for Vikings volunteers
Thank you to all who volunteered for the summer meals program Lunches for Vikings. This summer, a total of 3,355 lunches were distributed over 59 days at three sites. That is an increase of almost 80% compared to the 1,866 lunches distributed in the summer of 2017 .

Through Lunches for Vikings, free, nutritious meals are available five days a week for children who are in need and who live in the Stoughton Area School District. The program is a collaborative effort of the whole community, with our District, city and youth center, faith communities and area businesses working together.
Full STEAM ahead at Sandhill
Late last school year, Sandhill Elementary School received a $5,000 grant from the Alliant Energy Foundation toward the creation of a STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math) lab.

STEAM programs help students build problem-solving, critical-thinking and collaboration skills, and these grant funds will help Sandhill get started on creating this engaging experience. Thank you again to the Alliant Energy Foundation for your support!
Fox Prairie's new Library Media Center offers dynamic learning space for students
Fox Prairie students have a new Library Media Center to start this school year.

Through the work done over the summer, almost every bookcase in the LMC is now mobile, and all of the other furniture can be moved to create a dynamic learning space that can meet the needs of all Fox learners. Soft seating installed in the LMC provides a comfortable place where students can read. Fox also has a new Imaginarium Lab that can be seen from the LMC so students can spread out while they are learning.
Kegonsa Rocks the Block to start new school year
More than 30 Kegonsa Elementary School staff reached out to 160 students and their families in August to personally welcome them to a new school year. It was the first year of Kegonsa's Rock the Block program.

Check out the video above!
Nominations are now open for the 2019 Kohl Fellowship

The nomination period is now open for the annual Kohl Teacher Fellowship program, which recognizes Wisconsin educators.

Read more
www.kohleducation.org
Second Step program now underway at River Bluff
River Bluff this week began implementing a program designed to help students both in and out of school.

The school this year is sharing lessons from Second Step , a social and emotional learning curriculum, with students during their Advisory period.

“At the end of every school year, River Bluff teachers and administration meet and set forth goals for [the] new school year,” principal Trish Gates wrote in her communication to families. “Together, we determined that our top priority this year is consistency in student discipline and a positive student climate.”

These initial Second Step lessons focus on mindset and goals. Students will learn how to develop a growth mindset and apply it to their social and academic lives. They also will learn about if-then plans, a researched-based strategy for achieving goals.

In another unit, Friendship and Goals, students learn how to use their values to help make good decisions and build strong friendships.

The third unit, Thoughts, Emotions and Decisions, is all about learning how thoughts and emotions influence decision-making, and students learn strategies for calming down and staying in control when experiencing strong emotions.

The last unit, Serious Peer Conflicts, is to assist students in learning how to identify, avoid and resolve serious conflicts and help prevent bullying and harassment.
Follow Sandhill on Twitter for weekly video updates
Follow Sandhill on Twitter to receive the weekly video updates the school sends out along with other content. Check out the above video for last week's update, which shows how students learn to persevere.
Photo Galleries: WEB, Link Crew Leaders help with transition to middle, high school
River Bluff WEB (Where Everybody Belongs) Leaders act as mentors for sixth grade students throughout the year, beginning with orientation in August.

Stoughton High School Link Crew is a leadership group that pairs upperclassmen mentors with groups of 10-12 freshmen. Mentors lead activities at Freshman Orientation and throughout the year.

2018-19 Innovation Grants support family outreach, Go Global Conference and more
Additional outreach to families, new WiFi access on some school buses and a conference to highlight the importance of foreign languages are among the initiatives supported by the 2018-19 Innovation Grants.

Every year, staff in the Stoughton Area School District are encouraged to apply for an Innovation Grant to support a creative or entrepreneurial idea they would like to try to enhance student learning. Click below to find out more information about the 2018-19 Innovation Grants.

Silk screen T-shirts, laser-engrave pumpkins in Family Fab Lab Workshops
Slots are now available for the first Family Fab Lab Workshops of the 2018-19 school year.

Families can now sign up for workshops on either October 10 or 17. In the October 10 workshop, participants will be able to use the technology in our District Fab Lab to silk screen T-shirts (please bring your own shirt), while in the October 17 session they will be able to make their own laser-engraved pumpkin. Both workshops will go from 6 to 8 p.m.
Family Fab Lab Workshops are for students in grades 4 through 8, but each child must be accompanied by an adult. The program is free, but slots for these workshops are limited and provided on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Give a shout out to our staff
Follow the link below to give a shout out to a Stoughton Area School District staff member. The form is very brief and should take only a couple of minutes to complete. We plan to share the shout outs through our Staff Newsletter. Thank you in advance for your help!

Youth Apprenticeship helps SHS senior explore field of genetics at UW lab
A Youth Apprenticeship program is helping a Stoughton High School senior further explore her interest in genetics by working in a research lab at UW-Madison.

Check out the video above to learn how this program helps students gain valuable skills and hands-on experience in their chosen career path by working with industry sector professionals. 
Check out the latest community flyers
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.

Photo Gallery: Inside SASD
Last Friday (September 14), we recognized our District staff with a tailgate event that preceded the football game against Monroe and included public recognition at halftime. Our football team also honored staff by making several educators honorary co-captains for the game. Check out the photos from this event and from some of our school classrooms in our photo gallery below.
Stoughton Area School District
320 North Street
Stoughton, WI 53589

www.stoughton.k12.wi.us