1. education
2. school

Chalk Talk
Serving the parishes of Sacred Heart and St. Benedict
January 2015
www.yanktonsacredheartschool.org
SHES 665-5841
Sacred Heart School
SHMS 665-1808
Our mission is to form a Catholic community of faith and learning by living Gospel values,
promoting academic excellence, and serving those in need.
Registrations for 2015-2016 School Year
Registration forms for Preschool, Junior Kindergarten and
Kindergarten students are now being accepted for the 2015-2016 school
year. Current SHS Preschoolers and Junior Kindergarteners received
forms from Mrs. Kennedy and Mrs. Koerner. Students in all other grades will bring
home registration forms with the February parent/teacher conference notices.
For the 2015-2016 school year Sacred Heart School will have four sections of early
childhood classes: Pre-School: T/Th option and a M/W/F option, Junior Kindergarten:
half day option and full day option. We are requiring a non-refundable $35 deposit with
all Pre-School and Junior Kindergarten registrations, which will be applied towards
your total tuition. This will reserve your spot in our preschool program. Register your
children early, as the classes fill quickly. If you need a registration form, they can be
picked up in either school office or printed from the school website.
If you have any questions about our program, feel free to contact Mrs. Kennedy,
Mrs. Koerner or Mrs. Haberman at 665-5841.
Sacred Heart School Early Childhood Open House
SHS will be hosting a 2015-2016 Early Childhood Open House and Registration Night on
Tuesday, January 27, in the St. Benedict’s Dining Room. We will be providing a dinner at
5:30 P.M. with a presentation explaining our Preschool, Junior Kindergarten and
Kindergarten programs, with tours of the elementary to follow. Childcare will be
available. This is a great opportunity to explore Catholic Education and the benefits that
we can provide to your child. Please RSVP to 665-5841. If you cannot attend, please
contact Mrs. Haberman and she will arrange to meet with you, answer questions and
give you a tour of the school.
Catholic Schools Week
Plans are well under way for the celebration of Catholic Schools
Week, which runs January 25- 31. This year’s theme is “Catholic
Schools: Communities of Faith, Knowledge and Service.” Mark your
calendars now so you can be included in our celebration as we
celebrate Catholic Schools Week, including presentation of the 2015
Hall of Fame Award (nominations are due by Tuesday, January 6th)
at the Catholic Schools masses during the weekend of January 24/25.
Watch for a listing of the days’ events coming soon!
Thank you to all of the Sacred Heart School families and others who so
generously donated items from the angel trees. Some of the angel gifts were
unmarked as to who they came from so we could not thank you personally. Your
support and generosity mean a lot to us and we appreciate you!
God Bless, Teachers and Staff of Sacred Heart School
Principals’ Postings…
Parents: If your child is ill or will not be attending school,
please call or email the office to let us know. We ask that
you not text or email your child’s teacher, but to contact the
office, as they may not have free time to check messages. We
will let the teacher know. Thank you for your understanding
in this matter.
Please strive to get your child to school on time. School research has shown
that an important factor in school success is attending classes on a daily
basis. The Middle School begins their day at 8:10 and the Elementary at 8:15.
It is especially important for students to be punctual on Mass days as the
students take lunch count prior to leaving for Mass. All students should go to
their homeroom or classroom before going to Mass. Students will be
considered a half day absent if they arrive after Mass.
If parents are attending Mass, your child(ren) will meet you there. It is
wonderful that parents and grandparents are able to celebrate the Eucharist
together; however we would like our students to attend Mass with their
classes as well. We have classrooms paired up with buddy classrooms to help
lead our younger students at Mass, therefore it is important for your child to
participate with their classmates.
Through a Homeland Security Grant, Sacred Heart School was granted a
security system for both sites. The Middle School site is up and running, the
Elementary will be ready by mid-January. The security system will allow
the doors to be unlocked during high traffic times and locked the remainder
of the time. There is a camera with a buzzer system to use while doors are
locked. We are very excited to have the new security system in place. Thank
you to Hansen Locksmithing and Tom’s Electric for helping with the
installation.
Gala Gift from the Students of SHS
The teachers would like to create a photo book to commemorate the 20142015 school year for Sacred Heart Elementary and Sacred Heart Middle
School. If there are any parents who would like to get involved contact Mrs.
Haberman. There will be one staff member from each site in charge of
putting the book together. The teachers will send pictures with captions and
the volunteer would help collect, download and organize pictures into a
program, such as Shutterfly. These photo books will not be completed at the
time of the Gala, however people interested in purchasing would be able to
preview what has already been completed.
Early Dismissal or Late Start
In the case of inclement weather this winter you are encouraged to tune into
KELO and KTIV television or KVHT (106.3 FM), KYNT (1450), and
WNAX (570) radio stations. If we cancel school, delay the start, or dismiss
early it will be announced using our new messaging system and posted on the
above media sources. Please note that there is no St. Benedict School, it will be posted as
Sacred Heart School. If school is cancelled, we will have the missed meal that was
ordered on the next day back. Please contact the school office with any questions.
Spiritual Adoption
This month some of the students will be pretending to have
ultrasounds of their spiritually adopted baby and discover its gender.
Thank you for helping your child develop a deeper understanding of
God’s love of life. Please continue to pray this prayer with your child
daily: Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, I love you very much. I beg you to spare the life
of the unborn baby that I have spiritually adopted.
Fifth Month - January
Although I don’t understand words yet, I can hear and recognize my mother’s
voice. I am halfway to my birthday and there isn’t as much room to move around
as there used to be. By the end of this month, I will weigh about 1 pound and will
be 12 inches long. That’s one inch longer than this piece of paper.
TEACHER & STAFF APPRECIATION CLUB (TSA)
THANKS to those of you who have shown your financial support by
joining the SHS Teacher & Staff Appreciation Club. Your generous
donations determined the Christmas bonuses for our wonderful
SHS teachers and staff this year! Chris & Betsy Hunhoff are
September winners of a Charlie’s Pizza House gift card and Jean
Fitzgerald and Thad & Tamara Liebig are October & November
drawing winners of gift cards to Minerva’s.
Thank you to the following people for becoming members this school year: Brent
& Coreen Adams, Verlin & Sharon Ailts, Mary Albrecht, Eric & Tami Ambroson,
Brad & Bobbi Aune, Jon & Michelle Baumann, Brian & Kari Bohlmann, Todd &
Mary Brandt, Jared & Melissa Brim, Morgan Buechler, Ray & Kathy Campbell,
Kevin & Vonnie Carda, Wade & Lisa Dangler, Jeff & Marti Dayhuff, Chris & Karen
Dickes, Doug & Katie Feimer, Jay & Kathy Fitzgerald, Jean Fitzgerald, Ryan &
Kari Garry, Garrett & Hunter Haas, Marty & Elycia Harms, Eric & Sarah Heine,
Eric & Sara Henning, Dan & Paula Hicks, Don & Nancy Hopkins, Dave Hosmer &
Steph Tamisiea, Sam & Katie Huff, Chris & Betsy Hunhoff, Kevin & Jill Hunhoff,
Richard Hunhoff, Lucas & Jennie Johnson, John & Shona Jussel, Tom & Beth
Kaltsulas, Carolyn Kissel, Josh & Jennifer Klimek, Greg & Jill Kouri, Thad &
Tamara Liebig, Marv & Lisa Olnes, Dipan & Jigna Patel, Terry & Lori Pedersen,
Kevin & Julie Perakslis, Mike & Sherry Rockne, Ryan & Cheryl Rusher, Jim & Judy
Ryan, Dorothy Schmidt, Bryan & Angie Schoenfelder, Gary & Nancy Schulte,
Jason & Carrie Sedlacek, Rob & Lori Stephenson, Lyle & Angela Stratman, Rich &
Mary Strom, Kynan & Nancy Trail, Chris & Shawndel Tramp, Mike & Mary Lee
Villanueva, Bob & Kelly Vornhagen, Brian & Stephanie Wieman, Brad & Jessica
Woerner, and an anonymous donor.
SHMS Spelling Bee
The 5th- 8th graders competed in the annual SHMS Spelling Bee on December
11th. Students took a written test and participated in a classroom spelling bee.
The top 15% of spellers from each grade went on to compete in front of the
school. Those qualifying for the SHMS Bee are the following (classroom
champions are bold):
a. 5th grade: Anna Carda, Alex Cuka, Caeden Ekroth, Houston Mueller, Lizzie Schwartz
b. 6th grade: Brodie Christensen, Grace Liebig, Emily Shuey, Ella Smith, Ryan Trail
c. 7th grade: Ryan Eichacker, Mary Fanta, Cecilia Kouri Claire Kouri, Natalie Woerner
d. 8th grade: Kellie Geigle, Noel Kusek, Jessica Reinhardt, Sydney Sedlacek, Sophia Vyborny
SHMS CHAMPION: Sophia Vyborny
Runner Up: Anna Carda
Our top three spellers: Sophia Vyborny, Anna
Carda, and Ryan Trail will represent SHMS
at the Vermillion Regional Spelling Bee at USD
on Saturday, Feb. 7th. All did an impressive job
spelling some very challenging words!
Congratulations to our spectacular spellers!
MATHCOUNTS
The MATHCOUNTS club has been working since November preparing for their competition.
There are 24 students currently involved in the program. The MATHCOUNTS school
competition will be held in January and the team will be chosen at that time. They will work
the month of February preparing for the competition to be held on Thursday, February 19th
in Sioux Falls. Thank you to all who have sponsored a breakfast or afterschool snack; it is
greatly appreciated. If you or your business is interested in sponsoring a morning of donuts
and juice (or anything else easy to eat and work at the same time) or a snack afterschool,
please contact the SHMS office or Mrs. Olson.
SHS Bingo
The next bingo night is NEON night! So mark your calendars for
Friday January 9th. Pizza is available at 5:30 with bingo starting
at 6:30. Bingo night is a great way to spend a cold winter evening
with family and friends and also support SHS.
Come join in on the fun!
Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
Please help your child come to school prepared for the colder weather, including
hats, mittens, snow pants, and boots. Please make sure you mark your child’s
gear. Unless the temperature or wind chill is below zero for grades 2-8 or below
10 for grades 1 and under, the children will be expected to stay outside before
and after school.
Hy-Vee Meals
Students order lunch a day in advance to help Hy-Vee prepare enough food
for the meals. Please make sure whichever meal your child orders, sack or hot,
that is what they do. Once a meal has been ordered it must be paid for and
cannot be cancelled except due to illness.
Absenteeism and Tardiness Procedures
If a student is going to be absent or late (8:10 A.M. at SHMS; 8:25 A.M. at SHES) to school
for any reason, please call the school office between 8:00 A.M. and 9:00 A.M. Parents must
contact the school if their child is leaving early or for part of the day. If for any reason the
child is not in school and the parent has not contacted the school office, the secretary or
her designee will call the home in an attempt to locate the child. Five tardies count as 1
absence. Students in grades 5-8 will be assigned a detention for every 5 tardies.
Current 8th Grade Parent Meeting
The Yankton School district is in the process of planning registration
meetings for the students and one for the parents. The parent meeting for
the graduating class of 2018 is scheduled for 7:00 P.M. Monday, January
26, 2015 at Yankton Middle School. One parent/guardian should make
plans to attend this meeting.
The actual registration for SHMS 8th grade students will take place on February 9th.
Your son/daughter’s counselor during the 2015-16 school year at Yankton High School
will be Mr. Bies. Please contact Mr. Bies if you have any questions. The phone number
for the Yankton High School Counseling Office is 665-7378.
50/50 Raffle
Thank you to all the students, parents, staff, and other supporters of our
50/50 raffle! It was a HUGE success! We raised approximately $1450.
Congratulations to Austin Barger, who was the lucky winner! He won $725.
The other half of the money will go toward purchasing a gift to be auctioned
off at the 2015 Gala. Thank you for your generous support of SHS!
Pancake Breakfast Fundraiser
The Knights of Columbus 4th Degree will be sponsoring a Pancake Breakfast to help fund
our bus trip to the 125th Anniversary All Diocesan School Mass in Sioux Falls in January.
The breakfast will be held at the Knights of Columbus hall on north Broadway serving
from 8:00 A.M.-12:30 P.M., on Sunday, January 18, 2015. The menu includes
pancakes, sausages and scrambled eggs. Free Will Offering.
Yankton Catholic Community Foundation Office News…
New Addition to the Foundation Office
On December 12th Sarah Heine from St. Benedict Parish was hired in as the new SHS
Gala coordinator! The Foundation Office staff wants to offer a warm welcome to Sarah
who is married to Eric Heine, a graduate of Sacred Heart School. Their two daughters,
Belle (10th grade YHS) and Morgan (7th grade SHS) also attend(ed) Sacred Heart School.
Gala in the Garden 2015 Grand Raffle Tickets are now
available in the Foundation Office! A chance to win a
new car or $15,000 cash is on the line as well as three
$1,000 prizes and three $500 prizes. Only 550 tickets will
be sold; best odds you’ll ever find! Grand Raffle tickets
also make great Christmas gifts! Also, if there are
Sacred Heart Alumni home for Christmas this is a great
way for them to support their alma mater!
"Be sure to select "All Posts" in the drop down
"Notification Box" on the SHS Gala page on Facebook so you'll be notified of all recent
Gala posts! We don't want any of you to miss any of the excitement!"
NOMINATIONS FOR THE 2015 SHS HALL OF FAME AWARD are now being
accepted at the Foundation Office. Deadline for these nominations is January 6th, 2015.
The criteria for this award is two-fold: the recipient must have a five-year relationship
with SHS (it can be as a graduate, a parent, a grandparent or a friend), and the person
must live the ideals followed by the school. This award will be presented at the Catholic
Schools Week masses at the end of January.
GALA DONATIONS
Are you looking for a way to donate to the Gala? SCRIP cards make a great donation!
Ask us how at the Yankton Catholic Foundation Office 665-4585
CAMPAIGN UPDATE:
Gifts and pledges now total over $1.9 million with 25% participation! Thank you to all
those who have already made a gift to the campaign. Please pray about what God is
asking you to contribute and remember, we are all in this together!
ALUMNI ADDRESS CALL
If you have adult children who graduated from Sacred Heart School we need their
address so we can send them a newsletter and keep them informed on their alma mater.
Please call Carol Guenther at 605-665-4585 or email her
at [email protected]
FOSH News
A Blessed New Year to all! We hope you had a beautiful Christmas and
a joyful new year. "Let our New Year's resolution be this: that we will be
there for one another as fellow members of humanity, [in the most Christlike] sense of the word"- Gorran Persson
Dec. 5th was highlighted by a visit from St. Nicholas at both of the school
sites. He had kind words and a healthy snack for all the students. In turn he
had many smiles, hugs and laughs from the students and staff. Thanks St. Nick for this
special visit!!
Our Home-Aide Tree for the Christmas store was a huge success and a blessing
for many children and families. You should be warmed of heart knowing how helpful
these donations were to many families in need during this Christmas season. A
Big THANK YOU to Mrs. Haberman for organizing this act of charity and to all who
helped those who are not as fortunate!! The tree was given fully decorated to a
particular family in great need. Thank you to all the children and teachers who made
the ornaments and to Therese Maderak who made the beautiful tree skirt!
Upcoming Events
January BINGO will be held Jan. 9th assisted by our fun-loving 1st graders.
The next FOSH meeting will be held Jan. 19, 2015 at 7 pm. Bring your questions and
suggestions! Remember your children benefit from your attendance!
Catholic Schools Week will kick-off with Swim and Gym again this year. It has
been great fun for all ages! Swim and Gym will be on Jan. 24th at the Summit Activity
Center from 6-8 pm. Come and celebrate our Catholic community! Please let us know if
you can volunteer to help with this fun event!
Stay warm this month!!
News from Sacred Heart Parish…
Parents of Sacred Heart Parish 2nd graders: First Reconciliation will be Wed. Feb. 4 at 6
pm. Please bring your child's completed blue and white booklet with you then.
The parent meeting for First Holy Communion will be Sunday, Feb. 15 from 5 - 6 pm in
the parish Community Center.
Dates to Keep in Mind
Jan. 2 (Fri.)
No School – Teacher Workday
Jan. 5 (Mon.)
School resumes
Registration for Fall Kindergarten, Junior Kindergarten and
Preschool continues (see related article)
Jan. 7 (Wed.)
SHES School Mass at 1:30 P.M.
Jr. K will attend
Jan. 9 (Fri.)
SHS Bingo in the Sacred Heart Parish Community Center
- 5:30 Pizza, 6:30 Bingo (see related article)
Jan. 11 (Sun.)
Knights of Columbus Family Breakfast
8:00 A.M. – 12:30 P.M.
Jan. 16 (Fri.)
Fifth Grade D.A.R.E. Graduates and Families
Ice Skating Party 6-9 P.M. Kiwanis Ice Center
Jan. 18 (Sun.)
Knights of Columbus Pancake Breakfast
8:00 A.M-12:30 P.M. KC Hall
Come enjoy breakfast and help to fund the bus trip to the
All Diocesan School-Wide Mass on January 21, 2015
Jan. 19 (Mon.)
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day (school in session)
FOSH meeting 7 P.M. SHES Gym - Daycare provided
Jan. 20 (Tues.)
Sacred Heart School Advisory Council Meeting
6:15 P.M. – St. Benedict’s Conference Room
Jan. 21 (Wed.)
Diocesan Wide All School Mass Celebrating 125 Years, Sioux Falls
Jan. 24/25
Catholic Schools Week celebration begins with presentation
of Hall of Fame Award at Masses
Jan 24 (Sat.)
CSW Swim & Gym 6:00- 8:00 PM (see related article)
Jan. 25-31
Catholic Schools Week
Jan. 26 (Mon.)
YHS Registration Meeting for parents of current 8th grade students
(see related article)
Jan. 27 (Tues.)
Early Childhood Open House (see related article)
Jan. 28 (Wed.)
Catholic Schools Week All School Mass 8:30 A.M. at St. Benedict’s
Feb. 7 (Sat.)
Feb. 9 (Mon.)
Feb. 10 (Tues.)
Feb. 13 (Fri.)
Feb. 16 (Mon.)
Feb. 19 (Thurs.)
Feb. 20 (Fri.)
Feb. 27 (Fri.)
Looking Ahead…
Vermillion Regional Spelling Bee
Parent Teacher Conferences/ Book Fair
Parent Teacher Conferences/ Book Fair
No School – Conference Comp Day
No School – President’s Day
MATHCOUNTS Competition in Sioux Falls
SHS Bingo in the Sacred Heart Parish Community Center
- 5:30 Pizza, 6:30 Bingo
Early Dismissal at Sacred Heart School (SHMS-12:20; SHES-12:30)