School district updates

By: 
Gray Hughes

The second half of the school year is underway.

As of Jan. 8, the Hill City School District is reporting zero active cases.

In the elementary school, two students have been identified as close contacts, which means they were within six feet of someone with COVID-19 for 15 minutes. Per school rules, these students must quarantine for 72 hours.

“The close contact calculation is based upon those required to quarantine for 72 hours by the school,” a disclaimer on the information reads. “(A total of) 72 hours is the minimum. Students are encouraged to stay home for longer if they are even minimally ill and monitor symptoms for 10 days. Students who elect to stay home longer are not factored into this calculation.”

This school year, a total of 33 individuals within the district have tested for COVID-19 at some point. This includes seven students in the elementary school, two in the middle school, 12 in the high school and 10 staff. All have recovered.

Vaccines for COVID-19 have started to be administered in South Dakota. The South Dakota Department of Health (DOH) has created a vaccine plan.

“Our state partners emailed to say, ‘DOH is continuing to work with its health system partners to make plans for Phase I D, which includes Teachers and Other School/College Staff. We do not have information on roll-out for this Phase I D at this time, but we will share as soon as we do. Timing will depend in large part on availability of vaccine,’” said Blake Gardner, superintendent of the Hill City School District, in his superintendents letter sent out to district stakeholders. “We have been successful at keeping our school open for in-person learning 5 days a week and I believe the vaccination of teachers will be another critical step to ensure school remains in session.”

In other school news, the Delta Dental Van is on campus this week. Parents and guardians can fill out a form.

The van is sponsored by the Tin City Masonic Lodge #112 in Hill City. Last year, the van provided nearly $30,000 worth of free dental care to kids.

There is no school on Jan. 15 (teacher in-service) or Jan. 18 (Martin Luther King, Jr. Day).

PIPTO has set up an Amazon Smile account. Anyone who wants to donate a percentage of their Amazon purchases to a charity on Amazon can do so at no cost. Go to Amazon Smile rather than Amazon and choose a charity to donate to. To donate to PIPTO, type in Hill City PIPTO under the Amazon Smile tab.

The Hill City High School has 51 students enrolled in 19 college courses. College courses typically cost around $900 and books around $250, according to Gardner’s newsletter.

“Dual credit courses cost $150 and because of Nora, WDT (Western Dakota Tech) books are free to Hill City kids,” Gardner’s letter reads. “We tell kids that each dual credit class they take is like getting a $1,000 scholarship.”

The Hill City High School Theater Department will be competing in the One Act Play competition in Custer on Jan. 27. They will perform “Take Five.”

Middle school basketball has started and, according to Gardner, “our band and choir programs continue to sound amazing.”

The Hill City Board of Education met on Jan. 4 to develop goals, which will be presented by Gardner in July.

Goals include:

1.         All students show growth — Will use Northwest Education Association (NWEA) and Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC) as growth tools

2.         Ensure all students have access to STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) education

3.         Develop and implement chain of command for care and upkeep of buildings

4.         Continue effective communication with district stakeholders

5.         Measurable steps to balance budget by 2025

6.         Positive school culture and climate

7.         School safety and security audit

8.         Long term facility plan

In closing, Gardner said, “Congrats on another week of school and the completion of our first week in 2021. I greatly appreciate your support. We have a wonderful school community and it is a blessing to serve as your superintendent. We are doing wonderful things in our district and I love to work with our supportive parents, awesome teachers, and intelligent students. Let’s continue to work together for one common goal: the best education for our kids.”

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