Hawthorne Elementary School -

🐾 5th Grade Field Trip to the Minnesota Zoo 🐯 Our 5th grade students had an unforgettable adventure at the Minnesota Zoo in Apple Valley, MN! They left Hawthorne bright and early at 6:00 AM and returned by 6:00 PM — a full day packed with learning, laughter, and lasting memories. From exploring tropical rainforests to getting up close with grizzly bears and sea otters, our students had the chance to discover the wonders of wildlife and nature. It was a perfect blend of education and fun — and most importantly, a day spent bonding with classmates and creating memories they’ll never forget!

"Our 5th grade students enjoyed a special final meetup with their kindergarten buddies! They spent time outside sharing laughs and making lasting memories. What a wonderful way to wrap up the year together!"

📅 Plan Ahead for 2025/2026! Looking ahead? The 2025/2026 School District Calendar is now available! Get a head start on planning vacations, appointments, and family time.

All in a day on the farm... What an amazing experience Class 202 had at Good Earth Farm in Lennox! We spent the day learning about life on an animal sanctuary — meeting rescued animals, hearing their stories, and discovering how much love and care goes into giving them a second chance. A day full of smiles, learning, and unforgettable memories! The Good Earth Farm Animal Sanctuary plays a crucial role in providing a safe haven for animals in need. It serves as a refuge for a diverse range of species, offering shelter, care, and a second chance at life. Our primary focus is on ensuring the well-being and rehabilitation of these animals, relying on a team of dedicated staff and volunteers who go above and beyond to meet their physical, emotional, and medical needs. The Good Earth Farm Animal Sanctuary provides spacious and enriched environments that allow the animals to live as closely to their natural habitats as possible, promoting their physical and mental health. Additionally, we strive to educate the public about animal welfare, conservation, and the importance of coexisting with our fellow creatures on this planet. In essence, animal sanctuaries serve as havens of compassion, offering solace, protection, and a brighter future for animals once left behind.

"Spent an incredible day at the Children's Museum in Brookings—so much fun, laughter, and learning! What an amazing experience!!

Election day TODAY Tuesday, May 13th, 2025. 🗳️ Voters within the Sioux Falls School District boundaries can vote at any of the thirteen Vote Centers scattered across town. Find a vote center near you. https://bit.ly/3YsdYPk Reminder, there are TWO open seats on the board.

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Happy School Cafeteria Workers Day! Today we celebrate the amazing individuals who nourish our students with care, kindness, and countless meals every single day. Your hard work often goes unseen, but it never goes unappreciated. 💛 Thank you for your early mornings, smiling faces, and for keeping our schools running with full bellies and full hearts. We appreciate you more than words can say!

$200,000 Angel Fund Goal Met Thanks to Barrel House, Hungry Hearts, and Community Support This afternoon at the CTE Academy, we witnessed the true “power of partnership” in action. The Barrel House and their nonprofit Hungry Hearts presented a check for $110,000 to support the Sioux Falls School District Angel Fund, helping us officially reach our $200,000 goal! Last November, The Barrel house pledged to match up to $100,000 in community donations for the Angel Fund. Since then, nearly $90,000 has been raised by our generous community. And because of their commitment to ensuring every student receives a hot, nutritious meal, The Barrel House and Hungry Hearts went above and beyond (per usual), by donating an extra $10,000 to help us cross the finish line! THANK YOU to The Barrel House, Hungry Hearts, and every donor who made this possible! You are making a meaningful, lasting impact on the lives of children across Sioux Falls!

📚 BEE a Reader with Reach Literacy! 📚 Our 2nd graders at Hawthorne and Anne Sullivan are buzzing with excitement thanks to the BEE a Reader program! For six weeks, students participate in weekly Zoom sessions where they connect with community reading mentors through Canvas. In small breakout rooms, they enjoy a new book each week—discussing, reading, and exploring stories together! While the books stay at school, they serve as a window into new titles and stories that spark a love for reading. The best part? At the end of the program, students get to choose a free book to keep and even pick out a fun mask to take home! Thank you to Reach Literacy and our amazing community readers for making reading fun and meaningful!

Dates- May 29 - Aug 14th Hours- 6:30am - 6:00pm Rates- $370 bi-weekly, per child Hot Lunch/afternoon snack included. Swim passes are not included and must be paid for by the family. Age Requirements- Students must have completed Kindergarten - 5th grade during the 2024/25 school year. Students that attended Junior Kindergarten PLUS+ through the Sioux Falls School District can enroll. PLEASE NOTE: Incoming Kindergartners for the 2025/26 School Year Program are NOT age-eligible, as they do not meet the age requirements for the 2025 Summer Program. Tuition Assistance- Applications are being accepted NOW! See email confirmation for more details once this application has been submitted. Community Learning Centers

🎉 Happy Administrative Professionals Day! 🎉 This Wednesday, April 23rd, we’re shining a light on the incredible team who keeps everything running smoothly behind the scenes! At Hawthorne, Michelle, Abby, and Chris are some of the first smiling faces our students and families see each morning. They juggle countless hats with grace and somehow make it all look effortless. From organizing and planning to solving problems and offering calm in the chaos—they truly do it all. 💙 THANK YOU to our amazing administrative professionals at Hawthorne and across SFSD! You are the heart of our schools, and we appreciate you more than words can say.

💰📚 Teaching Kids to Dream Big & Save Smart! 📚💰 Citi Sioux Falls volunteers recently visited our 2nd–5th grade students to share an important life lesson—how to dream big and make smart money decisions! Through the engaging lesson “Dream Big: Money and Goals,” students explored the value of setting financial goals, the power of decision-making, and how to overcome obstacles on the path to success. This lesson is part of Teach Children to Save, a nationwide program from the American Bankers Association (ABA) that helps young people build strong, lifelong saving habits—with the help of knowledgeable banking professionals like our amazing Citi volunteers. Thank you, Citi Sioux Falls, for helping our students build a brighter financial future!

Harley absolutely loves when the kids read to him. 📚🐶 He listens so patiently —storytime is definitely his favorite part of the day!

📚🎉 Shoutout to the incredible readers in Classroom 402 who read over 1,768 books during the month of March for Everybody Reads! 🙌 As the top-reading class, they earned a special reward — two lucky students got to smash a whipped cream pie into the faces of our principal and assistant principal! 🥧😄 Huge thanks to Mrs. Jones and Mrs. Greenfield for being such great sports and showing their love for literacy in a fun (and messy!) way. 💙 Way to go, readers — we’re so proud of your dedication during this year’s Everybody Reads campaign! Keep turning those pages! 📖✨ #HawthorneReads #EverybodyReads #ProudPrincipalMoments

Kathy Dang from Hawthorne Elementary received the 46th Public School Proud Grant this morning! She will use $2,270.17 for her proposal, “Imaginati-ON.” With the funds, Kathy plans to purchase watercolor pencils, acrylic paint, gelli printing materials, shape hole punchers, paintbrushes, embroidery hoops, cardstock, and figurines for photo projects that will be used by 300 K-5 students. In the application, she wrote, “I would like to purchase a variety of art making materials to help increase curiosity and imagination. The elementary art curriculum covers a wide range of art themes and concepts. This grant would help me to encourage hands-on learning in a variety of mediums and would provide the interest and novelty in art materials to keep my students engaged, creating, and imagining. I truly believe that first our students need to learn the foundational skills to create, and then they can start being imaginative through the art-making process. Being able to sustain activity and think outside the box are crucial skills for all students to cultivate at a young age.” The Winker family donated $100,000 to the Education Foundation to enhance visual arts programming, and we love seeing the creative projects we have been able to support with their gift!

Thursday, April 10th, Hawthorne Band, Orchestra & 2nd Grade chorus held a Matinee for students.

Dakota Academy of Performing Arts (DAPA) performed for 4th & 5th grade students. A NEW NORM is a musical based on the children's book, A NEW NORM by Tom Roberts. It is about coping with anxiety, depression, grief, anger, doubt, shame, fear and more. The performance was followed by a discussion led by their facilitator. During this discussion, students could ask questions and had the chance to voice their thoughts and opinions about the show..

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