2011-2012 School Calendar

The 2011-2012 School Calendar was approved by the Sioux Center Community School District Board of Education at the regular monthly meeting on January 17^th.  Highlights of the calendar need to be brought to the public’s attention.  Here are some of the highlighted changes for the 2011-2012 school year.

The school year will start on August 24.  This is the corresponding date to the two previous school years.  Prior to the 2009-2010 school year the district started school one week earlier.   Construction projects at the high school and at Kinsey Elementary school required the start date to be moved back one week. . As the calendar for next year was designed the start date of the fourth week of August seemed more appropriate than the earlier start..

Professional development is extremely important to the success of our teachers and student achievement.  There will be a one hour early release for professional development every Wednesday of the school year.  Kinsey Elementary School will dismiss at 2:05 and the middle school and high school will dismiss at 2:15 every Wednesday.  These one hour early outs are used for teacher collaboration time.  Research on student achievement has demonstrated that teachers need to collaborate with their peers regarding the development of lessons, the practice of lessons, and the sharing of student work.  In the 2012 school year there will be one half day early dismissal for professional development on April 27, 2012.  Students will not be in school on October 7, 2011, February 17, 2012, and April 10, 2012 as these days are designated as full day professional development for school staff.

Traditionally the third Monday of February has been a day of no school in observation of President’s Day.  President’s Day will remain a day of no school unless the district misses a day of school for inclement weather prior to President’s Day.  Additional days missed due to inclement weather will be made up within the school year with April 21^st and April 25^th, the Thursday and Monday of Easter break, being the make up day.  Beyond these days, all snow days will be made-up at the end of the school year as in the past.

Dates of Note include:

• August 24, 2011 – First day of school
• October 28, 2011 – End of the 1^st quarter
• November 8 and 10, 2011 – Parent Teacher Conferences
• December 23, 2011 to January 2, 2012 - Christmas Vacation
• January 13^th, 2012 – End of the 1^st Semester
• January 16^th – Begin the 2^nd semester
• February 28 and March 1, 2012 – Parent Teacher Conferences
• March 21, 2012 – End of the 3^rd quarter
• April 5, 2012 to April 10, 2012– Easter vacation
• May 20, 2012 – Commencement Ceremonies
• May 24, 2012 end of the 4^th quarter

Inclement Weather Information (make up days)

Here is the schedule to make up the days that have been missed due to inclement weather.


November 22, 2010 will be made up on President's Day, February 21, 2011
January 10, 2011 will be made up on April 21, 2011 (Thursday of Easter Break)
January 11, 2011 will be made up on April 25, 2011 (Monday of Easter Break)


Any days missed from today, January 11, 2011, to the end of the year will be made up after the scheduled last day of the year.

EMERGENCY BUS ROUTES

EMERGENCY BUS ROUTES

2010-2011 SCHOOL YEAR

Emergency Bus Routes

Emergency Bus Route Map

Under certain road conditions, buses may need to run on the hard surface roads only.  Announcements of emergency bus routes will be on KSOU (1090 AM, 93.9 FM) and KDCR (88.5 FM) and TV.  These routes are listed below.  It is not necessary to ride your normal bus; you may ride the route that is most accessible.  Please take time to look over these routes to find the bus that works best for you.  Times are listed with each route to give you an approximate time of arrival. 

In town, we will run the regular routes stops. 

After school the buses leave the High School at approximately 3:25 p.m.  Parents need to be at their intersection to pick up their child(ren).  If parents are not at their intersection, their child(ren) will be taken back to school and you may pick them up there.-If you have any questions, call the Bus Barn:  722-2481

Snow Days



Please Shop Locally

The community of Sioux Center and Sioux County are an aberration for rural Iowa counties.  Sioux County is one of just a few rural counties that are growing.  Strong economic development is a blessing in tough economic times.  Last fall I read in the Sioux City Journal that Sioux County was ranked eleventh in being resistant to the recession.  Our local businesses play a large part in keeping Sioux Center a vibrant community.

The Sioux Center District benefits greatly when people choose to frequent the local businesses.  The district has added ten new class rooms, a new high school roof, and new Heating, Ventilating, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) units at the high school.  These projects were funded by the State-wide Penny Tax.  A penny of every dollar spent in Sioux County goes to the schools of Sioux County for infrastructure.  In the 2009-2010 school year that was $758,702 for the Sioux Center Schools.  If an individual shops in another county in Iowa, the schools in that county benefit.  If a purchase is completed over the Internet, no schools benefit.

As you buy those special gifts this Christmas season I would urge you to shop locally whenever possible.  It is good for our school, our businesses, and our community. 

Inclement weather information

On days where the weather may create a change in the school day please listen to KSOU and KDCR radio for announcements.  The announcements will be on the school website also, http://www.sioux-center.k12.ia.us/. 

If you would like to receive text messages or e-mails regarding school announcements you can click on the link for Snowcap to register.  Please do not rely solely on Snowcap.  Snowcap is the service that the district uses for media notification.

According to the district calendar days missed due to weather will be made up in the following order.

November 22^nd                 President’s day February 21^st

Second day missed         Thursday of Easter Break April 21^st

Third day missed              Monday of Easter Break April 25^th

Technology Enhances Learning

As part of the construction and remodel of the Kinsey Elementary School and the Sioux Center High School over two hundred thousand dollars of technology hardware was purchased and installed.  This technology consists of smart boards (interactive white boards), LCD projectors, netbooks, instant response “clickers” and a security system. 

Technology is a tool that, when used appropriately, can enhance a student’s learning immensely.  The money invested in technology is too great to not maximize its usage.  Even with training, the use of the technology only touches the tip of iceberg as to what the hardware is capable of doing.  The world beyond high school will be very different from the world I found when I graduated from high school more than thirty years ago.  For example, there are more computer capabilities in today’s automobile than the lunar craft that landed on the moon in 1969.  The personal lives and professional careers our children will demand that the individual be a life-long learner that is adaptable to the ever changing world.

Twenty First Century Skills are one of the components of the Iowa Core Curriculum that is now mandated by the State of Iowa.  These twenty first century skills demand technical literacy.  Students as young as kindergarten experience interactive learning through the use of smart boards and Apple Ipads.  The facilities of the district now have wireless capabilities.  Several classroom sets of netbooks (laptop computers on a traveling cart) allow students to interact within any classroom.  Several teachers have begun to use Goggle Docs, an online process for completing homework and study group.  This process is becoming more the norm than the exception in many colleges today.

One of the keys to the success of the technology is staff training.  In order for a staff member to have a smart board the staff member must have had training.  The dilemma for training staff is that there are many different ability levels and technology aptitudes.  During the second semester, staff will be afforded the opportunity to receive training in various topics and areas of technology that will be taught by staff members that have taken the lead on technology within their own classrooms. 

The Sioux Center Community School District will continue to plan for future technology possibilities.  One study will examine the possibility of becoming a one to one school, a laptop for every student.  One to one schools can provide many opportunities for the students.  The key in the research will be whether the move to one to one has a positive impact on student achievement. 

“The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn.”

Alvin Toffler