Let's bring the Bison spirit to our homecoming week! See the flyer attached for coronation, parade route and homecoming dance information for next week!
Homecoming week is your chance to get involved, have some fun, and show off your Bison spirit! See the images below for the dress up days for each building (HS, MS and Elem).
👕 Dress for the theme
🤝 Get your friends involved
🎉 Participate in the activities
📸 Take pictures and make memories
📣 Bring the energy!
Don’t be the person who says, “I wish I would have participated.”
Be part of the week. Dress up. Show up. Bring the spirit! 🦬💙
LET’S MAKE THIS THE MOST SPIRITED HOMECOMING YET!
6-7th Grade Parents,
Yesterday, your student brought home information about our upcoming Washington, D.C. trip—one of the most impactful experiences we offer at Hot Springs Middle/High School. I’ll be hosting a Parent Meeting where we’ll walk through the trip, pricing, and how to secure your student’s spot.
Please RSVP here to attend the meeting: https://rsvp.worldclassrooms.com/inperson/55738767441?rsvp_id=55738767441
Parent Meeting Details: Wednesday, September 30th | 6:00–6:30 PM at Hot Springs Library in the High School.
Families who attend the meeting will receive $500 off each traveler, and this is where spots are secured for the trip.
If you’d like to preview the trip details ahead of time, you can view the digital packet HERE.
Looking forward to sharing more with you!
– Mr. Klinkhammer
Fall River County is offering free flu vaccines to 150 students and 150 adults. See the flyer for details.
For pure enthusiasm, energy, and love of the game you can't beat a middle school game or match! They play with 100% heart. Come out and enjoy one before the season ends. Go Bison!
We want to remind everyone about our Safe2Say link at the bottom of our website's Homepage. Safe2SSay has received and delivered hundreds of tips that have positively impacted lives. It is a way for students and families to share concerns anonymously.
https://safe2say.sd.gov/
Activities for the upcoming week at Hot Springs MS/HS. Have a great week Bison!
YOU CAN HELP EVERY STUDENT JOIN THE FUN!
School spirit is about community and we want every student at Hot Springs School District to have the opportunity to be in the stands to cheer, clap and make memories this year.
We are officially kicking off our Student Activities Pass Drive! Many families face financial barriers when it comes to extra-curricular ticket costs. For $35 you can sponsor a student, giving them unlimited access to home games, fine arts performances and school spirit events all year long.
Let's make sure no student gets left outside the gates!
Donations can be dropped off at the high school office or at any ticketed school event at the gate and season student passes will be distributed by Alex Nelson (guidance counselor) and Tanna White (AD) to students. Thank you for investing in our students and showing them the community is behind them!
Dear Hot Springs School District,
We want to follow-up on yesterday’s message from Steve Helgeland. First, our intention was to communicate with the entire district. That did not happen due to a technical error. We have corrected the mistake. I apologize for the oversight.
Second, I want to emphasize that no one had a weapon on their person at any point. A firearm was in a vehicle, which is legal under South Dakota Codified Law (SDCL) § 13-32-7. Therefore, no law was broken, and no charges were filed. When a situation like this is reported to administration, the school enters a SECURE status, which I will explain below. We investigate the situation to determine whether the threat can be resolved or if the threat level needs to be elevated. In this case, we were able to resolve the situation.
Third, our school follows the Standard Response Protocol from the I Love u Guys Foundation. This protocol uses the following designations:
Hold is the protocol used when hallways need to be kept clear of occupants. Classroom instruction continues as normal. This applies to situations where paramedics are on campus, bodily fluids (vomit, blood, etc.) are in the hall, and other situations where students' presence may cause an impediment.
Secure is the protocol used to safeguard people within the building. No one is allowed in or out of the building and instruction continues as normal. This applies where a potential threat is identified outside of the school building.
Lockdown is the protocol used to secure individual rooms and keep occupants quiet and in place. This is used when a threat is identified and is active.
Evacuate may be followed by a location, and is used to move people from one location to a different location in or out of the building.
Shelter is the protocol used when it is not safe for a student to leave a school building for an extended period of time. This would include natural disasters like blizzards, floods, and wildfires.
These protocols have been developed after researching hundreds of school emergency situations. They have had the input of school administrators, psychologists, first responders, families, and public safety experts.
Furthermore, when we enter into a status, we use an application that notifies teachers and first responders. Therefore, response time is reduced to a minimum.
Finally, it is Hot Springs School District policy to communicate whenever we enter a SECURE, LOCKDOWN, EVACUATE, or SHELTER status. In yesterday’s case, communication went to families one hour and three minutes after the situation was resolved. At that time, we communicated what we could confidently state. Today, we have some more information, which is why we are sending this message.
I hope this provided some clarity and understanding of the Hot Springs School District’s safety and security procedures.
Sincerely,
Kain Klinkhammer
Superintendent
School administration was notified of a situation this afternoon, and the administrative team contacted law enforcement. A firearm was discovered in a car in the high school parking lot. The Hot Springs PD responded immediately and secured the individual, the vehicle, and the firearm. The individual involved was not a Hot Springs student or staff.
The school went into secure status, keeping all students in their classrooms until police cleared the scene. At no time was there a threat to students or staff, and the firearm never entered the building.
Student safety remains one of our top priorities, and we will continue to monitor all threats. The school district thanks the Hot Springs Police Department for their timely and professional response.
Steve Helgeland, Secondary Principal
A recent hoax, dubbed the “Cat in the Hat” trend, has surfaced on platforms like TikTok and Snapchat. The scam involves automated, artificial intelligence-generated accounts using an avatar of Dr. Seuss’s famous character to message children.
According to safety directors, the automated accounts send menacing messages to students, often listing individuals they claim the character is “coming after” or sending highly specific details about the family’s home to make it appear as though someone is watching them.
Unfortunately, this hoax has reached Hot Springs and the Hot Springs School District. Administration learned of it yesterday when a small group of middle school students shared videos and messages they had received. School officials began an immediate investigation, contacted local law enforcement, and are continuing to investigate.
Officials found no credible threat, and no children were in danger. The school and law enforcement will continue to monitor the situation and act appropriately if they receive more information.
The school wants to be transparent about everything we do. We will continue to inform parents about what’s going on in our school system regarding safety and security.
If your child receives a message or friend request from an account labeled “Cat in the Hat,” they should notify their parents immediately. Parents are then encouraged to decide who to contact next, whether that is local law enforcement or school officials.
While the school cannot offer technical advice on parental control applications, simply communicating with children about what they see online is the most effective defense.
Communicate with your kids and ask them questions about their phone. Be proactive in what you’re looking at on their phone and try to find out ultimately if there’s something that’s not safe. A lot of things out there are not safe.
Parents with questions or who want to report a suspicious social media interaction are encouraged to contact the school principal (Steve Helgeland or Tanna White) or counselor (Alex Nelson) directly.
Mr. Nelson has provided some cyberbullying resources below:
https://www.stopbullying.gov/cyberbullying/what-is-it - A lot of information regarding Cyberbullying with stats.
https://cyberbullying.org/category/resources -Resources for parents and professionals to monitor and figure out if it is cyberbullying.
https://www.nationalchildrensalliance.org/cyberbullying/ - More general information and resources.
Sextortion/sexting/Safe internet usage for teens
https://www.icactaskforce.org/search-results?sort=Alphabetical&content=Resources
The School District website has a link for anonymous reporting of safety concerns; it's called Safe2Say.
https://safe2say.sd.gov/
Another busy day for the Bison with cross country team at their first meet of the year and our first home football game of the year tonight! Join us at Woodward Field at 6pm to watch the Hot Springs Bison take on the Wagner Red Raiders.
All Season Tickets Link: https://tickets.gobound.com/tickets/events/h20260803091058036b6fc9f4822ef46/checkout
Event Only Tickets: https://tickets.gobound.com/tickets/events/h20260324113019536a2cae16d712245/checkout
If you are unable to attend in person, the livestream for the event is: https://fan.hudl.com/usa/sd/hot-springs/organization/14403/hot-springs-high-school/watch?ib=4314305&shared=true
The Department of Education adjusted graduation requirements for the Class of 2027 forward. All seniors must complete a Senior Capstone Experience, which will be supervised during their Advisory period. All seniors must attend their advisory period.
Please see the links below for guidelines and project ideas.
Guidelines: https://careerready.sd.gov/pdf/senior-experience-interactive.pdf
Ideas: https://aptg.co/GPgSTB
Questions contact Mr. Helgeland or Mr. Nelson
The livestream for volleyball tonight will be on HUDL if you are unable to attend. https://fan.hudl.com/usa/sd/hot-springs/organization/14403/hot-springs-high-school/schedule?date=2026-08-23T06%3A00%3A00.000Z&range=Week&s=U2NoZWR1bGVFbnRyeVB1YmxpY1N1bW1hcnk2YThjNjQ2OTViMjYwMWFiY2JmMzRmMTA%3D&shared=true
Golf today at Meadowbrook Golf Course Starting at 09:00
Volleyball against St. Thomas More C Team starts at 5 in the Case Auditorium
Soccer at Hot Springs tonight starting at 5:00
Home Football Opener Friday night at 6:00 against Wagner
See you at the game!
