Hot Springs School District 23-2

Middle and High Schoolers: More information about the Educator Rising event January 28th for interested students. One may want to know what a VR set would show about being a teacher. Read on....... The Meta Quest 3S is a VR headset designed for wireless experiences. We have the larger 256GB version, which offers ample storage for a variety of applications. The Meta Quest 3S is known for its standalone nature, meaning it does not require a connection to a PC or console, making it easy to use and highly portable. This headset provides an immersive VR experience with high-resolution displays and advanced tracking capabilities, allowing users to interact with virtual environments seamlessly. Ovation VR is an innovative tool that combines virtual reality with AI-powered avatars to help improve public speaking skills. It offers realistic AI avatars that can engage in intelligent dialogues, provide AI-generated feedback, and simulate various speaking scenarios such as presentations, interviews, and conversations. Some key features of Ovation VR include: • AI-powered speaking scenarios with realistic audience members who can smile, clap, ask questions, and get distracted by their phones. • AI-powered feedback and analytics to help users improve their performance. • Endless customization options, including importing text, slides, and slide notes, and adjusting the audience's attire and attitude. • Real-time training with notifications for filler words, gaze, hand movements, and more. • Recording and playback of practice sessions in 3D to identify areas for improvement.

Parents of 3-5 year old children in Hot Springs: Please see information about a free screening that is being offered by the school district for children in that age group. Please reach out to Mrs. Knutson with questions and/or to schedule the time for your child to be screened on February 11th. We are so excited to see all of our future Bison students!

We are planning a field trip to a legislative session in Pierre on February 5. This is for our seniors who take U.S. Government. We are extending this to seniors who took U.S. Government last semester or through a dual credit course. Students will receive permission slips through their senior advisory or they can pick one up from Ms. Haigh. The tentative agenda is to leave at 7am on Wednesday, February 5, and return at 6pm that night. More details to follow. We encourage all seniors to attend. This is a valuable experience to see how our state government works.

The Secondary (Grades 6-12) School would like to announce our dates for 2nd semester Parent Conferences: Monday February 24th starting at 4:30 – 7:30 (in the Tays Gymnasium) Tuesday, February 25th 4:30 – 7:30 (in the Tays Gymnasium) Please mark those dates in your calendar. We will share reminders as we near those dates. We look forward to seeing you then.

MS 4.0 GPA honor roll recognition. https://youtube.com/shorts/0X1YIVl7DlY?feature=share

High school 4.0 honor roll recognition https://youtube.com/shorts/n9AxvJWCZOU?feature=share

A great night recognizing some great kids.

The Richard Hagen-Minerva Harvey Memorial scholarship program is for enrolled members of American Indian tribes. Eligible recipients may be authorized to receive up to four years of funding, depending on year of attendance. Funds are to be used for students attending a public or non-public accredited university, college, or technical college located in South Dakota. Information and an application can be found on the department’s Richard Hagen-Minerva Harvey Scholarship webpage. Applications must be electronically received or postmarked by Feb. 28. Please share this message as appropriate.

Attention Juniors and Seniors: Please look at this opportunity that could fully pay for one dual credit class (each semester). This program, if taken fully advantaged by a junior could results in 25 college credits. Jackrabbit ACE First Bank and Trust Scholarship Jackrabbit ACE Scholarship The Jackrabbit ACE First Bank and Trust Scholarship provides opportunities for economically disadvantaged high school juniors and seniors to enroll in reduced tuition dual credit courses at SDSU*. Enrolled dual credit students who qualify for the Jackrabbit ACE Scholarship will receive a scholarship that funds one reduced tuition dual credit course (up to five credits) each semester of their junior and senior year of high school and the summer between their junior and senior year. This scholarship will also cover the cost of textbooks for that one course. Students can pay for additional dual credit courses if they choose to enroll and they will also be eligible for the Jackrabbit Journey Scholarship if they enroll at SDSU as a first-time college student. Jackrabbit ACE First Bank and Trust Scholarship Eligibility Eligible students for the Jackrabbit ACE First Bank and Trust Scholarship must meet one of the following: Enrolled in or eligible for a federal free or reduced lunch program at school based on the USDA income levels. Enrolled in Supplemental Security Income. Enrolled in Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF). Enrolled in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Enrolled in Special Supplemental Assistance Program (WIC). Students/families must provide evidence of current participation in one of the above programs as part of the application process. Applications for the Jackrabbit ACE First Bank and Trust Scholarship must be received no later than day three of the semester the scholarship will be used. An application will need to be completed each semester. For continued eligibility, students must earn a “C” or higher in all dual credit courses.

Just a reminder that our Night of Academic Excellence program was postponed from last night to tonight. We hope to see our families and community tonight to acknowledge the academic excellence for 40 of our middle and high school students that earned a 4.0 GPA both first and second quarter. The program starts at 7:00pm and will not be a long program.

📢 Attention 6-8th Grade Parents! Join us online on Thursday, Jan. 30th at 6:30 pm to learn all about the upcoming 2026 Washington, D.C. educational trip! 🇺🇸 Discover how each traveler can qualify for a $500 Early Bird Scholarship—a great opportunity you won’t want to miss! 👉 Click here to RSVP: https://rsvp.worldclassrooms.com/rsvp/21273147021?rsvp_id=21273147021 Click here to join the meeting: https://schooltrip.us/HotSpringsSD26 We look forward to seeing you there!

Parents of current 6-8th graders. Students will watch a video during advisory today explaining an opportunity for a trip for interested families to Washington DC. Here is the link to the video. https://vimeo.com/980774674/5897ed77af We did this trip yearly with our 8th graders in Pierre and it became just as popular with our students as it did with our parents. The last trip that I was on with 8th graders from Pierre we had just as many parents join as students. If you have any questions about the trip, please reach out to Jake Anderson at World Classroom. jake.anderson@worldclassrooms.com

Good morning Bison Families. It sure is cold outside but we are warm inside. We hope that all of our families had a great long weekend.

Good evening. Due to the cold temperature warnings that our area is included in for tonight through tomorrow, our Night of Academic Excellence event (MS and HS) scheduled for tomorrow evening will be rescheduled for Tuesday, January 21st, at 7pm in the Case. Parents, family, and the community are still invited to join us. SD's Activity Association also modified the state band auditions that were to be held in Rapid City tomorrow. Good luck to our students that will now be submitting videos for their auditions.

Ham Radio Operation

National Kindness Video Contest for ages 12-19. ACT NOW! Your kids ages 12-19 still have time to submit a video about kindness! Important Notes: • Nowadays, kids can create a video in minutes right on their phones! • Videos can be as simple or creative as they'd like. • We are looking for messages of kindness: What does kindness mean to them? How has someone showed them kindness? How can kindness make a difference in their school? Or show examples of kindness in action - it could be a skit, commercial, PSA, anything that shows the message of the importance of kindness! • Videos should be uploaded to a private YouTube account and the video link sent to Bruce Seifert at viakofkvideocontest@outlook.com by midnight this Saturday, January 18th. • Don't over think it - your video and message doesn't need to be fancy, just meaningful AND you have the chance to win two SUPER BOWL tickets (including flights and hotel) or CASH! Learn more at https://www.viafdn.org/kindnessvideocontest

It is that time of year that scholarship applications should be part of the "to do" list for our seniors. There are so many opportunities out there, but it takes time to look and to fill out the applications. Please refer to this current list. We do add to it when we receive information. It would be worthwhile for parents and seniors to bookmark it. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1-tDNXmEl2t96Zy8Luq-wekZeQvwOaYIvbJGbdhtZvzY/edit?pli=1&gid=0#gid=0 IN ADDITION, the deadline for the Build Dakota Scholarship is March 31st.

High School Seniors: The Association of South Dakota County Weed & Pest Boards offer SD Weed Fighter’s Scholarships each year. To be eligible for a scholarship, you must meet the following requirements: 1. Must be a citizen of the United States and a South Dakota resident. 2. Must be a high school graduate, you’ll receive the funds after you complete one semester in college. 3. Must be a post-secondary student with an agriculture production, precision farming, agronomy, entomology, or Natural Resources as fields of study in a South Dakota College, University or Technical School or any bordering state. At least 2 scholarships will be awarded with a minimum of $1000 each. The application form and requirements can be found at: https://sdassociationofweedandpest.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/sd-weedfighters-scholarship-2025.pdf For more information on this scholarship opportunity, please contact Gary Pribyl at sdweedfighters@gmail.com. The application deadline is March 31, 2025 and late applications will not be considered.

Exciting news for our boys wrestling team. We are sitting 19th out of 64 teams for the top dual teams in Class B. They will be in action both Friday in Phillip and Saturday in Hill City.

Thank you to our high school student council and FFA for presenting information to the school board at Monday's School Board Meeting. Both groups did a wonderful job of informing the board of their priorities and actions that they have taken this year along with what is ahead.