Career and Technical Education Academy -

What better way to start August than some "inspired" learning? SFSD staff members are sharpening their skills to help your student(s) achieve!

Keep your students fueled to learn! SFSD is no longer able to offer free meals to all students. Now is a great time to add money to their My School Bucks account. Or, for families with qualifying income, it is important to fill out the Free/Reduced Meal application! Log on to the Parent Portal in Infinite Campus to apply! If you have questions or need help filling out the application please call 605-367-6180. We are happy to help! Please note: if your student does not have a free/reduced lunch application on file, you will be charged full price for breakfast and lunch starting the first day of school. Thank you!

Happy August 1! We are excited to start the new school year. Here is your reminder that CTE classes start Thursday, August 25!

Students/Families who need assistance with purchasing the necessary school supplies for a successful school year may consider attending Project SOS. The first day of classes for SFSD is Thursday, August 25, 2022.

EMT and Health Careers students got experience with a practice mass casualty of a tornado coming through the CTE Academy! EMT students triaged patients on scene and transferred the patients to the healthcare facility where Health Career students got to provide First Aid care and vital signs! It was great to see the students put their skills in action on 50+ patients! Great work students and staff!

We are so proud of the accomplishments of our students and at this time of the year – proud of our seniors. Ashton Schaap, a senior from Lincoln High School, built a combination chess/checker board table in his Advance Woodworking class. What a great centerpiece for a graduation party! Ashton, we are thrilled with your work and wish you the very best! #proudtobesfsd #sflincolnhighschool #SDCTE22

“Experience is really important to me and I believe everything I have learned throughout the Academy of Finance Program will help me in a future career.” Those are the words of Claire Yunag, a “See the Vision” winner at the CTE Academy. Claire is a senior from Lincoln High School has proven herself at the CTE Academy and at Lincoln High School. At LHS, Claire has been a varsity golfer for the past five years, she was All-State golfer last year, finished in third place in the City this spring and is a member of Lincoln’s National Honor Society. Claire’s career aspirations began to unfold as she pursed AOF classes at the CTE Academy. Claire has taken Account I, Accounting II, Banking and Credit and Intro to Financial Services in the Academy of Finance Program. Claire’s quality of work, leadership and dedication to classroom projects and business development endeavors has been fantastic. Her teacher, Mrs. Brunken said, “I am excited to watch Claire develop more professional skills at her summer internship at Weisser Distributing. Claire’s future is bright and I am excited to see where she goes after college.” Our “See the Vision” winner is headed to Northwestern College in Orange City to major in business and play golf at the collegiate level. Claire, we have enjoyed having you at the CTE Academy and we are eager to watch your pursuits in golf, academics and in the professional world of financial leadership. Congratulations! #proudtobesfsd #weisserdistributing #northwesterncollegeorangecity #SDCTE22

The Aviation class went on an amazing all-day field trip to UND. The students experienced both the ATC (Air Traffic Controller) position from the tower and radar rooms. Natalie had the opportunity to try out the simulator for spatial orientation. Students had the opportunity to climb inside UND’s training aircraft, learn about how pilots train in an altitude chamber, and got to fly on simulators using VR technology.

School Info 5.13.22 • Classes in-session and on-time today • Bus routes may be impacted • No tardies this morning • Final day May 25, 2022

A huge thank you to Kristin with @hyvee at 26th & Marion who took time out of her busy dietician duties to help our Culinary/Baking & Pastries students understand the nutritional facts of the beverages they consume throughout the day. Students then had time to complete a scavenger hunt to learn more about the layout of a grocery store and found some South Dakota made products! #careerandtechnicaleducation #hyvee #siouxfalls

The CTE Academy is so excited to have the first Milana Arambasic Scholarship recipient. The Milana Arambasic Scholarship is sponsored by Arambasic Marketing. This scholarship was started in 2022 to recognize an Academy of Finance student who best exemplifies the characteristics of leadership, dedication, and enthusiasm for the AOF program. The recipient is determined based on staff recommendations and student responses to an essay. The $500 scholarship is named for Milana Arambasic, who was a past AOF Alumni, who is currently Director of Sales and Marketing at ART Vision / ARTisan Skin and Laser Center, and owner of Arambasic Marketing. She has been a member of the AOF Advisory Board since 2018. Milana has a deep passion for the AOF program, and says it was instrumental to jump starting her career. Milana is originally from Serbia, but has called Sioux Falls, South Dakota, her home since 2000. She is a graduate from both Southeast Technical Institute and the University of Sioux Falls, where she earned both her undergrad degree and her MBA. In her free time, Milana loves to travel with her fiancé, spend time with family and friends, and help the community by volunteering. Milana is excited to be able to give back to the AOF program, and to watch the success of the future AOF graduates. Congratulations to Jackson Lechtenberg from The Academy of Finance program at CTE. Jackson is also a Lincoln High School student. Congrats Jackson!

Thank you to Marmen Energy, Fronius, and Southeast Technical College for partnering with us to host the CTE Academy’s Annual Weld Off competition. This welding competition gave students an opportunity to see the cutting edge facilities at the CTE Academy, Southeast Technical College, and Marmen Energy while further encouraging their interest in the high-demand field of welding. These local high school students had a chance to win welding equipment along with other prizes during this heated competition. With so many companies in search of skilled welders, our students who decide to pursue this profession face a bright future!

There are limited spots available for Health Career Camp! Explore healthcare careers, practice skills, and meet real-life healthcare heroes. Fall 2022 6th and 7th graders for the 8am-12pm session and Fall 2022 8th & 9th graders for the 1:00pm-5:00pm session! For more details visit www.CTECareerCamps.com

Mrs. Whempner’s Baking & Pastries students invited some very special guests to judge their cake baking contest. https://www.keloland.com/news/local-news/cake-contest-sweet-way-to-end-the-school-year/

AOF students participated in the JA Stock Market event where they bought and sold stocks to compete against other HS teams. Important lessons learned about buying low and selling high! Good advice....start to investing early because of TVM - Time Value Money, you won't regret it when it's time to retire! Our students can help you in the future!

Caden is done with his final project! He made a card sorting box in Mr. Opdahl’s Carpentry/Cabinetry class with even a hidden compartment! Great work Caden!

Our next “See the Vision” winner is ready and confident for his next step. Our winner sort of grew up at the CTE Academy taking nine classes with us – Robotics, Baking and Pastries, Research and Writing, Intro to Audio/Visual, CTE Explorations, Speech, Accounting I, Banking and Credit and Financial Services and now Carter Hall is ready for the next step. Carter Hall is a senior from @siouxfallswarriors and will soon be a freshman at the University of South Dakota studying finance and business. Carter came to us as a freshman in high school and has always demonstrated to us the willingness to learn. As Carter began to hone in on career pursuits, he put his sights on our Academy of Finance program. His teacher of the AOF program, Mrs. Brunken said, “I fully expect Carter to be the an expert cryptocurrency consultant and great financial advisor for investors. Carter is a role model, a leader, wants to learn and wants to provide financial knowledge to the business community.” Carter, we have watched you take many steps in the halls of the CTE Academy. We are confident your next steps will lead you down the pathway of persistence, preparation and achievement! We will be proud to call you – CTE Alumni! #futureguestspeakerAOFAlumni #proudtobesfsd #sfwashingtonhighschool #SDCTE22

Learn by doing! EMT students went to visit the auto tech class and found some patients stuck in the vehicles that they needed to extricate out!  Future medical professionals getting hands on practice.

Parent/guardian feedback is important to SFSD! We just launched a 7-question survey - which takes 5 minutes or less - to help guide the next steps toward becoming the BEST school district in the nation! Check your email or paste this URL in your browser: https://survey.k12insight.com/r/QDVv1e The survey is open until the end of the school year. Take the survey once for each child enrolled. If you prefer to only take it on, please reference the oldest child in your household. Thanks for your participation!

Guiding Youth and Families hosted a blood drive at the CTE Academy. The students learned about what it takes to host a blood drive, presented information about the Community Blood Bank to all CTE classes and recruited donors. Many students were first time donors. Together donors were able to donate 68 units of blood for the community!