Elk Point-Jefferson School District 61-7

Our EPJ Students Shine at the State Science Fair Our EPJ students had a fantastic day at the State Science Fair on Tuesday, March 25th! Held annually on the campus of SDSU, the State Science Fair highlights students’ scientific knowledge, creativity, and application of the scientific method. Below are the recipients of special awards and individual category awards: High School Special Awards Delaney Thorson, Natalie Hailey, and Alexandria Herrity Ricoh Sustainable Development Award: Honorable Mention SDSU Army ROTC: Honorable Mention Haley Harkness SDSU Army ROTC: Honorable Mention SDSU Medical Lab Science Club: Honorable Mention American Society for Clinical Laboratory Science: $100 cash award Hannah Kuehl and Josie Mason SDSU Medical Lab Science Club: Honorable Mention SDSU College of Pharmacy and Allied Health Professions: Honorable Mention Ashley Stark and Natalya Tielke SDSU Medical Lab Science Club: Honorable Mention Jaxon Steinbrecher and Kooper Watterson Falcon Plastics: $50 cash award SDSU Army ROTC: Honorable Mention Bode Fennel and Gunnar Skaar SDSU College of Pharmacy and Allied Health Professions: $100 cash award Bella Hanson and Patricia Munkvold Ricoh Sustainable Development Award: Honorable Mention High School Category Awards Plant Science 2nd Place: Delaney Thorson, Natalie Hailey, Alexandria Herrity Honorable Mention: Drew Geary and Beckett Fennel Computer Science/Engineering/Math 3rd Place: Jaxon Steinbrecher and Kooper Watterson Medicine and Health 3rd Place: Gracelynn Bruns Both Mrs. Stabe and Mrs. Norris are incredibly proud of all the students who participated in the state competition this year. EPJ was exceptionally well represented—congratulations to all!

Breaking News: It is official. The EPJ school has been working with the YMCA of Siouxland to provide opportunities for additional preschool options and opportunities after school for families. Space is limited so please see the flyer for more details. All of these programs start in the 2025-2026 school year. For the Y-Club there will be summer programming for the summer of 2026. There is a QR code on each poster for sign ups, or follow each link: https://www.nwsymca.org/little-huskies-y-club and https://www.nwsymca.org/preschool . Sign up as soon as possible as spots will fill up fast. All questions should be asked to aschultz@nwsymca.org

Students in Ecology are learning about the effects of air pollution on human health. We discussed a variety of respiratory illnesses that are affected by air pollution including asthma, emphysema, and bronchitis. The students engaged in an activity in which they modeled the events that someone with asthma would experience. They blew up a regular balloon to represent a healthy lung and timed how long it took for them to inflate the balloon to a specific size and then how long it took for the balloon to deflate. They then modified the balloon by blowing it up with a straw to represent the constricted airways someone experiences during an asthma attack. Lastly they then filled the straw with honey to model the excessive mucus production in addition to the narrowed airways. They compared the times to inflate and deflate the balloon with all three models and discussed their results.

Celebrate St Patrick's Day at the All Band Concert tonight at 7:00 pm. Note the location is the HS gym! Here is the link to the event if you are unable to attend https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bFgWy7Zeb3s

7th grade exploratory art students wrapped up a successful quarter today by drinking out of the ceramic mugs they made! They had to use slab building to create the vessel and then decorate the outside in a way of their choosing.

Current 6th-11th grade students who are interested in cheerleading for the 2025-2026 season are invited to attend our Cheer Clinic on Saturday, April 12th from 12:00 PM to 3:00 PM in the EPJ Gym. This is a great opportunity to attend a cheer practice, see what cheerleading is about, and prepare for tryouts. Attendance is strongly encouraged for those planning to try out. Pre-registration is REQUIRED; no walk-ins will be accepted. Please pick up a registration form from the Art Room and return it to Mrs. Leichtenberg by Friday, April 11th at 3:15 PM. We look forward to seeing you there! There will also be tryout practices to go over tryout material after school on Monday, April 21st through Thursday, April 24th. Tryouts will take place on Friday, April 25th after school.

Educators Rising had great success this year at state competition. Three members qualified to attend the National conference in Orlando, Florida this June! Kayla S. qualified to compete in Teacher Created Material and Ava P. in Job Interview. Delaney T. was also nominated to be a state officer and serve as our SD Ed Rising secretary and will also get to attend Nationals. To help offset the costs of this trip the students are doing a March Madness Hoop Mania fundraiser. The top 70 score cards and the bottom 5 score cards will win! You can win up to $500. Below you will find a link that each member has set up where you can purchase an E-Ticket for $10 to play and have some fun while watching the March Madness games and get a chance to win cash awards! We would love your support in helping us raise funds for our trip to Orlando for our National Competition. Thank you for consideration. Delaney T.-https://www.charitymania.com/give/LF04B-45 Ava P.-https://www.charitymania.com/give/LF04B-23 Kayla S.-https://www.charitymania.com/give/LF04B-22 For complete prizes or view the Hoops Mania official rules please check out the following link https://www.charitymania.com/OfficialRules.aspx#hm10

Reminder that the Spring Kickoff meeting will be tonight (Monday, March 10) at 6:30 pm in the HS gym. Athletes in grades 7-12 that are participating in track or golf and athletes in grades 8-12 participating in varsity softball are invited.

Due to current weather conditions & extended blizzard warning, EPJ School District will be closed today, Wednesday March 5th.

Due to the weather, Elk Point-Jefferson School will be two hours late tomorrow, Wednesday, March 5th.

RESCHEULED: EPJ @ Vermillion Region 4A First Round Boys Basketball. Tip-off is 6:00 pm. Link to the game from Fuller Digital is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xEKeI1mFYQk

The Region 4A Boys Basketball Region game that was scheduled for today (Tue., March 4) at Vermillion has been postponed due to weather. The game will be played on Thursday at Vermillion with a time TBD

The EPJ School District will be dismissing at 1:30 PM today, March 4th, due to the incoming winter storm. All evening activities are postponed at this time.

Spring Kickoff Meeting will be Monday, March 10 at 6:30 pm in the HS gym. JH Boys and Girls Golf, Varsity Girls Golf, Softball, JH Boys and Girls Track and Varsity Boys and Girls Track participants should plan to attend.

EPJ's Unified Special Olympics participated in the Area South Dakota basketball tournament on 3/1 in Harrisburg. The 3-on-3 team (Zaden R., Jackson S. & Kyle D.) won both of their games! Griffin S. participated in individual skills (dribbling, shooting & passing).

EPJ elementary is celebrating 'Read Across America Week' March 3-7. Monday's dress up theme was 'Reading is WILD! Dress up like a dinosaur or wild animal.' The SLC students paid them a visit with a prehistoric friend!

Attendance Matters! Did you know that: Missing just 2 days per month (18 days per year) puts students at risk of falling behind. Good attendance builds strong reading skills and future success. Attendance habits start at home—set a routine and make school a priority! Every school day missed is a missed opportunity to learn, connect, and grow! Read these 10 facts about school attendance! https://www.attendanceworks.org/chronic-absence/the-problem/10-facts-about-school-attendance/

EPJ Boys Basketball travels to Vermillion for the first round of the Region 4A Tournament. Game time is 5:30 pm due to weather concerns. Here is the link for the game https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xEKeI1mFYQk

EPJ hosts Lennox in the first round of the Region 4A Girls Basketball Tournament. Tip-off is 7:00 p m. Here is the link to the game from Fuller Digital Solutions https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yTm4hC42yqw

Congrats to Coach Adam Timmins, Offensive Coordinator at Elk Point-Jefferson, on winning the 2025 South Dakota High School Broyles Award! The Broyles award is a national award honoring the top assistant coaches in HS football!