
For the second week in a row we achieved, and blew past, our goal of being above 90%! For the week of January 13th through January 17th we achieved an attendance rate of 93% overall with fourth grade leading all grade levels with a rate of over 94%. In fact all grade levels were above 90% and all but one over 93%. Way to go Garfield families!


There will be NO SCHOOL Monday, January 20th. We will be back in school regular time on Tuesday, January 21st. Enjoy your weekend!


Please join us for Family Movie Night at Garfield for a special showing of Harold and the Purple Crayon, a new, exciting, and action packed movie based on the amazing book! The showing will be held Thursday, Jan 23 from 5:30-7:00 PM in the Multipurpose Room. Please enter through the front door. Please feel free to bring a snuggly blanket and pillow and if you would like to bring your own supper you can. We will have popcorn for all! In addition to the movie, we will have community partners there to share resources with you and your family. We are SO excited to see you there!


Parent/Teacher Conferences are going to be Monday, February 3rd : 12:00 - 7:00 pm and Thursday, February 6th: 3:30 - 7:00 pm Here’s your chance to visit with your child’s teacher about your child’s education and how they spend their day, to see their school and walk where they walk on a daily basis. Please reserve your time with your child’s teacher by returning the form that will be sent home with your student. Keep an eye out for it!


Penny Wars is coming back! From January 27th through January 31st the grades will be competing against each other by collecting coins at the front entrance. Rules: A penny is worth 1 point and dollar bills are worth 100 points, $5 bills worth 500, $10 bill worth 1,000 etc., when placed in your grade jar. Nickels are a negative 5, dimes a negative 10 and quarters a negative 25 when placed in the grade jar. The goal is to earn the most points while keeping your opponents at bay. This fundraiser is being conducted by the Student Lighthouse team.


We achieved, and blew past, our goal of being above 90% for the week of January 6 through January 9. Fourth grade led all grade levels with an incredible rate of over 95%. And all of the grades were above 90%! Way to go 4th graders and all Garfield families!


There will be NO SCHOOL Friday, January 10th. We will be back in school regular time on Monday, January 13th. Enjoy your weekend!


It’s winter in South Dakota and that means it’s cold outside. Please make sure your students are dressed warmly when they head to school. If the outside temperature “feels like” over 0 degrees we will be heading out for recess, unless extenuating circumstances like ice or rain. The kids love being outside and it is important they have the opportunity to run and play. We want them safe and warm!


We celebrated at our Leader Assembly on Monday morning by honoring an individual leader from each grade level. These leaders were nominated by their teachers. Here are some things that were said by these outstanding young individuals: ALWAYS a leader and great role model inside and outside the classroom, a kind student who shows leader expectations in all settings, incredibly kind and helpful to everyone, and they support their friends. We are so proud of these leaders and are extremely grateful to be part of their educational journey!







Happy New Year from everybody at SFSD! Here's to another year of opportunities and possibilities. We are excited to welcome back students and staff TOMORROW, January 2nd, 2025! We can’t wait to see everyone!


Best of holiday wishes to, and from, our entire Garfield family!










There will be no school from Monday, December 23, 2024, through Wednesday, January 1, 2025. Classes will resume on Thursday, January 2, 2025. All your friends at Garfield wish you a joyful and restful holiday season!


What a show! Thursday morning we were treated to a preview of the Holiday Concert put on by 4th and 5th grade orchestra, band, and 5th grade choir. They did such a great job and we are so proud of them! They will perform again Thursday, December 19th at 7 o’clock in the Oyate gym. We’d love to see you there, they’d love the support, and you will enjoy an evening of music.



We achieved our goal of being above 90% for the week of December 9 through December 13th. Fourth grade led all grade levels at a rate of 92%. Way to go 4th graders and all Garfield families!


AND WE DANCED! Friday we celebrated reaching our goal of 5,000 Leader Cards earned. And what a celebration it was. It was cold outside but the moves warmed everyone up!











Our students earned the Leadercard celebration but the teachers enjoyed the dance too!




Garfield students have earned 5,000 Leader Cards reaching their goal. How are we going to celebrate? DANCE! Our dance party will be happening this Friday, the 13th. It’s going to be a great time with good friends!


For the first time in 11 weeks we dipped below 91% but we did achieve our goal of being above 90% for the week of December 2 through December 6th. It was a week following a long break and we suffered our first real cold snap of the year so we are happy we reached our goal. Fourth grade led all grade levels at a rate of 92%. Way to go 4th graders and your families! Five out of six grades were at 90% or better.


Thank you Sioux Falls Skyforce and High Point Networks for a fabulous time at the game of the Skyforce versus Windy City Bulls! Some Skyforce players also showed up last to talk with some of the kids about the importance of school
We are so proud of our kids and their families! Other than a very fun game with a lot of scoring and high flying dunks, we also saw some things from our students that made us smile:
When a student who had already gotten a free toy ball, got another one, they immediately gave the extra ball to a family who didn’t get one.
During a break the Skyforce had a musical chairs competition. When two students sat on the same chair they jumped up right away and did rock paper scissors. They both laughed when the winner was determined and the “second winner” stepped aside and cheered for the remaining players.
We saw a student walk quite a ways to find a trash can to put his empty popcorn box in rather that just leave it sit by his seat.
Simple things but they are the things we see from students at Garfield every day. It is nice to have everyone else see the leaders we have at Garfield.






Sioux Falls School District and the Office of Indian Education are excited to present 7th Annual Native American Winter Solstice Gathering. The gathering will be Friday December 6th at 5:30-7pm at Axtell Park School.
