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Our elementary students have also been involved in Character Counts throughout the months of December & January.  Students in grades K-5 focused on learning the character traits of Responsibility & Respect throughout the past two months. 
• Our Elementary Student Council was active in fundraising for our school's DSTEP prizes.  The Student Council put on a "Winter Blast" party prior to Christmas break for grades 3-5.  The event boasted an excellent turnout, and the students & staff all enjoyed the fun.
• Our middle school students have focused on bullying & harassment, identifying & reporting bullying behaviors, cyber bullying, cyber safety, and using technology responsibly throughout the past two months.  Students in grades 6-8 will focus on alcohol, tobacco, and drug education throughout the next two months. 
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• High School Band - Mr. Johnson
• The spring semester is off to a busy start for the high school band.  Eight students are trying out for All State Band on January 18^th.  On January 24^th, the Jazz Band will attend its first jazz festival at NSU.  We perform at 8:30 a.m. in the Johnson Fine Arts Center.  On February 6^th, many of the high school band members will attend Region IV Solo and Ensemble Contest in Aberdeen, and they have been busy preparing music for that.  The pep band has also been playing at several home basketball games.  We are thrilled to be the "Band of the Day" on Friday, March 8^th at the Girls State A Basketball Tournament in Watertown!  We look forward to learning new music for those performances, and we are excited that our pep band will be heard by so many people from across the state!
• Other important events this semester include Large Group Contest on March 27^th, Brookings Jazz Festival onApril 4^th, Pops Concert on April 7, and Spring Concert on May 6.

• 6^th Grade Music - Mr. Johnson
• Over the past several weeks, the 6^th grade music class has been singing and listening to music from many different countries and cultures around the world. 
• We have just begun a new unit that focuses on becoming better singers.  We will be working to improve the quality of sound in the group through studying and practicing intonation, diction, solfege (pitch syllables "do, re mi…") and vocal pronunciation. 
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• Spanish II - Mrs. Kippley
• In Spanish II the students have been studying both the regular and irregular forms of future tense verbs.  They did really well on the first test over regular future

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