South Elementary K-1

ALL SPPS AFTER-SCHOOL ACTIVITIES ARE CANCELED - Due to the possible weather situation for this afternoon, all after-school activities for Saint Peter Public Schools are canceled for today (Monday, April 28th).

ECFE VEHICLE FAIR INFO - Saint Peter Early Childhood Family Education's annual ECFE Vehicle Fair is set for 5:30 to 7 p.m. on Thursday, May 1, in the Early Childhood Center parking lot (100 Lincoln Drive/Broadway Avenue entrance). See the accompanying flyer for more details!

SOUTH STUDENT IS KEYC'S WEATHER KID! Landon Fries, a kindergarten student in Mrs. Hartfiel's class at South Elementary, recently had the honor of being the Weather Kid for KEYC_TV. To view Landon's weather forecast, please click on the following link --> https://www.keyc.com/2025/04/11/weather-kid-future-astronaut-gives-out-this-world-weekend-forecast/

SOUTH KINDERGARTENERS RECEIVE GIFT OF KINDNESS - Students in Mrs. Wenner's kindergarten class at South Elementary had a special gift delivered to them earlier today (Friday)! Haley Moore, the mother of Flynn Hanson from Mrs. Wenner's class had each student design a hat last fall, and she then knitted each child a hat to match their design. Those students are shown here proudly wearing their new lids earlier today!

KINDERGARTEN OPEN HOUSE SET FOR TUESDAY! A reminder that South Elementary will host its annual Kindergarten Open House tomorrow (March 4) from 5:30 to 7 p.m. The makeup date is Tuesday, March 11. All incoming kindergarteners (age 5 by September 1, 2025) are invited to attend this special sneak peek. The evening will allow students and families to meet the South staff, check out the building, and learn about the exciting things happening in our kindergarten program! See the accompanying flyer for details on kindergarten enrollment as well as the Open House, and we hope to see you there! You can also enroll your child and find more information at https://www.saintpeterschools.org/page/enrolling-in-saint-peter-schools

RAD ZOO AT SOUTH ELEMENTARY - Jamie Pastika, director of the Reptile & Amphibian Discovery Zoo in Medford, MN, dropped by South Elementary on Monday morning with some of his "friends" to entertain the kindergarten and first-grade students. Here are some photo highlights!

SOUTH KIDS CREATE GINGERBREAD HOUSES - Some classrooms at South Elementary recently participated in a gingerbread house activity where the students and a family member teamed up to build one using supplies donated by the students' families! Here are some photo highlights!

SOUTH ELEMENTARY TAKES IN ICE SKATING SHOW - South Elementary students had a thrill earlier today (Thursday) as they took in the Southern Minnesota Skating Club's preview show for this weekend's annual Winter Exhibition at Gustavus's Lund Arena. One of South's kindergarten students, Viva Marquart-Brown, was one of the skaters in the school. SMSC's Winter Exhibition is set for Saturday (Dec. 7) at 5:30 p.m. at Lund Arena and it is open to the public. Tickets are available at the door: general admission (ages 13 & up) is $10, ages 4-12 is $5, and ages 3 & under get in free! To learn more about SMSC please click on the following link --> www.southernminnesotaskatingclub.org

SOUTH ELEMENTARY ALPHABET FASHION SHOW - As a way to celebrate making their way through learning all 26 letters of the alphabet, some South Elementary kindergarten classes got together at two different times on Wednesday morning in the South Media Center to stage their annual Alphabet Fashion Show. Here are some photo highlights from the big event! Special thanks to Elizabeth Orton, SPPS communications intern, for her help taking photos of the fashion show!

SOUTH STUDENTS VISIT APPLE ORCHARD - South Elementary first graders are taking turns visiting Ferguson's Minnesota Harvest apple orchard over the next two weeks. Yesterday (Monday) it was Mrs. Bjorklund's and Ms. Alderman's class turn to make the trip and they provided some photo highlights! Ferguson's Minnesota Harvest, located in rural Jordan, is home to a large pick-your-own apple orchard, pumpkin patch, corn maze, and many activities for all ages in its Apple Blossom Park. https://fergusonsorchard.com/twin-cities-home/

A FOND FAREWELL TO MRS. OELKE AT SOUTH - South Elementary students and staff paid tribute to long-time South Principal Doreen Oelke who is retiring after this school year after a decade in that leadership position at the K-1 school. Students presented her with a bouquet of roses, a few teachers said a few words, each class recited a personal message to Doreen, and the students and staff serenaded her with a special song for the occasion. Doreen's husband Mark, then arranged for her to be driven away in a sporty convertible to wrap up the recognition. Here are some photo highlights!

Kindergarten students in Mrs. Wenner’s class had the chance on Monday morning to ride on a buggy pulled by a Little Welsh pony named Willow. Willow is owned by Wyatt Bienfang, grandfather to Fiona Bienfang, a member of Mrs. Wenner’s class. Fiona’s grandfather had visited the classroom in April as a guest reader who turned up dressed as a cowboy. That reading was tied in with Willow’s appearance at South. Here are some photo highlights of the ride!

Check out the Festival of Nations happening in May!

North Elementary Student Council is always spreading kindness! Last week students delivered cookies to each class for Valentine's Day!

A huge thanks to Paraprofessionals! They are the heart of Saint Peter School District. Take a moment to thank them today! If you have a flexible schedule, love kids and would like to help please apply here: https://www.applitrack.com/stpeterschools/onlineapp/default.aspx

If your child is going to be absent, it is very important that you call the Attendance Line before 9:00am at 507-934-2754, then press 1. If you get the voicemail, please make sure to leave a message including your child’s name and the reason for the absence. If you have students in multiple schools, you MUST call the South attendance line for South students. If the absence is related to COVID-19 or symptoms of COVID-19, our nurse will call you directly to assess the situation.

REMINDER: No School Monday, October 31st. Teacher workday!

SAVE THE DATE! SPHS HOMECOMING Friday, September 30 Parade at 4:30 p.m. Game 7 p.m. More details to come!

School menus now live on our new school website! Click on FOOD SERVICE and choose your school https://www.saintpeterschools.org/o/spps/page/food-service

READ & FEED REMINDER! The Summer Read & Feed program's final day is this Friday (Aug. 12) at North Elementary. Read & Feed staff will be serving pizza and have a special ice cream treat from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. to end the summer session. Hope to see you there!