Dear Students, Parents/Guardians, & South Central Community,

It's hard to believe it's already May and the end of another school year is approaching! Where does the time go? We've had another very successful school year at SC. There are always bumps in the road, but I'm grateful to be a part of an incredible school community. South Central is a special place, and that's because of our students, staff, and community!

As you may know, South Central's Board of School Trustees, administration, and staff have been working carefully and diligently on a plan for additions, renovations, and improvements to our school building and campus. Those improvements will begin this summer! It's important to note that this project is completely tax neutral, and will NOT change the school corporation's debt service tax rate. So you will NOT see an increase in your taxes because of this project. We are working within the parameters of the school corporation's existing debt structure. The proposed project will be a total bond issuance of $12.15 million but will be broken up into a series of two bond issues. The board of trustees hired Tonn and Blank Construction out of Michigan City to be the construction manager for the project. Elevatus Architecture out of Ft. Wayne is the architect.

Last June, we convened a committee of 14 stakeholders (board members, admin, teachers, and parents) to identify needs and wants for the additions, renovations, and improvements. Through that process, we came to the addition of classrooms to both the elementary and jr-sr high schools, renovations of ALL restrooms in the building, renovating the library/media center, renovating the locker room area, constructing an activity center building, replacing an old chiller, and more. Please visit the new page on our website for more detailed information and pictures. We will also post construction updates as the project advances.

https://www.scentral.k12.in.us/building-project

The Board of Trustees and administration will be hosting an informational meeting on Tuesday, May 14th at approximately 5:30pm for anyone that would like to learn more about the project. The regularly scheduled board meeting is at 5:00pm with the informational meeting to follow.

On behalf of the Board of Trustees, administration, and staff, I thank you for your continued support of South Central Schools.

Go Satellites!

Ben Anderson, Superintendent

Save the date! The Northwest Health Sports Medicine Program will once again be offering sports physicals at South Central. The physical night will take place on June 18th from 5:30pm to 7:30pm.

South Central Elementary School, through its penny war fundraiser, raised $20,022.80 for Riley Hospital for Children!

The penny war fundraiser was sponsored by Junior Council members and was held from March 4th to the 22nd. South Central Elementary (and the Corporation) will now be designated as a "Red Wagon School/Corporation" for their fundraising efforts! Additionally, a Red Riley Wagon with a customized South Central license plate will be used at Riley Hospital as transportation for many patients.

Dear Satellite Families, 

As you are likely aware, we will experience the phenomenon of a total solar eclipse on Monday, April 8th. While the total solar eclipse is an exciting event for some, it does also bring some safety concerns to consider. After discussing this event with the Board of Trustees, LaPorte County Emergency Management, and the Indiana Department of Homeland Security, we do feel that we need to make a slight change to our schedule on April 8th. We will dismiss students early; elementary car riders beginning at 12:20pm and Jr.-Sr. High School at 12:30pm.

The timing of this rare event is what drives this decision. It occurs near regular dismissal time. LaPorte County is in the path of 96% totality of the solar eclipse, which will occur at 2:08pm. The partial eclipse begins approximately 12:52pm and will last until 3:23pm, according to LCEM and IDHS. 

I understand that this decision will be met with mixed reactions. We are making this change in the best interest of safety though, as viewing the eclipse without proper eyewear can cause permanent damage to your eyesight. South Central purchased approved safety glasses for students a few weeks back and we hope those will arrive in time to provide those, should parents/guardians want to view this event with their child. 

We sincerely appreciate your understanding regarding this change, and always appreciate your support of South Central Schools! 

Yours in education,

Ben Anderson, Superintendent

The South Central Elementary Junior Council will be sponsoring a penny war fundraiser between grade levels to help benefit Riley Hospital for Children. The fundraiser will take place from March 4th to March 22nd with prizes for the most money raised by grade level and for reaching the school goal. Details on this fun way to raise money can be found in the attached flyer.

• First Goal: $2,000 = Pajama Party
• Second Goal: $3,4000 = Movie Day
• Third Goal: $6,000 = Board Game Day
• Fourth Goal: $8,000 = Ice Cream Party
• Final Goal: $10,000 = Fun Day

On February 15, 2024, South Central Elementary School was recognized at the Indiana Statehouse for achieving over a 95% proficiency rate on the 2022-2023 IREAD-3. Ben Anderson (superintendent), Nick Kimmel (principal), and Chris Walter (3rd grade teacher) also got to meet Dr. Jenner (Indiana Secretary of Education), Jim Pressel (Indiana State Representative), and Suzanne Crouch (Indiana Lieutenant Governor).

Thanks again to all our teachers and staff, especially our 3rd grade teaching/support teams, for their daily efforts to achieve this goal!

South Central Elementary School will hold pre-kindergarten and kindergarten roundup for the 2024-2025 school year on Tuesday, March 26th from 9:00am-2:00pm and on Thursday, March 28th from 3:30pm-6:00pm.

Children who turn four by September 1, 2024 are eligible to sign up for pre-kindergarten and children who turn five by September 1, 2024 are eligible for kindergarten. Please bring the child's birth certificate. 

Congratulations to all the participants of the 2024 elementary spelling bee! A big shoutout also goes to our top three finishers:

1st Place: Wyatt B.
2nd Place: Hannah B.
3rd Place: Lillian W.

Pre-Kindergarten at South Central Elementary School has returned! Registration for 2024 will open on January 10, 2024. Please call the elementary office if you are interested in having your child attend this program. For more information, please see the attached flyer.

Dear Parent/Guardian,

Thank you for your support over the last 48 hours as we've endured another tragic loss of a student. Mark was a vibrant, respectful young man and will be dearly missed here at South Central.

As you know, we recently sent a letter to you with information regarding virtual learning, eLearning, and our snow make-up days. Next Wednesday, November 1^st was a scheduled virtual learning, where students were going to be required to be on live Google Meets from 9:00-12:00pm, then teachers were going to have professional development in the afternoon. In light of the tragic events we are dealing with, we've decided to change the November 1st virtual day to an 'old fashioned' eLearning day. This way, assignments will be posted by 9:00am and due by 11:59pm, unless otherwise noted by the teacher. There will be no live instruction through Google Meets, however, teachers will be available by email and Canvas/Google Classroom to assist students.

We thought switching to an eLearning day would be more appropriate to provide flexibility and some time for students and staff to decompress as we continue to navigate these difficult times.

Please feel free to visit the online learning page on our website for further information and clarification: https://www.scentral.k12.in.us/services/technology/online-learning-info

Thank you again for your continued support of South Central Schools, our students, staff, and community.

Sincerely,

Ben Anderson, Superintendent