The Harrisburg Times H om e of the Tig er s
Au g u s t 20 18
Presorted Standard ECRWSS US Postage Paid Permit #1 Harrisburg, SD 57032 To Current Resident
Harrisburg School District Celebrates 125 Years of Tiger Pride
This undated photo was taken in front of the the original building located within the footprint of present-day Liberty Elementary School on Willow Street. JOANNE VERMULM HARRISBURG, SD - The Harrisburg School District will celebrate 125 years of Tiger Pride during the 2018/19 school year. A series of events will be organized to commemorate this special occasion, culminating in an allschool reunion during Harrisburg Days 2019. If you have historical photos or items from your time in the district, please contact JoAnne VerMulm at 743-2567 to share them. A scan can be made of photos and items can be displayed on loan. With the district’s extreme growth in the past couple of decades, you may find the following excerpt amusing as a Lincoln County historical book provides a glimpse into past growth surges. “The
first
school
house
of
Harrisburg was built in 1894. A group of local supporters petitioned the County Superintendent of Schools to detach a portion of District No. 48, 44, 28 & 57 to form a new school district known as District No. 81. The first school board consisted of S.D. Kenyon, J.L. Kehm, E. J. Hart. The first teacher was Miss Maud Brown. Due to growing population an additional school was built in 1901 and high school was included in the course of study. May Davis, who taught the first six grades, was the first teacher in this new school. Professor Herbert Brown had the six upper grades. In 1908 a brick building was constructed. Only the lower floor was used at this time. Estella Beck Perry and Gena Haug were the first teachers. Kathryn Sutton and Mariam Gauld were the first girls
stood between Brewer’s Drug Store and Gray’s Barber Shop, was used for plays, declamatory, musicals, commencement exercises and other school activities. The Town Hall was also used as a classroom.
and the first students to graduate from high school in May 1912. Prior to the construction of the brick building, four other buildings were used to accommodate the school needs. One of these was the old frame store located directly across the street from Brecht’s Garage. This housed the 7th and 8th grades. The second floor of the Opera House, which is above Spomer’s Market, was used for classes of general shop and basketball. The Theater Building, a structure that once
Harrisburg Middle Schools Welcome 6th Graders With Event to Kick-Off the New School Year Fun, Friends and FOOD
In 1938 a proposed addition was voted upon. It was to include a gymnasium-auditorium and two additional classrooms. The second floor of this addition had a student assembly and library. Three bus routes were set, the buses being drawn by horses at first. Enrollment in 1939 was 93 in high school and 85 grade school pupils. In 1952 the high school (9-12) had 71 students and the elementary school had 108 students. In 1956 plans were made for additional classroom space. On December 12, 1956, the voters
of the Harrisburg School District voted to pass a bond issue [for] elementary classrooms. The facility was completed and students occupied the new addition by August 1957. In 1969 plans were made by the school board to ask the voters to approve a bond issue for a new high school. The issue passed and the facility was completed and occupied by students in August 1973. In 1979 plans were made by the school board for additional space for elementary, junior high, science and dining room facilities. The facility was ready for student occupancy by August 1980. As of August 1983 the school is growing rapidly with a K-12 enrollment of 569 pupils.” See a timeline of the district’s growth on Pages 6.tv
Harrisburg School District Annual Update Goes Online
Please join us this August for a kids-only 6th grade orientation at your middle school, hosted by WEB! WEB stands for ‘Where Everybody Belongs’. During the WEB welcome events, 8th grade WEB leaders help incoming 6th graders learn their way around school, meet each other and get comfortable before their first day! As a bonus, all participants will receive a FREE LUNCH! We hope to see you there!
SMS WEB Event When: Wednesday, August 15th from 9am-12pm Where: SMS Cafeteria and Gym
Questions? WEB Advisors/Event Planners: Mrs. Atwood (school counselor) betsy.atwood@k12. sd.us and Wieman (7th gr. math) kirsten.wieman@k12.sd.us
NMS WEB Event When: Wednesday, August 22nd from 9am-11:30pm Where: NMS Cafeteria and Gym
Who: All Incoming SMS 6th Graders (Sorry parents, this event is kids-only!)
Who: All Incoming SMS 6th Graders (Sorry parents, this event is kids-only!)
Please note that some early school supply lists noted the wrong date for this event.
Please contact krista. groeneweg@k12.sd.us with any dietary restrictions or food allergies.
Wednesday, 8/15/18, is the correct date. It is scheduled for the same day as the SMS open house. Please contact betsy.atwood@ k12.sd.us with any dietary restrictions or food allergies.
Contact WEB Advisors/Event Planners: Mrs. Groeneweg (school counselor) krista. groeneweg@k12.sd.us and Allison Weideman (school counselor, 8th grade ELA) Allison.weideman@k12.sd.us
Harrisburg School District will now follow suit with many other school districts in the state and use an online-only platform for parents to complete the required annual information update for their children. Previously, a lengthy packet of paper was required to be completed at the beginning of each year for health, technology, and demographic information for each student in the family. Now, a small investment of time in parents’ Infinite Campus portal accounts will save a lot trees and hand cramps in the future. The update should be completed on a
computer - not a mobile device. Visit the district website to get the link to the portal account and for quick and easy instructions. If you are unsure of your username or password or if you need an account created, contact Jean Hudson in the district office at 743-2567 extension 3010. The annual update MUST be completed prior to open houses in August. If you do not have access to a computer, you can stop by the district office from 8am - 4pm Monday - Thursday.