District Newsletters

4K students at Lakeview have been learning all about nonverbal communication and “thinking with our eyes.” To bring the lesson to life, the alien from the Thinking With Our Eyes book came to visit! Students loved playing a guessing game with Mrs. Lockwood to figure out what the alien was thinking — even though the alien doesn’t speak human!

Our 8th graders have been working hard to design their own vegetable-growing chambers using C++ and Arduino UNO sensors. Students designed, built, and programmed an automated irrigation system. Their collaboration, troubleshooting of challenges, and application of classroom concepts to solve real-world problems were inspiring. True innovation in action.

Recently, more than 30 high school students heard from a team of engineers from Jacobs Solutions Inc. about the work they do to improve our transportation system.

On Wednesday, January 21, the School Board held a conversation about the condition of the former YMCA building on College Avenue after receiving a report from architects and building experts. 

Superintendent Deidre Roemer updates families on Rawson's article in a statewide magazine, the 4K open house, STEAM Night, a student who is a national finalist in a STEM festival, and student-athlete accomplishments.

Congratulations to South Milwaukee High School, which was recognized for the number of its students who take and score well on AP exams.

Is your child ready for 4-year-old kindergarten? Registration for children who will be 4 years old on or before September 1, 2026, will open on Monday, January 12. The 4K program offers a flexible schedule during the school day with half-day options. 

Join us for the biggest academic school event of the year! STEAM Night is a celebration of all the work our students day in and day out through the lens of Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math.

Experience full-sized and miniature animatronic dinosaurs, science experiments and special effects!

SDSM School Board except of Rec Center Update

Superintendent Deidre Roemer updates the community about an informational meeting about borrowing for a potential purchase/renovation of the former YMCA, students inducted into the National Junior Honor Society and more. 

Updates on the First Lego League Middle School teams, Little Shop of Horrors, and the inaugural recipients of the You Crushed It Award.

Congratulations to Blakewood's Besty Carpenter-Pelkofer and Eric Borchert, SMHS's Aaron Larson and Kelsey Citcowski, Lakeview's Sarah Olson, The Middle School's Kaitlyn Anderson, and Rawson's Alyana Lund.

These staff members were nominated by staff and community members for going above and beyond for students.

Each received a gift basket, balloons, and You Crushed It certificate.

Wow. The SDSM community donated 8,000 items for our 12th annual food drive! Thank you to the students and staff who organized it, and everyone who donated to the drive!

Recently, we welcomed Terrence Talley and Youth Alive to give an inspiring talk to our students about how they can look out for each other and weather challenges together.

The School District continues to take steps towards the preliminary agreement to potentially make an offer to purchase the former YMCA. Those steps include the appraisal of the building, inspections of the building’s systems and foundations, gathering estimates of the cost of renovations, working on interagency agreements to ensure the partnership to purchase and operate the facility are well considered and clear. 

SDSM has a plan, and parents and caregivers need to know what happens were there is a threat to a school or an emergency in a building.

The Community Recreation Center Committee has looked at all their research and the community feedback and will provide the board with an update on the findings from the September Community Workshop at the November 19th school board meeting. Please consider attending in person or virtually if you are interested in hearing their recommendations.

The School District of South Milwaukee is dedicated to providing information home that is in the language most spoken in a household.

We are excited to bring Terrence Talley to our school community on November 18th to promote an important message that will benefit our students. Terrence is a nationally sought-after speaker who lets students know they matter and that they can make a difference. He uses energetic storytelling and humor to inspire all of his audiences. Students end the presentation understanding they are not alone in whatever they are dealing with.

Donate to the SDSM Food Drive! Donation boxes are located at every school (students are excited to see which school collected the most items!) between Nov. 10 and Nov. 21.

All donations are given to Human Concerns for distribution to families in need.

Do you know a staff member who consistently goes above and beyond to create a sense of belonging and purpose for our students? We want to hear about them!

Superintendent Deidre Roemer updates the community about fall sports, the upcoming play, a community night at the middle school and more. 

Safety signage, girls volleyball, Harvest Festival, and recognizing the chamber teacher of the year!

The Community Recreation Center Committee is currently reviewing the survey data from the Community Workshop that was held on 9/24. We would welcome additional input from any community member who was unable to attend. 

We get pretty excited about what's happening in our schools. One thing we've heard from parents and caregivers is that they want consistent messaging and an easy way to find that information, no matter what school their student attends. That's why we introduced ParentSquare last year.

Congrats to the SM Rocket JV-2 GVB squad on winning the Woodland East Tournament Championship over Greenfield, avenging their only loss from the conference season!!

High School students had the opportunity on October 15 to attend the annual College and Career Fair organized by the school counselors. Forty-eight tables were staffed by 65 people from branches of the military, college admissions professionals, and career representatives.

Parent teacher conferences, Lakeview second graders learning about gardens, and banking in the high school.

The Community Recreation Center Committee is currently reviewing the survey data from the Community Workshop that was held on 9/24. We would welcome additional input from any community member who was unable to attend. 

We get pretty excited about what's happening in our schools. One thing we've heard from parents and caregivers is that they want consistent messaging and an easy way to find that information, no matter what school their student attends. That's why we introduced ParentSquare last year.

Thank you to our school board members: Sophia Williams, Angie DeFord, Andy Simmons, Patrick Hintz, Nathan Jurowski, Steve Hansen, and Brian Genduso for their service to our students and staff!

In the photo above, Lakeview first graders are testing out the first draft of the maps they created of the school.

The Community Recreation Center Committee will be hosting a workshop on September 24 at 6:30 p.m. in the high school gym in order to solicit additional community feedback in order to help inform their report to the school board in November.

Join us and celebrate South Milwaukee at the homecoming parade and bonfire!

More families than ever submitted their first day of school photos, and we may be biased, but they were great! Thank you for sending them in and participating in a celebration of public education!

Everyone gets sick once in a while. In past years, you either filled out a form or called the school. Starting this year, there's a way to report the absence directly using the Infinite Campus parent portal and see that it is recorded.

Thirty-six staff members spent all day Monday and Tuesday in a project-based learning training with our partners from Blue Dot Education. They engaged in opportunities to be a learner, time to plan around our academic and SEL standards in a way that best engages all students, and time to collaborate with other staff. 

The SMHS Marching Rockets gave staff a preview of one of their songs this week. They've been practicing this summer to be ready when school starts. They'll perform in the stands at the home varsity game next Friday vs. Nicolet!

The Community Recreation Center Committee has met twice in August to continue its important work. During these meetings, the group engaged in a draft program preference activity, a tool designed to help prioritize potential program options for a future community center.

Students and a lot of the staff are gone during the summer, but it's the busiest time of year for the Buildings and Grounds Department.

To help do everything that's needed during those busy weeks, high school and college students work to clean out rooms, cut grass, and perform other landscaping tasks.

It's a win-win, SDSM gets much-needed help, and the youth who work there get a flexible schedule and a summer job.

Check out the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article about the collaboration between our students and the city and police department!

Heritage Day Parade!  SDSM was represented by cheerleaders, the Honor Guard, the Rocket Marching Band, and a custom-built, just for the parade, robot by Rocket Robotics. Superintendent Deidre Roemer and School Board Member Steve Hansen.

Check out all of the native plants in full bloom after SDSM's controlled burn in March. South Milwaukee's natural prairie is good for the local environment, but also good for our buildings because it helps mitigate flood risk by sucking up rainwater, and the deep roots hold the soil in place, The prairie is also a lab for our students studying plants and the environment! Thanks to Ellen Colby of The MARM Farm - Milwaukee Area Renewal Movement for sharing her knowledge!

South Milwaukee's middle school pool is 64 years old this year. As part of the 10-year capital plan, it is being drained, the drain is being replaced, and the walls and deck surface acid-washed and regrouted.

The project will be completed mid August.

The Community Recreation Center Committee continues its diligent work in preparation for the upcoming September Community Workshop on September 24th in the High School Gym. 

Open Doors - the community-wide event that welcomes the community into businesses and organizations city-wide will be held on September 13. Stop by South Milwaukee High School and take a look around!

School Supply Lists for K-12 can now be found all on one webpage. Links to the list can be found under "For Families" on any school webpage or by clicking the button below.

Creativity and imagination are muscles - if you don't work them they don't get any bigger! These South Milwaukee Summer School students have spent this summer growing both skills!

Elementary Summer School has a lot of options for creativity and keeping math and reading skills current.

South Milwaukee Middle School Rocket Scientists are spending this summer observing the weather and reporting the data to NASA through a citizen science portal, as well as observing some amphibians the students discovered living in a pond near the High School. Once their observations are complete, the animals will be released back into the pond.

This process is required of all returning students in order to make sure we have accurate student and family data. The annual update should only take about 10 minutes for most families. We ask that you complete the annual update as soon as possible so that our schools can have accurate student data well before the school year starts. 

As part of the school district’s five-year strategic plan, a community recreation center committee was formed to consider the possibility of a stand-alone community center. Currently, recreation programming that is open to all residents of South Milwaukee occurs inside school buildings. This includes the fitness center and walking track, which are open to community members while students are in school. While that has worked well for the community and the school district for a number of years, it is not advisable from the lens of school safety and limits the programming offered to the full community during the school day.  

South Milwaukee Middle School Rocket Scientists are spending this summer observing the weather and reporting the data to NASA through a citizen science portal, as well as observing some frogs the students discovered living in a pond near the High School.

The Community Recreation Center Committee met on June 18th to review potential aesthetic possibilities with the committee’s architectural partner, EUA.