District News

Students safety is the most important concern at schools in South Milwaukee. Learn what happens in an emergency and what it means for parents.

We are working closely with the city and our police department on many suggestions, which will come later in the spring and into next summer.  For now, we have started with revising some traffic patterns and placing additional support outside to help students get to and from school more safely. 

Today we’re talking about the district’s new STEM program for elementary students. But in a bigger sense, we’re talking about engaging curiosity in a hands-on way to look at something and learn how it works and why – or better yet, to build something and figure out how to make it work.

I’m excited to introduce you to our STEM teachers who are on an exploration of their own – building a new program from the ground up, fueled by the natural curiosity of our youngest students.

Back to School Edition!

In this episode, we meet Mike Arendt, the newly appointed high school principal. We talk about the role of a principal, how he sees students in their path to adulthood, and what plans he has for South Milwaukee High School. 

Check out Lakeview's new STEM Lab

Register for before and after care today!

District News for August 2 

July 19th edition of the District Family Newsletter

Annual Update, summer building projects. 

The Annual Update process for student and family information is open. 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. 

July 5th edition of the District Family Newsletter

School supply lists for elementary students

Bi-weekly family newsletter. 

Two South Milwaukee High School teachers were chosen as 2024 Herb Kohl Educational Foundation Teacher Fellows.

A Focus on Student Artwork - explore five students' work and what motivated the pieces. 

Stories of how students have given back to the community throughout the year.

So many students accomplish great things in South Milwaukee. Here's a selection of highlights from 2023-24.

The Green Bay Packers Foundation announced in April that South Milwaukee was awarded a $100,000 grant from the NFL Foundation through the NFL Club Matching Youth Football Field Grant Program. 

A South Milwaukee High School English teacher is one of only five teachers across the United States to be named to the National Teachers Hall of Fame (NTHF) as a member of the Class of 2024.

Recently, members of the larger community, staff, administrators, and students gathered and spent a lot of time thinking about who we are and what we want for our school community in the next five years.

We established our core values, mission, and vision statements and outlined what we want to accomplish for our staff, students, and the community in the next five years. In March, the School Board adopted that plan, titled Relentless Commitment.

End of School Newsletter

End of year message from the superintendent. 

Rawson Kindergartners give advice to graduating seniors

On June 4th our schools will recognize our fifth graders and say goodbye as they become middle schoolers. We asked a handful to reflect back on their experience and look forward to what they expect middle school to be like. 

It has been a great year for our School District of South Milwaukee community!  We have many positive things to celebrate and have a clear focus on the things we need to prioritize for next school year.  As we head into the last week of school for our students, I want to share some updates.  

8th graders are excited and nervous about the future and think about all SMMS has meant to them.

Video interviews with four graduates about their time in South Milwaukee.

The annual Wisconsin State Spanish Pronunciation Contest Championships is becoming a tradition in South Milwaukee. For those not familiar, it’s a contest where students study a fragment of text—this year and last year, it was a poem fragment—and practice pronouncing it exactly correctly.

Today on the podcast, we will hear from four students who participated and got a first- or second-place medal for mastering the poem. Then we’ll hear from Cheryl Caruso on three decades of teaching a global language – Spanish – and how, during her career, language education is taught and how students are different today than before.

South Milwaukee Middle School is very proud of 8th-grade students Erik, Kathryn, Leilah, and Rebecca, who competed in this year’s event in the Foreign Language at the Elementary School level for the memorized poem, “Fiesta en El Mar” by Andres Diaz Marrero.

AP Environmental Science teacher Daniel Lesniak and Technology Teacher Ben Quartermont share about the grant they've won and how students will be engaged in real research in the fall. 

An engineering firm is compiling a report on the traffic on 15th Avenue and Rawson Avenue to give data for the District to make decisions.

May 10 District Newsletter

An annual tradition is about to happen at Rawson Elementary School, and that’s why third-grade teacher Bill Gaynor has student art collected from the entire year in every corner of his classroom.

Soon that artwork will be gently placed into a box, wrapped with care by students, police officers, firefighters, and other volunteers, and delivered with notes of care and encouragement to area cancer patients urging them to keep their spirits up and fight the Cancer Bully.

On this episode, we’ll hear from Mr. Gaynor about the cancer box project and talk a little bit about his career as an educator and who his students are – a fitting tribute during Teacher Appreciation Week.

On April 3-6, 2024, Grade 8 students from South Milwaukee Middle School spent three full days in Washington D.C. as part of their educational journey in Social Studies. 
 

An end-of-year project at Lakeview Elementary School to study urban planning and dream up ideas for the former Everbrite site just two blocks away has caught the attention of TMJ4 News and reporter Elaine Rojas-Castillo. 

Congratulations to Mia Johnson, Class of 2022, for being named the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Softball Player of the Year.

The Green Bay Packers Foundation announced on April 17th that South Milwaukee was awarded a $100,000 grant from the NFL Foundation through the NFL Club Matching Youth Football Field Grant Program. 

Summer School, National Honor Society, 5th grade game night and more!

Newsletter - April 12

The Lakeview Elementary Student Council surprised Officer Rocket with donations of tennis balls and a bunch of dog toys for a local shelter.

On March 22nd, TMJ4 reported on the April 2nd referendum vote. 

How do public schools teach students to play music? It's a process that starts as early as Kindergarten, but by high school can mean deep involvement in a world of musical opportunities. In this episode, we speak to instructors from elementary, middle, and high school about the process of learning and loving to play music as part of school.

Why I Love... Drums!

March 15 District Family Newsletter

Superintendent Update: The new baseball field, A Merit Scholar Finalist and more!

Music to Move Us Forward - MS and HS Choirs Celebrate the 60th Anniversary of the Civil Rights Act

3-1-2024 District Family Newsletter

Superintendent Update: Wrestling, Legally Blonde, and more

For several weeks now School Board members and District representatives have been out in the community with tables, like at the Bucyrus Club and various sporting events talking to residents about the 2 million dollar non-recurring operational referendum that’s on the ballot on April 2nd. We had a big information night at the high school and have two more planned out in the community. 

Today’s podcast is a version of one of those sessions – I’ve invited administrators from each area affected by the referendum to tell us about what the additional dollars would be used for

The referendum is called Safe, Supported, and Successful. We’ll start with student and staff safety, then student success, and then hear about how we’re supporting students and staff. 

Then, at the end, I’ll take the questions we’ve gotten about the referendum and ask Business Services Director Dan Arnold to answer them. 

History in our country is a pendulum, swinging back and forth, directing where we pour our energy. The 1990s and early 2000s saw a push toward a college education and attendance for all of our students because a high school diploma was no longer adequate for the job market.

That pendulum has swung again, maybe to somewhere in the middle and we’re finding rewarding, well-paid careers are not only for those with college degrees but for those with the skills to excel in a profession, so high schools are adapting and teaching those skills as part of a free public education.

STEAM night – a celebration of all the work in our schools through the lens of STEAM – Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math – is one of the biggest events during the year and certainly the biggest one-day academic event outside of graduation. 

In this episode, we’re bringing you three audio postcards or snapshots from STEAM night, one from technology, one from engineering, and one from the arts.

In this episode, we’re talking about one of the newest student activities in South Milwaukee – First Lego League. If you’re not aware of what it is, it’s more than bricks and Lego figures, though those are certainly part of it.

At the suggestion of a parent who wanted his daughter to be involved in some sort of robotics club, South Milwaukee Middle School started up two First Lego League teams as an after-school activity.

Families of children who will turn 4 or 5 by September 1, 2024 are invited to apply 

In this Superintendent Update - 4K enrollment, winter weather, and middle school students giving back.

On Wednesday, January 10th, the School Board approved the 2024-25 school year calendar. The calendar is the work of a committee made up of administrators, teachers, and parents who meet to consider all of the state requirements and the needs of the schools. 

Jan. 5 District Family Newsletter

In our last episode, we heard about music students giving back to the community by using their talents to carol out in South Milwaukee. 

Today we’ll hear a little bit about South Milwaukee Middle School’s Cold Winter Warm Hearts initiative last year and how they’re building on that effort this year. While the projects are meant to help others, there is some real thought behind what giving to others can do for an organization’s internal culture and the members of that community. 

First, let’s hear from two eighth-grade students about what they did last year and its impact on them.

Quarterly letter from the superintendent.

Do you want to run for school board? Two seats on the spring ballot. Deadline to file is Jan. 2 @ 5 p.m.

It has been such a pleasure to join the School District of South Milwaukee community!  I have received such a warm welcome since I began on July 1, and have enjoyed getting to know the learning community and the broader South Milwaukee area. It is a beautiful place steeped in tradition and opportunity. I wanted to take the time to share some updates about what we have been working on in our school district!  

Take a peek inside the AP Computer Science Principles class at South Milwaukee High School.

Today on the podcast we’re talking to members of the school board about some serious topics. In one way or another, since the spring, the idea of a referendum has been mentioned as a way to close the gap between the district’s revenue and its expenses.

But it’s one thing to mention going to a referendum, it’s another thing to really consider what that would mean. The School Board is out listening to the community as they deliberate what they should do.

We check in with two school board members and ask what they've been hearing.

Check out an update from the superintendent, a look into our Computer Science class, a new podcast, Freshman Preview Night and more!

Hear about high schoolers getting a reality check, the school board's continued deliberations on a potential referendum, and recognition of student achievement. 

This Friday, December 15th, your child’s report card will be available electronically on Infinite Campus – that’s the website and phone application the school district uses to track grades, attendance, and other student information. No paper report cards will be sent home. 

Learn about the changes to the elementary report cards. 

Today, we’re talking about student report cards – specifically Elementary school report cards, because they’re changing.

How and why would a report card change? Good question. We associate report cards, as a rule, with letter grades - A, A minus, B etcetera. Get an A or B, and you’re doing well. B- or C there might be some issues, Ds and Fs indicate problems. Pretty clear markers, but not very informative and not really how we assess how elementary students are doing.

Director of Curriculum and Instruction Christie Gajewski is joining us today to talk about the change South Milwaukee elementary parents will see in the language on the report cards.

The latest news from SDSM

South Milwaukee has officially claimed its title as the Home Field Pride Contest Champions! 

American Education Week, Youth Apprenticeship Week, student celebrations, and a School Board continues to work on a potential referendum: Superintendent Deidre Roemer's bi-weekly update.

Report cards are as a part of school as pencils and chalkboards. The goal of the report card is to give parents an idea of where their students are in their studies and an early warning sign that they might be struggling in a subject and need some help. 

Schools and school districts have report cards too – for many of the same reasons. 

Congratulations to Summer Morrison ('01) for her work with Green Bay Packer Running Back A. J. Dillion to create Quadzilla Finds His Footing - a children's book about trying new things. Morrison has a number of children's books she has illustrated. See them all at https://www.summermorrison.com/

News from around our schools and important work happening at the School Board. 

Superintendent's update, help for the holidays, food drive and more! 

Fifteen Career and Tech participated in the Heavy Metal Tour, sponsored by MATC and the band Metallica.

Sarai and other students recently explored how their sewing machines work in Clothing Design and Construction. The class is one of three electives available to students in the fashion and interior design industry. 

Latest Newsletter from SDSM

Sarah Barrett and Meghan Nellen are the District's new nursing team. 

Unity Day, student celebrations, safety, and new staff!

First-grade teacher Emily Duelge is a brand new teacher at Rawson Elementary School – but she’s no stranger to the school. Duelge (Pronounced DULL-GEE) is a South Milwaukee alum, attended Rawson Elementary School, and is teaching in the classroom next door to where she sat when she was a first grader.

In this episode, we’re learning about a new system to address bullying in South Milwaukee schools. Instances of student bullying and conflict have been managed from building to building. This year schools have access to new Department of Public Instruction resources to implement a District-wide system – one that’s being piloted in the Middle School.

Director of Pupil Services Carrie Stollenwerk joins South Milwaukee from West Allis-West Milwaukee.

On Tuesday, October 4th roughly 40 students, community members, teachers, and administrators joined Superintendent Deidre Roemer to begin the Strategic Visioning process that will eventually guide the District in its work.

For some time, South Milwaukee has had an attendance problem, and over the last two years the District has worked to improve those rates – after all, you can’t improve reading or math skills, prepare for high school or pass a class to get credits to graduate if you’re not in school learning.

Senior Brady Ahler is one of 16,000 students in the nation to be named a 2024 National Merit Scholarship semi-finalist.  That sounds like a lot of students, but Ahler was one of 1.2 million students to take the PSAT and National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (NMSQT) last spring.

District Newsletter - September 22nd, 2023

If you missed the first game on our new football field, see what it was like and hear from school and community members what this project means to them. 

Superintendent Deidre Roemer shared news about the floor of the Sullivan Fieldhouse, attendance, the track, and homecoming.

The 2023-24 school year saw some major improvements – some by choice, some not – at the High School. The building, which was built as part of a referendum, was built in 2004. The 20-year bond that financed the construction was paid off early in 2022, but like any investment, it needed its wear-and-tear components replaced. 

4K education in South Milwaukee and what it's like. 

September 8th, 2023, was an important day in the history of South Milwaukee Schools – it was the first day the newly renovated Spaltholz Field at Bucyrus Stadium hosted an official sporting event. Fittingly, it was the varsity home opener against rival Cudahy.

This week the District had two newsletters - one to celebrate back to school, and one with important safety information for parents. 

Superintendent Deidre Roemer's weekly update after the first day of school. 

It’s a new school year and an exciting time for our students and teachers. For a group of teachers in South Milwaukee, it’s REALLY a New Year, because it’s their first year.

The beginning of the school year is the most exciting time of year for students and teachers – I hope your home is brimming with energy and excitement – all of our schools certainly are! 

Alejandra Blemontes knows how to work. At just 17, she has graduated early from South Milwaukee High School, works as a pharmacy technician, picks up waitress shifts at her godparents’ restaurant, and is enrolled in college to be a registered nurse. 

Superintendent Deidre Roemer welcomes our new and returning teachers and staff, and talks about being ready for the first day of school.

Superintendent's update, latest podcats, see the marching band in action and more! 

Check out the Marching Band practicing for the season!

Season 2 Episode 2 - In this episode of the podcast were hearing from the unsung heroes of that American ritual of the first day of school. The Buildings and Grounds staff.

Today we’re introducing South Milwaukee’s new superintendent, Deidre Roemer. We’ll hear a little bit about her family, her career, where she’s been, and what led her to South Milwaukee. 

The Green Bay Packers Foundation has given $100,000 to the School District for the Field Surface Improvement Project.