Sergeant Bluff-Luton Community Schools

Kara Andersen of Sergeant Bluff-Luton High School has attained the highest individual honor available to Iowa high school musicians by being selected as a member of the 2024 All-State Choir. Kara is the daughter of Tony & Mary Andersen of Sergeant Bluff and is a vocal student of Christine Massey & Abby Shepherd. The 2024 Festival will celebrate the 78th anniversary of this prestigious event. District Auditions for the 276-piece All-State Band, 214-piece All-State Orchestra and 601- member All-State Chorus were held Saturday, October 26, 2024 at LeMars, Hampton, Independence, Atlantic, Indianola, and Washington. Approximately 17% of the students who audition are selected for membership in the All-State ensembles. Participants will rehearse in Ames on Friday and Saturday, November 22 & 23, and the Festival Concert will be presented to the public at 7:30 p.m. p.m. in Hilton Coliseum, Iowa State University, Ames, on Saturday evening, November 23, 2024. PBS will record the concert for re-broadcast. Please check the Iowa PBS website (www.iowapbs.org) for the exact dates and times. This program is under the auspices of the Iowa High School Music Association and the Iowa Music Educators Association. Tickets are $30.00 each, plus fees, and all seats are reserved. Tickets may be obtained for the Iowa All-State Festival Concert by contacting Ticketmaster- Orders may be placed online (www.ticketmaster.com) and go on sale October 29, 2024 at 10:00 am. Ticketmaster will charge a per-ticket convenience fee. Congratulations Kara! We are very proud of you!!

At conferences on Thursday, the high school hosted a college and career fair for students.

The following SB-L high school choir students will be auditioning for the Iowa All-State Chorus this Saturday in LeMars: Izzy Brodersen, Kara Andersen, Abby Andersen, Kayden Thompson & Jax Sedgwick. Good luck!!

It's that time of the year again...time for the SB-L Music Booster annual Fruit, Meat & Cheese Fundraiser. The 7-12 band and choir students will be selling from now until Nov. 4th. If no one has contacted you and you would like to support the SB-L Band and Choir, please go to: https://myfruitsale.com/ , click on "shop now", click on "choose organization", select state "Iowa", then select organization "ZGSL Sergeant Bluff-Luton H.S. Band-Fall 2024 Sale", then click on "shop now". That will take you to the first page of the items. To get to page 2, click on the arrow at the bottom. Follow the prompts to order, checkout and pay. Thank you for supporting SB-L Music Boosters!

If you have scheduled a parent-teacher conference for Thursday night after 6:00 PM at the elementary, please be aware that this may affect your entrance to the building. SBL is hosting a regional volleyball game in the elementary building, which means that doors that are typically open will be locked starting at 6:00 PM. This measure is to ensure that volleyball fans remain separate from the classrooms during conferences. Important Details: Door F that typically provides access from the Primary School to the Elementary School will be locked beginning at 6:00 PM. The only entrance available for parent-teacher conferences will be through the front door of the building. (Door A) Volleyball traffic will enter through the Door L (as you approach the building to the right of main door A) There will be no flow between the volleyball game and conferences within the building. Access will be restricted to these two outside doors. Please plan accordingly for your arrival at conferences. If you have any questions or need assistance, feel free to reach out. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation!

Did you know we have guidance classes in sixth, seventh, and eighth grade this year? In previous years they only had guidance in sixth grade. Sixth graders spend most of the time on character development. By eighth grade they spend most of their time on career exploration.

Change to Iowa Code Related to Tax Abatement and School Districts There have been several questions regarding the city tax abatement as it relates to the paying of school bonds. Those who are currently under a city abatement only pay on the percent they are at in their abatement. However, new owners will pay 100% of school taxes due to a change in Iowa law. Specific information follows approved by the city attorney: Iowa House File HF718 was enacted and amended portions of the Iowa Code related to property tax collections. The changes pertained to Chapter 404 property tax abatement/exemption for single and multi-family residential development: Effective July 1, 2024 – all new residential projects located on properties eligible for a tax abatement are prohibited to have the abatement applied to the school district portion of the property tax levy; All School District taxes will be impose and paid on the new valuation created by residential development.

NWI Honor Band auditioning students:

Good luck to our students auditioning for Middle School Northwest Iowa Honor band today. L to R: Monda Grimaldo, Charlotte Timmons, Sara Odell, Bode Bockenstedt, and Josiah Mitchell. Not pictured: Evy Edlund.

The district applied for an $80,000 grant last spring to add new equipment to the FCS room. We received the grant, but we were unable to purchase all the items due to the cost of updating plumbing and electrical in the room. It would have cost over $250,000 to make upgrades to install all the equipment. We were able to purchase some of the equipment. This equipment could also be moved to a new CTE building in the future, saving costs in a future move.

Reminder: Open House tonight at the elementary school at 6:30 pm.

Freshmen were learning about graduation requirements and exploring careers with the counselors today.

It is National School Lunch Week. This year is a pirate theme! The staff celebrated by having students color pirate-themed pictures to decorate the cafeteria and having pirate-themed movies.

Great win by the Warriors last night AND we got to see the future Warriors!

Hey SBL fans! When you are at the football game tonight, in addition to cheering on the Warriors, please help our custodial staff by placing your trash in a garbage can. Last week it took 10 minutes to clean the visitors side and 90 minutes to clean the home side. Help keep our facility clean. Thanks for your cooperation! Go Warriors!

We are hiring associates at the elementary and middle school.

Reminder of the 2nd open house tonight at 6:30pm in the high school. We will meet in the high school library.

The student group Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) put on a Feed the 500 breakfast last Wednesday. Thank you to all those who donated. FCA Students-- adviser Matt Nelson Sunnybrook Church Elevate Church Farm Bureau- Tyler Meekma Hawk's Coffee Shop Mike's Mini Mart Casey's Fareway Hardy Farms Leadership Council Staff donations Other staff and students that helped set up, organize and tear down

What a great week of homecoming activities. Wednesday's march and pep rally was a hit. I watched the entire primary building yelling and screaming for the march as they went by. I observed the 8th grade students giving high fives to all the elementary students as they marched by. The pep rally was a hit! We heard students say they had never been to the parade or a pep rally before. One student in the elementary said it was the best day ever! Come to the tailgate and then cheer the Warriors on to a homecoming victory! SBL - Strengthen-Build-Lead

A crop was removed from the southwest corner of the East Campus for the last time! Bids on the athletic fields were due today to make way for a possible new primary building. A contractor recommendation will be made to the board on Thursday. SBL: Strengthen-Build-Lead