Rapid Valley Discovery

🎉 We are excited to celebrate eight students from our Rapid Valley 21st Century Community Learning Center program for turning a big idea into an exciting accomplishment in the Mott Million Dollar Challenge .

Their invention, the Tinkerbot 1.1, was selected as a 5th–8th Grade Business winner in the first round of the challenge. This is an impressive achievement, and we are so proud of the creativity, teamwork, and innovation these students showed throughout the process. The team will now move on to the second round, with 60 winners to be announced on April 20. Each student will also receive a prize for participating. Congratulations to this talented group of young inventors—we will be cheering them on in the next round.🎉

Discovery families,
Discovery will be held today as scheduled. Please note that there is a blood drive taking place in the school gym, so Discovery will be located in a different area of the building for the day. If you have any questions, please contact us through the ProCare application (messaging), or you may reach us by calling or texting (605) 206-1917. As a reminder, the ProCare calendar includes all program closure dates for your reference.
Thank you!

💛 Calendar Update for Discovery Families 💛

We want to share an important update to our program calendar. As we continue navigating funding changes, our goal is to keep programming running as smoothly and consistently as possible for our students and families. In order to do that, we do need to make a few date adjustments.

School Year Updates:
We will be closed for Early Release on April 10 and May 1
Our last day of school year programming will be May 15

Summer Programming Update:
Our handbook originally listed closures on July 1–2. After thoughtful consideration, we’ve had to make the difficult decision to adjust our summer closure to June 29 – July 3.

Outside of these changes, everything else will remain the same. We know schedule shifts can be challenging, and we truly appreciate your understanding and flexibility as we work to sustain high-quality programming for our community.

Thank you for being part of Discovery — we’re grateful for you and your kids every day. 💫

✨ Now Hiring: Afterschool Instructor
💵 $15.48/hr | ⏰ Part-Time | Up to 20 hrs/week | 🗓️ Follows Rapid City Area Schools Calendar | 🎂 Ages 16+ Encouraged to Apply

Do you love working with kids, creating positive experiences, and making a real impact every day? Join our team as an Afterschool Instructor and help students learn, grow, and shine!

What You’ll Do
• ✨ Be a positive role model and mentor for elementary-aged students.
• 📚 Lead engaging lessons, activities, and enrichment opportunities.
• 🧠 Support academic growth, social-emotional learning, and creative exploration.
• 🤝 Help create a safe, fun, and welcoming program environment.
• 🧹 Assist with daily routines such as student check-in/out, snack, and transitions.

What We’re Looking For
• A passion for working with children and inspiring their potential.
• Strong communication and teamwork skills.
• Reliability, flexibility, and a positive attitude.
• Experience in education, youth programs, or child care preferred (but not required).

Position Details
• Pay: $15.48/hour
• Schedule: Part-time, up to 20 hours/week (Monday–Friday, after school hours, 2pm-6pm)
• Location: Site/School assigned upon hiring
• Start Date: ASAP

✨ This is the perfect opportunity for college students, aspiring educators, youth mentors, or anyone who wants to make a meaningful difference in kids’ lives.

👉 How to Apply: Contact Kellsie Judge at [email protected] or (605)394-5120

✨ Teamwork in Action ✨
Our 21st Century team came together this week for a retreat filled with collaboration, reflection, and a whole lot of energy! 💡 We took a deep dive into our program data, exploring ways to strengthen what we do and drive positive change for the youth and families we serve.

Beyond the charts and numbers, it was also about connection. Sharing ideas, celebrating wins, and building an even stronger foundation as a team. 💙

We're recharged, inspired, and READY to welcome our students back next week! 🙌 Here’s to another amazing year of growth, learning, and fun ahead. 🚀