Staff of American Horse School

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Hello, My name is Mrs. Roxanne and I teach Kindergarten at American Horse School.

This is my 7th year at AHS and I am

absolutely loving it. Just a little about myself; I have my Bachelors Degree in Early childhood and I live in Martin with my hubby of 19 years Will Clifford and our 4 children; Logan, Ember, Bryce and Chase. Some of my favorite things are watching Denver Broncos football, spending time with my kiddos, and traveling the country.

Contact: roxannecottier@americanhorse.us (605) - 455 - 1209

Hello! My name is Chelsea Clark and I am the 1st grade teacher at American Horse School. This is my 2nd year at AHS and the 2nd year I’ll be teaching 1 st grade. I am Fayetteville, Arkansas, have 2 older brothers and 1 sister in love, one cat, and 1 horse (in Arkansas). I went to the University of Arkansas in my hometown of Fayetteville, Arkansas, and I graduated in December of 2019! In my free time, I like to ride horses, travel, cook, spend time with my friends, go to concerts, read, paint, and sing!

Contact: chelseaclark@americanhorse.us (605) - 455 - 1209

I am Shelby DuBray Poor Thunder, the Falcons 2nd grade teacher. I have worked at American Horse School for 6 years. I started working here in August of 2015. I started in middle school and worked in 2nd grade and have been back and forth over the years and am excited to hit a consecutive year in 2nd grade. 

     I am originally from Gordon, Nebraska. My family is from here in Allen and Martin, SD. I grew up in between these places.  

     I married Michael Poor Thunder earlier this year and we have 5 kids. Braydon -12 , Samuel -11, Violet -9, Tillie-7, and Lolynn- 1.

     I am very excited about the upcoming school year.  I miss teaching, but I am super anxious about teaching in hybrid mode. I honestly just can’t wait to see you everyday in person and on screen.

Contact: shelbydubray@americanhorse.us   455-1209

Dear Falcons This year I will encourage you to always do your best and take pride in your hard work and all the exciting things you will learn . We will see old friends and make new friends and help each other every day. You will become a stronger reader and writer by the end of this year. We will be learning about reading and writing in complete sentences. Understanding Parts of speech and understanding and retelling stories. In Math we will practice addition, subtraction, geometry, fractions, time, measurement, multiplication concepts, and problem solving. We will explore interesting hands-on activities in Science and learn about the world around us. 

What do you need to begin your new school year? First of all, bring your best smile and positive attitude! Pencils, crayons, pencil cases, and other school supplies will be provided for you. 

Parents please call the school (455-1209) and get your school email address.  This will be our main form of communication this school year due to the remote learning situation.  Also please  remember to be checking the school website and the school Facebook page for any new information and updates on things that will be happening.

Mabuhay, everyone! I am Miss Maria, delighted to be part of the AHS family since 2017.  As a Filipino, I am always excited to share our culture with my fellow workers and students. Learning and working with a community that highly values culture, family, and education have made me more passionate about this profession.

Teaching second graders is a lot of fun, but because of COVID, we were held back with many things for the past school year and a half. However, despite the drastic changes that this pandemic has impacted our routines and lifestyles, the American Horse School Faculty and Staff will still give their utmost effort and dedication in providing quality education to all students. We are also looking forward to building more healthy relationships with the parents and guardians in this new chapter. We know most of you are excited to be back in school, and we really can’t wait to see you! Let’s help and learn together as we unlock new skills in learning with this hybrid classroom setup. Feel free to reach me through my school email: malourdescanlas@americanhorse.us and school number: 455-1209 ext 1041

Best of luck to all of us! ❤️

Hi! My name is Lauren Iozzio and I will be the 3rd - 5th Grade Language Arts Teacher for the 2021-2022 school year! I am so excited and honored to teach your child this year and cannot wait to meet you! 

I was born and raised in Houston, Texas and I graduated from Texas A&M University with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Anthropology and Sociology in 2018.  I taught 2nd grade at American Horse School for 2 years and loved it! I recently started my Master’s Degree and will graduate in May 2022 with a Master’s of Science in Social Justice and Criminology. I love education and can’t wait to get back into teaching.

I am excited to be back at AHS and I am eager to start this school year. I want to offer any support for you and your child. I know this school year may seem a little hectic, so please do not hesitate to reach out if you have any questions, comments, or concerns!

Contact Information:

Email: Laureniozzio@americanhorse.us

Teacher:

I am Ms. Stormie Clifford-Risse, the Bobcat’s homeroom teacher and the Intermediate math teacher this school year. I have taught at American Horse School for three years. I have previously taught at Anpo Wicahpi where I taught 6th-8th math and 8th-9th ELA. 

I am from Martin, SD where I live with my family, Aaron, and our 3 kids. Preston-17, Hayden-13, and Emmie-6. I graduated from Oglala Lakota College where I received my Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration Degree with a concentration in Accounting and Management. A few years later I returned to Oglala Lakota College where I received my second Bachelor of Arts in Elementary Education. 

I am very excited to teach in person this year! I have missed having students in my classroom. It will take some time to get used to our new schedule and way of social distancing within the classroom. 

Contact: stormiecliffordrisse@americanhorse.us or  call the school at: 455-1209

Student:

I am very excited about the upcoming school year and to see you ALL (finally in person). I know you are ready to get in the classroom so you can LEARN. I know we are going to have fun and exciting year together! 

Parent/Guardian(s):

Parents, please feel free to call the school (605-455-1209) if you have any questions. Also please remember to be checking the school website and the school Facebook page for any new information and updates on things that will be happening.

Hi everyone, I am Miss Jasmine Faye S. Zapanta. You can call me Miss Jas for short. I am the 4th Grade Wolves’ homeroom teacher and their teacher in Language Arts for this school year. I have been teaching for 4 years. This is my first year of teaching at American Horse School.   

I am originally from the Philippines. I graduated college at De La Salle University-Dasmarinas, one of the top-performing schools in the Philippines. The reason why I moved to South Dakota to teach is that I am an adventurous and outgoing person. I love learning about new cultures and meeting new people.  

I am very excited for this upcoming school year and I will do my best to teach you both online or onsite. We are going to do and learn so many things. 

I am very happy to see you this week. Hopefully, we will get to know each other more. Let’s make our class fun and exciting. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to message me or post on our google classroom. 

Parent/Guardian(s):

Parents please call the school (455-1209) and get your school email address.  This will be our main form of communication this school year due to the remote learning situation.  Also please remember to be checking the school website and the school Facebook page for any new information and updates on things that will be happening.

Teacher:

Hello! My name is Jessi Bean and I am the homeroom teacher for the 3rd-grade tȟáȟča (deer). I will also be teaching social studies this year. This is my third year teaching at American Horse and I previously worked for the Vermillion School District as their Title VI Teacher.

I grew up in Arrowsmith, Illinois, and moved to South Dakota 6 years ago. I graduated from the University of South Dakota where I received my Bachelor of Arts in Native American Studies and my Bachelor of Science in Social Work. I am currently working on my Masters in Education from Sinte Gleska University.

I am very excited to teach in person this year, I’ve missed having students in the classroom. It will take some time to get used to our new schedule and way of learning. Let’s be patient with each other and we will figure it all out.

Contact: jessilynnbean@americanhorse.us or call the school at: 455-1209

Student: 

I am excited to have you all in class this year. We will be doing a hybrid model this school year so you will spend some days at school and other days you will be learning from home. A schedule was sent home with your computer that tells you which days you come to school and which days you learn online. In your folder is also a username and password sheet for all your different school programs. Please do not lose this paper, it is very important! When you are online learning, be sure to check in every day on Google Classroom. I will post announcements daily. It will be a great year, we just need to be sure to work together and be patient with each other. See you soon!

Parent/Guardian(s):

Parents please call the school (455-1209) if you need your school email address. This will be one of our main forms of communication this school year for hybrid learning. Also please remember to be checking the school website and the school Facebook page for any new information and updates on school.

Greetings to students and families!

My name is Mabel Eagle Heart and I am the 3rd - 5th reading teacher.

I have been teaching at American Horse School for 33 years.  I grew up in Martin, South Dakota where I graduated from high school.  I received my Bachelor’s of Science degree in Elementary Education from Sinte Gleska University in Mission, SD.  

I have 1 daughter, 2 granddaughters, and 2 great grandsons.  I enjoy being a teacher and working with students each day.  I’ve also worked with many dedicated teachers who are knowledgeable in the area of technology and have helped me learn as we have had to teach

distance learning using Google classroom.  I look forward to another year of teaching and working with students each day.

Contact:  mabeleagleheart@americanhorse.us 605-455-1209

Betty A. (Wounded Head) Robertson, Ema’c’iyapi. Mother of six children, one deceased,  seventeen -- 17 grandchildren and four--4 great-grandchildren.

I graduated from Black Hills State College, Brookings, SD with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Teaching and a Master’ Education Degree in Administration. I have been in education since 1978.

I have been with the Lakota Language Department at American Horse School, Allen, SD going on five-5 years this coming school year.

It’s going to be another Challenging School year for all of us. I encourage all of our parents, community members, and students to work closely with each other and we will have a  Successful 2021-2022 School year.

I  can be reached at 605-455-1209.

Wopila (Thank - you).

Teacher:

I am Thomiscena Fast Wolf aka TR, the para for the middle school homeroom Eagles/Math. I have been working with students at American Horse for the past 14 years. I also have been the volleyball coach for the last 5 years. I was born and raised here in Allen, I have one niece that lives with me and 2 dogs whose names are Jasper Wayne, who is a corgi-blue heeler, and Buster Brown, who is a Weiner dog-red heeler. I graduated with an Associate of Arts Degree in Elementary Education from OLC and plan to finish and earn my Bachelors of Art in Education. 

I am very excited for the students to come back into the classroom and more excited we are going to try and have sports. I know we are going to have hybrid classes so we will have 2 days in school learning and 3 days of online learning. With the help from home, I know we are going to do just fine!!

Contact: thomiscenafastwolf@americanhorse.us  455-1209 ext 1010

Student:

We already started school in person and we got to meet groups A and B. In the next couple of days, we will start our classes along with our online groups. We have passed out all the information paper which included: schedules, usernames, and passwords, backpacks, list of rules that need to be signed and returned and chrome books along with computer agreements, 

Parent/Guardian(s)

Parents please check your school email if you forgot to look in your students information folder. They have your email address on the top of the page but if you need more information please call the school 455-1209. Also please remember to be checking the school website and the school Facebook page for any new information and updates on things that will be happening.