Sioux Center Pickleball Tournament: Sioux Center Middle School held its third annual pickleball tournament on April 4 and 16, giving students in grades 6-8 a fun and active way to build friendships and community. The tournament was organized by the school’s Social/Emotional Learning Team and included students and staff.
Fun, Competition, and Community Building
Assistant principal Chase Rozeboom said the tournament is one of many efforts to strengthen school culture and help students bond. A total of 75 teams signed up for the single-elimination event, with teams shrinking to 16 by the end of the first day. The winning team was made up of eighth-graders Carter Van Meeteren and Brayden Topete.
“It’s been cool to see that it’s not always the dominant kids you think would win. Two years ago, we had two seventh-grade girls who beat everybody, including two staff members. It was fun to see.” – (Rozeboom)
Some students formed their own teams, while others were randomly paired, including with teachers. A few staff members also competed, which made the event more exciting for students.
“It’s cool to see kids cheering on their schoolmates. They don’t necessarily know who they all are, but they always want to see their schoolmates beat the adults.” – (Rozeboom)
A Broader Effort to Strengthen School Connections
For students who didn’t want to compete, there were options to cheer for players or relax in the commons with coloring activities. The pickleball tournament is just one example of how the Social/Emotional Learning Team supports student engagement. Other events include student-teacher volleyball and basketball games and a trivia contest with questions about teachers.
“Our first day of school this year, we had everybody in the gym, and we introduced the teachers. We had walkout music for each group of teachers. It was a way of building things up right away and getting kids excited to be here and let them get to know their teachers.” – (Rozeboom)
The school focuses on providing ways for students of all grades to come together. This helps address challenges like larger class sizes and the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It felt like with COVID and a little bit after, we had kids who really hated these kinds of things. Any time we did something that was special, they wouldn’t come to school or would find a reason not to be a part of it. Now, if you miss school on those days, you’re like, ‘Man, I missed out on that.’” – (Rozeboom)
Rozeboom said that with the school growing, building strong relationships is even more important.
“That is not the case anymore, so we’re trying to get that back. Even though we’re getting bigger, let’s try to still be as small as we can to build those connections. That’s been huge, and we’ll continue to find ways to do that.” – (Rozeboom)
Looking Ahead to More Activities
More school events are planned before the end of the year, including one on the second-to-last day of school. The exact activity has not been finalized.
“In the past, we’ve done different stations such as kickball and nine square, giving out Popsicles. I imagine it would be something to that effect. We’ve done inflatables from Rent-All before, so we’ll have some sort of event at the end.” – (Rozeboom)
News in Brief: Sioux Center Pickleball Tournament
Sioux Center Middle School hosted its third annual pickleball tournament for grades 6-8 on April 4 and 16, including students and staff. The event, part of a broader effort to build community, ended with eighth-graders Carter Van Meeteren and Brayden Topete winning. More school-wide events are planned this spring.
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