Lincoln High School (South Dakota)

Lincoln High Schools JrROTC program is affiliated with the United States Marine Corps and is involved in flag ceremonies for many of the Patriot's sporting events. They're also involved in the community hosting many ceremonies for the American Legion and VFW organizations in Sioux Falls. The JrROTC program also has an award-winning drill team that competes all over the state of South Dakota and in the Midwest.[7]

The Lincoln High School Patriot Marching Band consists of 250 members, composed of woodwinds, brass, color guard, front ensemble, and drumline. The band performs in regional field competitions and street competitions. The band has appeared in the Rose Parade in Pasadena, California in 1992, 1998, 2005 and 2013. The band marched in the 1994, 2000, and 2008 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.[8] Bob Carlson, director of the program for 14 years, retired in 2013. The program is now led by his son Dan Carlson, assisted by Drew Balta as well as other staff and technicians. Lincoln earned a spot as a finalist at the Bands of America Super Regional in St. Louis, Missouri in 2015, performing their show "Gold Rush," again in 2017, performing their show "The Underground," and in 2021, performing their show "Queen's Gambit." The band placed 13th overall in finals in 2015 and 2017, and achieved an 11th place finish in 2021.

The 2022 season, which saw the band perform their program "Houdini: Unchained," proved to be a historic one for the Patriot Marching Band. On September 24, the band became the first ever band from South Dakota to win a BOA regional when they won 1st place overall at the BOA Iowa Regional in Waukee, IA. On October 15, the band qualified for finals at the St. Louis Super Regional marking the first time in program history that the band was a Super Regional Finalist in consecutive seasons. The band made further history by placing 4th overall in finals with a score of 87.950. Each marks the highest achieved placement and score by any South Dakota band at a BOA Super Regional Event.

The Sioux Falls Lincoln High School DECA program consists of students pursuing a strong future in business and marketing. Lincoln DECA has been the top performer at the South Dakota DECA State Career Development Conference. Lincoln has had the majority of student officers elected onto the State Action Team out of any School in South Dakota. The chapter is led by advisor Michael Jones. The 2013-2014 International President of DECA is a graduate of Lincoln High School, the first National Officer elected from South Dakota in the history of the 70-year-old organization.[9]

In addition to the yearbook (known as Heritage), Lincoln High School has a monthly student newspaper, The Statesman. The Statesman won the National Scholastic Press Association's Pacemaker Award in 2007. The Statesman was a finalist for the award in 2005, and was again nominated in September 2013 for the award. "The Statesman" has won a Superior Newspaper award every year from 2016-2022 along with a Silver Crown Award from Columbia Scholastic Press Association.

The LHS Student Council members are elected by the entire student body. The student council organizes activities such as dances and fundraisers.

The speech and debate program has had a long history at Lincoln High School. It has continued to be successful since it was established with the school in 1965. Lincoln's Debate and Oral Interp squads in recent years have been very successful. Annual Oral Interp teams average around 10 students. The debate team won the Bruno E. Jacob Award at the 2007 NFL Nationals Speech and Debate Tournament in Wichita, Kansas.[10]