Scottie Dog Care Closet Meets Student Needs at McLaurin Elementary As teachers, we know that our job does not stop at preparing and teaching lessons. Our job is to make sure that our students are safe and that all of their needs are met. The staff at McLaurin has rallied together to create a care closet for the students in our school. The goal for our care closet is to give students access to the basic needs in their life so that they are able to focus on their education. McLaurin has wonderful parents and community members that have supplied our closets with many items. We have one closet that is filled with personal care items such as shampoo/conditioner, toothbrushes/ toothpaste, and soap. Our second closet has educational supplies where students can get items like pencils, paper, and journals. As we can see from Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, physiological needs are vital for a human to reach their full potential. These items in the care closet allow students to meet those needs. Students are able to get the items that they need in privacy to avoid embarrassment from their peers. At McLaurin, we are a family and families take care of each other.
Greenwood Prepares For A Great EDventure! Greenwood Elementary School kicked off the 2019-20 school year with the theme “Welcome to the Great Edventure!” It has certainly been an “Educational adventure” for everyone as twenty-two new faculty and staff members joined the Dragon family. Our teachers and students have embraced our new Math Curriculum, Big Ideas Math for grades K-5, new Social Studies standards, and new computer programs: Lexia, Dreambox, and Mindplay. Our general education and special education teachers and support staff are building and sustaining effective classroom partnerships as we embrace the inclusive schools model to support students in making academic gains. Elizabeth Weatherly, our Curriculum/Technology Coordinator, provided our entire faculty and staff with an overview of the Co-Teaching Model for Inclusive Schools the week before our students arrived. Dr. Collins developed a schedule with Intervention time built in throughout the day so students and staff have designated time to work on specific skills needed to support student learning. The general education and special education teachers and support staff work side-by-side to provide the assistance students need in all of our content areas. This model helps ensure that all of our students have access to the content standards in every subject area and provided appropriate support to help them achieve their individual goals for learning. Our teachers and students have quickly acclimated themselves to the new Smartboards that were installed. All of our students are enjoying using their devices to advance their learning with Lexia, Dreambox, and Mindplay. Some of our students are enjoying them so much that they are finding it difficult to stay within the appropriate range of minutes for the week and not go over. One teacher reported that overnight one of her students logged in 200 minutes on Dreambox and when asked about it, the student said, “But I just LOVE it!” Our teachers are learning how to implement and monitor the new programs as well and we’re excited about the data it gives to assist the teachers in promoting student learning. Not only are our students learning, our teachers are learning, too! Tuesdays are set aside for Professional Learning Communities to meet in grade level and whole group meetings during their common planning periods and after school. This provides our teachers with the opportunity to learn and grow together. The PLCs are led by various members of our school and district, such as, Dr. Collins, Maureen Moore, Katrina Rouse and Richard McCabe. Mrs. Stacie Owens, our Reading Coach, has been instrumental in facilitating our K-3 teachers in implementing the new Fountas and Pinnel Guided Reading Curriculum and Benchmark Assessment System as well as providing support in planning and implementing the Orton-Gillingham Methodology for Reading.
STEAM Learning At Theodore Lester Elementary Ann Ham takes reading instruction to another level through STEAM. Instead of having her second grade class just read traditional stories like The Three Little Pigs and answer questions, Ms. Ham’s students experience traditional tales through the lenses of puppeteers, architects and authors. During their exploration of The Three Little Pigs, Ms. Ham used scientific inquiry to help her students understand how effective or ineffective it might be to live in a house made from straw, sticks, or bricks. Working in groups with Ms. Ham and one of Lester’s reading interventionist, Ms. Dean Miller, students then went on to explore building the various homes as architects, living in those homes, and having an intruder, the wolf, try to break into those homes. After analyzing character traits, Ms. Ham exposes her students to theater elements by having her students take on the personalities of story characters and reenact traditional tales through the use of puppets. Teaching reading from a STEAM approach is a double win in Ms. Ham’s class. The first win is increased learning as students are exposed to the creative process; students engage in meaningful collaboration; all students get to experience hands-on learning experiences; girls get to explore STEM fields and students engage in meaningful collaboration. The second win is increased student engagement and fewer behavior or discipline issues.
Students and Staff Drop Everything And Read At Delmae Elementary During National Read A Book Day Reading is both Fundamental and Fun at Delmae Heights Elementary. Throughout the school year students, staff and parents engage in activities and programs that encourage and support a love of reading. Our first program of the year was held on Friday, September 6, 2019 when everyone “Dropped Everything and Read for the last thirty minutes of the school day. Our D.E.A.R. Day was in observance of National Read a Book Day. It is the first of several special reading days and activities to be sponsored throughout the school year. Reading is Fundamental and Fun…more to come.
Sneed Squires tackle preengineering courses The world we live in is complex and constantly changing. It is important now more than ever that students are prepared to solve complex problems, gather and make sense of information, and evaluate evidence to make decisions. A greater interest in STEM education means a brighter future for everyone. By providing students with opportunities to explore STEM and STEM-related concepts, they will develop a solid understanding and passion for it and hopefully pursue a STEM-related career. Our Sneed students are connecting Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math to their core subjects and solving real-world problems. STEM strengthens critical thinking skills, fosters collaboration, and at its core prioritizes problem-solving. These are highly sought after skills in college and beyond. We are giving rise to a new generation of problem solvers, thinkers, and innovators for our future workforce. Middle school is a time of exploration where students are finding themselves and their interests. When they discover what they are passionate about, they have a better start in choosing a path leading to a more successful future. Project Lead the Way (PLTW) is a gateway to this discovery for some of our students. Some students take PLTW courses and realize that the field of engineering is something they want to pursue as a career. Design and Modeling is a preengineering course that provides students with an introduction to the world of engineering, introducing the different types of engineers and what they do before shifting the focus to the design process. This scientific process is what engineers use to design solutions to problems that are presented. Throughout the course, students are presented with problems and either work with a partner or a team to come up with a design to solve the problem. After designs have been documented and approved, students build a prototype and test it to ensure that it indeed solves the problem. They develop an understanding of how their own creativity and critical thinking can solve problems and come up with inventions and innovations for our world. This year Design and Modeling is divided into two different levels. All students are allowed to take the first level. Students who excel and show an increased interest can take Part 2 which offers in-depth design opportunities including designing using 3D modeling software. Once their designs are approved, some students will be able to manufacture these designs using our new 3D Printer, gaining further insight into the manufacturing process. Design and Modeling classes offer a project -based learning experience. It affords for more student engagement and gets students more invested in their learning. This is a learn by discovery class so sometimes making mistakes makes the learning process deeper and richer. Students understand that the design process is iterative and that they may have to redesign to arrive at the desired outcome. The teacher is the facilitator of learning and students are encouraged to take more control of their learning process. Students are more interactive and learn not only from the teacher but from each other. Because of the nature of this class, we are right in line with our district’s one-to-one initiative: students complete assignments in the classroom on their Chromebooks through Google Classroom.
Dewey Carter Starts School Morning News Show Dewey L. Carter was so excited to start our own Live Morning Show this school year. The show is being broadcast through the new smart tv’s in each classroom and is being led by Assistant Principal, Joey Gainey, who spent the summer preparing for its arrival. “We wanted to bring some excitement to our faculty, staff and students by having a live morning show instead of our daily announcements through our intercom system,” Gainey said. “I wanted everyone at DLC to start their day off on a positive note. The morning show allows us to be energetic and encouraging. Students who participate on the show learn about technology by how the show works as well as try their hand at public speaking. Students have to be able to look at the camera, speak clearly and follow the script for the show.” Each teacher is designated a particular week and students from those classes help lead the morning show. Students begin each show with the Pledge of Allegiance, school pledge, moment of silence, lunch choices, and weather for the day. Daily birthdays for both students and staff are also shared along with Positive Office Referrals and other positive shout-outs. Students voted over a 2-week period to name the show and the winning name was "DLC Morning Cub News". Faculty, staff, and students truly enjoy starting our day on such a positive note! “We have received positive feedback from teachers and students who enjoy starting their day with the DLC Morning Cub News,” Gainey said.
West Florence High School STEM Magnet Scholars program accelerates and enriches learning experiences for students who are academically gifted and have an interest in STEM related majors and careers. The STEM program is an honors magnet program designed to provide scholars who are academically able and motivated with relevant real-world experiences in a challenging and technological atmosphere where collaboration and critical thinking are the norm. Scholars work to solve global and local interdisciplinary community-based problems hand in hand with their peers, teachers, community partners, and professionals. Our STEM Magnet program creates learning experiences which enable students to pursue AP courses, research, and/or internships in a field of interest. The STEM program is open to ninth grade students inside the Florence 1 school zone interested in a STEM career pathway after high school. In order for a student to qualify as a STEM scholar, the student must attain eight STEM credits from the West Florence approved course list. Scholars must successfully complete a research course and maintain high standards of behavior and ethics. To receive the designation STEM Scholar with Honors, STEM scholars must receive at least 14 STEM credits including one research credit. Each spring, STEM students will be required to reflect upon their course experiences and discuss how their involvement has changed them as individuals. Each course uniquely embeds problemsolving, creativity, critical thinking, collaboration, communication, ethics, acton, and accountability. Some of our courses include Computer Coding, Cyber Security Fundamentals, Civil and Architectural Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Medical Interventions & Research HN, Biomedical Innovations & Research HN, AP Computer Science, STEM AP Human and Geography. In the Aerospace Engineering course, students will be immersed in the fundamental disciplines of Aerospace Engineering, aerodynamics, materials, structures, propulsion, flight mechanics, orbital mechanics, software, and stability and control. The Medical Interventions course allow students to delve into activities like designing a prosthetic arm as they follow the life of a fictitious family and investigate how to prevent, diagnose, and treat disease. In Biomedical Innovations, students design their own innovative solutions for the most pressing health challenges of the 21st century. In our Clean Energy course, students work to solve problems in different areas, such as motors, generators, water and energy conservation, wind turbines, biofuel generation, bioreactors, water power and fuel cells. One goal of the program is to help STEM students build their personal statements for college applications, which will increase their global competitiveness. Other goals of the program include promoting inquiry style learning, and providing unique opportunities outside the classroom environment such as field studies, independent research, and competitive academic teams. After successfully completing the STEM Magnet program, students will be highly competitive for admission to rigorous university programs. West Florence STEM Magnet program is designed to help students develop scientific literacy and promote a learning community beyond the confines of the school building. West Florence High School is preparing graduates with the skills necessary in becoming productive and responsible citizens, who are successful with the ability to evolve in an ever-changing society.
Keeping Cool with Summer Reading At Lucy T. Davis Students at Lucy T. Davis Elementary School continued their reading success over the summer through the LTD Summer Reading Program. During each visit, students and their families participated in fun filled family activities, as well as read together. Students were able to read independently, with their family and listen to a shared story time by the Lucy T. Davis Media Specialist, Mrs. Daniels. For family fun, several options for STEAM based exploratory activities were provided such as: Code & Go Mice, Cublets, Legos, and other hands-on activities. To inspire imagination and dramatic play, students had the opportunity to create puppet shows in the LTD mini theater based on the characters of the books they read. While in attendance, students could take AR tests and the points they earned were then applied to the upcoming school year. Several students completed a “Snapshot Summary”, which provided them with a chance to reflect on their reading and make book recommendations to their friends. For participating in the program, students were given books to add to their home collection and Owl Loot. The program’s goal is to inspire a love of family reading and provide a cool family activity when the weather is hot.
Leader-Owned Classrooms at Briggs Elementary School ment. We created it together, recite it regularly, and it really does keep us focused on what matters most, whether we’re in the classroom or not. Our teacher has hers posted right there by her desk and, of course, we each have our own too! “On the whiteboard right now you can see our shared learning target—we call it our end in mind. That helps us stay present in the learning with each other. And then you can see that we’re using the Brainstormer in our learning right now. It’s just one of the leadership and quality tools we use all the time. See, over there, yesterday in math we worked with a Venn Diagram.” “Some other things we do in here are work on our goals–we call them WIGs® because they’re wildly important. We keep track of them in our Leadership Notebooks®. That’s actually our WIG wall right there. It has our class goals and lead measures and how we’re tracking them.” Imagine if students around the world felt safe, welcome, and had a sense of belonging at school. At Briggs we have leader-owned classrooms. In such a classroom, students are very involved in creating a leadership culture. Picture the student ambassador for a class offering up a tour to a visitor. Imagine the student pointing out the features that make the space a leadership classroom. Would it sound like this? “Welcome to our classroom! I’ll be your guide today. I’ll show you what makes our classroom a leadership classroom! “Probably the first thing you notice here is that there’s a LOT of student work on the walls, right? This is OUR classroom. Our teacher asks us to create the space and this is what we came up with. And we’re the ones responsible for it too! Just looking around, I like spending my days here! Wouldn’t you? “We have our 7 Habits posted over there. We created the posters the first week of school as a reminder of how we want to grow as leaders. We see them, we speak and hear them, and we use them every day. “This is our class mission state“And lastly, on the wall here, is our leadership-roles display. Everyone in our class has a leadership role all the time, so this is where we check in on who is responsible for what and also get a sense of what we might want to try next month. We also help out the next person who takes over our role by teaching them what we learned in the role.” “Some things that we do that aren’t posted on a wall but that we do as leaders are class meetings, morning greeting, and class celebrations. And that is the key to, actually, everything we do in our class— it’s that we do it and we own it.” Engaged students are more likely to feel ownership, take risks in their learning, develop strong relationships, and build up their leadership skills. I can’t think of a better way to develop global citizens. (Information included in this article came from the Leader In Me Weekly)
Moore Farms Botanical Gardens Visits Moore Intermediate School On September 20, 2019, students in Mrs. Woodwards STEAM Lab welcomed Kelli, Nina, and Melody from Moore Farms Botanical Gardens in Lake City. After a brief introduction, four students worked together to complete a diagram of the life cycle of the plant. Students then identified Florence on the Plant Hardiness map and learned that we are in Zone 8 for planting fruits and vegetables. Students were then given an opportunity to taste test green and multi-colored peppers. The overall consensus--the multi colored peppers won! Once students were done with the taste testing, everyone went outside to the garden area to get it ready for fall planting. Students were broken up into three groups and each group had a different task to complete. Students were tasked with pulling out the old crops, refilling the raised beds with soil, and pulling weeds. Students then learned how to plant the seeds in the beds. Students planted carrots, radishes, kale, spearmint, peppermint, basil, oregano, thyme, parsley, rosemary, lettuce, beets, sugar snap peas, strawberries, and brussels sprouts. Willow Price, student at Moore, said, “I enjoyed learning about the seeds, how they feel, and being able to put my hands in the soil.” Moore students will visit the garden regularly to watch the seeds grow. Joanna McCumber, STEAM Coach, at Moore said, “All of the students enjoyed being able to spend time in the garden and learn how to plant seeds. We are looking forward to future visits from Moore Farms Botanical Gardens.” Moore Principal Carol Schweitz, said, “Thank you to Moore Farms Botanical Garden for providing students with a real-world experience.” Valerie Woodward, STEAM Lab teacher, said, “We enjoyed having the ladies from Moore Botanical Gardens come to our school. The students liked working in the garden and learning how to plant various plants. The students are excited to see the seeds they planted grow.” The Moore students and staff are grateful for this partnership with Moore Farms Botanical Gardens!
Southside Middle School Falcon Camp helps 7th grade students ease in to middle school Southside Middle School hosted our annual Falcon Camp for incoming 7th graders in August. The event is organized by the guidance department and serves as a welcome for new students as they transition to middle school. Students were greeted by the Southside cheerleading squad as they entered a “pep rally” type atmosphere in which they were introduced to what it means to be a Southside Falcon. Students toured the building, participated in short informational sessions with faculty members, and were given a school string backpack loaded with Southside goodies! Principal Shand Josey states, “Falcon Camp is a great way to ease the anxiety that many students feel as they prepare for middle school. Southside is a large campus and giving students the opportunity to learn their way around and meet their teachers before that big first day of school is an important part of making their move to middle school smoother.” Falcon Camp also provided an opportunity for students to see firsthand the enhancements that took place over the summer to the Southside campus. Freshly painted classrooms, new landscaping, a newly paved parking lot, and new furniture have given the school a fresh look to start the 2019-2020 school year. A turnout of over 300 students for Falcon Camp set the tone for what is going to be a fantastic year for our Southside faculty, staff, and students.
Carver Summer Camp Focuses On The Four C’s of STEAM This summer, Carver Elementary STEAM Magnet School completed its second annual STEAM Works Summer Camp. Bringing STEAM education to the entire student population at Carver has been a focus for the school for the past four years. Across the nation, there is an ever growing need for an educated workforce with a STEM mindset. After Carver received their national AdvancEd STEM Accreditation, Carver administrators wanted to give teachers time to work on Project-Based Learning opportunities that they were not able to complete during the average school day. There was also a desire to open the camp to potential magnet students that would be new to Carver in the upcoming school year. Carver is the host site for the camp, and it is made available to all Florence One Schools students in Kindergarten through Fourth Grade. Carver teachers and administrators assisted with the organization and facilitation of the camp. During the summer of 2019, the camp was four days long and was available to 50 students. Based on the feedback from the teachers, parents, and campers, the time was well spent and allowed for in depth project development and positive student enjoyment. The camp was in July to give families a chance to vacation and enjoy the bulk of their summer before thinking of returning to school in August. Carver has received positive feedback from parents regarding the camp schedule in July as a means of getting kids excited about going back to school and providing them with excellent learning opportunities during the summer months. Each day of STEAM Works Summer Camp has a theme to help build excitement and give the campers a slight preview of what will be going on during that day. With each planned activity, there is a focus on the four C’s of STEM: Critical thinking, Collaboration, Creativity, and Communication. On “Make-It” Monday, students use their creativity and collaboration skills to create toys or other objects of interest with a variety of common, household materials. “Tinkering” Tuesday focuses on the introduction of tech toys, gadgets, and a variety of robotics. Next, “Wonder” Wednesday challenges students to think critically by solving logic puzzles and breakout boxes. Wednesday is also the day that all campers wear their STEAM Works t-shirt for a group photo. “Teamwork” Thursday closes out the week with collaboration and communication activities during OMC, Organized Mass Chaos. All campers are divided into four teams and compete to finish the most activities in the time allotted. These activities include water balloons, hula-hoops, taking videos and selfies, pool noodles, and plenty of interactive fun. It is refreshing to see elementary age students solving real world problems, being creative, and working collaboratively with their peers to complete challenges. Over the course of the past two summers, the teachers have also had multiple opportunities to collaborate with each other in planning and teaching the STEAM lessons that have crossed over into innovative lessons during the school year. Principal Little says, “This camp is a wonderful way for students to learn and have fun at the same time. Our students are learning and developing important skills that will help them to be successful in the ever-changing world.
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