Students First A Florence 1 Schools Newsletter Inside This Month: • Savannah Grove Flag Football Team • Alfred Rush Academy Flexible Learning Center • Royall Elementary’s StoryWalk • Williams Middle Celebrates Veterans
Wilson Welcomes Piano And Guitar Labs This school year, the Fine Arts Department of Wilson High School welcomed the addition of a piano and guitar lab. Joshua McKenny, a Wilson alumnus, was tasked with developing a curriculum for the lab. Besides ensuring the students become proficient on their respective instruments, he also decided to focus on musicianship and music production. The lab is equipped with the latest technology. The students are able to use the ProTools program to make their own music projects. Having the ability to be creative allows the students the opportunity for selfexpression. It also promotes a positive learning environment in which the students have the ability to construct impactful musical pieces. Mr. McKenny has noted that his students have collectively grown a tremendous amount this semester. The students are able to read and play music and some now have the ability to play music by ear. It is his desire to have his students perform a concert in the near future. Since music production technology is readily available at the students’ fingertips, Mr. McKenny has plans to expand the music production curriculum. The students will get a chance to experience the many elements needed to produce an entire song. Mr. McKenny has expressed his sincere gratitude in his return to Wilson. He hopes to make a meaningful impact on his students just as the one he received while he was a student. The piano and guitar lab is a creative space in which the students are able to display their creative skills to the highest level.
Flag Football Teaches Leadership, Sportsmanship at Savannah Grove The Savannah Grove Flag Football Club is now up and running! This would not have been possible without the gracious donations from community members and Florence One staff through Donors Choose. We have brand new footballs, flags, practice jerseys, and other equipment for our students to use. The club meets every Thursday from 2:30-4:00 PM and offers social interaction in an organic environment, physical activity, sportsmanship, leadership and team building. We are so grateful for the opportunity to provide this free, accessible extracurricular activity to improve the well-being and development of our students. One of the goals of the club is to provide leadership and positive male role models to influence and guide our young men. Currently, three regular coaches help run the club and work with our kids. With 40 young men participating, additional volunteers would be welcome! Additionally, community members, especially male role models, are encouraged to come speak to our young men about leadership and building character. Speakers are always encouraged to stay and participate in one of our sessions! Students have enjoyed learning the game of football with their teammates, competing, and learning character and good sportsmanship. The program has also impacted student effort and behavior in the classroom. Students have been motivated to avoid discipline issues in class and have become more attentive to instruction and in completing assignments. It has been a pleasure to see our young men enjoy this new opportunity and we hope for continued growth and success!
StoryWalk! Make the pages come to life! Reading is without a doubt the foundation and passion that makes Royall royal. We are constantly searching for innovative ideas as well as new books to gain and hold the attention of our Royall readers. This year some of our students’ favorite books have been selected to create StoryWalks and make the pages come to life for our students. Our Librarian, Marianne Gaskins and Literacy Coach, Leah Barley prepared Royall’s first StoryWalk. Mrs. Gaskins stated, “ I had a vision for the first StoryWalk and it just all came together.” During the month of October, students in all kindergarten and first grade classes were invited to come outside to experience the story Froggy’s Halloween. After being paired with a 6th grade helper, groups of 2- 3 students read the story and then acted out the event on the page. After each page, students leaped across the lawn on lily pads and walked to the next page. The pages came to life as students tried on various Halloween costumes and vote for their favorite costume. The story concluded with all readers being given a special bag of Froggy’s favorite treat, chocolate covered flies (raisins). Kindergarten teacher, Neil Anderson said her students loved interacting with each other, being mentored by older students, and walking through the story. A student in her class, Harleigh said, "What I liked best about Froggy's Halloween StoryWalk was trying on the cape and the underwear." First grade teacher Ms. Diamond Palmer stated, “The story walk experience was a true adventure for my class. It brought a favorite character, Froggy, to life and allowed each student to walk in that role as the character. Watching them interact with the book and other students was priceless. I found they gained more from the story walk than a simple read aloud. Students were actively reading the book, acting out parts and working together towards a common goal. I am looking forward to the next StoryWalk. With the first StoryWalk a success, a second StoryWalk is underway and will continue throughout the month of December. Snowmen at Christmas is the story selection this time. We have expanded the StoryWalk to include kindergarten, first, second and our enhanced learners. Once again 2-3 students will be paired with 6th grader readers/helpers. The students will hear the story and then be asked to complete various activities. Some of these activities will include trying on a hat trimmed with holly, trying to whistle and jingling bells. Students will peek through a lit window, pretend to ice skate and sing Christmas carols. To conclude the book they will be treated with snowman cocoa and a candy cane just like the snowmen enjoy eating in the book. According to Principal Julie Smith, the story walk activity is just another way that our students have fun and participate in the joy of reading.
South Florence High School celebrates Mix It Up At Lunch Day South Florence High School, celebrated its annual Mix It Up Day on October 22nd. This event pairs ninth grade students with special needs students as “buddies”. The purpose of the program is to help students foster friendships with other students without regard to their handicaps or disabilities. According to Bill Ruth, a teacher at South Florence High, “the students ate lunch together, played games, and had a good time getting to know each other”. The teacher cadets helped to facilitate the event. Mix It Up at Lunch Day is an international campaign that encourages students to identify, question and cross social boundaries. While schools can register to host a Mix It Up event on any day of the year, millions of students around the world participated on the official Mix It Up at Lunch Day, which was held on October 22nd.
On November 25, 2019 the health science department at the Florence Career Center hosted its annual blood drive in Mr. Davis’s Sports Medicine room. Students and staff members were encouraged to sign up and give the gift of life by donating blood to the American Red Cross. The students and staff members that gave received a $5 Amazon gift card and a snack. Students in the Sports Medicine class put signs up around campus and went door to door asking for people to donate. They were Saving Lives At The Florence Career Center Students eager to help people they will probably never meet. It could be you, or it could be one of your family members that they save. Even though we did not reach our goal of 21 units we did have a great showing of love and kindness by those that volunteered and donated. If you would like to donate blood to the American Red Cross please visit their website at redcross.org for more information and detail. able to get one staff member and twenty-one students signed up to donate blood. Six health science students volunteered their time to help the day of the blood drive and assist in any way that they could. In the end they were able to collect blood from 10 people and collect 12 units of blood total. Two donors gave double red “2 units” and 8 gave the standard one unit. The American Red Cross reports that for every pint of blood donated it can save up to three adults lives. This means our students and staff saved as many as 36 adults that day by donating the gift of life. Students at our F1S schools can earn a red cord at graduation from the American Red Cross if they donate three of more pints of blood during their high school careers, and become eligible for college scholarships not available to those that do not donate. I can honestly say I am so proud of what we accomplished.
Moore Holds Family Night at Barnes and Noble John W. Moore held its annual Barnes and Noble Book Fair on December 5, 2019. The event allowed families and staff to come to the store to purchase books and have food and drinks in the Barnes and Noble cafe to benefit teachers’ classroom libraries. The highlights of the evening were the special performances that showcased the great talents of Moore students. The evening started with a grand performance of select players in the Moore band conducted by Mr. Steve Rummage, Moore’s band director. The students showed their talents in a series of songs that encompassed the skills they learned during band class. The sounds of these students’ exceptional talents resonated throughout the store to provide a great festive atmosphere. Moore’s Pep Squad under the leadership of Mrs. Hendricks, Mrs. Ellerbe, Ms. Fanning, and Ms. Adams sparked enthusiasm for the evening with their cheer routines. The dance steps of the girls adorned in holiday styles and Moore’s Lion Mascot enlivened all with their precision moves. The group added a great joyous flair to the book fair as they do with many Moore events. A select group of Moore’s fine chorus members, led by Mrs. Kirven showcased their exceptional talents as they sang holiday songs gleaned from the past to the present which put a sparkle in everyone’s eyes as they listened to the harmony of the beautiful voices. Songs included “A Bit of Holiday Cheer” and “That’s Christmas to Me.” Science Projects were viewed in digital displays during the evening to provide an exhibit of work completed by Moore’s 5th students. Students collaboration and hard work to complete the displays were recognized and available for proud parents to view. Last but not least, Moore’s Top Ten Readers for December 2019 were recognized. Our top readers were recognized and given a Top Ten Reader award created by Mrs. McCumber with Moore’s 3D printer. These readers prove to be great role models for other students with their outstanding reading accomplishments. The evening was a showcase of talents while stories were read by a teacher, projects displayed, and a time for parents to shop guided by teachers’ wishlists. Moore wants all students to love to read. Mrs. Schweitz greatly supports literacy at Moore and encourages reading with her favorite quote, “The MORE that you READ, the more things you will KNOW, The MORE that you LEARN, the more places you’ll GO.” (Dr. Suess) Moore appreciates all the parents who attended and great staff of teachers who work together to make the evening a success and promote reading achievement!
Mealtime is Learning Time at CDC Woods Road and CDC RN Beck If you arrive at the district Child Development Centers at breakfast or lunch time you will not see a cafeteria full of children. Last year during the Count 5 campaign, the school staff learned about the value of having a family style meal in which children play a role in preparing to eat together. Setting The Table While preparing the table for meal time, children practice problem solving and counting. Does everyone have a plate? How many forks do we need? Will there be enough milk to fill every glass? Are enough napkins folded? In our classrooms, the teachers allow children to solve these problems by preparing the table for the meal. Not only do children eat better when they help prepare for the meal, they also learn to include fellow classmates. Having A Place Just like home, every child has a chair at the table that never changes. The repeated pattern of always sitting in the same chair, beside the same person gives a child a sense of order and security. Language is also learned when we build relationships with others at the table. Some children tend to talk less and others talk more. Children learn their place in the world as they interact with others in comfortable settings like the dining table. Trying New Foods As opposed to having your plate filled with a serving of each food as in cafeteria style service, children in our classes choose which foods they would like to eat and how large a serving they prefer. When new foods appear on the menu, children are encouraged individually to taste a sample. Also, young children are more likely to try new foods when they have participated in the preparation of the meal. Serving Others When families prepare to eat, they help each other. In our classrooms we encourage the same behavior. When they can, children help each other by passing and serving food. Often a child will get up to pour more milk or serve themselves more food. In the small classroom setting, teachers can allow children to take as much control as possible for serving themselves and their friends. When help is needed, teachers are only a step away. Cleaning Up After breakfast or lunch, children learn to assist in cleaning up after the meal. At first, children make spills at the table during cleaning up. These are soon forgotten as everyone shares the load of putting the room back in order and getting the dishes ready for the dishwasher. A Lifetime Of Order Children who participate in daily mealtime routines, quickly learn problem solving skills for life. Researchers tell us that repeated activities build the mental skills children will need for the future as they do their school work and later participate in the workforce. Soup Day Recently, the children at the early childhood centers shared their mealtime skills with their parents on Soup Day. Everyone pitched in to prepare, cook and serve the soup for lunch. Smiles, laughter and a shared bowl of soup made each and every class a place for learning and sharing together. Special thanks to those family members who participated with us. The staff of the early childhood centers would also like to thank Chartwells (the district food service vendor) for their special help during the meal preparation and service.
North Vista First Graders Build Shelters to Protect Dogs From The Sun Recently first grade students at North Vista Elementary took part in an inquiry/ collaborative learning activity where they built shelters for dogs. Students were placed in groups of four and were given a task card. They either needed to build a house for a big dog in winter, a small dog in winter, a big dog in the summer, or a small dog in the summer. Students were allowed to use any classroom materials they could find such as legos, straws, waffle blocks, squibs, tape, paper, magnatiles, scissors and glue. Students inquired how to build their houses in order to protect the dog from the elements. Students got creative. One group used straws and jacks. When they wanted a door, they had to problem solve in order to get the door to stay up. They took apart the straw and the jack, then put the paper through the straw. Other groups added paper for walls and a roof to protect the dog from the sun.
Timrod Curriculum Night: Reading Strategies for Parents Timrod Elementary strives to build positive relationships and partnerships with parents/ guardians and equip them with the tools they need to better assist their children at home. Parent workshops are one way we accomplish this goal. These workshops not only provide important information for parents but are also interactive, allowing the parents to be active participants. Recently, Timrod held its first Curriculum Night for parents and students. This Curriculum Night focused on reading strategies that parents could use with their children, which included fluency and comprehension. After a brief information session, parents rotated through four stations. These stations were representative of the station rotation model of Blended Learning that is utilized in the classrooms. Stations included “Questioning Before, During, and After Reading,” “Chunking,” “Decoding,” and “Fluency.” In these teacher-led stations, parents were introduced to the strategy and participated in a reading lesson for the station. Parents were encouraged to discuss, ask questions, and try the strategy with their child. At the completion of the rotations, parents gathered as a group for closure and discussed their learning for the evening with the other parents. This fun evening was full of learning, laughter, and relationship-building. Parents left with reading tools that will benefit their child in reading and help transfer the learning from school to home. Our goal is for children to love reading and learn to read for various purposes. Our hope is these reading experiences will help develop successful readers and strengthen parent-child bonds, all while laying the foundation for a love of learning.
Wallace Gregg Celebrates Student Accomplishments, Education In November, the first quarter ended. The end of the first quarter came with some celebrations at Wallace Gregg. We held two awards ceremonies at Francis Marion University. The first ceremony was on Monday November 4, 2019 for kindergarten through second grade students. The second awards ceremony was on Wednesday, November 6, 2019 for third through sixth grade students.. Each event celebrated students with perfect attendance, the highest math and language arts averages, and most Accelerated Reader points per class. Also, our related arts teachers gave out awards to one student in each class. The Kiwanis Club was present to recognize Terrific Kids from each class. As November continued, WGE continued celebrating the students hard work from the first nine weeks. Wallace Gregg was invited to attend a Francis Marion Basketball game on Friday November 8. Our students earned the trip through displaying positive behavior in the first quarter. Wallace Gregg had 317 students attend the field trip! After the game, our students had a chance to meet the players. Our last full week of school in November was American Education Week. Throughout the week we held different events to celebrate the importance of education. Ms. Sims, a third grade teacher at WGE, created a “We Graduated and You Can Too” wall. This wall featured all of the staff graduating from kindergarten, high school, and college and was created to show the students how important education is to everyone at WGE. Throughout the week, we had different treats and activities. On Monday, students wrote about why they love Wallace Gregg. On Tuesday, the wonderful cafeteria workers served everyone a treat to remind us that, “School is Cool!” On Wednesday, students wrote members of education letters about how thankful they are for them. On Thursday we had parent volunteers come read to classes. On Friday, students made a list of the keys to a good education and hung them outside of classrooms. To end American Education Week, we held an assembly Friday afternoon with former superintendent Dr. Allie Brooks.
Williams Middle School Thanks Veterans With Veteran’s Day Celebration On Monday, November 11th in recognition of Veteran’s Day, the Williams Middle School Social Studies Department, Gospel Choir, Student Council and Guidance Department came together to honor the veterans that are a part of the Williams Community. The appreciation breakfast was held for employees and family members of students who have served or are currently serving in the military. Students wrote thank you letters to veterans and the letters were distributed at the breakfast. The WMS gospel choir provided entertainment. Those in attendance felt were touched by the appreciated that was shown.
Learning Center at Alfred Rush Offers Flexible Path For Students Alfred Rush Academy has created the Flexible Learning Center (FLC). The Flexible Learning Center is a pathway for students to earn school credits that is different from the traditional school model. The FLC serves students who are interested in graduating early, need a flexible schedule, want to study in a smaller learning environment or have fallen behind their cohort. Courses are taken online using Gradpoint and Apex. Students work at their own pace and may complete work inside and outside of the classroom. Certified teachers are present to provide instructional help as well as monitor student progress. As of December 6, 2019, 16 students were able to complete over 40 credits through the FLC. Thus far, two students have completed graduation requirements; five students should complete all credits towards graduation by the end of first semester. An FLC student says “My experience in the FLEX program was incredible. I was given the opportunity to prove myself and fix the mistakes I made during my years in school. I really enjoyed how the program allowed me to move at my own pace. I was brought to this school because I failed my 10th and 11th grade years in high school. I finished my two years of school that I missed in less than a school year. I also enjoy the program because it is amazing for kids like myself that need one on one help more often. The teachers and administration are absolutely nothing but supportive. This school is an excellent experience to any kid who just don’t do well or aren’t comfortable in a normal school environment.”
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