Students First A Florence 1 Schools Newsletter Inside This Month: • Lucy T. Discovery Education Family Night • West Florence Knight Life • Carver Spanish Club • Sneed Squire Time
Families become myth busters at Lucy T. Davis Discovery Education Family Night On Tuesday, September 24, Lucy T. Davis hosted a Discovery Education Family Night. To kick off the event, parents and students played a game of Mythbusters with Patti Duncan, a Discovery Education representative. Students then joined teachers in science and inquiry based experimental stations. The experiments were based on South Carolina Science Standards and included activities on Engineering, Earth Science, Life Science, and Physical Science. Students explored fossils, moon phases, and light energy. Younger students enjoyed stations that were crafted to their age group, which included activities that required using their five senses and predicting possible outcomes. The Oobleck station was the favorite among students of all ages! This station allowed students to get a little messy while exploring properties of liquids and solids. While students completed experiments, parents learned about the capabilities of the Discovery Education Techbook Student Center. Once the parent informational session concluded, parents joined their children to take part in the science experiments and have a family dinner. Families enjoyed learning how to explore our amazing world with Discovery Education.
Dewey Carter Elementary Students Celebrate Improvements on SCREADY Standardized Tests October 31 was not only Halloween, but it was also an exciting day for many students at Dewey L. Carter Elementary School! Students are tested each spring with the SCREADY standardized test in Reading and Math and this past spring, students were issued a challenge from DLC Principal, Wendy Frazier. Students were promised that if they improved by at least one level on either or both of the two tests, that they would be rewarded with an inflatable party and enjoy snacks and time away from class during the school day. Over 130 students were up for the challenge and enjoyed inflatable slide races, nachos with cheese, fruit drinks, and cookies as a reward for their hard work. "We love celebrating our students' successes and try to do so on a regular basis, whether it be for positive behavior choices or academic improvements. They have looked forward to this celebration since last year and have not stopped asking when it would be held and who would get to attend. We hope to have even more of these celebrations every school year in an effort to show our students the importance of good behavior and working hard,” Frazier said.
BEST PRACTICES IN ACTION AT THEODORE LESTER ELEMENTARY When you walk into Mrs. Tammy Bevill’s class, you don’t see an autism selfcontained class. You simply see teachers and classroom assistants differentiating instruction for students. Unless you actually know who the teacher is, it’s almost impossible to determine which adult is the teacher because all adults are leading a group. Ms. Bevill participates in ALL general education and programs for exceptional children professional development opportunities and ensures that her students are provided the best of both learning environments. The same statements can be made about Mrs. Pamela Smith. All of Mrs. Smith’s students have limited physical mobility, but Mrs. Smith ensures that she challenges her students cognitively on a daily basis. Failure to participate in class is not an option for her students. Mrs. Smith and her staff participate in assistive technology professional development to give her students access the general education curriculum and increase their sef-reliance and sense of independence. All Lester Elementary 5k3rd grade teachers participated in OrtonGillingham (OG) training to learn how to provide a more direct, multisensory, structured approach to teach literacy. Ms. Crowson shared that OG is working for her students. She states that for the first time, all of her students got an A in Spelling on their report cards except two. She says “It’s the OG that’s making the big difference.
Moore Intermediate Students Become Scientists During Discovery Education Science Night On October 10, 2019, students and parents came out to Moore to learn about the Discovery Education Science Techbook and complete various Science stations. After a brief introduction in the gym from Susan Rhodes, District Science Coordinator, students were able to go to various classrooms and complete Science stations. While the students began working at the stations, the parents stayed in the gym and learned about the Science Techbook from Susan Rhodes. The Science Techbook is a digital curriculum that builds context and drives understanding of 21st Century skills. It not only provides resources for students, but teachers as well. Students in grades 5 and 6 at Moore use the Discovery Education Techbook in their Science classes. Students enjoyed participating in the various stations. The stations included Pinwheels in the Wind, Making a Fossil, Oobleck, Attract or Repel, Bottle Music, Conservation of Energy, Defying Gravity, Design an Earthquake-proof House, Energy Transformation, and Light Energy. While at the Pinwheels in the Wind station, students were able to create their own pinwheel using paper, push pin, and a pencil. Students were then able to test their pinwheel using a blow dryer. The Bottle Music station was a favorite for students and teachers! Students were able to play the song “Mary Had a Little Lamb” by tapping the prefilled soda bottles with a wooden spoon. The soda bottles were filled with varying levels of water in order to signify a musical scale. Carol Schweitz, Principal at Moore Intermediate, said “Students and parents really enjoyed participating in the various stations. We appreciate the support of our parents and community with our efforts in providing real-life experiences for our students.”
WF Knight Life: A Class To Be Proud Of! What was once just an elective has turned into a group of students who all come together to tell the unheard stories of the student body. Journalism is a class that is both unbiased and full of self- expression, a place where students can have their voices heard in a world that is most the time too busy to stop and listen. In Journalism we, as students, get a taste of what the modern work day feels like since we are assigned our own stories, have deadlines, and have to distribute the paper when it gets printed. Journalism has given students training for jobs we may have in the future. It has taught us that we don't need to procrastinate and have to get our work done on time and if we don't there will be consequences. Journalism has shown me that in the real world no one will hold my hand or give me several chances; when I’m given an assignment, I need to get it done because the assignment becomes my full responsibility. Not only has Journalism taught me time management, it has also proved very helpful in improving my writing skills and this is one of our teacher’s main goals. “I have been teaching Journalism at West Florence for 23 years and every year is different and exciting,” said Kim Cimney, Knight Life adviser. “I love seeing students improve their writing and see their work published.” We have learned to write unbiased articles, writing nothing but the facts and how not to add fluff in our writing to make the paper seem longer. Journalism has also allowed me to learn how to talk professionally to the people I am interviewing. Interviews are where journalists get almost all their information and have to be done professionally so we had to learn how to conduct professional interviews. Not every job requires professional interview skills, but most jobs do expect you to know how to talk professionally to your boss and colleagues; Journalism has taught us how to do that. We have also learned leadership traits. In the class we currently have three editors, Hanna Jeffords(11th), Kayla Pinkerman (11th) and Khylie Nero (11th), whose jobs are to write the only opinionated part of the paper: the editorials. On top of all their other stories editors are given the extra responsibility of one more additional story every issue. Editors are also supposed to be leaders by example and to help the rest of the staff in their work if needed. Journalism has taught me a lot of very good traits I can use in the workforce and also lets me produce writings of which I am proud. Most teenagers write papers just to get the grade and most of the time don't feel proud of their work since they were more concerned about the grade than what they were writing about. Journalism has allowed me to produce work I am proud of and this doesn't go just for me but also for many other students in the class. “I got my story on the front page of the first paper,” said Gwendolyn Buddenborg, a sophomore, when asked what she is most proud of being on the Knight Life staff. Students in journalism class are proud of their
Carver Elementary Starts Spanish Club Carver Elementary Magnet School now has a new club! We are proud to announce that we have our very first Spanish Club for the 2019-2020 school year. At the end of the previous school year, one of our parents expressed an interest in having our students take part in learning another language. She, along with several other parents, heard about Spanish being offered at some of the other elementary schools. They wanted their children to be exposed to a foreign language at an early age as well. They also didn’t want their children to fall behind the other students when they begin to take foreign language classes in middle and high school. During the summer, our Parent-Teacher Organization (PTO) President, Brittany Terrio, presented a proposal to administrators on how we can have a Spanish Club at Carver. Through our preparation for this new club, we researched some of the benefits of having a foreign language taught at Carver. Research according to the Education, Sports, & Health article, Benefits of Learning a Second Language as a Child shows that students learn a second language faster and easier at a young age. Students who learn a second language also tend to improve their problem solving and creativity skills. In addition, knowing a second language may assist students with future job opportunities. Our vision at Carver is to have students utilize problem solving, collaboration, communication, creativity, and critical thinking to make a positive impact on their futures. Our Spanish Club is another way in which we are assisting our students in preparing for their futures. Initially, the plan was to offer our Spanish Club one day per week. Due to an overwhelming response from parents and students, we’ve had to offer two sessions per week. Students will go to this club on either Tuesday or Wednesday of each week from 2:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. The club will be available all year. This club is funded completely by our parents and our wonderful PTO. The Spanish Club’s teacher is a Carver parent, Ms. Katrina Winter. Ms. Winter states, “I’m enjoying being able to be back in a classroom setting so much. I love seeing their enthusiasm for learning, and share in their excitement when we communicate in Spanish. I think the best part is when I visit the school at any time, I now get greeted by dozens of smiling faces saying, “Hola” to me!” According to Principal Josie Little, “We are excited about the many opportunities that are provided for our students at Carver. Through this club, our students are developing STEM related skills that will follow them for the rest of their lives. They are also developing a cultural awareness that will help to make them productive citizens of our society. I am thankful for the support of our PTO, Ms. Winter, and our parents. Our kids are excited about this new adventure. I’m looking forward to seeing the benefits of this innovative club.”
Reading comes alive at Greenwood Elementary What an exciting time of the year it has been this fall at Greenwood Elementary for our students, parents, and teachers! During several activities students celebrated their love of reading. Is that a bird? Is that a plane? No! It’s Fly Guys and Girls Galore! In celebration of Storybook Character Day, Mrs. Weithers’ sixth grade homeroom class got into the spirit of things by making and dressing as Fly Guy, the main character in a series of children’s books by author, Tedd Arnold. The students made the eyes, wings, and antenna and in keeping with the intent of the day, each student had a different Fly Guy book that was their favorite. And what could be better than snuggling up with a good book on a crisp, fall night? Why sharing a book with a buddy, of course! That’s right, Book Buddies are just another way that Greenwood students and staff come together once a month to share the joy of reading with others. Each homeroom class is paired with another and the students or small groups join together to read together during the allotted time. As you can see from the pictures, all of our students, young and old, look forward to sharing a book or two or three with their buddies. Fostering and building community partnerships are important in building and promoting literacy outside of the school setting and our Florence County Public Library is an important community partner that students learn about at Greenwood. Once a month, Michel’le Burns, one of the librarians at the FCPL on Dargan Street in Florence, comes to Greenwood to visit with our Kindergarten and first grade students to read books or re-tell a story with puppets and sing songs with students and to encourage the students to visit the public library with their families. As you can tell from the students’ rapt attention and smiles, they enjoy listening to the stories and interacting with their peers during this time. Books and reading are FUN!
McLaurin’s Terrific Tuesdays Combine Learning And Fun In an effort to continue to build community and reach parents and students where they live, McLaurin has begun a Terrific Tuesdays program. These Tuesday events will take place on the third Tuesday of each month after school. As part of Title One parenting programs, McLaurin has been thinking outside the box. Sometimes various issues keep parents from coming to school events. McLaurin wants to allow parents to have a glimpse of activities going on in the classroom that parents cannot always see during the school day. Parenting sessions/ workshops are also a component of our Terrific Tuesday events. In October, several McLaurin staff members went to the Resource Center at the Mount Zion apartments. Students enjoyed many hands-on lessons that incorporated ELA, Math, and Cultural studies. Students classified Halloween/October words into nouns and verbs. Students were given information about different bats-which areas of the world they live in, what they eat, and the lengths of their wingspan. Other bat activities involved students measuring the length of their arm span and comparing their arm span measurements to that of the different bats. There was also a station set up for math activities with candy corn. Students were adding, multiplying, subtracting, and dividing with candy corn. This station allowed students to experience math with fun manipulatives. The students ranged from PreK to 6th grade. Many McLaurin staff members were so excited to see former McLaurin students that are now at Moore participate in this event as well. Many hugs and smiles were shared and it was a sweet reunion with former students. There was also a reading center for students to read books. After this afternoon of activities, students were able to take books home for themselves and other siblings in the home. The parenting workshop was on the importance of reading at home. A flyer was shared that showed the impact at home reading. The importance of reading at least 20 minutes a day allows the child to have read 3600 minutes within as school year, experience 1,800,00 words, and expose a child to more vocabulary within a school year. This daily 20 minutes of reading at home allows for better success at school. McLaurin is continuing to look for ways to encourage even more parent participation. We’d love to address homework and test-taking strategies in the future events. These topics came from a fall survey that parents filled out addressing topics parents wanted to know more about this school year. McLaurin has found success in our belief of building relationships. Students not only were engaged with activities, but expressed how they loved seeing their teachers “at their house”. McLaurin is trying to bridge the gap between school and home.
At Briggs Reading Together Is Better in that change. A Kindness Celebration was held on October 31st. The classes who participated came to the media center for a fun game of Headbands with Ally’s impossible sketches and made a kindness banner for the media center. Students love reading when it is a fun group activity. Briggs Elementary students love reading together because together is better. Ready for some spooky fun? Students in Kindergarten - Second Grade went on a student led Ghost Walk on October 31st. They enjoyed a story at the gazebo about a big pumpkin retold by fourth grader Sofia Norris from the book Big Pumpkin by Erica Silverman. Then they traveled to the chicken coop to learn how Jasper Rabbit deals with a scary pair of underwear from the book Creepy Pair of Underwear! by Aaron Reynolds as retold by fourth grader Avin Knotts. In the flower garden, fifth grader Mi’Kala Woods warned the students about a boo hag named Pruella from the book Precious and the Boo Hag by Patricia McKissack. To finish the tour, sixth grader Romel Malloy tickled their funny bones with some ghost jokes he learned from the book Spooky Sillies : A Book of Ghost Jokes by Mark Moore. Kindness is contagious. Students in grades 4-6 did a school wide reading of the book Fish in a Tree by Lynda Mullaly Hunt from August to October. Throughout the reading they answered daily trivia questions and Mrs. Keefe’s fourth grade class answered the most trivia questions. During morning meetings they also used the 7 Habits to analyze the main characters’ different situations and what they would do in similar ones. We saw the main character, Ally change throughout the story and the role kindness played Book Release Parties are the Bomb! Literally. We made stick bombs which are also called popsicle stick explosions. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Wrecking Ball by Jeff Kinney was released on November 5th. Twenty-three students pre-ordered the book and were invited to a book release party on November 7th. We used popsicle sticks to construct the cobra pattern. When released, the tension in the popsicle sticks caused quite an explosion. Some students had already read the entire book before the party and some had not finished it, but all were excited to be a part of the reading fun. The book release party was planned and executed by our Library Event Coordinators: Marley Rollins (6th grade), Emma Wentzel (6th grade), and Adonis Brown (6th grade). Sharing and reading stories is one of the most important things we can do to help our children succeed in school. Children read more when we make it fun. How can you make reading fun? Read with a child. Everything's better together, even
Sneed Middle School Squire Time Math Squire Time is an initiative at Sneed Middle School where once a month everyone stops their day and for an hour to focus on math fundamentals and enrichment. Born out of the recognition that students at Sneed need more support in the area of mathematics, Squire Time is intended to provide an environment in which importance is placed on math fundamentals and literacy. Students have time set aside to review and practice those fundamental skills that are crucial to their success in math. The need for improvement in math is not unique to Sneed, Florence One Schools or even the state of South Carolina. Data shows that math literacy across the nation is an area in which students need more support. During this time, students meet with their Math Advisor and work on fundamental math skills, math enrichment, test taking strategies and goal setting. During the first Squire Time meeting, each student worked with their advisor to develop a mid-year and end-of-year math goal. They identified barriers that might keep them from reaching their goal and then brainstormed strategies to overcome those barriers. This helps guide students throughout the year so that they stay on track and are set to meet their goal. The math work that is done is based on student needs. These needs are identified both by assessment data and by feedback from our teachers. Each Squire Time group is led by a teacher, administrator, school counselor, instructional coach or media specialist. Everyone has a role. On the importance of an “all-handson-deck” approach Sneed’s Principal, Mr. Oates says “It is imperative that we show our students that learning math is meaningful and important. By having everyone, including myself, serve as a math advisor students see that. The other benefit to having more people lead Squire Time groups is that we are able to have smaller groups of students. This allows for a more hands on approach with the students.” The ultimate goal is to provide support to our students outside of the quality support and instruction they receive in their math classes.
Southside celebrates annual Festival of the Arts Southside Middle School's Fine Arts and Technology Department recently held their annual Fall Festival of the Arts. The festival is an opportunity to highlight not only our fine arts and STEM department, but also our students and their many talents. Informational sessions, presentations, interactive sessions, and games were sponsored by each of the arts disciplines and parents/visitors chose which of the sessions to participate in. Presentations included: Drum Circle, Night at the Museum, Light Painting, Theater Games, Musical Style Bingo, Dance Instruction, Orchestra, and STEM interactive sessions. In preparation for the festival, students spent weeks researching, planning and preparing for an evening that showcased what takes place on a daily basis at Southside. The roles were reversed this evening, however, as instead of the teachers providing instruction, students facilitated all sessions. In addition, dinner was prepared and served by students in the consumer science class to over 400 attendees and participants! The Young Men’s’ Club, a Southside student service organization, served as hosts and greeters for the event as well. It was a great evening for all, with food, learning experiences and fun!
Delmae Second Graders Adopt Reading Pets Reading is both fundamental and fun at Delmae! Second-grade students recently participated in a pet adoption event that provided secondgrade students with stuffed dogs as a way to promote literacy and to get students excited about reading. Second grade teachers wrote individual Donors Choose Grants for each of their seven classes to fund an academic unit to promote literacy. All seven grants were funded which resulted in a unit of learning and a project of giving. The unit on friends and family included research, writing and reading about pets. In this unit, students read “Henry and Mudge,” a book about a boy who adopted a dog because he was lonely. Since our school mascot is the Delmae DAWGS, this was easily aligned with student interest and school spirit! As a culmination of the unit the students participated in a Pet Adoption Day. Each student was allowed to adopt a pet stuffed dog to have as a reading buddy both in class and at home. The pets were placed in portal kennels which were set up as stations around the multipurpose room. Students selected a pet from their teacher’s kennel and received a small cardboard pet carrier and an adoption certificate. Students signed a contract saying that they would read to the stuffed puppies for 20 minutes each night. Students also are bringing the puppies back to school on Fridays to read to them during Flashlight Fridays, a weekly reading event in which students get to read a book of choice using a flashlight. A special PUPCAKE treat was provided for students at the end of the adoption program by our partners in literacy at First Reliance Bank. The unit culminated with a food and supply drive for the Florence Humane Society.
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