Students First A Florence 1 Schools Newsletter Inside This Month: • Royall’s 70th Birthday • • Wilson’s Coker College Partnership North Vista Intervention Program
Count 5: A Campaign to Change School Readiness RN Beck Child Development Center, Woods Road Child Development Center and The Office of Parent Information Services have spent the past year restructuring its programs to include Helle Heckmann’s Five Golden Keys. The Five Golden Keys - Sleep, Movement, Mealtime, Routine and Loving Care - define the necessary things a young child must have to enter school ready to learn. While the ABC’s and 1,2,3’s get a lot of publicity for being the foundation of school, the real basis for school readiness and life are found in the Golden Keys. Without the keys governing the way young children are cared for at home and at school, children will not be prepared. Therefore, the readiness programs must be constantly monitored and changed to meet the ever changing needs of individual children. Let’s look at the recent changes the programs have incorporated. Playgrounds - The Woods Road Playground was given a facelift this summer to increase the opportunities for children to MOVE. Outdoor play is central for children’s optimal development both physically and mentally. Opportunities to climb a hill, swing, run, build a playhouse and dig in the sand are examples of how children use the outdoors to grow and learn. Also to be added by Thanksgiving are water play, trike paths, and a nature walk. Mealtime - When Chartwells took over Florence One Food Services this fall, they agreed to offer in-classroom food service to preschool children. Each day, children help set up the tables in their classroom with the help of their teachers. When the food arrives in the classroom, they help serve and sit down for a homelike meal together. Instead of an overwhelming cafeteria, children and their teachers sit and eat together. Learning to help others, eat properly and carry on conversations builds children’s skills for Kindergarten. Sleep - After lunch, children settle down for a nap. The children assist in putting out their sleeping cots, get their blankets, take off their shoes and settle in for a quiet nap time story from the teacher. Within minutes, children settle into a rest that is safe, secure and restorative for their busy afternoon to follow. Loving Care - The cornerstone of good early childhood education is the loving, respectful care of a parent or teacher. At our preschools, teachers always take time to listen to children, give them chances to express themselves and allow them time to carry out their ideas in play. When children have a hard day, our staff is there with loving guidance to provide what they need. Playgroups - Younger children ages 0 - 3 now have an opportunity to come to school. Two-hour long playgroups are being offered at both preschools by the Office of Parent Information Services. Parents and their children come to school and play while their parents watch and ask questions of parenting experts. After an hour of self-directed play, the children have a snack time, outdoor time and closing circle song. If parents are interested in participating in our services, they may call our offices for more information.
North Vista Students Receive Support Through Response to Intervention Program With the assistance of Response to Intervention Director, Katie Ocheltree, North Vista Elementary School is embarking on two initiatives with their interventionists and grade level assistants. This school year interventionists will be working with kindergarten through sixth grade students in either a push in or pull out program. For the push in program, the interventionists go in the classroom and work directly with small groups on the content that the teacher is working on at that time. All grade levels receive support in this area. Grades four through six have an assistant that gives writing support. For the pull-out program, the interventionists work with three to four students on skills in the Lexia program, Accelerated Reader or Leveled Literacy Intervention. Students in grades two through six are served in this area. The Reading Recovery teachers also serve as interventionists for students in first and second grades. North Vista is excited about the extra support that is being offered for students to continue to grow and be successful.
Royall Elementary School is Platinum! Royall Elementary School opened its doors 70 years ago at the Woods Road site in the fall of 1949. Named after Sam J. Royall, Member of the Board of Trustees from 1933-1947 and Chairman of the Board from 1944-1947, the school was then identified as a state of the art facility equipped with fire alarms, a library, conference/ parent room, a cafeteria with kitchen and 14 classrooms. Under the leadership of Principal Richard McLaurin, Royall Elementary School welcomed 425 students and 14 staff members on it’s first day. During the first year a Christmas play, poetry corner and PTA became a part of the Royall traditions that are still practiced today. One summer a cat, “Sam” decided to make Royall his home. He could be seen walking the halls and sitting on the laps of students who needed consoling. Sam was as much a part of the Royall family as the teachers and students for 14 years. Living up to it’s Royall motto: A Proud Past...A Bright Future, Royall Elementary School has maintained many of the earlier traditions that include a back to school celebration, school plays and annual staff Christmas party. Now in its 5th year at the Cheraw Drive school site, Royall Elementary recently welcomed 600+ students and 86 staff members. Once again, our school is considered a state of the art facility, not to mention the many accolades and successes our students have earned along the way! Royall has advancements beyond it’s 1949 counterpart but still holds dear the simple truths that all children must have an equal opportunity to experience the joy of learning and achieve their fullest potential. Royall’s guidance counselor, Karen Jordan said, “Personally, it is and has been a blessing to be a part of the Royall family who values every student who walks through the doors and encourages him/her to reach his/her dream. For many, Royall is a safe home with caring hearts and desire for all to achieve”. Principal Julie Smith, who has served at Royall for 35 years, attributes Royall’s tradition of academic excellence to the high expectations that are shared by all. To celebrate the platinum birthday at Royall, students enjoyed a picnic lunch complete with hamburgers, fruit, and chips in the sunshine on blankets. Afterwards students and staff could be seen dancing on the playground wearing birthday hats to celebrate this event. Jacob Bobbitt, a 6th grader at Royall said that he loved going outside to celebrate this special day with his friends in the sunshine. Jamiyah Holmes, a sixth grader who has attended Royall since kindergarten said, “I enjoyed going outside to listen to music and doing the old school dances like the Cupid Shuffle. It was a fun way to start my last year at Royall”. The longest serving Royall teacher, Coach Kevin Allen had this to say about Royall “ I came to Royall in 1978 straight out of the University of South Carolina. I was an excited new physical education teacher eager to start a career that would take me to now 43 years later. The years at Royall have been a true blessing as I have watched many kids come through these halls and contribute to its success. When I retire at the end of this school year, I will miss walking these halls, seeing the students, and talking to my peers. Seventy years old and still the best!
Flex Friday speakers encourage Alfred Rush Academy students The Flexible Learning Center (FLC) 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 students' progress. Flex Friday is a program where speakers are invited from the community to engage with the students, topics ranging from peer pressure, time management, career choices, overcoming obstacles, etc. In the past, Alfred Rush Academy has hosted a wide range of professionals including attorneys, military, police, occupational therapist, and industrial technicians. So far this year we had the opportunity to hear from Chaquez McCall, Esq. He is one of the youngest licensed attorneys in South Carolina. McCall is a former student of Alfred Rush Academy who did not let obstacles get in his way and stop him from achieving his goal. He presented a few interesting legal scenarios to the students to ignite their interest in the law. He closed with encouraging them to excel and a commitment to helping them reach the heights he was able to reach.
Wilson Partners With Coker College to Offer Virtual Learning Opportunities With a new partnership with the Governor’s School of Math and Science, in conjunction with Coker College, Wilson High School is excited to offer several new classes designed to prepare students for a career in Engineering. To accommodate the classes, Florence 1 Schools renovated a classroom into a virtual lab in which students will be in contact with instructors at Coker College. The renovations include new furniture, an interactive monitor, and laptops. Through video and microphone feeds, students in the class are able to see and communicate with their instructors at Coker College. The students receive both high school and college credit for these classes. The classes are primarily for students in 9th and 10th grade who have already completed Algebra 2 and Geometry and have a high interest in science and mathematics. Students may either select to take a combination of courses that lead to a certificate or select classes that are in their career interest. Principal of Wilson High School, Dr. Eric Robinson had this to say about the new classroom and curriculum, “This new classroom is an innovative way to give students a challenging curriculum, while preparing them for future careers. The best thing about the class is that they do not have to travel off campus to have these types of opportunities.”
Bruin News Network Uses New TV Studio South Florence High School has a brand new television studio and the Bruin News Network (BNN) is taking full advantage of the new space. Meredith Taylor, teacher for the Digital Broadcast Cinematography class, said that the space is like a mini television station. “We have pretty much everything you would need to run a successful broadcast,” Taylor said. “We have a lighting and sound board, a teleprompter system, a multi-view that shows the different camera angles, a graphics computer and a computer that also shows what we’re streaming.” Jackson Stanton, a freshman at South Florence, said that using the new studio space BNN keeps the school up to date on all the activities going on. “An average day in this class involves reporting and filming other pieces that we get announcements for,” Stanton said. “We use those announcements for clubs and other activities and push them out. Some clubs will ask us to push them out, some times we’ll find it and we’ll push it out for them.” Senior Aubrey Crawford said that she has enjoyed her time in BNN. “Whenever we get new announcements from the school, I will be recorded saying them and that will be added to the broadcast,” Crawford said. “This is my fourth year in the Bruin Broadcast Network. I started my freshman year and I have really enjoyed it. I am so glad I got to be a part of this new program my last year. We have such amazing new equipment compared to what we had before. It really opens up for so much more out of this program.”
Lexia Core5 Reading Helps Timrod Tailor Activities To Student Needs Lexia Core5 Reading is an adaptive technology-based literacy program that provides personalized curriculum for our Timrod students. This program assesses and remediates skills in six areas of reading: phonological awareness, phonics, structural analysis, automaticity/fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. The game-based activities and assessments are engaging for students and encourage them to think deeply as they work through lessons. By using the program 20 minutes a day, four days a week, students receive independent practice of these various skills to help them make the shift from learning to read to reading to learn. Each activity changes or adapts based on a student’s performance. One of the ways we are implementing Lexia at Timrod is through our beforeschool program Monday through Thursday. It is during this time that a certified teacher monitors students as they work to meet their goals for Lexia. This additional time gives students an opportunity to meet their minutes as they complete lessons. Our teachers are also findrequired ing success using Lexia in the classroom. Principal Michelle McBride stated, “The students are actively engaged with Lexia Core5 during blended learning in ELA. Students are closing academic skill gaps with the program. Our teachers have also embraced the program and are using it for small group instruction.” Our students are assessed individually and the program determines where students are struggling and even provides guidance and immediate feedback to help students master the skills. Once mastery is obtained, students move to offline activities such as teacher-led Lexia Lessons that provide scripts for teachers to instruct in specific skill areas. In addition, teachers have access to Lexia teaching strategies, collaborative activities, and paper-and-pencil activities all designed around students’ personalized learning paths. For struggling students, they receive scaffolded support to provide guidance for the skills they need help with. Teachers have access to detailed reports that allow them to track student progress throughout the year and connect student data to classroom instruction and student practice.
Students Learn And Have Fun In Wallace-Gregg Clubs October has been a very busy month at Wallace-Gregg Elementary School! At the beginning of the month Kris Davis from aKristic Films come to the school to shoot the yearbook cover on spirit day. Mr. Davis used a drone to video the students setting up to form the letters, WGE. Once the students were in place he used the drone to take an aerial picture. At Wallace Gregg, we have focused on creating leaders in our students. We want our students to have the opportunity to develop the 21st century skills of critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and creativity. As a result, we have started several student clubs at Wallace Gregg sponsored by faculty and staff members. The Mighty Eagle Men is a club designed to promote the social, emotional and psychological development of our young men. Male students in grades fourth through sixth can participate. The Mighty Eagle Men have guest speakers at least once a month. The Mighty Eagle Men perform community service and serve as greeters and ushers at school events. Recently, the Mighty Eagle Men served as greeters for the Community of Practice meeting at our school. The Media Club is comprised of students in grades 5th and 6th. The club is responsible for producing our morning show that is uploaded daily to our shared WGE Google Drive. The Media Club is remodeling a space to serve as their media room, equipped with a green screen and editing technology. Our Eagle Sports Club is open to students in grades fourth through sixth. The purpose of the club is to teach students sportsmanship while participating in various sports. Currently, the students are learning how to play basketball! All the organizations and clubs take the unwavering commitment of our faculty and staff. Wallace Gregg Elementary School is lucky to have staff members willing to stay after school to continue student learning outside of the walls of the classroom.
Career Center Early Childhood Program Builds Partnerships Early Childhood Education along with Child Development has collaborated with F1S’ Woods Road Child Development Center and RN Beck Child Development Center to allow our students who are in the internship phase of the program to complete their hours at the two Child Development sites. Ms. Burns and Dr. Creech have collaborated along with the School Foundation to build an Early Childhood Program that is able to provide the hours needed for our Florence Career Center students. Ms. Carpenter, the Director of the Florence Career Center stated, "We are fortunate to have the opportunity to partner with the two Child Development Centers in F1S. The R N Beck CDC and Woods Road CDC will provide the hands on experience our students need to help them be successful in their future endeavors in the field of Early Childhood Education". Thanks to Dr Creech for the opportunity. Ms. Burns plans on starting the Montessori Certification next school year. This was a recommendation from the Advisory Committee member, Dr. Creech. This collaboration has been a long time coming and it was with the help of Dr. Creech in creating the classroom environment at Florence Career Center. Ms. Burns has worked long and hard with the Advisory Committee to develop this program to this point. In the near future, she would like to have a Child Development on-site at Florence Career Center. Ms. Burns states, “it would be an awesome opportunity for staff on campus who have preschool children and need childcare. Students would be able to do their internships on our campus”.
Students Become Focused Leaders of Williams Middle School Williams Middle School 7th graders, Scott Hood (left) and Elijah Patterson (right) participate in the F.L.O.W. morning program with Mrs. Powell During the 2019-2020 academic year, Williams Middle School started its Focused Leaders of Williams or F.L.O.W. Morning and Afternoon Enrichment Program. The focus of F.L.O.W. is academic enhancement in the areas of math and ELA for our 7th and 8th grade students. Participants are reached in two ways. The first is a positive start to their morning. Students who arrive to school between 7:30 and 7:35 move into classrooms and began their day with ELA and Math enrichment through vocabulary, math problems, positive quotes and other reading comprehension activities. Afternoon students are assigned to a specific teacher where they have opportunity to focus on areas of needed growth identified through state and district assessments. Teachers strive to use integrated technology to help students begin and end their day in a focused and positive way. The goal of the program is to grow our students. Williams Middle School principal, Pamela Johnson believes that “no matter where our students are, they can show academic growth, and it is important that we take advantage of every moment we have with them.” The F.L.O.W. program does just that. They start and end their day with a certified teacher who can assist them in areas they need most.
Computer Science Immersion Program at Savannah Grove integrates STEM learning Savannah Grove is excited about its second full year of our Computer Science Immersion program by Code to the Future. Thanks to the support of our school district and a major grants recipient of The School Foundation our students will be undergoing three 8 week cycles of Computer Science Immersion projects. Grades K-2 will integrate their projects with the classroom teacher while 36th grade will integrate their projects in our STEM Lab led by Dr. Haley Taylor. In Cycle 1 of our computer science immersion program, our students are utilizing Scratch to learn block-based coding skills. They are integrating these skills with ELA and MATH skills to create interactive projects. For example, our 4th graders are creating and coding a math review game that includes addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division in a game where the player has to sort the math problems and answers into the categories of "greater than," "less than," or "equal to" a given number. Our kindergarteners are using a story they have read to build and code a project about the main character, the setting of the story, and an event that takes place in the story. With each year and each cycle that comes, the students are building upon the skills they learned the previous year to create and code. To the average passerby, it may seem like the students are just "playing" on the computer, but when you take the time to ask them what they are doing, you will learn they are solving problems, debugging, and iterating their projects in order to produce a complete piece of work that they can be proud of. Learning these skills in elementary and fun ways now will prepare them to learn more in-depth coding programs such as Java Script. Having the experience of coding in their skillset will set our students apart from others when they apply for a school or job that requires these skills. Our students can work to fill the million-person job gap mentioned earlier. Cycle 2 brings tons of excitement from our students because they design, build, and code robots! We use Lego robot sets to implement this unit. The students use their knowledge of Scratch to block-base code their robots. Each grade level works to master a specific challenge with their robot at the heart of the problem solving aspect. Their robot may be used to model how an oceanic robot could assist in collecting oil during an oil spill in the ocean. Another could be hypothetically sent into a remote and dangerous area in the jungle to collect information about a new species of animal. Some of the robots are simply coded to follow a map. This unit really has the ability to broaden our students' horizons as far as their future goes. They get to really see how robots are changing the world today, as well as brainstorm ideas and put their own robots into action to maybe one day be the catalyst of their own project that changes the world of medicine, agriculture, architecture, and beyond. Cycle 3 allows our students to go behind the screen, if you will to learn how the famous, Minecraft game works. The students are challenged with textbased coding and learning how math and numbers are incorporated into computer programming. Our 6th graders are even immersed into Java Script and begin to see how their typed words behind the screen control what characters do, how weather changes, and how actions and reactions happen within their Minecraft world. Overall, the students are gaining valuable life lessons, career skills, and are even preparing themselves for life after elementary, middle, and high school. If they invest in the fun learning now, they will be able to solve problems, communicate effectively, and leave a positive and influential digital footprint on the world.
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