We hope you are enjoying making memories with your child(ren) over intercession. We are well rested and ready to get this 2nd Nine Weeks under way! We had over 60 Mays Rays to join us during our first intercession. We hope to increase this number during our December intercession.
Recently our School Report Cards were released from the SC Department of Education. Our school moved from an "Excellent" to "Good". We missed excellent by 3 points. Although it stung a little, we still have the vision of all students learning and moving to new heights. The school report card is looking at growth each year, so the expectation gets higher and higher for each school. Although we didn't meet those growth goals, there are areas we would like to highlight. Our ELA and Math average was above the state average. This means that over half of our students are performing at or higher than most students in SC. We had five students to score PERFECT scores on SC Ready! All I can say is WOW! As a school, we are definitely not where we want to be, but we are getting there day by day.
This is where I need your help. Please have your child read at least 20 minutes Monday-Thursday. We implement Accelerated Reader where students all have a personal goal each 9 weeks. Students are required to take test throughout the 9 weeks. This is a requirement for all 2nd-5th graders, but we start introducing this to our Kindergarten and 1st grade students when they are at the level of starting to read. These quizzes help to assess literal comprehension of books. Please note that the SC Ready test requires much more, but these quizzes give the students the foundation they need to be successful with the literal comprehension questions that may be posed on SC Ready. Our ELA is strong and will only get stronger, but the area that we are really putting an intentional focus on is Math. This is also an area of need across the state of South Carolina. Our students grew, but some did not make the gains needed to keep or grow our report card score. These are some strategies to help:
*If your child receives an intercession or afterschool letter, try your best to let them attend. They have been identified as either this being a weakness OR we are trying to push them to the next level. Teachers will explicitly tutor them in those areas. We get percentage points based upon their growth regardless if they are Does Not Meet or Exceeding. Every Child Counts!
* Kindergarten- Identify and count to 100 by the end of the year. Have them count candy corn, Skittles, beans, cars, flowers, the sky is the limit. Just have them counting and identifying numbers.
* 1st & 2nd grade: Addition and subtraction facts. By the end of 2nd grade, students will be required to add and subtract by 100. Flash cards are available at Dollar General or Dollar Tree. Or be creative and make your own.
*3rd-5th Grade: Master all addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division facts. By the end of 4th grade, students are required to know long division and multiply by two digit by two digit. In 5th grade, they are required to do this and more with decimal numbers. Randomly call multiplication facts. By the end of third grade, students should be able to multiply fluently. This means call them out without having to think or draw pictures. We know this will take time, but the more they practice, the quicker they will become.
We are not requiring you all to go out an hire personal tutors. Our teachers are the Cream of the Crop. They go above and beyond the call of duty, but what we need from you is those simple skills that won't require a lot of your time, but that consistent practice with them. If teachers assign homework, have them complete the homework. If teachers ask them to study, have them study. Although our scores are looking good, moving to the next level requires that extra push. Help us help them. If you see your child struggling in some areas, please reach out to your child's teacher. They will be able to give your specific feedback on the needs of your child, and they can support you with knowing what's needed to push them to the next level.
When I think about where we are as a school academically, we have hit that level where what we are doing is working and we are getting results. In order to go to the next level, it is going to require the Entire school community digging a little deeper with extending the learning throughout the day. Making learning relevant not only in school, but outside of school as well. Of course we know items may come up from time to time, but socially and emotionally I believe throughout our school community we do so much to build relationships, build culture, and love our students. You can "feel" that something is different once you walk through our doorways. We hope to continue to strengthen this for years to come!
As always, we thank you for your continued support! If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to call the school (864)941-5535 and ask to leave a message for Tiara Watson (Principal) Ruth Ransdell (Assistant Principal) or Shawn Nix (School Counselor). We will return your call as soon as possible.
Blessings,
Tiara Watson Ed.S
Principal
