The school received written notice of its status from the International Baccalaureate (IB) Organization. As a candidate school, McCants is pursuing authorization as an IB World School. These are schools that share a common philosophy—a commitment to high quality, challenging, international education that McCants and District Five believe is important for our students.
Only schools authorized by the International Baccalaureate as IB World Schools can offer any of its three academic programmes: the IB Primary Years Programme (PYP), the IB Middle Years Programme (MYP), or the IB Diploma Programme.
“The McCants community of faculty, staff, students and parents are excited about becoming an IB candidate school and look forward to become an IB authorized school in the future,” said Principal Jacky Stamps. “The IB status will further validate our commitment to providing the highest level of academic instruction possible for our students.”
McCants will now continue the professional training and preparation required by IB as it works toward IB authorization. If authorized, McCants will become the third IB school in District Five.
In March, Concord Elementary School was authorized to join the IB Primary Years Programme. At that time, Concord joined just 11 other elementary schools in the state with that status. One month later, T.L. Hanna High School became the 27th high school statewide authorized as an IB Diploma Programme school. Both Concord and T.L. Hanna will begin the 2010-2011 school year as IB schools.
“We are proud of the hard work of McCants students, parents, teachers and staff members in achieving candidate status,” said District Five Superintendent Betty Bagley. “Although this status is no guarantee of authorization, I am confident that the McCants community will persevere and be successful. When McCants earns its IB authorization, the result will be an IB track in District Five from kindergarten through high school.”
The IB Programme is nationally and internationally recognized. It encompasses a global approach to learning and provides a challenging program of study. For further information about the IB and its programmes, visit http://www.ibo.org.
]]>Mrs. Farr serves as the Instructional Facilitator at Midway. Her grant will allow Midway students to continue to experience the engineering design process as they design, build, and program robots during their Project Lead the Way classes.
The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) mission is to address the professional needs and interests of the past, current, and future aerospace workforce and to advance the state of aerospace science, engineering, technology, operations, and policy to benefit our global society.
]]>Elementary Strings Students:
Southwood Middle School:
Lakeside Middle School:
Westside High School:
The purpose of the program is to support the teaching of South Carolina’s academic standards and to provide fifth- and eighth-grade students with opportunities to express themselves through the writing process.
District winners were selected from class and school winners by a panel of readers. The 2009-10 writing assignments focused on the topic of environmental issues, examining the complexities of protecting the environment and economic issues.
Essays were judged on their content and development, organization, vocabulary and phrasing, and on the writer’s command of grammar, capitalization, punctuation and spelling.
“You really can’t underestimate the importance of having solid writing skills in school, in your career or in your home life,” said State Superintendent of Education Jim Rex. “These students are developing their writing skills while thinking about critical issues that are facing our society today.”
Program coordinator Caroline Savage said the Superintendent’s Writing Award provides an authentic opportunity for students to write. “In order to learn to write well,” she said, “students must write often for a variety of purposes and audiences. As they write more cohesively about increasingly sophisticated ideas, that ensures their academic success.”
]]>The other schools are are Wren Elementary (Anderson District 1); Summit Drive Elementary (Greenville); Round Top Elementary (Richland District 2); and Ben Hazel Primary (Hampton District 1).
The winners were announced by State Superintendent of Education Jim Rex after a comprehensive five-month evaluation that included site visits. The winning schools will serve as resources for others across the state.
“The ability to communicate effectively is fundamental to a child’s education,” said District Five Superintendent Betty Bagley. “We are proud of the students, parents, teachers and staff at McLees for their hard work in achieving this honor.”
Mrs. Bagley noted that McLees is also one of only two schools in the state to receive the Literacy Spot Award for 2009-2010, which recognizes outstanding emergent literacy programs in primary schools.
]]>A total of 38 students from seventh and eighth grade band participate in the festival.
Also, six McCants band students were named to Region 2 Honors Band. They are: Kathleen Langbehn - Flute; Jordan Logue - Clarinet; Matthew Storie - Alto Sax; Danny Bright - Trumpet; Dylan Dukes -Tuba; and Makayla Wiles - Snare Drum.
]]>From T.L. Hanna High School:
Superior Rating: Abigail McComb, Aeren Richardson, Alessandra Small, Amanda Moore, Amanda Stastny, Anna Stastny, Brandon Joy, Braxton Ford, Brittany Simpson, Brittney Campbell, Catelin Johnson, Chevon Johnson, Clay Taylor, Emily Rossin, Fanny Sales, Gabe Bertolini, Garrett Turpin, Grayson Arrowood, Jerry Wiles, Jordan Foushee, Joy Fowler, Kyle Tisdale, Luke Stempniak, Mundrell Hall, Nick Royal, Rebekah Ryan, Reid Stayanoff, Richard Martin, Sam Park, Thomas Bucks, Tim Moss, Wes Kay and Zaara Qadri.
Excellent Rating: Bethany Simmons, Bethany Thompson, Chris Griffin, Elise Hornsby, Emily Bowers, Juwan Alexander, Mark Malone, Mary Boucher, Rod Teasley, Samantha Palumberi, Zoe Osborne.
Good Rating: Vonshay Whitehurst.
From Westside High School:
Superior Rating: Kyle Bruenning, Nancy Edwards, Jon Loudermilk, Rachael Stowe, Jeremy Pinion, Laura Wewers, Heather Schryver, Claire Dedeaxu, Rebecca Ines, Luke Glymph, Devon Sherrell, Erica McFeely, Erika Munoz, Mari Pawlowski, Lee McAbee, Andrew Watts, William Willett, Blake Fisher, Shaniqual Hatten, Nyneshia Mance, Austin Dorsey, Brian Stewart, Nick Harrell, Brittany Queen and Matthew Smith.
Excellent Rating: Devon Sherrell, Anna McLane, Luke Glymph, Warner Palpallotoc, Dalton Smith, Tyler Martin, Nancy Edwards, Anna McLane, Natalie Madden, Savannah McLane, Rebecca Osbirn and Cathreen Tollison.
From McCants Middle School:
Superior Rating: Ben Turner, Ryan Rowitz, Simone Parker, Destiny Davis, Hogan Crawford, Rebecca Stempniak, Hannah Gusmus, Danielle Crocker, Maddie Hilliard, Will Kahaly, Shelby Storm, John Roh, Emily Casebier, Evan Francis, Aryana Luvene, Anne Williams, Ben Jones, Collin Felts, Bill Christmas, Tre Lofton, Allie Payne, McKenna DeFino, Marcuss Burriss, Sydney Hubbard, David Cartee, Eric Swenson, Kendall Stayanoff, John Gautsch, Jessica Grigg, Kathleen Langbehn, DeAnna Edwards, Brielle Cullins, Jordan Logue, Makayla Wiles, Bailey Kappler, Kali Howe and Matthew Storie.
Excellent Rating: Kris Perry, Kameron Rumsey, David Fowler, Tony Dermer, Matthew Freeman, Jordan Combs, Cameron Berry, Ethan Chester, Ethan Tisdale, Kendall Stayanoff, Madeline McCombs, Dylan Dukes, Josh Tedder, Chris Marlin, Daniel Bright, Kathleen Langbehn, Kristina Kirby and Catelin Bannister.
Good Rating: Carly Bannister and Brianna LaChance.
]]>The Mickelson ExxonMobil Teachers Academy is a five-day, all-expense-paid professional development program for third-through fifth-grade teachers. Its goal is to help teachers bolster their skills to engage students in math and science at an early age.
District Five teachers chosen for this honor are: Sandy Bradshaw of Midway Elementary School of Science and Engineering, Melody Buzalewski of New Prospect Elementary, and Shannon Lawton and Lisa Ashley of Homeland Park Elementary.
“Strong instruction in math and science is integral to preparing the next generation of students,” said State Superintendent of Education Jim Rex. “The information these teachers gain through this opportunity will help them create excitement surrounding learning, while at the same time encourage students to pursue careers in these critical fields.”
For information about the 2011 Academy, visit www.sendmyteacher.com. Additional information can also be found by following the Academy on Twitter atwww.twitter.com/SendMyTeacher.
]]>A total of 38 students from seventh and eighth grade band participate in the festival.
Also, six McCants band students were named to Region 2 Honors Band. They are: Kathleen Langbehn - Flute; Jordan Logue - Clarinet; Matthew Storie - Alto Sax; Danny Bright - Trumpet; Dylan Dukes -Tuba; and Makayla Wiles - Snare Drum.
]]>Barbara Koch, a fifth grade teacher at Calhoun Academy of the Arts, is the sole South Carolina teacher chosen to participate in a unique ocean research program that will allow her to spend twelve days on board a ship operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
As part of NOAA’s Teacher at Sea Program, Mrs. Koch will sail out of Woods Hole, Mass. on June 14 on the Delaware II. Mrs. Koch will help the ship’s crew conduct habitat research on Georges Bank, which is the continental shelf area from Cape Cod, Mass. north to Nova Scotia, Canada.
Mrs. Koch and other teachers participating in the program will submit two to three logs per week and take digital photos while at sea. Using these logs and photos, students and other teachers will be able to follow Mrs. Koch on her journey and learn along with her.
In addition to her logs at the NOAA Teacher at Sea website, Mrs. Koch will also post the same information to her blog, which will also be available to students and teachers. The blog address is: http://www.barbaragkoch.blogspot.com/
Mrs. Koch will also respond to students’ and teachers’ e-mails while at sea, if they want to ask questions about the mission or life onboard the ship. She will be checking her school e-mail – barbarakoch@anderson5.net
Also, Mrs. Koch and the other teachers will submit lessons that address the science and research being conducted on the mission through one of several types of media such as video documentaries and websites, and they will submit an article for publication or conduct a presentation about their project for other educators.
According to NOAA, “the purpose of the program is to give teachers a clearer insight into our ocean planet, a greater understanding of maritime work and studies, and to increase their level of environmental literacy by fostering an interdisciplinary research experience.”
The program provides a unique environment for learning and teaching by sending kindergarten through college-level teachers to sea aboard NOAA research and survey ships to work under the tutelage of scientists and crew. Then, armed with new understanding and experience, teachers bring this knowledge back to their classrooms.
McLees Wins Literacy Spot Award
McLees Elementary School is a recipient of the Literacy Spot Award for 2009-2010, which recognizes outstanding emergent literacy programs in primary schools in the state.
McLees is one of only two schools to win the Literacy Spot Award this year.
The award is sponsored by the South Carolina Reading Recovery Advisory Council, the State Department of Education and the University Training Center at Clemson.
Previous District Five winners of the Literacy Spot Award include Varennes Academy of Communications and Technology, Nevitt Forest Community School of Innovation and Midway Elementary School of Science and Engineering.
McLees was cited for having evidence of literacy learning in all parts of the school and it was noted that McLees teachers showed an in-depth knowledge of assessments and used running records and other tools to flexibly group students. Guided reading is a critical part of each day for students.
Janet Mills is the Principal and Jenifer Seymour is the Assistant Principal at McLees. Kathy Sterling is the Instructional Facilitator and Carolyn Johnson is the school’s Reading Recovery Teacher.
Anderson School District Five has again earned the SchoolMatch “What Parents Want” award for meeting family needs. Only 16 percent of the nation’s school systems qualified this year for this prestigious honor.
This is District Five’s tenth consecutive year to win the award.
The nation's largest school selection consulting firm, SchoolMatch of Columbus, Ohio, announced the 2010 Nineteenth Annual awards in a recent letter to State School Leadership Associations and State Department of Education Superintendents.
SchoolMatch, an independent, nationwide service, helps corporate employee families find schools that match the needs of their children. The firm also has conducted more than 1,000 Educational Effectiveness Audits of school systems throughout the country and assists corporations with site selection studies. Its service is offered as an employee benefit by about 600 companies, including Office Depot, Ernst & Young, Hewlett Packard, KPMG Peat Marwick, Nationwide Insurance, and Cinergy Corporation.
Criteria used for award selection include:
1. Competitive in academic test scores and academically solid;
2. Accredited;
3. Recognized for excellence by a national foundation or by the U.S. Department of Education;
4. Competitive in teacher salaries;
5. Above average in instructional expenditures on a national percentile basis;
6. Above average in expenditures for library/media services on a national percentile basis;
7. Known for small class size.
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