Patriot Points 1/25
Staff News
Vision
Mission
Independence Elementary believes that nothing is more important than children. We are continually committed to the social, emotional, and academic development of every child. Our school is a safe, challenging, caring, and supportive environment where teachers, parents, students, and community members work together to ensure all Independence students have a solid foundation for life. We strive to make the learning experiences at Independence fun and engaging while holding everyone accountable for reaching his or her highest potential.
Quote of the Week
-Bill Gates
Patriot Honors
Wellness Team - Weight Loss Challenge - Good Luck!!
Run 4 Reading
Lace Up those running shoes, choose your teammates and join along to support The Early Learning Partnership of York County as we race to get children ready to be successful when entering school.
Who will take home the awards? Run 4 Reading is a 4 mile run that takes place in beautiful down town Rock Hill. It starts at fountain park and goes to Winthrop University and back. There are 3 types of registration:
Eat and Run (You are challenged to eat a dozen doughnuts at the half way point.) $35
Casual Run/Walk (No eating required.) $30
Book Relay (4 per team. I think each team member runs a mile and passes the books to the next team member.) $25
These prices are good until January 31st.
The prices increase after that.
February 27th is race day.
Here are some awards up for grabs:
- The District with the most teams- 1 award
- Fastest Team per each District- 4 awards
- Most Spirited per each District- 4 awards
- Team Awards: 1st 2nd 3rd Place
- School District Awards: 1st 2nd 3rd Place
- The District with the Most Teams Participating *will need to add school district to team sign up page on Registration.
For more information visit: https://run4reading.racesonline.com
Email Mrs. Cash if you are interested in participating. All levels of walkers/runners are invited.
Grade Reporting Update
Beginning 3rd Quarter, ELA %’s in CANVAS for grades 3-5 will be as follows: 40% Reading, 40% Writing, 10% Grammar, 10% Word Study (your assigned Instructional Technology Specialist will support teachers with CANVAS %’s). A great deal of input and reflection (teachers, school/district reading coaches, principals, APs, technology specialists) has been given regarding the need to weight scores within ELA. Many teachers are already weighting the assignments this way and others are not; it is critical to strive for district-wide consistency of reporting that accurately depicts student learning. The %’s are in direct alignment with the District Literacy Guide……The importance of grammar and word study, yet the integration of both within reading and writing. Some teachers are totally integrating grammar and word study within reading and writing and will not need to input grades separately (in the 10% categories), however some teachers are doing both, giving them an option to input summative assessments as 10% of the grade. In other words, teachers are provided options within the system by appropriately weighting the learning within each option, yet maintaining a high level of consistency.
- District-wide Elementary Progress Reports for 3rd Quarter!!
This is definitely a celebration of collaborative efforts to deliver a unified message to parents regarding student progress. During the AP meeting on Thursday, additional ‘ tweeks’ were made to the 3rd quarter progress reports and are already at the school-level for distribution.
Major components of the K-2 & 3-5 Progress Reports……
*Directly aligned to each report card: 1-4 scoring of Power Standards for K-2 and %’s for each Content Area for 3-5.
*Both progress reports outline the standards for the quarter and identify which standards have been taught & assessed at this point in time.
*Communicates student Reading Level
*Provides an opportunity for the teacher and/or parent to request a parent conference.
Back the Pack - Saturday - 1/30
Back the Pack with Winthrop Basketball is next Saturday, Jan 30! WU Women play at 1 pm and WU Men play at 4pm. Below are a couple of reminders - the most important - I need the name of the student for halftime by tomorrow.
Promo Video: Check out this video by the WU Athletic Department. You are welcome to use in your school. https://youtu.be/nz85WENOkBs
Entry: This year entry into the games can be done two ways. 1) Donate juice boxes or individually boxed snack crackers OR 2) Donate $3 per person to Back the Pack to receive admission. No, we will not turn away anyone that brings a can of green beans, we just want to encourage donations that can be better used by BTP. Any donations that BTP can't use will be donated to local organizations and greatly appreciated.
Flyers: You should have received BTP flyers for take home folders and the e-flyer for Peachjar. Please distribute ther flyers as soon as possible. I have attached a jpg file of the flyer for use on your social media sites. Thank you for taking advantage of all tools that you have to promote this event.
Prizes: Remember that we will be giving out 4 cash prizes at the event: $1000 to the school with the most attendee (as determined by number of ticket stubs) and $500 each to 2nd and 3rd place. There will also be a $1000 random drawing at halftime of the men's game. All 17 schools (minus the ones that win 1st, 2nd, and 3rd) will be entered into this random drawing.
Halftime competition: As in previous years, your school has the option of entering one child into the halftime shooting contest occurring during halftime of the men's game (4pm) The winner of the halftime competition wins an iPad mini and breakfast for their school staff from Bojangles. I have extended the deadline, but need the name of the 4th or 5th grade student that will represent your school in the halftime basketball musical chairs competition by TOMRROW at 3:00pm. Names that I have received are listed below beside each school’s suggested seating. I will send detailed instructions for the student when I receive the name. If you know now that you do not wish to enter a student into this competition please let me know. Remember this is a basketball shooting competition combined with musical chairs. Being able to make a basket on regulation goals will help with success.
Seating: Names are the students representing their schools at halftime.
Independence section 128
As always, this is a completely optional event. I appreciate your time, efforts and support over the past 5 years. If you have any questions please contact me at this email or 803-322-1507.
Jennifer Graham
Tutoring
Science Information
Science Benchmarks are available for K, 1, 2 from Pene. Let her know when you need them.
Consumable Textbooks
Literacy Update
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Math Notes of Importance
PD Opportunities
Weekly Agenda
Monday
Hathaway and Shaver will be attending a professional development. Pam will be in the office with a sub. Thank you in advance for your understanding and patience!
Happy Birthday Frank!!
Tuesday
King @ Leadership
2:45 - PLCs
Wednesday
Duty-Free Lunch
King & Churchill @ CPI Training
Thursday
King @ EOC
Freeman @ R2S
Friday
Admin Meeting
8:30 Attendance Due
Jean Day -
Staff Birthdays
January
4 - Jill Valk
8 - Taylor Spencer
15 - Kameron Ervin
23 - Anne Shaver
25 - Frank Witherspoon
30 - Kimberly Cash
Upcoming Dates to Remember:
JANUARY
30th
- Winthrop University Back the Pack basketball game. Juice boxes and crackers are recommended items to donate or you can pay $3 for admission. All proceeds go to BTP.
MAY
Testing Window for SCPASS Science & Social Studies: May 11-27
Testing Window for SC READY ELA & Math: TBD