Pontiac School News
September 27, 2018
A MESSAGE FROM OUR SCHOOL PRINCIPAL: SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT COUNCIL
State law requires that every K-12 public school in South Carolina convene an SIC. The law states that it is the responsibility of the local school board to ensure SICs are constituted within each district. SICs are advisory only.
SIC duties focus primarily on the school improvement process. SICs:
- provide input and feedback during the development of the school's five-year renewal (improvement) plan and annual updates;
- assist in implementation of school improvement programs and activities;
- monitor and report on progress toward improvement goals in the annual SIC Report to the Parents and with the principal in the narrative to the SC School Report Card;
- provide other assistance as requested by the principal.
Parents are nominated and elected by the parents at their child's school. State law requires that parent elections be held by October 15 each year. Each SIC elects its own officers annually – a Chair, a Vice Chair or Co-Chair, and a Secretary. As SICs are not intended to (and should not) hold funds, there is no office of Treasurer. It is the responsibility of the elected SIC Chair to preside over SIC meetings and to work with the principal to develop meeting agendas.
During our first meeting this month, nominations were suggested for these officers to include:
Chair - Evangelina Hemphill
Vice Chair - Monica Lawton
Secretary - Michelle Hawkins
Please use this upcoming week to nominate additional candidates for these positions. We will vote on officers during the first week of October. Please send all nominations to kbarber@richland2.org.
Our next SIC meeting will be held at 7:45am on October 25.
MAKE UP DAYS
In order to make-up days missed because of Hurricane Florence, Richland Two will now have school on:
- October 18, 2018 (originally a student holiday/teacher inservice day)
- October 19, 2018 (originally a student/teacher holiday)
- December 21, 2018 (originally first day of winter break)
As you know, Governor Henry McMaster issued an order for all schools in Richland County to close from Tuesday, September 11, through Friday, September 14.
State law requires all districts to make up a minimum of three days missed. For any schools that are closed four to six days due to snow, extreme weather conditions, or other disruptions, S.C. Code Ann. §59-1-425 allows for the local school board of trustees, by a majority vote, to waive those missed days or to require the days to be made up. For any schools closed six to nine days due to snow, extreme weather conditions, or other disruptions, the local school board may request a waiver from the State Board of Education.
As also required by the state law, Richland Two includes make-up days in our school calendar in anticipation of inclement weather. Since we missed so many days at the beginning of the school year, district administrators felt it was important to consider additional options. Making up the missed days this way ensures that semesters will remain balanced, which is important for semester-long classes that students will complete in January. This solution also allows for minimal impact on instruction and family schedules around traditional holidays and breaks.
To help make the best decision possible, a survey of seven different options was sent to a group of 210 people that included our school principals, our faculty advisory committee and our parent advisory committee. We received responses from 132 people, for a response rate of around 63 percent.
The top choice of the seven options received 47 percent of the votes. The next highest option received approximately 17 percent of the votes. Additionally, the top overall choice was the most popular choice among principals, faculty, and parents. As a result, the district will use October 18 and 19, and December 21 to make up three of the days missed so far in the 2018-2019 school year. We would like to thank those who completed the survey and helped us to arrive at this decision.
Once a final decision has been made regarding the fourth missed day of school, we will be sure to communicate that with everyone. Thank you for your understanding of the necessary changes to the school calendar, and we apologize for any inconvenience caused by the closure last week. We look forward to continuing our journey this year on our pathway to Premier.
IMPORTANT DATES
September 27 - Open House 5:00 until 7:00 pm
September 28 - Early Dismissal at 11:30 am
October 2 - Books and Bagels at 7:30am Enjoy a bagel and shop at the Book Fair with your child!
October 3 - Reading is GRAND!
Grandparents are invited to have lunch with their grandchild and shop at the book fair!
For more information about activities in Richland Two
About Us
Visit our Website: http://cmsweb1.richland2.org/PE/
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/pontiacelementary
Follow our Blog: http://pontiacpress.blogspot.com/
Twitter @PontiacElem Phone 803-699-2700
Address
500 Spears Creek Church Rd.
Elgin, SC 29045
Principal Dr. Katie Barber
Assistant Principals Mrs. DeAnna Savage and Mr. Jessie Williams
Phone: 8036992700