The Bobcat Blaze
April 28, 2023
+++We Are AC Moore STRONG+++
SCHOOL VISION
Every AC Moore student will enter middle school reading at or above grade level.
SCHOOL MISSION STATEMENT
We collaboratively empower students to be accountable and successful.
STAFF CORE VALUES
Passion: Embracing and nurturing our school community
Intentionality: Purposeful, Present, & Prepared
Accountability: Growth Over Ego
Student Pillars of Leadership: PreK - 2
Respect
Cooperation
Community
Responsible
Self-Control
Caring
Trustworthy
Student Pillars of Leadership: 3rd - 5th
Respect
Collaboration
Citizenship
Responsible
Self-Discipline
Empathy
Integrity
April
- April 29........................................................Bobcat Benefit
May
- May 2.............................................................SC Ready Writing
- May 3.............................................................SC Ready Reading
- May 4.............................................................Chorus At Carowinds
- May 5.............................................................Fireflies Game Night
- May 8.............................................................PTO Meeting 6-7
- May 9.............................................................SC Ready Math
- May 11............................................................SCPASS Science
- May 17...........................................................Kindergarten Promotion
- May 24...........................................................5th Grade Promotion, Radius Church
- May 26...........................................................End of the Nine Weeks, Last Day of School
Principal's Message
Happy Friday Bobcat Families!
Thank you to everyone who came out to support our Arts Spring Fling on Thursday night. It was a packed house and tons of fun! We also greatly appreciate the support of our Spring Book Fair!
Congratulations to our 2nd graders for completing their final week of swim lessons! We were so proud of their grit!
Next week begins the first part of state testing for students in grades 3-5. Please ensure those students arrive to school prior to 7:30am daily, have a well balanced breakfast at home or at school, and get plenty of rest. We ask that all absences be avoided for these next two weeks to reduce having to provide make-up testing to your student in an unfamiliar setting. We know they will do great! They have prepped all year!
I hope to see as many parents as possible at our Bobcat Benefit on Saturday, April 28th at 6:30pm. This is an adults only event. Please see the flyer within this newsletter for ticket and location information. This event is not hosted at the school.
Have a wonderful weekend!
Principal's Video Message: https://cloud.swivl.com/v/8166a2eb5952b8f01d35213f15fe88c2
-----Parent News-----
School Improvement Council (SIC) Report to Parents
The School Improvement Council (SIC) serves as an advisory committee to a school's principal and faculty. Unlike PTA/PTOs and other voluntary school organizations, councils are mandated by law to exist in every public school in South Carolina.
Key Functions
- SICs work with the school to develop and implement a five-year school improvement plan (school renewal plan).
- SICs monitor and evaluate success in reaching the plan's goals and objectives.
- SICs write an annual report to parents about the progress of the plan.
- SICs assist the principal in writing the narrative for the School Report Card.
- SICs advise on the use of school incentive awards and provide assistance as requested by the principal.
Please read the annual SIC report below.
Midlands Gives---Support Healthy Learners!
Healthy Learners is on a mission to transform the futures of children in poverty in South Carolina. Research has proven that education is the key for children to go further in life, empowering them to obtain higher-wage jobs, make positive life choices, and learn to invest in their future communities to make them stronger, healthier, and vibrant. For many children in poverty, their educational success is at risk because of fixable health care challenges that have not been addressed - known as Health Barriers to Learning. Healthy Learners (HL) was created to address these challenges head on and serve as the catalyst to ensure every child receives the health care they need to thrive in school.
Click here or open the flyer below to donate!
Free Lunch Options for Students!😋🍽️
I'm happy to say we have a new option for lunchtime for students. We are striving to get more students to participate in lunch daily. By doing so we are offering all students the option to grab chips, fruit, milk. These items can be picked up at our salad bar daily during lunch. This applies to all students who don't want a full meal. Students who normally bring their own lunch daily can choose this option as well. The salad bar comes with these items daily already to go with their sandwich or salad. Please explain to your students if they don't want everything on the bar or if they have their own lunch, they can get this option.
Mrs. Ja'Leica Colbert
Kitchen Manager
A.C. Moore Elementary
Attention 5th Grade Parents
Start Strong Summer Program
Richland One is offering a one-week Start Strong Summer Program for ALL rising 6th – 9th graders. This in-person program is designed to provide students with literacy and numeracy strategies that will help support their learning when they return to school in the fall. Students will meet some of their new teachers and learn about school expectations. During the program, students will participate in engaging activities and have opportunities to receive incentives. Students will be assessed to determine their progress on content and skills learned in the summer program. There is no cost to attend the Start Strong Summer Program.
Additional details about the Start Strong Summer Program are listed below:
Attendance
- Students are expected to attend the program in-person, every Monday-Thursday, July 17 - 20, 2023.
Schedule
- The daily schedule will be 9:00am- 3:00pm.
- Transportation:
- Transportation will be provided based on PowerSchool Address. Transportation must be requested below.
- Car riders can be dropped off at 8:30 am and must be picked up no later than 3:15 pm. Car riders not picked up on time may be withdrawn from the program.
Meals
- Breakfast and lunch will be provided each day.
Rising 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students will attend Hand MS.
Rising 9th grade students will attend at Dreher HS.
https://forms.office.com/r/HP95PvSFVw
Complete the registration form by Monday, April 24 at 12:00 PM. If you have multiple R1 students, you must complete a form for each student attending. If you have questions or concerns, please contact canisha.fletcher@richlandone.org.
March 27, 2023
Dear Parents and Guardians:
I am excited to announce that our school and all other Richland One schools have enrolled with the STOPit anonymous incident reporting system as part of the district’s efforts to support safe learning environments for students and staff.
STOPit is an online reporting tool designed to deter and mitigate bullying, cyber abuse and other inappropriate behaviors. It consists of an app and a back-end incident management system for school administrators. This program teaches students, parents and staff how to recognize the signs of at-risk behaviors and gather information and report, and it allows administrators to assess, manage and resolve incidents.
Our students will be able to use the STOPit app to report incidents anonymously. They will have the power to help put an end to harmful and inappropriate behavior they see online through social media and other means. Students also can use STOPit to reach out for help if they or a peer are facing a personal crisis or experiencing bullying, abuse or are otherwise in need of assistance.
No student information is needed to use STOPit. The only way personally identifiable information will be accessible through STOPit is if a student voluntarily includes it within the content of a report or message.
The STOPit app will be downloaded on all district-issued student laptops. It also will be accessible through our school website and the district’s website. Students also can download the STOPit app on their smartphones and other personal devices at no cost.
Our school team has been trained, and students will be trained to use the STOPit app before Spring Break. The app is scheduled to go live April 3. Click the link below to view the STOPit student training video:
STOPIT STUDENT TRAINING VIDEO (ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS)
If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Sincerely,
LaQuana Aldridge
Principal
A.C. Moore Elementary
Superintendent's Book Club
It's that time of year again! The Superintendent's Book Club will begin March 6th and will go through Friday, May 5th. As part of this district wide challenge, preK-5th grade students will track their reading on provided book logs. Once they have read 100 picture books or 10 chapter-books, students will be official members of the Super Intendent's Book Club and will receive schoolwide recognition and an invitation to a school-wide celebration. In addition, those who join the book club by Tuesday, May 2nd will receive a free ticket to AC Moore Night at the Columbia Fireflies Stadium! More prizes for our top schoolwide readers will be offered as well as an invitation to a district celebration for top readers in the district! Happy Reading!
Superintendent's Book Club Update
We are so excited to welcome these students to the Superintendent's Book Club for reading 100 picture books or 10 chapter books! As book club members they will receive a special certificate, their picture on a school bulletin board, a free ticket to a Columbia Fireflies game, and an invitation to an end of the year bounce house party during school!
Beginning April 17th students who read the most weekly can also receive a weekly gift certificate to All Good Books in Five Points. Keep it up, Bobcats!
*Newest Members
PreK
Eason
First Grade
Rahini
Second Grade
Aryan, Queen, Webb, Ona, Liam, Elijah, Luke*, Lizeth*
Third Grade
Chaitra, Hooper, Soukaina*, Pippi*, Cora*, Andrew*
Fourth Grade
Emma, Silas, Saunders, Reet, Lucy, Valery, Zyler, Kyndal, Andre, Kalani, Kinsley*, Gaby*
Our afterschool program registration for the 23-24 school year opens on May 1st. Tuition is $55/week and will, with a $25 registration fee. The link to our website is below- all registration is done online. If you are willing, we would love to have the attached flyer and below link shared with families.
Registration for YMCA summer camps have opened, and I am excited that we will have FIVE location offerings this summer.
A.C. Moore is a feeder school to Brennen for this summer's SOAR programs, where we are excited to offer a summer day camp this summer. We also have a brand new Adventure Day Camp option for older students ages 9-13 to go more in-depth in their interest areas, as well as additional options for Friday Fun Days, Counselors-in-Training, etc. I have linked our registration page below, as well as attached flyers for our camp offerings. Thank you for your assistance in getting this information out to families!
Catie Young
Youth Development Director
YMCA OF COLUMBIA
Downtown YMCA
(O) 803.799.9187 ext. 414
-----------School News-----------
A Bobcat Shout-out to...📣
...Pre-K Teacher, Robin Stancik!
The Richland Soil Water Conservation District awarded both Webber Elementary and A.C. Moore Elementary $1,000 grants used to purchase farmstand hydroponic systems. Each system is soil-less, self-watering and has integrated lights.
Students at A.C. Moore alongside Teacher Robin Stanick and Principal LaQuana Aldridge with their Farmstand Hydroponics System.
...Porkchop Productions!
On Monday students enjoy RAPunzel, a performance done by Porkchop Productions. They state, "our fractured twist on this classic tale brings the story to life in a magically musical way! A cast of unforgettable characters leads the audience (as well as Rapunzel) on a journey through different musical genres and teaches important lessons about being true to yourself, following your dreams and making your own kind of music!"
-Parent and Family Engagement-
-------Parent Reminders-------
Need to Report an Absence for your Student? Click Below
Assignments for COVID Related Absences
For the 22-23 school year, students that are absent due to illness will receive any missed and/or make-up assignments upon return to school. They will have 5 days to return the completed work to their teacher. This is in accordance with AC Moore's typical absence policy. Devices and extended absence assignments will not be sent home this year. Virtual check-in sessions with students will also not occur. Those practices and procedures were in place as a result of Richland One's response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Bobcat Families--Please note that the neighbors directly across from the front of the school are having difficulties getting their trash picked up when vehicles are parked in front of their homes and along the edge of their yard. Your courtesy and consideration would be greatly appreciated in addressing their concerns. When visiting the school, please park in the visitors parking area at the corner of Etiwan Avenue and Rosewood Drive and along the street in designated parking spaces.
Important Carline Pick-up and Drop-off Reminders
In an effort to keep the carline safe for students and staff, it is requested that the following carline procedures be followed during the morning and afternoon carline.
- Please pull as far forward to the end of the carline (towards Rosewood Dr.) before stopping your vehicle to allow your student to enter/exit through the gate; do not stop at the main entrance to let students out of or into the car.
- Students are to get out on the passenger side of the carline only, not from the driver side, side facing the road.
- Parents should remain in the car and allow school staff to assist the students into or out of cars.
--------Nurse's News--------
DONATIONS NEEDED
Hello A.C. Moore Families,
Are you looking for another way to support our school? Please consider donating small bottles of water to our Health Room. Anything you can give - at any time during the year - will be greatly appreciated.
Thank you!
Nurse Robinson
---Wellness Watch---
6 Ways to Build a Network of Support for Your Child at School
Getting involved in your school community is a great way to help your child succeed. Family engagement improves academic achievement, builds self-esteem, and increases parents’ and caregivers’ confidence in their own decision-making at home and with their child’s teachers. Finding the right way to “plug in” depends on your school’s programs, as well as your family’s interests, talents, and availability. Try these six tips to connect with school staff and other families in your community.
Take a Look at Your Bobcats Engaged in Learning!
--------Community Connections--------
COMMUNITY EVENTS
See the monthly newsletter below from the Equity & Excellence in Education Parent Support Program sponsored by the Columbia Urban League. The Equity & Excellence in Education program aims to unite, educate, empower, and uplift parents through education, support, and awareness for the betterment of their child’s success. They serve parents with students that are in K5-12th grade.
R1 SUMMER SOAR PROGRAMS
Good afternoon Dreher Cluster Family,
I hope all is well with everyone. I would like to invite your communities to participate in our athletic golf tournament this year on April 29th. We would love to have members join us to play or offer sponsorship opportunities.
Our student athletes have been working hard and we would like to give them the very best opportunities and facilities as we can. So far this year we have had every team make the playoffs with the exception of one. Our cross country team has won the State Championship and an individual championship, girls tennis won the region championship and individual State Championship, both boys and girls swim won their region championship with an individual championship, and a host of all state and all region winners from fall and winter sports.
Our spring sports have already solidified region championships in Boys Tennis and Girls Soccer and every team will make a playoff run in the spring.
Thank you for everything that you do.
Coach Jarvis
Dreher High School Athletics Director
------------DISTRICT NEWS------------
Connect with Us
Website: www.richlandone.org/Domain/26
Location: 333 Etiwan Avenue, Columbia, SC, USA
Phone: (803) 343-2910
Facebook: www.facebook.com/acmooreelementary
Twitter: @ACMooreBobcats