Red Ribbon Week was a success. Students and staff members participated in a variety of spirit days in an effort to spread the message of the importance of making healthy choices. Red Ribbon Week was initiated after the death of law enforcement officer Enrique Camarena in 1985.

The National Family Partnership sponsors Red Ribbon Week. Their website provides information for parents and educators about the history of this week, activities and helpful facts.

http://redribbon.org/about/

A big thank you to Ms. Baker for organizing the week's activities and to the Lady Eagles Basketball Team of Winthrop University for playing our fifth grade students in a game of basketball.

The Leslie Fire Department came to IDES to share with our kindergarten students. Students learned about how to prevent fires in order to stay safe.

Congratulations to the following students for winning the Fire Safety Art and Essay contests for our school:

Anna Mae Shumate- Art Contest Winner

Ahmed Wade- Essay Contest Winner

Congratulations to Ms. Edmonds' class for winning the Candy Contest! PTA appreciates all of the donations from our very generous families.

If you notice trucks and materials in the front of the building, it's because IDES is in the process of having solar panels installed. This is very exciting for our school and will save our district money. Check out the video below!

https://youtu.be/EqXeahjHFeQ

The mandatory retention requirements of Read to Succeed goes into affect in the 2017-2018 school year.

The South Carolina Read to Succeed Act became law in 2014. The intent of this law is to ensure all students have the reading skills necessary to become college and career ready. This law includes significant changes regarding the promotion and retention of third grade students. The 2016–17 school year’s second grade students will be the first group of students to be impacted by this portion of the Read to Succeed legislation when they reach third grade. The law states: Beginning with the 2017-2018 school year, a student must be retained in the third grade if the student fails to demonstrate reading proficiency at the end of the third grade as indicated by scoring at the lowest achievement level on the state summative reading assessment that equates to Not Met 1 on the Palmetto Assessment of State Standards (PASS). Though there are a number of exceptions to this requirement in the law, please be assured that our school district’s goal is that all students will be proficient readers by the end of third grade. Actions are to improve student success include additional instructional time devoted to literacy, small group and individualized instruction, and classroom teachers’ receiving specialized literacy training and support from school-based literacy coaches. If you have any questions or need additional information, please contact me or the below-listed contact in our district office. You may also find information about the Read to Succeed Act on the South Carolina Department of Education website: http://ed.sc.gov/instruction/office-of-early-learning-and-literacy

To keep you informed, grade levels have developed newsletters that will be posted on our school's webpage. Please take a moment to review your child's grade level's newsletter to learn more about what your child will learn and grade level activities.

Congratulations to our October Terrific Kids!

Pre-K and Kindergarten

Mrs. Balding - Kamdyn Cauthen

Mrs. Hager - Mason Toms

Mrs. Shumate - Ruth Polito

Ms. Trimnal - Kymani Wheeler

Ms. Wilson- Kaleb Thompson

1st Grade

Mrs. Baker- Anna Mae Shumate

Mrs. Carpenter- Greyson Kelly

Mrs. Langston -Brooklyn Jackson

Mrs. Scott - Drake Wood

2nd Grade

Mrs. Bar - Peyton Ramey

Mrs. Covington- Nala Vongsay

Mrs. Hedgepeth- Landon Tarbell

Mrs. Stokes - Ella Golden

3rd Grade

Ms. Bradley - Chasitie Wright

Mrs. Edmonds - Gabby Zambrano

Mrs. Pavone- Jaxon Carruth

Mrs. White -Travis Canty

4th Grade

Ms. Holiday- Grace Waltz

Ms. Melton- Khamren Vongsay

Mrs. Morris- Max Sharpe

Ms. Sawyer- Hannah Coye

5th Grade

Mrs. Cannon - Kaylen Wright

Mr. Humphries -Veer Patel

Miss Marousek - Brandon Cummings

Ms. Venturini -Katelyn Phillips

Congratulations to the following students for being selected to participate in the Children's Art Show at the Art Center:

Miles Durant (Pavone)

Rylee Parrish (Pavone

Jaylynn Williams (Pavone)

Emileigh Montgomery (White)

Kaylee Cummings (White)

Abrey Maree (Edmonds)

Noah Roberts (Pavone)

Sunovia Blackwell (White)

Hunter Jackson (Bradley)

Tripp Pittman (White)

Camelia McNeal (White)

Ava Jackson (Marousek)

Treyvon Moultrie (Venturini)

Madison Howe (Marousek)

Joseph Torres (Marousek)

We would like to thank all of our wonderful Volunteers for all that they do to support our students and staff members.

2017 Volunteers

• PTA
  
• SIC
  
• Kiwanis Club of Rock Hill
• Catawba Baptist Church
  
• Friendship Methodist Church
  
• Northwestern High School Football Team
  
• Winthrop Lady Eagles Soccer and Basketball Teams
  
• Rock Hill High School Softball Team
  

If you would like to volunteer in some capacity, please contact the school and ask to speak with Ms. Baker or Ms. Freeman.

Math facts fluency refers to the ability to recall the basic facts in all four operations accurately, quickly and effortlessly. When students achieve automaticity with these facts, they have attained a level of mastery that enables them to retrieve them for long-term memory without conscious effort or attention. Students needs basic math fact fluency to enable them to be successful with higher level math strategies such as division, fractions, measurement conversions, etc. To help with basic math fact fluency, make addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division flash cards with your student and practice them each chance you get. Make a game out of it and see how many facts you can do without using your fingers or a piece of paper!

Reading Fluency Tips for Parents

Reading is one of the most important components of language learning and education. It forms the basis for learning how to read – only to learn from what we read. While most children gain the fundamentals of reading by the time they are in second grade, not every child develops the ability to read fluently. Reading fluency is more or less a skill that enables the reader to read quickly, accurately, and with expression.

Here are a few simple ways to get your kids reading pages and pages of text with absolute confidence.

Model fluent reading- Let your child see and hear what fluent reading should sound like. Make sure you include plenty of expressions and emotion while reading and model proper phrasing and pacing. Then ask your child to read the same passage in the same style or manner as you did.

Choral read aloud sessions - “Choral reading,” is when a teacher or parent reads aloud and asks the children to follow at the same pace. Choral reading is another way to show your child what fluent reading should sound like.

Re-read favorite books- Always encourage your child to re-read favorite books. The more accustomed to reading a particular book your child is, the more fluent he becomes at reading it. This gives them the confidence, accuracy, and speed needed to read fluently without focusing on just reading and instead more on comprehending and mimicking expressions.

Lastly, the best way to improve reading fluency is by encouraging them to read more. The more they read, the better they get! Modeling positive reading behavior sets the tone for reading in your household.

In a Parent Magazine article, Charlotte Latvala states, "Gratitude is one of the trickiest concepts to teach toddlers and preschoolers -- who are by nature self-centered -- but one of the most important. Sure, thankful children are more polite and pleasant to be around, but there's more to it than that. By learning gratitude, they become sensitive to the feelings of others, developing empathy and other life skills along the way, says Barbara Lewis, author of What Do You Stand For? For Kids."

During this season, students will participate in Guidance lessons that will help them think about how they can have an "Attitude of GRATITUDE!"

In the interest of safety for all, especially our children, please remember to adhere to the following:

Please Do:

• Stay in a single line closest to the curb (Do not pass other vehicles)
  
• Drive slowly
  
• Park in a parking space if walking child into the building
  
• Pull up as far as you can
  
• Pay attention to and be respectful of the Safety Patrol and any adult on duty
  
• ALWAYS have car rider tag
  

Please Do Not:

• Smoke
  
• Use cell phone
  
• Drop off in the parking lot
  
• Skip in front of people
  
• Wait until line moves to pull forward, do not pull around people
  

Title I is a law under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) of 1965 which provides federal funds for compensatory educational services. Compensatory means "extra." Title I provides extra teachers, instructional assistants, funding for staff development, additional materials and additional supplies in the areas of reading and math for eligible schools. Title I programs offer opportunities for parents to make suggestions and recommendations regarding programs and use of Title I funds. Rock Hill School's Title I allocation for 2017-2018 is $4,446,809.52.

Independence Elementary School Educators and Leadership continually monitors the implementation of the Title I plan and welcomes input from parents, families, school staff, and community members regarding its current and future Title I plans. If you would like to participate on the school’s Title I planning team or make comments on the plan, please contact the principal at 803-981-1135.

November

1-

Report Cards Distributed

If you Give a Parent a Pastry Title I Family Engagement Program

3-

2nd Grade Field Trip

16-

Holiday Lunch for K, 2, 5

Make Up Picture Day

4th Grade Field Trip

17-

Terrific Kids at 8:15 am

22-24-

No School/ Holiday Break

Spirit Days

3- Crayola Day

10-Red, White and Blue Day

17- Team Rivalry Day