GHES Summer Update
Friday, August 21
Rori Brown came earlier than expected, but still right on time (would you look at that cute onesie)...Mom and baby are doing great, and I guess you might care to know that Dad is doing fine, as well :) Congratulations, Rashaud!!!
School Calendar
Here are directions for adding the school calendar to your google account...
Go to calendar.google.com
3. Select ‘Add by URL’
4. Copy and paste the link below...
Chromebooks
For those who borrowed a Chromebook last spring, please return it to Valarie Culbreth on Monday. We need to get those devices back to the district office to be distributed to students.
Week of August 24 Hours
We start at 7:05 each morning once school begins on August 31. For the week of August 24, you can be flexible with hours, working at least 7.5 a day, and making sure you are present for pertinent meetings and training. Especially thinking about Thursday with meet the teacher hours spread throughout the day, feel free to flex your time that day.
Looking forward to seeing everyone on Monday!!
Information below from Tuesday, August 18
Meet the Teacher Considerations
We will all meet on the same date and offer the same three meeting times for the sake of consistency. It affords our families with multiple children at varying grade levels the chance to meet all of their teachers. Outside of the schedule parameters, be free to think creatively as you consider how to make use of this time, or even how you can make it fun or exciting! Consider the following...
- Duration: I would suggest 20-30 minutes for each of the three sessions.
- Live or Recorded: Each session should include a live portion, but you could consider recording a portion of the meeting (especially if you don't want to repeat the same information three times). You could pre-record your explanation of classroom rules, expectations, or a mini-classroom tour.
- Establish Relationships: How can you make the most of the opportunity to make an initial connection with students? What can you share about yourself, your family or hobbies? How can you give students an opportunity to share about their interests and get to know each other a little bit too?
- Parent Q&A: Hopefully you can incorporate a few minutes to answer questions families may have...well, isn't that a delicate exercise given we are in the midst of a pandemic?! Here's one thing that is absolutely true about the last 6 months. Ready? No one, not one single person, has an answer to every question. That being said, here are a few ways you might choose to approach parent questions...
2. Live Q&A...if you are feeling rather confident, you could give parents an opportunity to engage in Q&A dialogue with you during the MTT session. You could manage it by saying something like, "I'll take three questions before we end our session." If you choose to do a live Q&A, you must be okay being honest if you don't know an answer, or don't feel comfortable answering the question right then and there. You could say, "That's a great question. Let me find out more information and I'll get back to you on that." Again, no one has all the answers.
Week of August 24
Monday, Aug 24 - Donuts & Coffee from 9-11am, front of the school
Tuesday, Aug 25 - ClassLink Training in the cafeteria
9-10am - SPED, K, 1st, 2nd
10-11am - Related Arts, 3rd, 4th, 5th
Thursday, Aug 27 - Virtual Meet the Teacher @ 10am, 12:30pm, & 5pm
Friday, Aug 28 - Materials exchange for face-to-face learners
Families will be able to pick up their car tags, lunch forms, or other paperwork. They can drop off medications to the school during this time, as well. Details will be shared with families this week.
Other things to do next week...
- Tech PD
- Safe Schools courses
- Meet with Amber, Becky, Darryl, and your admin support person.
- Team meetings
Information below from Friday, August 14
Teacher Supply Money...
All K-1 teachers are being provided access to SeeSaw Plus!
Makeover Project...No Hot Glue
With that being said, as you prepare to engage in all of the decorative ventures to start the school year, plan to do so without using hot glue, which pulls paint off the wall. Please use adhesives that will not take paint off the walls, such as sticky tack or masking tape. Thanks!
Class Rosters
Teacher assignments will be shared with families on Friday, August 21 starting at 9a.m.
GT Endorsement
If you interested in receiving your GT Endorsement, see below. The class can take 25 participants. Registration will close on August 28, 2020 or when capacity has been met.
Session Dates EDU 591:
**Tuesday, September 1, 4:00-6:00, TRAINING CENTER AT DISTRICT OFFICE**
Tuesday, September 15, 4:00-6:00, VIRTUAL CHECK IN
Tuesday, September 29, 4:00-6:00, VIRTUAL CHECK IN
Tuesday, October 13, 4:00-6:00, VIRTUAL CHECK IN
**Tuesday, October 27, 4:00-6:00, TRAINING CENTER AT DISTRICT OFFICE**
Tuesday, November 10, 4:00-6:00, VIRTUAL CHECK IN
**Tuesday, December 1, 4:00-6:00, TRAINING CENTER AT DISTRICT OFFICE**
Tuesday, December 15, 4:00-6:00, VIRTUAL CHECK IN
Virtual classes will be held via Google Meet and Google Classroom.
Face to Face classes will be held at the District Office in the Training Center. Please use the side entrance of the building for these classes.
To register, please complete the Google form below:
Week of August 24
- PTO providing donuts and coffee, food truck style on Monday, Aug 24 (I had to start with the most important stuff, food and coffee)
- 7-hour Tech PD
- Each team will meet with Amber Rice, Becky Dickson, and Darryl Prendergast, who will help support you to be prepared instructionally for the beginning of the school year.
- Teams will meet with your grade level admin support to follow-up on procedural information (see below) and anything else needed.
- Additional team meetings or planning time you schedule together.
All the Procedures and Things
- Master Schedule
- Arrival
- Dismissal
- Breakfast & Lunch
- Supervision & Duties
- Transitions
- Group Bathrooms
- Materials exchanges
- Meet the Teacher
- Health Room
- Recess
- Likely some other things that have slipped my mind in this moment!
Information below from Friday, August 7
All the celebrations!!!
Adrianne Matheson's (SPED Resource) little bundle of joy, Emery, born on 7/10/20!!
Hannah Loyd (2nd grade) welcomed Harrison on 6/13/20! Awwww!!
Frank and his bride, Meredith!
Mission
Tech PD
All teachers will participate in a virtual 7-hour, district-wide technology PD. It is differentiated based on experience and comfort level with various platforms. The window to complete the PD is from Monday, August 10 through Wednesday, August 26. This will allow teachers the opportunity, if they choose, to work through the courses prior to their official start date.
Math Textbook Training
HMH is offering several live sessions in August to get familiar with the newly adopted K-5 Into Math. The session will orient you to the resources from both a teacher and a student perspective. Please use the link below to register:
Assessment Update
Assessment 2020-21 Update:
· Per the SCDE, we are to plan to administer ACCESS, SC Ready/PASS, Alternate Assessments, and EOCEP. The state has requested a waiver for these assessments, but The US Dept of Ed is not entertaining waivers at this time and has no timetable for doing so.
· Pre/Post Assessments: Mandated by the state we are to administer onsite pre-assessments for all students in grades K-9 in Math and Reading within the first 10 days of school (by 9/21). We will be administering STAR for K-8. Post-assessments will be completed in December as we have to finish these in the calendar year. Accommodations for students with IEP’s and 504’s need to be in place for these assessments. Students slated for SC-Alt are excluded from pre/post assessments.
· As of 12:00 PM on July 30, 2020, all assessments are on for the 2020-21 school year. More specific details on the administration of all assessments, especially for FMVA students will be disseminated to individual test contacts at each building. This communication will come early next week.
Assessment 2020-21 Changes:
· Iowa and CogAT testing will now be administered to all 2nd graders and will possibly be pushed back a couple weeks. Iowa and CogAT testing is consistent with almost every other district in the state.. These tests will be administered online. MAP tests will not be given in elementary school.
· GT Identification test for grades 2-5 will be the STAR post assessment in December. Fall testing will not be used for GT Identification. This will move Local CogAT for grades 3-5 back to January. Performance Task will still be in January
Information below from Wednesday, July 29
Happy Wednesday!
The first is a school-based FAQ doc to help answer common questions related to reopening school.
The second is a slides presentation that will be used this Friday during our new staff orientation to help acclimate new teammates and give them an idea of who we are and what we do at GHES!
Information below from Wednesday, July 8
From Dr. Epps
Dear Fort Mill School District Teachers and Staff,
The circumstances our district has faced over the past six months have been like nothing we have dealt with during my career in education. The Covid-19 pandemic has forced all of us to adjust our daily schedules, rethink how schools operate, and redefine our work environments. In fact, there are no aspects of our lives that have not been impacted by this pandemic. You have answered the bell since March and addressed each challenge as you always have, in an exemplary manner.
I want each of you to know that the staff at the district and school administrative level have been hard at work all summer to prepare for a safe return for school. With parameters to return changing literally on a daily basis, it has been difficult to keep all groups, including parents, teachers, and the general public, abreast of the latest recommendations and requirements issued by state and federal agencies in a timely manner. As your superintendent, I have been challenged on what information to push forward and when to share it due to the fluidity of the situation. I know some of you have felt left out of the decision making process and for that I apologize. I want to assure you, however, that your voices have been heard. Due to time constraints, we have attempted to receive input and data through the surveying of teachers and staff that was conducted several weeks ago. Your concerns and questions regarding safety issues surrounding a return to in-person teaching are being vetted and considered as we finalize our plan. Teachers and staff are the backbone of our organization and our success is directly attributed to your work. The School Board, school and district administration, and I value you and are proud to provide teachers with favorable working conditions and one of the leading teacher salary schedules in the state. We have made it a budget priority to provide adequate staff to maintain low teacher/student class ratios throughout the district over the last twenty years. I believe the favorable teacher/student ratios have a direct correlation to our academic success.
I want you, and the community, to know that we have not purposefully delayed a decision for our plans for the 2020-21 school year. We are trying to ensure that we have enough data and information to open schools during this unprecedented pandemic. In the next few days, we will share specifics for what next year may look like. The plan will include a virtual and an in-person option for all levels of pK-12. When we know how many students choose the virtual option, we will then gauge interest from teachers to teach in this model. We will apply our policy that we use when we reassign staff due to the opening of new schools. Teacher interest will be a primary part of the assignment to the virtual school. As for the in-person return to classes, we will be providing best practices regarding safety protocols and equipment for teachers which will be detailed in the plan. Finally, this plan could change due to forces out of our control (DHEC and state directives concerning the virus) as we approach the start of school for staff on August 3rd and for students on August 10th. Additionally, many of you have questions regarding the leave policy due to conditions related to the virus. Human Resources and our legal counsel is currently researching these issues.
In summary, please know that I value each and every one of you and realize your worth to the school district. Similarly, please know that I am committed to ensuring the safety and wellbeing for you and our students as we go forward. This will be a challenging year and I pledge to support you in your work. As always, I intend to make decisions that will be in the best interest of all involved with the Fort Mill Schools Family.
Together in Education,
Chuck
STEAM PD opportunity (optional, for those interested)...
Information below from Thursday, July 2
Updated FMSD Calendar 2020-21
As you may have seen in Joe Burke’s email to the FMSD community, the school board approved an updated school calendar, adding the five additional days to the 2020-2021 school year (See Updated Calendar Here).
- The start date for teachers to return to school is now Monday, August 3.
- The start date for students to return to school is Monday, August 10.
- The district administration, along with building level administrators are continuing to work on details regarding these new start dates, what the model for these days will look like, and how to pay staff for these additional days. Additional details regarding these days will be sent at a later date.
- For those of you who have a vacation scheduled that cannot be changed, please contact me by July 6.
Fort Mill Virtual Academy
The district is creating a virtual online learning option for students that will be called Fort Mill Virtual Academy. Details regarding this option and information about registering for this option will be sent to families and posted on the FMSD website. This virtual online learning option is separate from the traditional learning experience we typically provide students.
Decisions regarding the staffing needed for the virtual option will be made once we know the enrollment numbers for the virtual learning option. Staff will be able to apply to teach through the virtual option via a survey mid-July. Details in regards to the teaching expectations for those who wish to apply will be included in the survey.
In Person Learning
Once we know more regarding the enrollment numbers for the virtual option, we will also be able to further develop plans for in person learning for the upcoming school year.
The discussion continues to be about determining a plan involving one of the following scenarios:
- Full schedule face to face
- some type of alternating schedule like A/B days with fewer students coming each day for face to face instruction
*All plans will include modified expectations to maintain social distancing and safe protocols for students and staff
In the end, these decisions are dependent upon a variety of factors, including the enrollment numbers for the virtual learning option through the Fort Mill Virtual Academy.
Safety
In the end, we will be operating with the safety of one another as paramount in our work to move forward. I assure you that our plan will not be perfect, but we will persevere as we strive to serve one another with grace, compassion and empathy. The upcoming school year will be full of unique challenges, there is no doubt about it...fortunately for us, we have the right team, full of the right people, to rise up to those challenges by working together and caring for each other every step of the way.
Building Access
Badges have been deactivated. If you need access to the building, text or email Adrienne, Frank, or I and we can help you get in. At least one person is here from 7:30-3:00 Monday through Thursday.
Adrienne – 803-984-7586
Frank – 330-402-0623
Josh – 803-280-9941
Information below is from Wednesday, July 1
Staffing Update
Reading Recovery: Lana O'Shields, moving to Fort Mill from the Spartanburg area. Lana has an extensive background with literacy and leadership that will be a tremendous asset to our community. She is a versatile learner and excellent problem-solver.
School Psychologist: Zineb Moumene, moving to Fort Mill from Washington state. Zineb is an experienced School Psych from her time in Chicago and Washington. She is passionate about the process of providing effective support to struggling learners.
5 Additional Days
The SC Legislature has voted to add an additional five days to the school year. These five days will be discussed at the school board meeting tonight, Wednesday, July 1, which may change the 2020-21 start date on the FMSD calendar. Please be on the lookout for an email from Joe Burke immediately following the school board meeting this evening.
Information below is from Friday, June 19
Staffing Update
So thrilled to announce one new team member, and to welcome a current team member into a new role...
Receptionist: Mary Shouse
Media Specialist: Michelle Swearingen (see her picture doing a "victory dance" in front of the school!)
Be About It - Virtual PD
Many of you might know of Hope and Wade King, who formerly taught at the Ron Clark Academy and who host the Get Your Teach on Conference every year. We had several teachers attend from GHES and many called it the best professional development they've ever had.
Hope and Wade announced that they are working with a teacher named Alfred Shivy Brooks to host a virtual conference called Be About It. This conference will be about unpacking White privilege, bias and anti-racist instruction. Shivy will be the host of this conference and they have so many amazing Black educators who will be leading sessions and keynotes, including New York Times Best selling author Bakari Sellers.
Shout out to Hannah McClain for sharing this PD opportunity!
When? June 29-30
Cost? $60...I believe in the importance of this learning, not only for us as professionals, but also as individuals in our families and community. Therefore, any GHES team member who is willing and able to attend both days of the conference, I will pay for your entry. If you want to sign up, click below and enter your information!
SC English Language Acquisition - Virtual PD
We are THRILLED to finally announce the South Carolina English Language Acquisition (Virtual) Kickoff hosted by the South Carolina Department of Education! This two-day, FREE professional learning opportunity is for anyone working with English learners (ELs)! There will be many sessions available that apply to different job roles and responsibilities, so please spread the news! This event will take place virtually on July 29 & 30, 2020. Please let us know if you have any questions, and we look forward to sharing more details soon!
Reopening of Schools Survey
The AccelerateFM Task Force is conducting a survey of teachers and staff in an attempt to understand how returning to school in the fall might impact our school family. This information, along with health and safety guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC), and other agencies will be important in planning for the reopening of our schools. We understand that anything less than a full-time, in-person school schedule strains many families. Like you, we spend a lot of time planning to ensure a smooth and successful start to school. Unfortunately, we simply do not know what conditions will exist in August, or how our return will be impacted by restrictions and guidelines outside of our control. The task force is in the initial planning stages of what a return to school this fall will look like for students and staff. Current federal and state guidance is not prescriptive at this time. However, it is critical we prepare a series of options and contingencies. We fully expect plans to evolve and adapt over time as further guidance becomes available. Your responses will help guide our planning to safely reopen schools in the age of COVID-19. Your feedback is crucial to help ensure a healthy learning and working environments. Please take a few minutes to respond to this survey.
Information below is from Monday, June 8
Summer Cleaning Schedule
The FMSD has entered into contract with a new cleaning provider, Defender. Defender is also the company that employs the security officers at the elementary schools, including Officer Ray. If you immediately thought to yourself, ‘what does that mean for Mr. Thomas?’…don’t worry, he will still be with us.
Defender will be focusing summer cleaning on one school at a time. I’ve added the cleaning schedule for GHES on the school Google calendar (if you are new, you likely won’t have access to the school calendar until you receive a Google account). See the cleaning schedule below…
June 29 – July 1: Deep/detail cleaning of classrooms and common areas
July 2 – 7: Floor wax & cleaning
As a result of the cleaning schedule, you can expect building and classroom access to be extremely limited during those dates.
Information below is from Friday, June 5
During the 2019-20 school year, we were able to implement a school-wide behavior matrix, along with STING tickets to help us be clear about student expectations throughout the school, and to reinforce positive behavior. We are excited to begin developing an idea that will take our expectations, reinforcement, and character building to the next level in 2020-21. Check out a preview...
GHES House System
Have you ever dreamed of being a student at Hogwarts with Harry, Ron and Hermoine? Or wished to visit the Ron Clark Academy in Atlanta, Georgia? Well guess what?! We are bringing a little piece of magic from Hogwarts and RCA to Gold Hill Elementary School next school year!!
We are so excited to announce that we will be implementing the House system at GHES! We will be creating 4 houses (or teams) based off of the 4 houses at the Ron Clark Academy. All of our students and staff will be sorted into these 4 houses and will learn the history of the house, the house chants, and cheers (see below).
You might be asking yourself “Why are we doing this?” With our school population changing so much next school year, it is the perfect year to start. This house system will help students form friendships and create close bonds with their peers. It will help us create a culture of belonging for all of the students and staff at our school. It will promote a positive school wide community AND help with character building. Who wouldn’t want all of those things?!
We want to make this experience fun and stress free for the whole school! In order to do this, we are looking for some teachers who would be interested in helping us plan over the summer and implement this system in the 20-21 school year! If you are interested in helping, please contact...
Hannah McClain - mcclainh@fortmillschools.org
and
Adrienne Sanders - sandersa@fortmillschools.org
Learn about the 4 houses...
House Cheers...
Big Rocks...Summer Edition
- Mission - Vision - Values: a committee will be formed this summer to work on reforming the mission, vision, and values for GHES!! Input will be requested from all staff as we move through the process.
- Further developed expectations for eLearning...for future inclement weather days, or times where we have to cycle out of school.
- Student placement
- Creating the master schedule
- Budget allocation for 2020-21
- Hiring
I will continue to email updates and keep you in the loop as we move through the summer months. I hope everyone has a wonderful summer!