March 30, 2014

EDUCATION

THE SUMTER ITEM

Wilson Hall SEVEN PALMETTO FELLOWS The following seniors are eligible to receive the Palmetto Fellows Scholarship administered by the S.C. Commission on Higher Education: Ken Ballard, Claire Estep, Eric Hartzell, Amelia Macloskie, Justin Schaare, Drake Shadwell and Tripp Whaley.

This merit-based scholarship program was established to recognize the most academically talented high school seniors in the state. Palmetto Fellows may receive up to $6,700 for their freshman year and up to $7,500 for the sophomore, junior and senior years.

To be eligible students must meet one of the following two sets of requirements: minimum score of 1200 on the SAT

by November, a minimum GPA of 3.5 at the end of the junior year, and rank in the top 6 percent of the class at the end of the sophomore or junior year; or a minimum 1400 on the SAT by November and a minimum GPA of 4.0 by the end of the junior year.

WOFFORD SCHOLARS Senior Parker McDuffie received a Wofford College Merit Scholarship, and senior Drake Shadwell received the Benjamin Wofford Scholarship from Wofford College.

Each scholarship is valued at $84,000. To receive these scholarships awarded to incoming freshmen, students must score at least a 1250 on the SAT, rank in the top 10 percent of their graduating class, and be active in leadership and service roles in their school and community.

Shadwell also received a Theatre Scholarship, worth $26,900, from Wofford.

LEGO CLUB The Lego Club participated in the S.C. Junior First Lego League Midlands Expo in Lexington on March 1. The FLL, focused on building an interest in science and engineering in children, is a program that features a real-world challenge to be solved by research, critical thinking and imagination. At the expo students worked with Lego elements and moving parts to build ideas and concepts and present them for review. Advised

by Jeanna Mahr, the club has approximately 25 students from the second and third grades who meet at least once a month after school to work on their Lego projects.

FIELD TRIPS The four preschool classes went to Patriot Hall on March 18 to see The Learning Station, an educational children’s musical group. The seniors in the environmental science class, taught by Sheri Singleton, visited A&P Recycling and Southeastern Chemical in Sumter as well as Waste Management in Columbia on March 19. — Sean Hoskins

Lee County School District DR. ANDREWS HONORED The Sumter Alumnae Chapter of the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority hosted a drop-in to honor Lee County School District Superintendent Dr. Wanda Andrews at the Dennis Community Center in Bishopville on Feb. 16.

Dr. Abigail Busby-Webb, president of the Delta Sigma Theta Sumter Alumnae Chapter, expressed her appreciation for all of the contributions Andrews has made to the South Carolina community. Andrews thanked her sorority sisters for their support and acknowledgment of her contributions. She said, “I am delighted at the opportunity to serve the students and families in Lee County Schools.”

The evening was completed with a solo musical selection, “Perfection,” sang by J’Naire Haughton, a 10th-grade student at Lee Central High School and a member of the school choir.

LEE CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL LCHS seniors were honored by the Columbia Urban League at their Annual Young and Gifted African-American History Month Program. For the past 29 years, the Columbia Urban League has celebrated African-American History Month by celebrating the achievements of black stu-

dents with an annual program. LCHS students, Jermaine Whack, Davonte’ Jenkins, O’Shea Benjamin, Kwameia Willliams, Krystal Goings, Jamellah Scott, Kenya Williams, Fredrica Austin, Kinard Lisbon, Alajah Hannibal, Reginald Hickmon, Chante Joye, Shakira Lewis, Tatyanna Peterson, Xiamoria Luckey, Chelsea Bulls, Nakiya Lyons and Shar’Dachi Wesley were honored in the areas of academics, the arts, leadership, technical education and athletics. In order to be selected as an award recipient, high school seniors with a B average or above were nominated by their respective schools.

LCHS students participated in the Black River Electric Cooperative Inc. achievement competition. N’Dejah Wright will represent South Carolina and attend the Washington Youth Tour June 14-19.

N’Dejah won an all-expense paid trip to Washington, D.C. She will also have an opportunity to compete for the R.D. Bennett Scholarship worth $5000. N’Dejah is a junior at Lee Central High School and the daughter of Nicole Wright.

WEST LEE ELEMENTARY WLES students are jumping at the chance to fight heart disease and stroke. On March 21, students hosted the Second annual Jump Rope for Heart event to raise money for the American Heart Association.

“Jump Rope For Heart” teaches students how physical fitness benefits the heart and shows them that volunteering can be a fun and positive experience.

Second -and third-graders performed “Pirates: The Musical” by John Jacobson Roger on March 25. The performance was directed by music teacher Melinda Spencer; second-grade teacher Jennifer Marshall; and thirdgrade teachers Nicole Hart and Kierra Parker.

LEE COUNTY ADULT EDUCATION LCAE is offering free classes in GED Preparation and Testing, Pre-GED, and Diploma, Basic, Enrichment, Work Keys Preparation & Testing, Spring HSAP Remediation & Testing, English as a Second Language, Family Literacy and Computer Readiness. Session IV is available through May 8. For more information, call Lee County Adult Education Center at (803) 484-4040.

A free Manufacturing Certification class will begin Monday. For more information, call LCAE at (803) 484-4040.

LEE COUNTY CAREER AND TECHNOLOGY CENTER LCCTC Agriculture and Food and Nutrition classes came together recently to learn about the history of egg production, variety of laying hens and the reason for white and brown color eggs. Students in the class are responsible for taking care of hens at the LCCTC. The students collected three dozen eggs to be used with the lesson. After watching the video “Eggs 101,” Vicky Olsen (Food and Nutrition instructor) and Elizabeth Tolson (Agriculture instructor) prepared eggs and biscuits for the students to sample. Students were also able to sample S.C. Certified Grown preserves from Four Oaks Farms in Lexington. Students learned the process from the farm to the table. —Donna Daniels

St. Anne Catholic School 13 ATTEND MUSIC FESTIVAL St. Anne Catholic School sent 13 students to the SCISA Music Festival at the University of South Carolina School of Music in Columbia on March 13.

The Bell Choir, directed by Linda Coyne, received a rating of Superior. Members of the group are: Laura Kirby, Christopher Roberts, Daisy Creech, Daniel Morrow, Megan Bishoff, Jackson Lee, Jenna Power and Michael Flynn. The solo performers and their ratings are: Adam Reisenauer (Superior, voice student of Linda Coyne); Lila Floyd (Superior, violin student of Mary Ford); Andrea Clark (Superior, voice student of Caroline Mack); Ella Alan (Excellent, piano student of Joyce Williams);Susan Floyd (Excellent, piano student of

Marian Burns); and Laura Kirby (Excellent, piano student of Bronwyn Rabon.) — Leah Kiernan

Sumter School District JUNIOR SCHOLARS NAMED Thirty-six eighth grade students from Sumter School District have been named South Carolina Junior Scholars for the 2013-14 school year.

The program was developed by the S.C. Department of Education during the 1985-86 school year to identify eighthgrade students with exceptional academic talent and to develop strategies for inclusion into special programs.

From Alice Drive Middle School, Junior Scholars are Caitlin Bickford, Micah Boarts, Heather Brown, Phillip Dodd, Woodley James, Caitlyn McCoy, Ryley McLeod, McKenzie Michelson, Colton Rivers, Erik Skipper, Peter St. Onge and Joshua Sykes. Bates Junior Scholars are Trenton Elmore, Kiara Jones, Jarett King, Thomas Richburg and Joshua Woods.

Ebenezer Middle School Junior Scholars are Nyckolas Johnson, JuLee Leger, Elisabeth Mortimer, Kerrington Peterson, Andrew Smith, Alexander Tisdel, Garet Wilber, and Angel Zaragoza-Ramey.

From Furman Middle, the Scholars are James Compton, Sydney Gonzales, Nycolaus King, Kiman McKenzie and Benjamin Way. From Hillcrest Middle School, Junior Scholars are Braeley Hill-Robinson, Clayten Ragan, Katelyn Driggers, Aliyah Charlot and Hailey Hayes-Berube. Aika Washington is a Junior Scholar from Mayewood Middle School.

Students are screened and identified for the program in the eighth grade. The process screens for a potential talent pool of students, identifying and recognizing those students with exceptionally high scholastic achievement and intellectual ability.

For public schools, potential Junior Scholars may include those students who scored exemplary in English language arts and mathematics on the Palmetto Assessment of State Standards (PASS) in the seventh grade. Other criteria may include students who score 50 or higher on the PSAT in verbal, math, or writing will be identified as South Carolina Junior Scholars or students who participated in Duke University’s Talent Identification Program (TIP) during their seventh-grade year, who met the eligibility requirements as outlined by that program, and were identified and recognized by Duke TIP at the State Recognition or Grand Recognition ceremony will be identified as South Carolina Junior Scholars.

SUMMER FEEDING PROGRAM The Sumter School District Seamless Summer Feeding Program provides free nutritious meals and snacks to children 18 years of age or younger during summer vacation periods. A person 19 years of age and over with a mental or physical disability as determined by a state or local educational agency and who participates during the school year in a public or private non-profit school program may participate in the program.

The program is administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Participating sites can choose either breakfast and lunch, breakfast and a snack, or lunch and a snack per day per child at schools, churches, recreation centers, camps, playgrounds, parks and other community sites. Representatives from any of the aforementioned organizations may apply for this program.

The Seamless Summer Feeding Program will operate from June 9 through Aug. 1. The program will only be closed July 3 and 4. In addition to the meals, food pans, serving utensils, napkins, gloves, condiments and food transporting containers will be provided.

A representative from each participating site/ program must attend one training and orientation session sponsored

by Sumter School District to qualify for the program. Sites must provide adequate supervision during meal service. All sites are expected to adhere to local health and Sumter School district food safety guidelines.

SUNDAY, MARCH 30, 2014 Visit the district website at http://district.sumterschools.net to download and complete the application provided. Return the completed application to Sumter Food and Nutrition Services, PO Box 909, Dalzell, SC 29040 or fax the application to (803) 499-5959. The deadline for receiving applications is May 2.

For further information, contact Leon Williams, Food Service Director at (803) 499-5950, extension 109, or Stacey Champagne Summer Feeding Coordinator at (803) 499-5950, extension 107.

TEACHER RECRUITMENT FAIR Sumter School District is hosting a Teacher Recruitment Fair on April 5 from 9 a.m. to noon at Sumter High School, 2580 McCray’s Mill Road. Prospective teachers must register to attend the fair, and the registration deadline is April 3. Online registration is available at http://district.sumterschools.net Anticipated vacancies for the 2014-15 school year include the areas of mathematics, learning disabilities, hearing impairment disabilities, special education resource, severe disabilities, science, English, social studies, elementary education, media specialists, speech therapists, occupational therapists, physical therapists, sign language interpreters, music, chorus, art, school psychologists and Spanish.

For further information, call (803) 469-6900, extension 200.

|

C5

that were related to the stories.

When they studied Harold and the Purple Crayon, everyone dressed in all purple, wore purple hats and had purple snacks.

On Geronimo Stilton day, they all wore orange and yellow and had cheese snacks.

While Meagan Glass was reading “Rumplestiltskin,” they were “spinning their straw” into “gold” with Twizzlers Pulland-Peel and gold foiled candy.

On Dr. Seuss day, they wore wacky colors, read stories and ate colorful snacks.

Two groups of students in seventh grade dramatized the Bible selections of “Lazarus and the Rich Man” and “Jesus and the Lepers.” They wrote their own scripts and performed their adaptations in front of their classmates. One group went above the requirements and made their own costumes.

STUDENTS OF THE WEEK This week, Suraj Patel from K5, Layton Terry from first grade, Julianna Brown from second grade, Lexi Kelsey from fourth grade, Zane Timmons and Hannah Fraser from fifth grade, Elijah Blanding from sixth grade, and Annabelle Smith from seventh grade all received the Student of the Week award for good behavior and participation in class. — Miriam Marritt

Thomas Sumter Academy

STATE PTA WINNERS NAMED The South Carolina PTA District 13 recently held its art show and submitted the winning entries to the state level.

Two Sumter School District students won at the state level in the South Carolina PTA Reflections program.

Lakewood High School student Jody Brandel won first place, high school division, for her photograph titled “Birdie in the Window.” Manchester Elementary student Ian Woodard took first place in the special artist division for his painting called “I Like Colors.”

The students were honored yesterday at the SC PTA Convention Reflections reception and ceremony in Greenville.

REPORT CARDS ISSUED Report cards will be issued in Sumter School District on Monday. The fourth quarter of the school year began on March 25. Parents with concerns regarding their children’s progress or just to speak with the teachers are asked to call the school the student attends and schedule a parent teacher conference.

— Mary B. Sheridan

Sumter Christian School STUDENTS COMPETE In November, students in grades 4-8 competed in the S.C. Association of Christian Schools Essay and Poetry Competition. Each teacher picked the top essay and poem from their classes, and then Jennifer Lundy, Fine Arts director, picked two poems and two essays from each level (elementary 4-6 and junior high 7-8) for the competition.

The students chosen to represent the school with their essays were Kolton Mooney in fourth grade, John Hasten Terry in sixth grade, Nyah Wright in seventh grade, Andrew Harris in eighth grade.

Nahdea Wiley in sixth grade, Aaron Johnson in sixth grade, Lauren Moore in seventh grade and Emily Wilson in eighth grade represented the school with their poems.

Out of nearly 50 students who competed in the elementary division in S.C., Nahdea Wiley’s poem won first place.

Her poem has been forwarded to the American Association of Christian Schools headquarters to be entered into the National Poetry Competition.

DR. SEUSS MONTH CELEBRATED Throughout March, SCS Librarian Loraine Kish celebrated Dr. Seuss month every Friday with the first-grade students by bringing in treats for them after they read the stories together; they even tried green eggs and ham.

Second-grade students celebrated literary characters by studying the characters and making art projects to represent them and eating snacks

Noah White and Kayla Chappell, two Thomas Sumter Academy juniors have been to selected to attend the U.S. Naval Academy Summer Seminar. The two will join more than 2,000 other young people in the seminar, which is a leadership program geared to educate and prepare students who may be considering admission to the U.S. Naval Academy. Participants will attend workshops, navigation classes and will cruise aboard a Navy Yard Patrol Craft. — Kim Roedl

Clarendon School District 1 SECC The Summerton Early Childhood Center congratulates Administrative Assistant and President of Clarendon County Association of Educational Professionals Cassie A. Nelson for being appointed community service chairwoman for the S.C. Association of Educational Professionals on March 1.

The installation ceremony was held at the 32nd Annual Conference at Hilton Myrtle Beach Resort. Clarendon County tied with Georgetown County to receive the first-place award for attendance. In 2013, CCAEOP tied first place with Florence and Georgetown counties for the attendance award.

SCOTT’S BRANCH MIDDLE/HIGH Scott’s Branch High School gave additional preparation for students for the High School Assessment Program March 24-27.

Selected students were engaged in the HSAP Blitz for ELA and Math which consists of intense 90-minutes sessions provided by literacy and math specialists at the high school.

Students were given mock exams and additional test preparation materials and resources to prepare them for the exam set for April 3-6.

A group of 18 freshmen in SC Gear Up attended a Professional Etiquette 101 Workshop on Soft Skills for the Workforce on March 24 at Florence-Darlington Technical College. They attended three workshops on Interview Skills, Resume’ Writing and Workforce Expectations.

Speakers were from CSX Railroad, Monster.Com, MicroCareerBursts, Blue Cross Blue Shield-S.C. and Al Duncan with Duncan Nuggets. The students were escorted by Makeba White, graduation coach. The workshop was sponsored by the Pee Dee Regional Education Center. — Beverly Spry