Rock Hill School District News #rockhill #rockhillschools #rhsd3

Congratulations to . . .

• TJ Williams and the Northwestern High School Choral Dept. on having six students selected for the S.C. All-State Honor Choir. With these six, Rock Hill Schools has a total of 43 students whose auditions were successful.
• Saluda Trail Middle School on recent grants received from the Duke Energy Foundation, distributed through the Clemson University Center for Workforce Development, in support of STEM education.  Liz Hood, media specialist, and Carolyn Moore, program teacher, received a $2,000 grant for a survival raft project. Teacher Pam East and Carolyn Moore received a grant for a project titled "From Cotton to the Closet."

 

Calendar 2014-15

The district's Calendar Committee will meet for the first time on Monday, Nov. 25, at 4:15 pm in the district office. The committee is comprised of 6 teachers, 5 parents, 3 students, and 3 administrators. The York County Calendar Committee will meet on December 4. Once the state determines the tests it will use and the testing dates, it should not be difficult to come up with a calendar to recommend to the board..

 

Teaching in the '20's

At the district's 125th Birthday Celebration, Jane Peeples, a former chairperson of the Rock Hill School Board, referred to teachers as the "magic-makers." She shared the attached list of social requirements for teachers "around" 1915:

Have you ever wondered what being a teacher was like in “the good ole days?” Obviously, the following rules of conduct for teachers in 1915 were for females, but could anyone abide by them?

• You will not marry during the term of your contract.
• You are not to keep company with men.
• You must be home between the hours of 8 p.m. and 6 a.m. unless attending a school function.
• You may not loiter downtown in any of the ice cream stores.
• You may not travel beyond the city limits unless you have the permission of the chairman of the board.
• You may not ride in a carriage or automobile with any man unless he is your father or brother.
• You may not smoke cigarettes.
• You may not dress in bright colors.
• You may under no circumstances dye your hair.
• You must wear, at least, two petticoats.
• Your dresses must not be any shorter than two inches about your ankle.
• To keep the school room neat and clean, you must sweep the floor at least once daily; scrub the floor at least once a week with hot, soapy water; clean the blackboards at least once a day; and start the fire at 7 a.m. so the rooms will be warm by 8 a.m.

 

Football Playoffs

Rock Hill continues to live up to being football city USA with South Pointe and Northwestern still alive in the state football playoffs. Hopefully, the road to Columbia (and the state championship) will run through Rock Hill. Both teams will play this Friday night.  Kickoff takes place at 7:30.

 

Nov. 25 School Board Meeting

The Rock Hill School Board will meet at 6 p.m. Monday in the D.O. Board Room. The district's first group of "Distinguished Climbers"(Future Focus) will be recognized. Click here for a  copy of the meeting packet.

Elaine T. Baker

Director of Information Services

Celebrating 125 Years of Public Education, 1888-2013

Rock Hill Schools Birthday Facts #rockhill #rockhillschools #rhsd3

1888 - 2013

 Rock Hill Schools celebrated the 125th Birthday of public education in the Rock Hill community on Wednesday, November 20. In learning about our history, did you know that:

•  if a teacher or other school employee dies after completing at least one year of service, the designated beneficiary will receive a payment equal to the annual budgeted salary of the member. This program, initially called a pre-retirement insurance benefit under the S.C. Retirement System, became effective July 1, 1968, and it's still in effect in 2013.
•  the Brattonsville Academy, a replica of an 1840's one-room schoolhouse located in Historic Brattonsville, opened on Sept. 20, 1996. It provides third-graders with a historical look at a school day in the life of students who lived in the 1840's. The brainchild of former Supt. Phil McDaniel, the academy was built from donations of money and building products and required no use of tax monies.
• The Carroll School, which opened in 2003 after a former Rosenwald School was renovated, provides fifth-graders with an opportunity  to learn how students who lived in the Great Depression era spent their day. Students learn how to can food, quilt and pick cotton (when in season).
• District Three (now Rock Hill Schools) was the first district in S.C. to implement a School Improvement Council in each school. In 1981 SIC's were called School Advisory Councils
• In 1888 the Trustees of The Graded School appointed a committee to make arrangements for the observance of Arbor Day, looking to the beautification of the school grounds by the planting of shade trees. About 80 students planted a variety of trees on November 27, 1888, mostly water oaks to provide shade for students and visitors alike.
•  A number of schools have existed since 1888. These include Arcade-Victoria (1914-1952), Emmett Scott (1920-1970), and West End (1928-1972). In addition, several of our schools got their beginnings in earlier schools, such as  Northside from Manchester School, Belleview from Highland Park, and Lesslie from a two-story white, clapboard building near the Lesslie Volunteer Fire Dept. Also, at one time, Lesslie Elementary encompassed two campuses, one beside the railroad tracks in the Lesslie Committee and its current location which was originally Hillcrest School.
• Castle Heights opened as an elementary school for black students in 1957 on Flint Street Ext. When the district began its plan to integrate the schools, a white administrator, George Hampton, was assigned to Castle Heights to serve as principal for the 1968-69 school year. Mr. Hampton stayed for half a year, and then the students attending CHES were reassigned to another black school, Edgewood Elementary, for the second half of the year. CH was closed until the fall of 1970 when it reopened as an integrated junior high with new renovations, including a gym. Its student population was comprised of 8th graders with some 7th graders. Its principal was Paul Campbell, who was the principal at Sullivan Junior High the year before. One of Mr. Campbell's asst. principals, Jim Buddin, who still occasionally helps out in the district, served as principal from 1973-1996. He was succeeded by Kelly Kane who opened the new Castle Heights facility on Fire Tower Road in 2004. The former CH facility on Flint Street Ext. was renovated in 2005 and became the Rock Hill Flexible Learning Center.
•  the district has had Air Force Junior ROTC programs since 1971, the year Northwestern High opened. South Pointe High opened in 2005, also with an AFJROTC program.
• York County's popular senator, Robert W. Hayes, Jr., better known as Wes Hayes, is a 1971 graduate of Rock Hill High School where he was "Mr. Bearcat." However, when he served as president of the Junior Class, he was known as "Wesley."
• Dr. William L. Proctor, Dean of Men at Florida State University, was hired by the school board to integrate the schools. Dr. Proctor, who had no ties to the district, agreed to come for only one year (1968-1969) to write a desegregation plan that would be approved by the Dept. of Health/Education/Welfare. The plan was written and approved in the year he was in the district, and then he returned to Florida State. Soon afterward, he became the president of Flagler College in St. Augustine Florida.  
•  the district has had three teachers to be selected as the S.C. Teacher of the Year--Hazel Joiner (Sullivan) in 1973, Bryan Coburn (Northwestern) in 2009-10, and Patti Tate (Northwestern) in 2011-12. The following teachers were runners-up or "Honor Roll" teachers for the state honor: Lillian Gilmore (Edgewood), Cynthia Carpenter (Sylvia Circle), Ann Smith (Lesslie), Tracy Craven (Oakdale), Julie Marshall (Oakdale) and Jeff Venables (Northwestern).
•  the district has had female members on the school board since January 1970. The first female was Bess Barron, and Martha Burwell became the second.
•  the teachers at The Graded School in 1888 were paid a salary of $25 per month.  Furnishings in the school included 106 Triumph desks, 8 recitation seats, and 4 desks for teachers, all of which were bought and paid for from a generous donation of $1000 by the Reverend James Spratt White. The seating capacity of the building was 230.  (Information supplied by William Boyce White, Jr., in his master's thesis on "A History of the Public Schools of the City of Rock Hill.")
• Walter Caswell Sullivan, the longest-serving  Supt. of Schools, served from 1938-1965. Sullivan Middle School, which opened in 1959 as Sullivan Junior High, is named after him, as is the street between the school and Cherry Park.  Before serving as superintendent, Mr. Sullivan served as the principal of Rock Hill High from 1923-1938.
•  the district once provided a nursery for the children of employees? It closed in June 1970.
•  the district implemented “social adjustment classes" at the beginning of the 1971-72 school session in each secondary school?
•  the district's Operations Center (now called Facilities Services) opened in 1981 next to the Career Development Center (now called the Applied Technology Center)? The land in front of Facilities Services (near the highway) was once the proposed site for the district office.
•  just as some churches provide homes for their pastors, the district provided a home for the superintendent. This home was constructed on the site of The Graded School (Central) near where the ParentSmart building now stands. While other superintendents may have lived in this house, records show that the family of Supt. Richard Clyde Burts, who was superintendent from 1914-1938, did live in the home. A pencil drawing of the home, a gift from the Burts family, is in the district office.
•  the student enrollment in 1888 was 124; in 1889-90, 192; in 1890-91, 240. Children between the ages of 6 and 16 who lived in the district paid no tuition. Pupils over 16, as well as children who lived in other districts, were required to pay $1/per month.
•  English and Math Advanced Placement courses were implemented at RHH and NHS in 1980?
•  the district's desegregation plan was approved in a three-year phase-in plan?
• 1968-69 - Bond referendum approved for the construction of new schools on Highway 5 (Northwestern, York Road, Rawlinson Road, Career Development Center (now ATC)
• 1969-70 - 12th grade at Emmett Scott High School (for black students) moved to Rock Hill High
• 1970-71 - Elementary schools comprised of grades 1-6, junior highs with grades  7-9, and Rock Hill High with grades 10-12, all integrated. (Northwestern opened in the fall of 1971.)

(Much of the Information above taken from William B. White's master's thesis, "A History of the Public Schools of the City of Rock Hill, South Carolina, 1888-1951.)

Elaine T. Baker

Director of Information Services

Rock Hill Schools

Rock Hill School News #rockhill #rockhillschools

Congratulations to . . .

• the 37 choral students of Jonathan Hall (Rock Hill High School) and Eugene Bumgardner (South Pointe High School) who made the S.C. All State Honor Choir. Winthrop University will host a performance of all the various choirs under the “All-State” umbrella in late February.
• Kevin Wren, the district’s new manager of Safety, Security, and Environmental Management, whose comments on safety are featured in the November issue of Building Operating Management magazine.

 

Art Dept. to Host Benefit for Teacher

On Nov. 21 from 7-9 pm, the South Pointe High School Fine Arts Dept. will host a benefit for choral music teacher Beverly Laney who is battling cancer. The benefit is a coffee house/open mic night in the school’s media center where students, teachers and guest musicians from the community will perform. There will also be a student art sale and raffle items. Tickets are $2. All proceeds will assist Beverly with costs associated with her treatment. Email abeard@rhmail.org for more information.

 

Reminder

The 2014 School Choice Fair will be held from 6:30-8:00 Thurs. evening, Nov. 21, in the gym at Saluda Trail Middle School. Parents who are interested in learning about the district’s nine schools of choice (The Children’s School, Ebinport, Northside, Oakdale, Richmond Drive, Rosewood, Sunset Park, Saluda Trail and Sullivan) are invited.

 

Noteworthy Dates

Nov. 20 – Support Staff Day

Nov. 20 – 125^th Birthday Celebration

Nov. 27-29 – Thanksgiving Holidays

Dec. 2 – Adult Education Graduation, 7 pm, Castle Heights Auditorium

 

Elaine T. Baker

Director of Information Services

 

Celebrating 125 Years of Public Education, 1888-2013

Rock Hill School News #rockhill #rockhillschools

Football Playoffs

Now that our teams are competing in the football playoffs, employees must remember that the only passes that will be honored the remainder of the season are those issued by the S.C. High School League.

 

Nov. 15 Free Honor Band Concert

Rock Hill Schools will hold its annual Middle School Honor Band clinic at South Pointe tomorrow, Nov. 15. Top band students from all five of our middle schools will perform a concert "free to the community" at 6:00 p.m. in the South Pointe Auditorium.

 

Ad Features Teachers of the Year

If you haven't noticed the district's courier's van lately, it now has a new ad on it from Williams & Fudge paying tribute to our Teachers of the Year. You will certainly want to note the beautiful photos taken and donated by Keith Wilks.

 

Elaine T. Baker

Director of Information Services

Rock Hill Schools

Rock Hill School District News #rockhill #rockhillschools

Congratulations to . . .

• the students at Finley Road Elementary who have been invited to lead the National Anthem tonight (Nov. 13) at the Winthrop men’s basketball game. The “Finley Falcons” will be directed by Terri Westphal.
• the Mock Trial Team at Sullivan Middle School which placed first Nov. 9 in regional competition and will  advance to state competition in Lexington, S. C., on Dec. 6-7. Team sponsors are Lia McKay andWilliam McHenry, and coaches are local attorneys Dan Ballou and Stephen Cox.
• Mt. Holly Elementary on its new track! Several years ago the School Improvement Council started a project to build a walking track. Students, staff members, parents, several business owners and the school’s PTO joined forces to raise the $34,000 needed. As you can see from the attached photo, students and staff are enjoying the concrete track which is 5 feet wide and ¼ mile in length.
  
• Rock Hill Schools on receiving a “Commitment Award” on Nov. 7 from the S. C. National Safety Council for supporting the “Alive at 25” program for educating high school drivers in an effort to prevent fatalities.

 

School and Community Events

• The 2014 School Choice Fair will be held from 6:30-8:00 Thursday evening, Nov. 21, in the gym at Saluda Trail Middle School. Parents of students who are interested in learning about the district’s nine schools of choice (The Children’s School at Sylvia Circle, Ebinport Elem., Northside Elem. School of the Arts, Oakdale Elem., Richmond Drive Elem., Rosewood Elem., Sunset Park Center for Accelerated Studies, Saluda Trail Middle and Sullivan Middle) are welcome to attend.
• Northside Elementary's fourth-graders will perform “Joust: A Mighty Medieval Musical” at 7:00 p.m. Nov. 15 in the Sullivan Auditorium. First-graders will present “Creepy Creatures!” at 9:15 a.m. Nov. 22 in the sanctuary of Northside Baptist Church.
• A free child safety seat check will be held from 9:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m. Friday, Nov. 15, in the parking lot of the Rock Hill Family Resource Center at 410 E. Black Street.

 

Noteworthy Dates

Nov. 15 – America Recycles Day

Nov. 18-22 – American Education Week

Nov. 20 – Support Staff Day

Nov. 20 – 125^th Birthday Celebration

 

 

Elaine T. Baker

Director of Information Services

 

Northwestern High School's Riley League, Wendy's SC High School Heisman of the Year #rockhill #rockhillschools

Riley League, center, with parents Ray and Shannon.

Riley League Continues Pursuit of the National Wendy's High School Heisman in Latest Results.

http://www.wendyshighschoolheism...

A big congratulations goes to Riley League of Northwestern High School in Rock Hill, SC for being recognized as a State Winner in the Wendy's High School Heisman program for their success on the field, in the classroom, and in their community.

York County Schools in High School Football Playoffs #rockhill

Click here for a printable bracket.

Click here for a printable bracket.

Rock Hill School District News #rockhill #rockhillschools

School and Community Events

• The Rock Hill High Theatre Department, under the direction of Stephanie Daniels, will present “All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten” at 7:30 p.m. Thurs., Nov. 7, and again on Fri., Nov. 8, in the school auditorium. Tickets will be available at the door for $5.
• The Rock Hill High Guidance Dept. will present “The Insider’s Guide to College Admissions & Scholarships” to interested students and parents from 6:30-8:30 pm on Thurs., Nov. 14, in the auditorium. The session will cover what one must know for choosing a college, getting admitted and winning scholarships. Contact Karen Jackson (1123) or Terry Starnes (1394) for more information.
• The Rock Hill School District will hold its annual Middle School Honor Band clinic on Nov. 15 at South Pointe High School. Top band students from all five middle schools will come together to rehearse and then perform a concert “free to the community” at 6:00 pm in the South Pointe Auditorium.
• Northside Elementary School's fourth-graders will perform “Joust: A Mighty Medieval Musical,” at 7:00 p.m. Nov. 15 in the Sullivan Auditorium. First-graders will present “Creatures!” at 8:30 a.m. Nov. 22 at the school.
• The Museum of York County will be the location for “Celebrate America Recycles Day” on Nov. 17. 
  

 

Reminders

• The Rock Hill High Wrestling Team will be selling Boston Butts through Nov. 18 for $25. Call Gary or Kathy Partlow, 803.329-303, or Cain Beard, 704.860-5632, for more information or to order.
• ParentSmart and the Family Resource Center, located at 410 E. Black Street, will begin on Nov. 8 taking applications for Toys for Happiness, the United Way’s program for Christmas assistance. 
  

 

Noteworthy Dates

Nov. 9 – Annual “Cheer for Children” event at South Pointe, 10:00 a.m. - noon

Nov. 11 – Veteran’s Day

Nov. 15 – America Recycles Day

Nov. 18-22 – American Education Week

Nov. 20 – Support Staff Day

Nov. 20 – 125^th Birthday Celebration

 

Elaine T. Baker

Director of Information Services

125 Years of Public Education in Rock Hill #rockhillschools #rockhill

1888 - 2013

Rock Hill Schools will celebrate the 125th Birthday of public education in the Rock Hill community on Wednesday, November 20. Birthday cake will be made available to every student and every district employee during lunch hours; a balloon launch will be held at every school and district facility; and a program for invited guests will be held at the Rock Hill Flexible Learning Center from 5:00-6:00 pm on Nov. 20.  

 

In learning about our history, did you know that:

 

˜the Graded School opened in 1888 on the current site of the Central Child Development Center and, ultimately, students attended Rock Hill High School on E. White Street which opened its doors in 1914?

 

˜Northwestern High School opened in 1971 with grades 8-11 with Samuel R. Foster as principal and Mayor Doug Echols as the school's first athletic director?

 

Elaine T. Baker

Director of Information Services

Rock Hill Schools

Northside Elementary 1st Grade Presentation #rockhill #rockhillschools

Northside Elementary 4th Grade Presentation #rockhill #rockhillschools

Bearcats in Final 8. To Play at Home on Tuesday #gorhbearcats #rockhill

The Rock Hill Girls Volleyball Team plays Dorman on Tuesday night, 6 pm, in the Bearcat gym.