Rock Hill Schools Proposed Policy Changes

The Rock Hill School Board approved a policy change at the October Business meeting which requires proposed policy changes to be posted online and emailed to all district employees.


Click here to see the policies which will be up for final vote at the November Rock Hill School Board Business meeting.


Anyone who has a suggestion or concern about any policy should notify Elaine Baker ( ebaker@rhmail.org ) or any school board member.

Key To Being A Good Middle School Principal

Mrs. Brennan believes that what works remains the same. Consistent rules and consequences. A dedicated, hard-working staff. A calendar stuffed with activities like a Shakespeare fair and an annual musical. Sincere care for your charges.


Words from an almost 50 year middle school principal. Read the full article from the New York Times by clicking here.

Madrigal Feast Comes To South Pointe High School

From S.P.I.N:

By Natalie Deas/Assistant Center-spread Editor

South Pointe High School’s chorus is holding its annual Madrigal Feast Nov. 12 and 13 in the cafeteria, which will be decorated with festive ornaments and a stage for the guests’ entertainment.

Traveling back in time to the Renaissance, the choral department is serving a three-course meal consisting of soup, roasted chicken and sides, and dessert, while speaking in accents appropriate for the Renaissance England. While the attendees dine, they will perform a play and sing songs.

“The play is going to be so good and funny!” junior Ivy Doan said.

“The Sorry Tellers,” a masque by Richard Logan and Paul Brandvik, features junior Logan Hughes as the Jester, senior Shivam Patel as Merionsire, senior Hydeia Wade as the Town Crier, freshman Justin Norwood as Sylvester, junior Sade’ Moore as Sylvia, senior Mona Bailey as Sylvania, sophomore Hunter Gaffney as Cyril, and freshman Christian Couch as the Royal Guard.

The Madrigal Feast will be held at 7 p.m. on Nov. 12 and at 2 p.m. on Nov. 13.

Tickets are $15 and reservations are required by chorus teacher Beverly Laney at 803-980-2172 or blaney@rhmail.org.

Education Trends

From the Creating a path for learning in the 21st Century blog:

Five Trends in the Future of Education

November 6th, 2011 · No Comments · 21st century classroom, change, Trends

1. Openness – I think this trend started years ago. There is a huge feeling that education should be open and public and in this trend we have open access to research and raw data at our finger tips.

2. Greater insight into the knowledge creation process – From brain research theory to observing kids learn, when have gained valuable insight in how knowledge is created. 

3. Mobile learning. – Two things pop into mind with this trend. First, many kids now have their own mobile device- laptops, iPads, netbooks, iPods, and the list goes own. Our school infrastructures must change to allow those who are able to bring their own into the learning environment.

4. Changed role of the teacher- We will finally get rid of the idea that the teacher is the sole expert in the classroom. This is so important to the shift that is taking place in our world, and the shift that needs to happen in our classrooms. 

4. Alternative forms of assessment – The word alternate forms will be so outdated. I don’t think standardized test will leave but how we think about them politically and internally (inside the school) will change. 

5. Rethinking the classroom environment – This goes hand-in-hand with the curricula redesign necessitated by alternative forms of assessment. How should we build new (or reorganize existing) classrooms? When we think about classrooms we have to think beyond the four walls and we must think of the classroom as a global space. The environment is bigger than the classroom space but not limited.

Click here to see all the comments

Rock Hill and Northwestern Football Playoff Brackets Announced.

Brackets for the 4A division l and 4A division ll have been announced. Rock Hill High (15) will be playing in division  one and will be traveling to Byrnes (2) on Friday. Click here to see the playoff bracket.

Northwestern High School (9) will be in division two and will be traveling to Richland North East (8) on Friday. Click here to see the playoff bracket.

South Pointe High School won its first round game and will be playing Greenville at home this Friday. Click here to see which teams are left in the 3A bracket.

Representative Norman Letter To School Board

I attended a meeting of the South Carolina Education Connect last week, "Competing in a Global Society". There were a lot of thought provoking speakers (Mick Zais, Yong Zhao, Jamie Vollmer, Dick Riley, Hugh Leatherman, Jason Broadwater, Lucy Beckham, Christy Ray, Dick Wilkerson, Mike Patrick, Pamela Lackey) and I've been contemplating how to summarize my thoughts from the conference. Then,  I received a letter from Representative Ralph Norman, which complements some of the discussion last week. His letter is below:

You really should read the article  Rep. Norman sent. Click here to get the article that was written by Rupert Murdoch (not Steve Jobs) and appeared in the Wall Street Journal. He mentions several items that I have previously posted about. He also distorts some of the facts about the current state of education in this country, and of course, he fails to mention  his investment  in education technology (for sale to schools). Never-the-less, these are issues we need to be talking about.

Below is a television report of Murdoch's speech in San Francisco. Unfortunately, a lot of the report is devoted to a teachers union protest of his speech.

  Click here for a link to the video.

I sent an email to Rep. Norman asking for a meeting  at our Applied Technology Center to discuss the article and to see first hand some of the wonderful things we are doing with technology there. We'll have a discussion about this next week.

Speed of Light - Something to Think About

Click here for a video link.