Weekly Hoots

Dear Wise Owls Family,

Happy New Year! As we step into this exciting chapter, I want to take a moment to share my gratitude for your continued support and partnership in making our school a nurturing and vibrant learning community.

The start of the second semester provides us with an opportunity to reflect on our accomplishments, set new goals, and reaffirm our commitment to ensuring every student thrives academically, socially, and emotionally. Your children have already shown remarkable growth, and I am confident they will continue to shine as we work together to finish the school year strong.

Thank you for being such an integral part of our school community. Together, we can make the second semester a time of meaningful growth and achievement for every student. Let’s finish the school year strong!

B. Gantt

#AllforONE!

Our mission is to cultivate a caring community that utilizes a multitude of teaching and learning experiences to prepare children for their next adventure.

1. We believe that everyone deserves to feel safe, valued, and appreciated.
2. We believe that all children deserve a high quality education.
3. We believe in collaboration and making connections.

Staying Safe

Owning Your Actions

Acting Responsibly

Respecting Everyone & Everything

“South Carolina Compulsory Attendance Law requires that a parent or guardian shall require his child to attend regularly a public or private school or kindergarten of this State which has been approved by the State Board of Education, a member school of the South Carolina Independent Schools and Association, a member school of the South Carolina Association of Christian Schools, or some similar organization, or a parochial, denominational, or church-related school, or other programs which have been approved by the State Board of Education f rom the school year in which the child is five years of age before September first until the child attains his seventeenth birthday or graduates from high school.”

Please also submit any medical or additional excuses to the front office. We process our attendance forms once per week so you may not immediately see that the note has been accepted.

Monday, January 20th

Martin Luther King Jr. Day - Schools & Offices will be closed

Friday, January 24th

Tags of Honor Celebration for grades 1, 4, & 5

Monday, January 27th

Tags of Honor Celebration for grades K, 3, & 2

Our primary goal is to ensure every child receives the support they need to grow academically, socially, and emotionally. From time to time, we may recommend retention—having a child repeat a grade—as a strategy to provide them with the additional time and resources they need to thrive.

Retention is not a decision we take lightly. It is carefully considered with input from teachers, counselors, and most importantly, you—the family. Here are some key points to help you understand the process:

• Skill Development: If your child is significantly behind in foundational skills such as reading, math, or social-emotional development, repeating a grade can offer a chance to build a stronger foundation.
• Maturity Considerations: Sometimes, a child’s developmental readiness for the next grade level may not align with their current age group.
• Long-Term Success: Retention can provide your child the opportunity to gain confidence and master essential skills to better prepare them for future challenges.

• Ongoing Monitoring: We closely monitor your child’s progress throughout the year. Concerns about potential gaps are addressed early.
• Collaborative Meetings: Teachers, specialists, and I will meet with you to discuss your child’s progress and concerns, reviewing evidence such as assessments, classroom performance, and observations.
• Family Input: We value your perspective and will work together to make the best decision for your child.
• Tailored Support: Whether retention occurs or not, we create a plan to meet your child’s unique needs.

Some of our Wise Owls received their child's i-Ready information this past week and a part of that information shared that students were at risk of being retained. If a student is truly at risk for retention at this point in the school year, parents have been contacted regarding concerns.

This is not the case with third grade due to Read to Succeed legislation that requires students scoring Not Met on SCReady (indicated by a score <489 on i-Ready) be retained. (please read Read to Succeed information below for more information)

Reading is the core of the school day for young children because students need strong reading skills to learn in all other school subjects, such as science, social studies, writing, and math. By the end of third grade, students are expected to be able to read independently and comprehend a variety of grade-level texts based upon South Carolina College- and Career-Ready (SCCCR) Standards.

South Carolina law states, "Beginning with the 2017-18 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 [SC READY Reading]."

Act 114 (updated Read to Succeed legislation) requires that beginning with the 2024-2025 school year, a student must be retained in the third grade if the student fails to demonstrate reading proficiency by scoring Does Not Meet Expectations on SC READY Reading. A student may be exempt for good cause from the mandatory retention but shall continue to receive instructional support and services and reading intervention appropriate for their age and reading level.

Successful completion of Summer Reading camp is defined more narrowly to include alternate formative assessments or reassessment of SC READY (see note below) and revised cut scores to reflect the requirements of Act 114.

NEW - Formative Alternative Assessment Cut Scores Approved or Summer Reading Camp:
iReady – 489

Mastery View Predictive Assessment and Istation's Indicators of Progress are on the SCDEs approved formative/interim assessment list. However, according to Act 114, they can only double as a Summer Reading Good Cause Exemption if the vendor can provide the equivalent "Approaches" cut score to that of SC Ready. These alternate scores are procured through a formal, research-based linking study. Currently, of our five approved assessments, only MAP, STAR and iReady have procured approved, alternate cut scores via these studies.

Note: Due to the implementation of the 2024 ELA standards and test development, SC READY will not be an option as an assessment at the end of Summer Reading Camp during the 2024-25 school year. We look forward to making it available in the future.

The Third Grade Retention Guidance Document is available here (DOC - Revised September 2024).

If a third-grade student scores Does Not Meet on SC Ready Reading, the school/district should first determine if any of the following Good Cause Exemptions (GCE) apply prior to the end of the school year:

1) Is a student with limited English proficiency and less than two years of instruction in English as a Second Language program;

2) Is a student with disabilities whose Individualized Education Program indicates the use of alternative assessments or alternative reading interventions and students with disabilities whose Individualized Education Program or Section 504 Plan reflects that the student has received intensive remediation in reading for more than two years but still does not substantially demonstrate reading proficiency;

3) Is a student who has received two years of reading intervention and was previously retained; and/or

4) Is a student who demonstrates third grade reading proficiency by scoring the equivalent of Approaches Expectations on an approved norm-referenced alternative assessment.

Currently, the approved alternate assessments include MAP, STAR, and iReady. Students must score the equivalent of Approaches Expectations or above on SC Ready Reading on the alternate assessment. The cut scores are as follows:

• iReady - 489

One of the many components of Read to Succeed is third grade summer reading camps. Each district must identify third grade students who are not reading proficiently on grade level and provide them with the opportunity to attend a summer reading camp. During the summer reading camps students will be taught by highly qualified teachers who have experience in working with struggling readers. Students will have the opportunity to receive small group and individual instruction to work on their reading, writing, listening, and researching skills.

In our continuing effort to improve the academic performance of students, our school implements interventions to include Special Education and a program called Response to Intervention (RtI). Both models are designed to provide effective instruction to meet the needs of students using scientific, peer-reviewed, research-based interventions. These programs focus on improving the educational performance of students who are experiencing difficulty in the area of reading.

If you have specific questions pertaining to the information shared in this letter, please contact Lindsey McDaniel, Reading Coach at (843) 899-8880 or mcdaniell@bcsdschools.net.

The ACCESS for ML students testing window opens January 21 and closes March 7. Students will be tested at various times throughout that window. Families can reach out to Ms. Gallagher for more specific dates and times for their individual children.

Given our use of space around campus and in an effort to minimize clutter throughout the building, we will no longer hold a Lost & Found on campus.

Please write your children's first and last names on items such as jackets, lunch boxes, water bottles, etc. At the end of each day and week, we will attempt to return all left items to the child's respective teacher.

Items left on or around campus without a student's name will risk being donated in opposed to being held on campus.

Thank you for your support!

If there is a change of transportation, a note with a parent/guardian's signature MUST be provided. Any student that tells staff that his or her parent/guardian told them to go home by another means will not be honored. For the safety of our students, a change in transportation must be submitted in writing to the student's teacher AND to the Front Office.

To ensure that our students remain safe while off-campus, we are asking families to purchase a WES School Spirit Shirt. Students will be able to wear their School Spirit Shirt on all of their Field Studies which has our 2024-25 AllforONE! logo and our school's contact information (on the front of the shirt). Also, 100% of the proceeds will go back in our field trip budget to ensure that we can keep costs down for families.

Shirts cost $10

Order your shirt using the link below

*shirts will come white with the blue logo or blue with the white logo

Show your school spirit and support our students by grabbing your WES Car Magnet! Every purchase helps fund exciting programs and activities, enriching your child's school experience. Plus, you are showcasing your WES pride in your community. Join us in making a difference—buy now and roll with school pride!

Car Magnets cost $10.

Friday, March 7th - Boosterthon Fun Run

Thursday, April 10th - Spring Fling (a part of STEAM Night)

Friday, May 23rd - 5th Grade Celebration

Breakfast and lunch will be served on every day. If your student wants to eat breakfast at school, they should arrive to school between 6:50 a.m. - 7:18 a.m. Breakfast will no longer be served after 7:45 a.m.

• Our school's website is found at https://www.bcsdschools.net/o/wes
• WES Facebook page is Whitesville Elementary School Wise Owls
• The Weekly Hoots newsletter will be emailed & texted to families every Sunday evening. Please be sure to have your updated information in PowerSchool.
• Our PTO's website is wiseowlspto.com.
• Our PTO's Facebook page is Whitesville Wise Owls PTO.
• Schoology: Teachers will update their grades weekly.
• Rooms: Our two-way form of communication at WES. Every teacher at WES will use Rooms as a tool for communication.