Warrior Weekly

The mission of Waccamaw Middle School is to ensure that each Warrior is provided a strong, standards based academic foundation, diverse extra-curricular experiences, and opportunities to develop ownership and pride in order to create well-rounded lifelong learners in a safe and supported community.

The Waccamaw Middle School Concert Band participated in Concert Performance Assessments, hosted by the South Carolina Band Directors Association at Loris High School on Tuesday, April 1st. Students were awarded an Excellent Rating overall, while also receiving a Superior score in Sight Reading. Students were judged on multiple categories including Tone, Technique, and Stage Presence. Congratulations to these students and all their hard work! We are so proud of you!

It's March Madness all around and WMS was right in the middle of all the action. Reading action that is, with our March Beanstack Challenge entitled "March Reading Madness." Warrior Times competed against each other bracket-style to see which classes would read the most and advance to the next round. In the end it was Mr. Milliken's class that came out on top by reading 18,759 minutes and took possession of the "Winning Warrior" Championship belt! They'll also receive an ice cream sundae party and Mr. Milliken will get his duty covered for a week. While his class may have won the Warrior Time challenge, all of our students were winners as our school logged 134,891 reading minutes for the month of March! What an amazing accomplishment! Way to go Warriors! Keep on reading!

Congratulations to our Warriors for their Outstanding Achievement at the GCSD Academic Scholars Recognition Ceremony! We were so proud to recognize these incredible students: Greyson Ballard, Ella Cahill, Ansley Collins, Will Dieter, Mason Dvorshock, Avery Ford, Banks Formo, Lucas Garcia, Addie Nelson, Nicholas Papadea, Wells Ryan, Bodi Ryba, Crew Spires, Caroline Stewart, Beckett Vaughn and Becca Wilson. We also want to congratulate Banks Formo for recieving the highest PSAT score in math and to Ansley Collins for having the highest score in Evidence Based Reading & Writing!

During the March 4th GCSD Board of Trustees meeting, a plan was approved to make up instructional time lost as a result of January’s winter storm. As a result of these changes, adjustments have been made to GCSD’s instructional calendar:

• The Fourth Nine Weeks will run from March 24 to May 30

• Thursday, May 29 – Previously scheduled as a half-day, this date will now be a full in-person instructional day. All schools will follow their normal schedules.

Retake Policy- In order to improve student learning and increase mastery of state standards, students will have the opportunity to retake major summative assessments by correcting errors on the attempted original test*. The newly corrected answers must be accompanied by a sentence to explain why the change in answer. The retake policy does not apply to projects or formal writing assessments that include multiple checkpoints and/or rubric. All students who score below a 70 will be allowed to complete test corrections, and the highest possible score a student can receive from a retake is a 70. Retakes must be completed within five instructional days after the original test took place. This does not apply to mid-term and final exams.

*The retake assessment can be determined by the teacher at their discretion.

Dress Code- Student dress and grooming should be neat, clean, and appropriate. The Board reserves the right to bar from school those students whose personal appearance is disruptive to the educational process and orderly operation of the school or presents a health or safety concern. As long as clothes are not disruptive to the educational process, as judged by the administrative team of a school, the attire will be acceptable. Clothing must be worn as the manufacturer intended. In complying with the above, the following guidelines are suggested:

1. Belts should be buckled, sashes tied, and buttons buttoned, except at the neck. Pants should be worn at the waist.

2. Shoe laces should be tied, buckled or worn as the manufacturer intended. Shoes that cause undue attention or a health and safety hazard should be avoided.

3. Clothing, buttons, signs or other adornments which display pictures or language of an obscene nature or are related to the use of consumption of alcoholic beverages or controlled substances should not be worn.

4. Hats, caps or head scarves should not be worn inside the building.

5. Sunglasses should not be worn inside the school, unless they are necessary for correction of medical problems.

6. Students’ hair, including any facial hair, should be neat, clean and well groomed.

7. Clothes should be worn with appropriate undergarments. Undershirts customarily worn as undergarments should not be worn without shirts or blouses. Undergarments should be covered by outerwear. Tank tops, sheer blouses or shirts that cause undue attention should be avoided.

8. Combs (except for barrette-style combs), hair curlers and picks should not be worn in the hair.

Study Buddies: Starting Q4, all students that have a 64 and under for an F1 grade for one or more core subjects will attend Study Buddies Monday-Thursday during the school week. This is a great opportunity to make up work and get individual assistance from a teacher during lunch/recess to make sure students pass their grade.

Incentive Day- We are offering an incentive day to all WMS students that meet the requirements below. This means that during that certain class of met requirement, they will be allowed to go outside like an extra recess. The incentive day will be on Thursday, May 22, 2025. Get those grades up Warriors!

• A student must have a final grade (F1) of 90 or above by May 16, 2025. This is a hard deadline with no exceptions.

• English 1 HN, Algebra 1 HN and Fund amentals of Computing have an attendance requirement to it as it is a high school credit. You must not exceed ten absences for the year (excused or unexcused).

APRIL

April 11… “Mean Girls” School-Wide Field Trip

April 18… Staff Development - No school for students

April 21-25… Spring Break

MAY

May 2… SC Ready Pep Rally

May 5… SC Ready- TDW

May 6… SC Ready- Math

May 8… SC Ready- ELA 1

May 9… SC Ready- ELA 2

May 13… English 1-Written Exam

May 14… iReady- Reading

May 15… iReady- Math

May 21… Algebra 1 EOC

May 22… English 1- Multiple Choice Exam (certain students) AND WMS Incentive Day

May 23… Senior Walkthrough & School-Wide Field Day

May 26… NO SCHOOL (MEMORIAL DAY)

May 27… 8th Grade Promotion PRACTICE (Mandatory)

May 28… 8th Grade Promotion Ceremony (AM) & 7th Grade Awards Ceremony (PM)

May 29… Full Day of School

May 30… ½ Day/Last Day of School

As always, please let us know if you have any questions or if we can help you in any way and remember... We Just Can’t Hide That Warrior Pride!

WMS will have a school-wide field trip to WHS on Friday, April 11, to watch and support our Drama students' production of "Mean Girls Jr." The last day to turn in permission slips for this trip is Tuesday, April 8. We will not accept any permission slips past April 8, so please have your child return the signed form by this date.

We need your feedback to help WMS continue to grow, improve, and make our school the best it can be! Please use the directions below to complete the Parent Climate survey as soon as possible. This survey is part of the SC School Report Card that provides information about each school and district, including test performance, teacher qualifications, student safety, awards, parent involvement, and much more. Your valuable insight is important to the success of our school.

The South Carolina Education and Economic Development Act (EEDA) requires middle schools to implement an Individual Graduation Plan (IGP) for all 8th-grade students. During these IGP meetings, we will create academic/career goals for your child and select their 9th-grade high school courses. It is strongly encouraged that a parent/guardian attends the meeting with their child so they can be involved in the high school planning process. To schedule the IGP meeting with your child, please visit https://calendly.com/kimwilliamswms/individualized-graduation-plan-meetings to book your in-person appointment with Mrs. K. Williams at Waccamaw Middle School. If you are open to discussing this with another 8th-grade student and parent in the same meeting, please coordinate times and sign up with both students' names during the same time slot.

8th graders have already met with the guidance counselors from WHS to learn about class options for 9th grade. They also received a list of available courses. Please review this list with your child and select the courses you would like prior to your scheduled IGP meeting, and bring it with you to the actual IGP meeting. This will save a lot of time in the actual meeting. If we are unable to schedule an IGP meeting together, I will meet with your child during their school day to select high school courses with them, but I would greatly appreciate your input in the selection of courses. All IGPs must be completed by Friday, April 11, 2025.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me at kiwilliams@gcsd.k12.sc.us or 843-237-0106. I look forward to meeting with you and your child to help plan for their future.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScwjVr_KaEChCEO8Li76pPqdoK3whHJgB1W_Qt26d4kpAZB_w/viewform?usp=pp_url

Are you interested in being a member of Waccamaw High School's Student Council next year? What about running for office? Current members of WHS's Student Council will be on our campus April 16th to talk with students about the great opportunities available and how you can be a leader is this organization. Elections for next year's officers will be held at WMS during the week of April 28th.

In the Art Room we are in the middle of our clay unit and it would be awesome to get some more glazes and a few other supplies as well. There is currently a Donors Choose project requesting these materials. Click here for more information. If you can donate, the artists would greatly appreciate it!! Here are a few examples of the finished clay pieces from Semester 1. Thanks for your continued support!

Saturday, March 29th

Track and Field Cane Bay Invitational at 8:30 am

Boys Golf Blue Jacket Tournament at Diamondback - Time: TBA

Sunday, March 30th

Boys Golf Blue Jacket Tournament at Diamondback - Time: TBA

Monday, March 31st

Boys Tennis vs St. James @ 5:00 pm

Boys JV Lacrosse at Carolina Forest @ 6:00 pm

JV Baseball vs Andrews @ 6:00 pm

JV Softball vs North Myrtle Beach @ 6:00 pm

JV Girls Lacrosse vs Carolina Forest @ 6:00 pm

Tuesday, April 1st

Boys Golf vs St. James at Tradition @ 4:30 pm

B Team Baseball at Carolina Forest @ 6:00 pm

JV Girls Soccer at Loris @ 6:00 pm

JV Softball at Georgetown @ 6:00 pm

JV Boys Soccer vs Loris @ 6:00 pm

Wednesday, April 2nd

Boys Golf vs Socastee at Tradition @ 4:30 pm

JV Girls Lacrosse at Philip Simmons @ 5:00 pm

JV Baseball at Myrtle Beach @ 6:00 pm

JV Softball vs Andrews @ 6:00 pm

JV Boys Soccer at Wando @ 6:00 pm

Thursday, April 3rd

JV Softball vs Loris @ 6:30 pm

Friday, April 4th

JV Girls Soccer vs Georgetown @ 6:00 pm

JV Boys Soccer at Georgetown @ 6:00 pm

In an effort to update our library's nonfiction collection, we would like to ask that you follow the instructions below, and join WMS to help raise funds through Boxtops for Education. If this is overwhelming, and you would like to simply turn in your receipts, please turn them into Mrs. K. Williams and we will do the scanning on our end. Thank you for your support!

Help PTO sell and distribute items to students at the WMS School Store! Click on the image on the left to sign up. Also, please make sure you've completed and submitted a GCSD Volunteer form before your arrival. Forms can be found here or in the WMS Front Office.

R. H. Moore is one of the largest utility contractors within South Carolina and provides construction services that include water, wastewater, storm sewer, site grading and site preparation operations of medium to large diameter mains and sites. Their staff’s knowledge, experience and management provide clients with long-lasting benefits and costs savings in the construction industry. R.H. Moore Company, Inc., has a large enough work force that enables them to self-perform most of their construction installation without depending on other outside sources. Contact them at 843-650-2155 to see what they can do for you.

Thank you to R.H. Moore for partnering with us at the GOLD level!

Email: radams@gcsd.k12.sc.us
Website: https://www.gcsd.k12.sc.us/o/wms
Location: 247 Wildcat Way, Pawleys Island, SC, USA
Phone: 843-237-0106
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Waccamawmiddleschool/