Colleton County School District

⭐⭐Tuesday, September 17, 2024, was an exciting day for the students at Forest Hills Elementary. The D.A.R.E. program kicked off at Forest Hills Elementary! Over the next 10 weeks, students will learn all about making good choices. Thank you, SRO R. Valentine for leading this great program. ⭐⭐

During the Friday Reading Coaches meeting held at the District Office on 9/20/24, Mrs, Headden read her all time favorite book to the coaches. "The Paper Bag Princess" was not just read to the coaches. They were able to draw parallels from it to their practices at school. Mrs. Headden even wore a crown as she read the story.

Congratulations to the Band of Blue on their 2nd place ranking this weekend at the 2024 Mustang Classic at Midland Valley High School. Overall the Band of Blue ranked: 2nd in Music; 1st in Visual and 2nd in Effect in Class 4A. The Band of Blue was 4th overall out of all 18 bands and won High Visual and Best Drum Major and the Mustang Spirit Award for the best fans! The Walterboro Band Classic is this Saturday, September 28 starting at 1:20pm at Cougar Stadium. The Band of Blue performs at 9pm! Way to go BIG BLUE!!

SCREADY RECOGNITION Harley T., NES, 4 th Grade Congratulations on your incredible academic performance on the 2023-2024 SC READY test. This achievement places you in a distinguished top one percent of students statewide who score a perfect score on the SC READY test! Your diligence and perseverance have paid off with exceptional results. It is this kind of hard work and dedication that will undoubtedly take you to great heights. Congratulations for setting such a high standard of excellence for yourself.

Revised (9-12-24) 2024-2025 School Calendar The Colleton County School District Board of Trustees approved revisions to the 2024-2025 School Calendar on Tuesday, September 17, 2024. The revisions assist the district in making up 2 days of lost instructional time due to the effects/damage caused by Tropical Storm Deby. The changes approved are listed below: Make Up Dates: October 9, 2024 will be the make up day for August 8, 2024 January 7, 2025 will be the make up day for August 9, 2024 Important Changes: ***October 8, 2024 is now a full day ***October 9, 2024 is now a half day.

In celebration of our current unit in Open Court, our fourth graders are making a difference at Bells Elementary School! The students began bringing in donations to stock our blessing box. However, it wasn't until then that we realized that our blessing box wasn't just in need of repair. It needed to be replaced. Jeff Johansen stepped up and replaced our blessing box with a wonderful build that will last our school and the local community for years to come. It filled our hearts to see our students fill our new blessing box with new items that will support those in need. We are so thankful for the opportunity to apply our focus of making a difference while showing our students the importance of teamwork in our community.

Monday, September 9, 2024, Bells Elementary held a Grandparents' Day Celebration. Grandparents participated in a parade while students & staff cheered for them. Grandparents also helped plant a garden to commemorate the special day. Afterwards, the grandparents were treated to coffee & doughnuts.

Friday, September 13, 2024 was a great day to be a Forest Hills Elementary Cougar Cub. The CCHS Varsity Football Team read to students at Forest Hills Elementary! Even Coach Kinloch participated! Thank you, CCHS Varsity Football, for visiting & reading to the FHE Cougar Cubs. #CougarPride

OFFICE OF SUPERINTENDENT September 12, 2024 Greetings Colleton County School District Families, This is Jessica Williams, Superintendent of the Colleton County School District. Ensuring student safety has become more urgent than ever. Schools should be a haven where students can focus on learning and growing without fear. Recent events involving threats circulating nationally, statewide, and in our local community about school violence has alarmed me greatly. It has become increasingly important for me to be clear about the expectations for students engaging in inappropriate social media posts regarding threats of violence. Keeping our students in Colleton County safe, and holding all students accountable for engaging in such behaviors is imperative. Posting and reposting false information about school violence or perceived school violence activities in our schools is simply irresponsible. As Superintendent, I do not take any form of threats to our schools and/or rumors of violence to our learning community lightly. Every rumor the district is aware of will be thoroughly investigated, and the consequences of making those rumors and threats will be pursued to the fullest extent of board policy and the law. Additionally, any student found to be responsible for engaging in these behaviors will face school consequences and possible criminal charges. I am asking all parents to converse with their students about making good choices. We do not take rumors and threats of violence as a joke. Please know that your child’s safety in our schools is our highest priority. We are actively monitoring all social media and school communication to ensure the protection of our school community. We have software and other technologies to help support this effort. IT’S ALL ABOUT THE KIDS! THE TIME IS NOW! In closing, parents, please talk to your students about these behaviors. Please inform them if they “see something, say something” to their school level administrators. Our responsibility is to ensure that our kids in the Colleton County School System have a safe learning environment, and we are committed to doing whatever it takes to maintain safety and security. I appreciate your continued support and partnership as we lead the way in preparing every student to graduate from the Colleton County School District with a 21st-century education to be globally competitive for their chosen college and career path in a safe, secure, and positive learning environment. And remember, “It’s all about the kids! The time is NOW! Thank you for your continued support! Jessica F. Williams Superintendent 500 Forest Circle Walterboro, SC 29488 Telephone: 843-782-4510, colleton.k12.sc.us

Media Release From the Colleton County Sheriff's Office:

Colleton County School District & our faculty & staff at each of our schools have been working diligently throughout the year to improve our SC Department of Education's School Report Card Ratings. Though we are not where we want to be, we are improving and have shown growth since returning to school after COVID. We are not done. Colleton County School District will continue to strive towards improvement. New report ratings will be released October 10, 2024. We are TEAM Colleton! #ItsAllAboutThe Kids!TheTimeIsNow! #CCSDPurposeDriven2024-2025! #CCSDForwardThinking2024-2025!

Please enjoy our special July edition of "The District Digest" that showcases some of our dedicated and hardworking faculty & staff. https://secure.smore.com/n/sh9drk

Science Teachers Needed at Colleton County High School- Join Team Colleton today! Apply Today: https://www.applitrack.com/colletonsd/onlineapp/default.aspx

Petty Officer Drake presented to Ms Bonnie Brown and Ms Tammy McMillion's Juniors and Seniors today about reality, their career goals, and career opportunities within the Navy. PO Drake explained the differences of the different branches of the military. The combat branches are the Army and Marines which are designed for combat, and the support branches are the Navy and Air Force, which focus on logistics/sciences, and making sure that they have what is needed. The Air Force supports the Army and the Navy supports the Marines. PO Drake shared the differences and similarities between civilian life and military life as far as the benefits and salaries. He shared information about the mattress approach: M-money A-advancement T-training R-recreation E-education S-security S-success PO Drakes told the students that the best part of being in the military for him are the benefits of having healthcare. He also shared his various travel experiences. In closing, PO Drake gave the students surveys to complete with the option to express if they wanted further information about the Navy or the option to opt out.

Congratulations to the Varsity Girls Tennis Team on their 5-1 win over Woodland on Tuesday, September 3, 2024, and to JV Girls Tennis on their 5-1 win over Hampton! The Lady Cougars improve to 4-0 with this victory #CougarPride

Mark your calendars. Plan to celebrate "National Night Out" on Tuesday, October 1, 2024.

Kudos to our students that participated in the Kindergarten to First Grade summer reading challenge offered by Original Six Foundation!

On Wednesday, August 28, 2024, International Math teachers engaged in PD that centered around student engagement, effective use of technology, formative assessment strategies, and lesson plan development.

On Friday, August 23, the US Marines brought their pull-up bar to CCHS which had the students of all grade levels actively engaged. Students learned more about careers in the US Marines as well. Girl Power!

On Friday, August 23, the US Marines brought their pull-up bar to CCHS which had the students of all grade levels actively engaged. Students learned more about careers in the US Marines as well.