Our first week back at Colleton County School District was truly exceptional! CCSD welcomed over 4900 students back to their schools this week, and we are ready and willing to provide each one with all that they need to be successful.
Each school welcomed their students back in a unique way this week, and our teachers began providing needed instruction from the first hour of school reopening. Our school principals were also on hand to welcome students and their families back to school, answering questions and providing the guidance necessary for a smooth transition to their learning environments.
How did CCSD employees create a stellar school year launch? The answer is simple: hard work, preparation and valuable partnerships!
Back to School Bash – August 6, 2022
Approximately 429 adults, 1,422 students and 27 vendors attended the 15th Annual Colleton County School District Back to School Bash on August 6, 2022, the highest turnout recorded in the history of this event!
Over 1400 supply kits were distributed to students and their families during this event, which was held at the Colleton High School Track Field. Attendees also received food packages, played games, danced to music, enjoyed leaping in jump castles, and observed a car show hosted by South Carolina Law Enforcement Officers.
We thank everyone for making this our most well-attended bash to date! We especially thank our Colleton County School District Sponsors, Healthy Blue, Central Williams (owner of Exclusive Concepts), J & J Fence Company, Lowcountry Foodbank, and the Colleton County Summer Feeding Program.
We also thank our Gold Donors: the Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, the Colleton County Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse and Genesis Health Care.
We definitely could not have hosted this event without all of our fabulous community partners. Again, thank you to all the vendors, volunteers, and our community who helped make this event a huge success! We are always happy to help provide the resources our school district families need.
Professional Development Week and Open House Events: August 8 – 12, 2022
Every staff member, regardless of their role, received professional development training during the week of August 8-12, which discussed culturally responsive training, behavior support, new district programs, integrating arts in the classroom and many other subjects.
In addition, all of our schools hosted Open House events August 9-11, 2022, giving our community the opportunity to tour our district buildings, meet our teachers and staff, receive schools supplies such as clear book bags and ask back to school related questions. Each school celebrated their own themes. For example: Black Street Early Childhood Center was visited by mascot Hootie the Owl, Cottageville Elementary School featured their own Eagle Mascot, Bells Elementary was visited by their Bear mascot, Northside Elementary School featured their new Shark mascot, and Hendersonville Elementary School celebrated the launch of their new Bee logo! Some schools, such as Colleton County Middle School, also hosted vendors during their Open House event that offered numerous educational resources to our community.
The Colleton County Summer Feeding program was on hand at all schools during our open house, serving pizza and other items to attendees.
By working together, CCSD's teachers and support professionals made sure our first day back went off without a hitch!
Convocation – August 12, 2022
After this long week of training, the staff of each district facility was able to release some pent-up energy during our August 12 Convocation. Teachers, custodians, bus drivers and district office workers were all able to participate in several field day-style event like tug-of-war, an inflatable “jousting” arena, a breakfast tasting contest, musical chairs and water balloon tossing.
In addition, each school created a banner and special chant to be displayed and performed at Convocation, and each school’s staff competed to steal the show with their custom recitations. While each school gave enthusiastic and lively displays, Colleton County High School was awarded first prize for their chant, which featured cheerleaders, megaphones and even a smoke machine!
Here's a list of our game competitions, winners and the prizes they won:
OVERALL WINNERS
1st place: CCHS - won a custom “Winners” belt and a poster maker for the school
2nd Place: CCMS - won trophy and catered lunch for the staff
3rd Place: Forest Hills - won trophy and a two-hour DJ/karaoke session for school compliments of Jus Luv Music
EVENT WINNERS
Best Breakfast Item: Forest Hills (Judged by Phillip Taylor of Colleton County Council and CCSD School Board Vice Chairman Sharon Witkin)
Best Tent: Northside Elementary
Best School Banner: CCHS
Best School Performance: CCHS
Name That Tune: CCMS
Musical Chairs: TCTC and Hendersonville
Jousting: Forest Hills Elementary
Water Balloon Toss: CCHS
Tug of War: CCHS and Cottageville
Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader: CCHS
Bungee Run: CCHS
This outdoors Convocation event was the first of its kind, illustrating the innovative approach CCSD has adopted so we can continue to be a great district in which to learn and work!
CCSD…Progress Forever, Backwards Never!
Colleton County School District has always worked to foster a school environment that exposes students to career-ready skills, builds teacher collaboration ability, gives all children a boost to their confidence and connects our community to the resources they need to thrive. The many events and activities we have hosted in our district over the past two weeks are just a taste of what is to come.
CCSD remains dedicated to providing high quality education to our students in a safe and secure fashion. We can’t wait to show our community all of the new ways we will meet this worthy goal!