Colleton County Middle

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Colleton County School District 500 Forest Circle Walterboro, SC 29488 Home - Colleton County School District Colleton County School District Continues Monitoring Hurricane Helene/Operational Schedule Change As a precaution, the Colleton County School District will transition from onsite operations to e-learning for Friday, September 27, 2024, due to Hurricane Helene's increased wind gusts. These gusts may exceed the maximum limit for safe and secure bus transport of students to school, as per the latest updates from the National Weather Service - Charleston. In order to avoid adding a weather make-up day to the school calendar, the District will implement an e-learning day for our students. Each school will provide additional information about e-learning. All buildings and district facilities will be closed for in-person activities. Our top priority is the safety of our students, staff, and their families. In closing, please keep your families safe during this tropical weather that we are experiencing, and continue to monitor the District’s official communication methods to include our website posting, parent notification system and social media platforms.

Greetings CCMS families, See the flyer below.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Colleton County School District 500 Forest Circle Walterboro, SC 29488 Home - Colleton County School District Colleton County School District Continues Monitoring Hurricane Helene CCSD Operational Schedule As Colleton County School District collaborates with our local county emergency management team and the South Carolina Emergency Management Division, the Colleton County School District will implement our Early Dismissal Schedule for all schools on Thursday, September 26, 2024, due to potential rainfall, high wind gusts, possible tornado warnings, and hazardous road conditions. All extra-curricular activities and athletic events have been canceled as well. The early dismissal schedule is listed below: Early Dismissal Schedule – Thursday, September 26, 2024. On Friday, September 27, 2024, the district will implement a delayed start for students & staff. Our top priority is the safety of our students, staff, and their families. We will continue to post all school-related changes to our district website (www.colleton.k12.sc.us) and our district’s social media platforms by 4:00 pm daily. Please keep your families safe during any tropical weather that we will experience. In closing, the school district is committed to the safety and education of all students. Our goal is to provide a secure and supportive learning environment, even in times of emergency.

We have been informed by Stratford that they have canceled Thursday's Middle School and JV Football contests due to Tropical Storm Helene. We will work with Stratford to reschedule at a later date. Thank you. Wayne Alston Director of District Athletics Colleton County School District ColletonCountyCougars.com

Please note the change in the schedule for the upcoming football game between CCHS & Stratford.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Colleton County School District 500 Forest Circle Walterboro, SC 29488 Home - Colleton County School District Colleton County School District is monitoring Tropical Storm Helene/Operational Schedule Colleton County School District is actively monitoring Tropical Storm Helene at this time. We are receiving valuable updates from our local county emergency management team and the National Weather Service. While the storm is predicted to be an extensive system, and its impact may reach well outside its path, its specific effect on our region of the Lowcountry is still undetermined. We will continue to monitor Tropical Storm Helene's trajectory and maintain updated communications regarding its impact on our county and school district. We will continue to post all school-related changes to our district website (www.colleton.k12.sc.us) and our district’s social media platforms by 4:00 pm daily. In closing, the school district is committed to the safety and education of all students. Our goal is to provide a secure and supportive learning environment, even in times of emergency.

Due to weather concerns and potential unsafe conditions for Friday Sept. 27th, we are moving the Varsity Football Game to Wednesday Sept. 25th at 6:30 PM. Please let me know if you see any possible concerns from the game change. We will send out a dialer tomorrow morning letting everyone know about the change. If you have any questions or concerns please feel free to contact me as soon as possible. Thank you all for your continued support. Hall of Fame Game: The group of inductee's to the Colleton County Athletic Hall of Fame will be recognized during pre-game on October 11th vs. Beaufort at 7:05 PM. We will recognize Hall of Fame immediately following the Cougar Walk. This will also be included in our press release. Thank you.

The Band of Blue presented a Parent Preview of their 2024 show "Connections" on Friday, September 20, 2024, at 7pm at Cougar Stadium. They used this performance to prepare one final time before they marched in their 1st competition on Saturday, September 21, 2024, at Midland Valley HS in Aiken, SC. GO BIG BLUE! Band of Blue Upcoming Contests 2024: 9/21 - Mustang Classic at Midland Valley High School in Aiken, SC at 7:30pm 9/28 - 47th Annual Walterboro Band Classic - Gates open at Noon - Band of Blue performs at 9pm 10/5 - Band of Blue at Coastal Empire Classic at Effingham High School in Rincon, GA at 7:30pm 10/12 - Band of Blue at Silver Spirit Invitational in Aiken, SC at 7:45pm 10/19 - Band of Blue at South Effingham Marching Mustang Invitational Marching Festival at South Effingham HS in Effingham, GA TBA 10/26 - Band of Blue at the SCBDA 4A State Marching Band Championships - Prelims Big Blue performs at 12:30pm; Finals TBD

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.

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.

Greetings CCMS families, Please see the attached flyer.

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

BREAKING NEWS CCMS families, Watch out, everyone. The CCMS 6th graders will be on Channel 4 at 5:00 and 6:00 this afternoon. Mr. David Williams, the chief meteorologist, spoke with the students today about his career and how the weather works. The Career Development Facilitators and School Counselors from CCMS would like to give Mr. Williams a big shout-out for working with our students today.

Hi CCMS families, Picture day is tomorrow, September 13. Make-up picture day will be on Monday, September 16. Parents you can go to Photoday.com or use the link below. Parents and students can look up their photos by First Name, Last Name, and Student ID. Photo day Landing Page: https://my.photoday.com/s/LTBW/413359

Greetings CCMS families, Please see the flyer below.

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!

Greetings CCMS families, We are excited to welcome our new and returning 2024-2025 after-school GAP students beginning today. Just a gentle reminder .... Due to circumstances beyond our control, bus transportation will no longer be available at this time. All students will have to be car riders as of now until something changes within our transportation department. Thank you all for your continued support.

Greetings CCMS families, Please see the flyer below.

Greetings CCMS families, We are excited to welcome our new and returning 2024-2025 after-school GAP students beginning Monday, September 9th! Due to circumstances beyond our control, bus transportation will no longer be available at this time. All students will have to be car riders as of now until something changes within our transportation department. We apologize for any inconveniences this sudden change has caused, however we still look forward to welcoming all of our students on Monday. Thank you all for your continued support.