Education News: Sunday, May 6, 2018

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Sumter School District

Star Teacher of the Month named

Misty Roberson, a seventh- and eighth-grade math, Algebra I and pre-algebra teacher at Hillcrest Middle School, was named the April Star Teacher of the Month. The Star Teacher program is sponsored by Community Broadcasters and Staples. Misty was a guest on the Good Morning Sumter Show on WDXY AM 1240 and FM 105.9 with host Derek Burress and Interim Superintendent Debbie Hamm. In addition to appearing on the show, Misty received a gift bag from Staples.

Misty has been an educator for 21 years. Teaching is her passion, and she is dedicated to improving individual performance and helping students work toward their goals as they progress in math. During the last school year, she was awarded the Hillcrest Middle School Crystal Apple Award during the fourth quarter, which is an award selected by the students. She also serves as one of the Junior Civitan advisers, and she assists with Relay for Life.

According to her nomination, "Mrs. Roberson is a wonderful math teacher and a great person. She is always willing to help those in need. She encourages students to always do their best, and many of them have exceeded expectations. She has committed countless hours to her school and community. Misty Roberson is an inspiration to everyone."

Willow Drive PTA named best in the state

Willow Drive Elementary School received the 2017-18 Award of Excellence in Family and Community Involvement from the South Carolina Parent Teacher Association at the state conference in Greenville. The purpose of this award is to recognize one school PTA unit that exhibits excellence in encouraging and engaging school/family/community volunteer partnerships as a means to increasing student achievement, promoting a healthy learning environment for students, empowering parents as advocates and promoting a spirit of fellowship within the school.

Sumter High students participate in STEM Signing Day

Tre'zjon Bell and Quintia Burns, students from Sumter High School, joined 90 other South Carolina high school seniors who were recognized by The Boeing Co., BMW Manufacturing Co. and the South Carolina Manufacturers Alliance at the 2018 Annual S.C. STEM Signing Day. Created by The Boeing Co. in 2017, S.C. STEM Signing Day recognizes students from across the state who have pursued STEM education during their high school tenure and plan to continue their STEM education at two- and four-year colleges. Students were identified through the SC Future Makers initiative using the STEM Premier platform. Tre'zjon plans to major in computer engineering at Clemson University, and Quintia plans to major in computer science at Francis Marion University.

Golden Apple awards continue

The Greater Sumter Chamber of Commerce held the Golden Apple Awards program at Mayewood Middle School. Nominated by their teachers, guidance counselors or administrators, 12 students were recognized for displaying exceptional citizenship and character. Each student received a certificate and a proclamation signed by Mayor Joseph T. McElveen and County Council Chairman James T. McCain Jr.

Congratulations to the following students: Chase Tyner, Kaelyn Jackson, Reagan Shannon, Julian Nicholson, Deonna Wright, Tiahondra Lowery, Jayden Jones, Ashley Taylor, Nyla Davis, Jada Scarborough, Ty'Asia Nathaniel and Ty'Shaun Durant.

The Golden Apple Awards program, which is held at each high school and middle school in Sumter School District, is presented by Caterpillar Inc. Gold sponsors are Kaydon Corp., Nu-Idea School Supply and the University of South Carolina Sumter.

Bates students named finalists in photo contest

Bates Middle School students, Donminik Woods and David Tisdale, were chosen as finalists in the National MathCon Photo Contest. Their pictures and mathematical explanations were chosen to be in the top 25 finalists from the thousands of photos submitted from students around the country. - Shelly Galloway

Central Carolina Technical College

54th Commencement ceremonies

On Friday, May 11, CCTC will hold its 54th Commencement ceremonies for the 2017-18 academic year. The ceremonies will both be held at the Sumter County Civic Center. The 10 a.m. ceremony is for students graduating from Business and Public Service programs. The 3 p.m. ceremony is for students graduating from General Education, Health Sciences and Industrial and Engineering Technology programs. This year's ceremonies will be streamed live on Facebook.

Registration open for summer and fall

Register now for summer or fall semester at CCTC. With an average job placement rate of 92 percent and more than 50 programs of study to choose from, you'll be sure to find your perfect fit. Summer classes start May 21, and fall classes start Aug. 20. For more information, visit cctech.edu/how-to-enroll-5-easy-steps/ and to view the classes offered visit cctech.edu/academics/class-schedule-search/ - Katherine M. Cooper

Wilson Hall

Anderson a writing finalist

Junior Bridget Anderson is the only junior in Sumter County selected as a finalist in the South Carolina High School Writing Contest. The University of South Carolina Honors College partners with the university's School of Library and Information Sciences to present the contest. For the contest, students responded in the genre of their choice within a maximum of 750 words to the topic "How can we make South Carolina better?" The contest is open to juniors and seniors in public, private and home schools. Writings by the finalists will be included in an anthology published by the South Carolina Honors College.

College Scholarships

As of April 18, 91 percent of the 69 members of the senior class received merit-based scholarship offers totaling $3.7 million to a four-year college or university. The following is a partial list of scholarship recipients compiled from information submitted to the college counselor, Diane Richardson. Carly Cooper received an academic scholarship from Northern Arizona University, Katie Overby received a Tiger Legacy Scholarship from Louisiana State University, Pitch Sinlapanuntakul received an International Student Scholarship from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, and Grace Tristan received an Achievement Scholarship from the University of Kansas. Anderson University offered a Baptist Scholarship to Jacob Cotton, a Provost Scholarship to Hayley DuBose, and a Founders Scholarship to Abby Thigpen. Clemson University offered an academic scholarship to Carly Cooper and a Palmetto Pact Scholarship to Chandler Curtis. Presbyterian College offered a Fellow Scholarship to Chandler Curtis and Meredith Johnson, West Virginia University offered an Engineering Achievement Scholarship to Pitch Sinlapanuntakul, and Winthrop University offered an Eagle STEM Scholarship to Crystal Moore.

Field Trips

The 4-year-old preschool classes visited Dorr Farms in Gable on April 17, and the first-grade classes visited on April 25. The students picked strawberries and learned about honey bees and farm life. The kindergarten classes visited Willard Farms in Gable on April 26 to pick strawberries. The second-grade classes attended the Safe Kids Fair held at Sumter County Civic Center on April 24. Students in Lee Gandy's English III class went kayaking on the Lynches River in Scranton on April 21. - Sean Hoskins

Lee County School District

BISHOPVILLE PRIMARY SCHOOL

Bishopville Primary School is pleased to announce that Lamont Moore officially became Dr. Lamont Moore on April 24. After years of studying and researching, he successfully defended his dissertation at Gardner Webb University in Boiling Springs, North Carolina.

Bishopville Primary School would like to congratulate Dominque Wells on being selected as it's 2018-19 Teacher of the Year. Wells, a product of the Lee County School District, serves as a teacher and chairman of the fourth-grade level team. He came back to Lee County to set an example for the young men as well as to be a mentor for the students of Lee County School District. Wells is a member of the Call me MISTER Organization.

Bishopville Primary School would like to congratulate Victor Rose on being selected as the Support Staff Member of the Year. Rose is a native of Elizabeth, New Jersey, and has been living in S.C. for the past 17 years. He played semi-pro basketball while living in New Jersey, which explains his passion for coaching basketball. Rose states that he loves working with kids.

Third-grade teacher, poet and motivational speaker Jasmyn Wright was the guest speaker at Bishopville Primary School's pep rally on April 20. The students, faculty and staff enjoyed Wright's motivational speech titled "Push Through the Test."

Wright is a professional educator and has a background in spoken word poetry. The phrase "push through" came to her as a natural artistic response to the everyday challenges she and her students face, from reading and comprehending lengthy texts, to dealing with discrimination. Wright has created affirmations, programs and international pen-pal projects that leave her students empowered and excited to learn.

LOWER LEE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

The Blue Carpet Awards for the third quarter were amazing. Lower Lee Elementary School's students were honored for making the honor roll for the third quarter. The students were also recognized for perfect attendance, most improved and citizenship. Hats off to 5K teachers Capreshia McCall and Beauty Veney for spearheading the event to highlight the accomplishments and hard work of our students. Shelia Stukes, the principal at Lower Lee Elementary School, also recognized all faculty and staff for perfect attendance and presented them with a trophy.

On April 13, Valerie Atlas' and Jacqueline Helton's second-grade students took a field trip to EdVenture Children's Museum in Columbia. The students attended a lab class about plants, explored the inside of Giant Ed, became consumers at the grocery store and explored the fire truck pretending to be firemen and firewomen.

Last week, fifth-grade students at Lower Lee Elementary School did an excellent job on their projects on the Cold War. They are now preparing for their standardized state tests. The students are having fun working in their stations in an effort to focus more intently on the standards and the questions that are most commonly missed on benchmark assessments. They have been reviewing decimals, working on activities such as Decimal Hunt, Decimal Menus and using QR Codes. Last week, the students also worked on using the RACES Strategy in their stations.

Lower Lee Elementary School's fourth-graders are in preparation mode as they prepare for the SC Ready and SCPASS exams. Many of the students are focused and know which areas they need to work on.

The students are completing station activities. Station activities help reinforce tasks for the students.

In physical education class, all students are working on preparing for field day. The students are discussing the events and practicing two to three of them daily. Some of the scheduled events include the 40-yard dash, sack race and the two-person relay race. - Shawnta McKenzie

THE CITADEL

CHARLESTON - Kody McCutchen of Bishopville was recognized for commitment to service learning and civic engagement by South Carolina Campus Compact.

McCutchen was recognized as honoree of the South Carolina Student Organization Achievement Award for volunteer work as part of Tango Company. Tango Company is on track to break the school record for documented service hours in one academic year. Their thousands of hours of work, which includes mentoring younger students and assisting disaster victims, demonstrates their commitment to community service and service learning endeavors on campus and within the community.

SCCC is a coalition of 17 South Carolina colleges and universities that collaborate to promote and develop the civic purposes of higher education. As a SCCC member, The Citadel annually nominates candidates for the South Carolina Civic Engagement Leadership Awards.

All nominees were honored, and some won statewide awards, during the 2018 Civic Engagement Leadership Summit on April 13. The nominees were recognized on campus during an awards ceremony on April 20.

Chadron State College

CHADRON, Nebraska - Angela Woods of Sumter graduated with a Master of Arts in Education degree during Chadron State College's spring commencement on Saturday, May 5.