Local schools prepare to welcome students back to the classroom
Tue, 08/11/2020 - 5:20pm
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Area students are set to return to school over the next few weeks, with Bishop England High School holding its first full day of instruction Aug. 24, and the Berkeley County School District back in class Sept. 8.
In Part 2 of The Daniel Island News’ Back to School report, writers Elizabeth Bush and Lee Wardlaw asked the principals of Bishop England High School, Daniel Island School, Philip Simmons High School, Philip Simmons Elementary School and Philip Simmons Middle School to share their plans for students.
BISHOP ENGLAND HIGH SCHOOL: Patrick Finneran, Principal
What plans has the school put in place for coping with the COVID-19 pandemic? How do you plan to operate in this new environment?
Bishop England has worked all summer to create a plan that meets the spiritual, academic, and social-emotional needs of our students that also minimizes the risk to our faculty, staff, and students. Our plans for the 2020-2021 school year are fluid, but we are operating under three possible scenarios; 100% on-campus, 100% online, or a hybrid of online and on-campus. Bishop England High School is working with the Diocese of Charleston Catholic Schools’ Office and local health professionals to create a plan to allow for proper social distancing, cleaning, disinfecting, and good hygiene habits. The school installed new sinks for proper handwashing, shields in every classroom to separate the teacher and students, hand sanitizers in every classroom and entrance, plexiglass shields in several offices. The school is also installing cameras in every classroom with televisions to allow for distance learning.
Other than changes due to COVID-19, what’s new for the 2020-21 school year? Is there a specific theme you are focusing on?
We will continue to promote service as a school. While we may not go out to perform service in-person, there are other ways for our faculty, staff, and students to serve others. The school will continue to focus on the social-emotional health of the students. With the uncertainty and anxiousness of today’s world, we must focus on prayer and faith to find comfort and peace.
What goals have you set for student achievement this year?
Personal spiritual, academic, and physical growth is always the focus at Bishop England High School. The school provides a curriculum, clubs, organizations, and sports teams to meet the needs of all students.
What advice do you have for students as they return to school?
To pray for strength, understanding, and guidance daily. It is our reliance on God that brings comfort in times of uncertainty.
Can you share a rundown of your back to school activities?
We are reviewing all back to school activities to ensure there are appropriate social distancing and gathering requirements. Many of these activities will be revised to ensure the safety of all participants.
DANIEL ISLAND SCHOOL: Nancy Leigh, Principal
What plans has the school put in place for coping with the COVID-19 pandemic?
We have incorporated safety measures and school wide expectations for all areas of the building that will include daily temperature checks, social distancing, handwashing, and wearing masks. Students will also have access to school counselors and support staff members to cope with transitions and re-entry. Social-emotional needs will be monitored and staff will dedicate time to implement activities in mindfulness, resiliency and expression.
Staff members will be equipped with numerous cleaning measures and receive explicit training in the school wide procedures and will be encouraged to communicate their needs throughout the re-entry process. The safety and well-being of our DIS family is our top priority!
How do you plan to operate in this new environment?
We plan to operate using social distancing measures, temperature checks, enforcing mask requirements and implementing staggered class changes to reduce mitigation. Our plan will follow the BCSD district plan while providing specific details to our building. We will deliver and model expectations using a variety of formats for K-8 students in all environments to ensure safety and reduce anxiety.
While students will have specific expectations in the building, we encourage movement, brain breaks and safe socialization with peers.
Other than changes due to COVID-19, what’s new for the 2020-21 school year? Is there a specific theme you are focusing on?
This year we have a staff baseball theme titled, “A League of Our Own.” We realize that our Osprey team members have been thrown many curve balls and they have continued to satisfy a winning season through eLearning.
What goals have you set for student achievement this year?
This year, we will be focused on personalized learning to support student individual goals. We will continue to have high expectations for all learners and plan for real world learning experiences throughout content areas.
What advice do you have for students as they return to school?
Be patient and embrace the changes that we have put in place to keep you safe. We are all in this together and we are here to support you!
Can you share a rundown of your back to school activities?
At this time, visitors and volunteers will not be allowed in the building for school wide events. Some assessments will be administered for selected students during LEAP week, Aug. 17-21. We will host virtual “Meet the Teacher” sessions Aug. 31-Sept. 4. The first day of school is Sept. 8 for students.
PHILIP SIMMONS HIGH SCHOOL: Chris Buchholz, Principal
What plans has the school put in place for coping with the COVID-19 pandemic? How do you plan to operate in this new environment?
The full district plan answers most of this — as far as specific to PSHS, we have the advantage of a building that is operating at 50% capacity, so some of our logistics are easier to manage than other schools. Our school plan is to try and keep things as “normal” as possible. Seating may look different, lunches will be more spread out, masks will be the new norm and cleaning will be intensified but we are trying to protect the basic routines and structure. From what I have seen so far these past two months with athletes participating in summer workouts and students registering or returning equipment, students are following the new protocols and the coaches/staff are leading by example. I’m optimistic that students that choose to return will adhere to the expectations.
Other than changes due to COVID-19, what’s new for the 2020-21 school year? Is there a specific theme you are focusing on?
There is no set “theme” we are operating with currently, however, the focus for this year will be about “Reconnecting.” By the time we start school again, we will be one week short of a six-month absence from school. Our hope is that students can get back to a routine and start to reconnect with all those elements of their life that were disrupted. For some that focus may be academic, for others it may be the social aspect of school and for some their passion for their extra-curricular activity. The start of every year is always about establishing the expectations and doing that pulse check on the overall student climate. This year we will make sure to focus on the safety expectations and have the resources in place to support our students and teachers that may have a difficult time returning with relative ease. We won’t know the hardships that everyone has had to face until we all get back. There will be a concerted effort to get extracurricular activities up and running safely and increase student involvement within the school.
One other regarding what is “new” — we are proud to be launching our JROTC Air Force Program this year with two amazing instructors. We think this program is really going to take off — no pun intended — and we will be trying to get information out on this to the community so students can get registered and make schedule changes to join the program.
What goals have you set for student achievement this year?
I will measure the success of this school year more in social emotional terms and data than any test score. Are kids coming? Are they working? Are they re-engaged? There is a good chance that this pandemic has changed standardized testing procedures for good and personally I believe it is one of the few positives that will come of this. There is a great deal of instructional time that is lost as teachers are sometimes forced to teach to the test and review rather than focusing on helping the students to apply and retain the material beyond that looming assessment.
My goal for this year is to get all students back to feeling comfortable and successful in this building. For those students that have chosen a virtual pathway, our goal is for them to be as engaged and involved as they can be and hopefully return to in-person instruction when their individual situations allow for that.
What advice do you have for students as they return to school?
The main message is that we are all in this together. No one has written the book on how to manage education in a pandemic yet. We are going to learn as we go and adjust our plans to best suit the needs of our students. My advice is to not to worry and for our students to follow the plans we have in place and I suspect that we can get back to some sense of normalcy soon.
Can you share a rundown of your back to school activities?
• At the end of the month, teachers will begin to communicate with parents and distribute information that is specific to their courses.
• Once approved by the district, we will share the details of our school guidelines for re-opening with parents and students.
• Guidance has launched their electronic course change request form (https://www.bcsdschools.net/domain/6334) and will be proactive on schedule changes prior to student returning.
• We will also be focusing on trying to implement a feasible in-person ninth grade orientation to help alleviate some of the stress for our incoming class (no date currently set).
• Finally, if the SCHSL continues to move forward we will see some athletic events such as football scrimmages on our calendar prior to the start of the year as well.
• There will also be some virtual meetings that will take place soon with student groups, such as leadership (student council) and Renaissance to get student input on event planning.
PHILIP SIMMONS MIDDLE SCHOOL: Charla Groves, Principal
What plans has the school put in place for coping with the COVID-19 pandemic? How do you plan to operate in this new environment?
We have developed a reentry plan following state and district guidelines. We submitted our plan to BCSD leadership and will share the plan with all stakeholders upon district approval.
We plan to follow state and district guidelines and safety protocols to ensure the safety and wellbeing of our students and staff. In keeping with the BCSD Reopening Plan available on the BCSD Back to School webpage, we will increase cleaning and sanitation protocols, provide frequent hand washing and hand sanitizing opportunities, follow social distancing guidelines, and follow district face covering guidelines. We will adjust our plan accordingly in the event of new or updated state and district requirements.
Other than changes due to COVID-19, what’s new for the 2020-21 school year? Is there a specific theme you are focusing on?
We have added three new teachers at Philip Simmons Middle; one fifth grade teacher and two seventh and eighth grade combination teachers. We have also hired three additional teacher assistants and a part-time academic interventionist for the upcoming school year. Our school hashtag for this year is #PSMWhateverItTakes. As a school, we have always been committed to meeting the needs of our Iron Horse family while maintaining high expectations for academic achievement. Now more than ever, our students and staff will be committed to doing whatever it takes to be successful academically, socially, and emotionally. We are resilient and we are ready!
What goals have you set for student achievement this year?
We will have to spend time this year re-teaching key concepts and working to fill any learning gaps due to the extended school closure in the spring. That must all be done alongside teaching current grade level standards. To ensure academic success, we will utilize student performance data to create personalized learning pathways for all students. We will monitor our students’ progress and celebrate growth/gains as we have every year at Philip Simmons Middle School.
What advice do you have for students as they return to school?
School will look and feel a lot different this year and that is OK. Embrace change, be patient, be kind.
Can you share a rundown of your back to school activities?
We will hold a virtual Meet the Teacher and Open House event for our students and families on Thursday, Sept. 3. We will share details with families closer to the event date.
PHILIP SIMMONS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL: Latoya King, Principal
What plans has the school put in place for coping with the COVID-19 pandemic? How do you plan to operate in this new environment?
We have created a re-entry plan that follows CDC, state and district guidelines. The plan includes a variety of ways to not only ensure the physical wellbeing of our students and staff, but also the mental and emotional wellbeing.
In this new environment, we plan to operate in a safe and healthy way that is conducive to the learning of all PSE students. Our safety and leadership teams have worked tirelessly to ensure that PSE students are returning to an environment that is safe! We have added additional routines and procedures to allow safety as well as some normalcy for our students, staff, and families.
Other than changes due to COVID-19, what’s new for the 2020-21 school year?
We’ve experienced a few staffing changes for the upcoming school year. First and foremost we would like to welcome our new Assistant Principal Sha’shawna Seabrook. We have also added two additional teachers in first grade.
Is there a specific theme you are focusing on?
Our theme for the 20-21 school year is #ironstrong, but as always we will continue to #makeitbetter.
What goals have you set for student achievement this year?
Our top priority is assessing the needs of our students. Due to the early school closings, we anticipate an increase in the academic and social needs of our students. We are committed to meeting the needs of every student by creating personalized learning pathways. Student achievement will be monitored and assessed as needed to ensure the success of all students.
What advice do you have for students as they return to school?
There have been a lot of changes and some that are still developing, at this time we empower our students to: Stay Safe, Stay Positive, and Remember we are “Iron Strong.”
Can you share a rundown of your back to school activities?
For new PSE families, we will provide a virtual tour of the school. We will host a virtual “Meet the Teacher” for new and returning students and families. Session times and dates have yet to be determined. We will share this information with our families and community as soon as they become available.
*Officials from Cainhoy Elementary School did not return requests for The Daniel Island News survey.
*For more information about school news, review the Berkeley County School District’s comprehensive plan at bcsdschools.net/Page/32961 or Bishop England High School news at behs.com.