Philip Simmons High School urges: Be prepared, be positive, be involved
Wed, 08/09/2023 - 11:30am
admin
By:
Emma Slaven, emma@thedanielislandnews.com
Q&A with Chris Buchholz
PSHS Principal - Project enrollment of 820
Q: What’s new for the 2023-24 school year? Are there any specific changes from last year regarding start/dismissal time, extracurricular activities, curriculum or educational initiatives?
There are no major changes for the 2023-24 school year. Our bell schedule is the same (9 a.m. to 4 p.m.). We now have more sport offerings than most of the larger schools in the Lowcountry. With regards to educational initiatives, we will continue to work with staff to develop our Professional Learning Communities within the school to continue to deliver strong, consistent instruction to our students.
Q: Share any special events planned or back to school activities for the first month of school?
Aug. 15 and 16 are our “Facts & Fees” days where students (starting with seniors) are able to come to school to pick up their schedules, buy parking passes, sign up for testing dates, pay senior dues and more. On Aug. 18, we will host our annual “New Student Orientation,” which is open to all incoming ninth grade students as well as any new student to PSH. This will be held from 9 to 11 a.m. and bus transportation will be available. On the evening of Aug. 18, we will host our first home football game of the season.
Q: What goals have you set in terms of student achievement for the upcoming year?
We lead the district in almost every statistical category related to academics and we plan to continue this. There are four areas in which we are the highest in the county and one of the highest in the Lowcountry. We will continue to make these a priority: Graduation rate, percentage of college-bound graduates, participation rate in AP and dual enrollment courses and overall student attendance rate.
Q: Is the school fully staffed with teachers? Are there any new hires?
We are blessed to be fully staffed for the start of the year. We will have some new faces after some teachers move out of the area and we will release information on our new hires to our community in the week leading up to the students’ return.
Q: Describe the school’s effort to help students and parents prepare for the return to school and ensure a smooth, welcoming transition.
Berkeley County School District has revamped their website and communication system at the district and school level. Previously at PSH, we were the only school in the district utilizing our own app for communication and event planning with students, parents and teachers. This year we will transition from our previous app to the new system and parents can expect to receive communication to guide them through this process. We are also looking at holding a back-to-school night in September, although no hard date has been set.
Q: Has the school made any updates to its technology infrastructure or plans to incorporate more technology into the classroom to support learning?
We will be integrating the new district website, app and communication platform with our community. We continue to be a one-to-one school with district-provided Chromebooks for every student and our teachers do an exceptional job of integrating technology in the classroom. At the school level, we plan to continue to utilize the E-Hallpass system to add safety, security and ease of use to the process on a daily basis.
Q: What advice do you have for students as they prepare for the first day?
My advice is simple: Be prepared, be positive and be involved. If you start strong, you usually finish strong. A positive attitude brings positive results and our level of student involvement is what makes PSH such a special place.