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School Board looking for feedback on new superintendent
The S.C. School Board Association will be holding community meetings to give the public an opportunity to give input on what characteristics, experiences, and professional traits the board should look for in the recruitment, screening, and selection process of the new superintendent of Chesterfield County School District.
The public is invited to attend community forum meetings scheduled for Monday, Jan. 30 at New Heights Middle School in Jefferson at 6:30 P.M., and Thursday, February 2 at the Palmetto Learning Center in Chesterfield at 6:30 P.M.
New Heights Middle School is located at 5738 Hwy. 151 in Jefferson and the Palmetto Learning Center is located at 116 Edwards Road in Chesterfield.
Discussion will last about one hour. The S.C. School Boards Association is working with the Chesterfield County School Board on its superintendent search. More information will be provided regarding the search process during the meeting.
Current Chesterfield County Superintendent Dr. John E. Williams will be retiring at the end of this school year.
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McBee High student wins county spelling bee
Contributed
Kelcie Wilson, an eighth grader at McBee High, won the 2012 Chesterfield County Spelling Bee, held Jan. 24 at Chesterfield-Ruby Middle.
Sixth Grader Katelynn Jordan of Chesterfield-Ruby Middle earned second place honors.
Wilson will next represent the district at the Charlotte Observer Regional Spelling Bee in Charlotte on Feb. 20.
School level winners include Nicholas Robins (Edwards Elementary); Caylee Wright (Long Middle); Rebekah Williams (Cheraw Intermediate); Hannah Horton (McBee Elementary); Zachary Stroud (Plainview Elementary); Megan Nicholson (New Heights Middle); Myia Crawford (Pageland Elementary); Genna Rivers (Jefferson Elementary); and Jodi Hatcher (Ruby Elementary).
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Central High collaborates on 'Good to Grow'
Contributed
Central High School is proud of its new "Good to Grow" gardeners. This is an initiative of the South Carolina Garden Club that plans to teach students of all ages the value and process of vegetable gardening. Several classes are participating in the plan that encourages students to follow the growth process from the seed or plant to the table. This project is supported by Old Castle, The Pageland Garden Club, Dr. Juddson Starling, and Central's horticulture and building construction classes.
Pictured: Kathy Tarlton (shadow)-- Madeline Haigler, Standing--Justin Smith, Quan Barrett, Eddie McBride and Vince Newell.
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School Board approves consent decree and order
At its specially called meeting on Jan. 12, 2012, the Chesterfield County School District Board of Trustees voted 6-3 to approve a proposed consent decree and order, recommended by its attorneys, that will end the lawsuit filed against the District by the ACLU on behalf of Jonathan Anderson and his son, a student, over religion in the schools.
Following legal advice that various practices and events in the schools related to religion needed to stop occurring, based on court decisions interpreting the Establishment Clause of the U.S. Constitution, the Board majority approved the consent decree and order. The consent decree and order recognizes that students and teachers do have rights under the Free Exercise and Free Speech provisions of the First Amendment to pray at school under certain conditions and to participate in other religious activities.
The Board was advised that defending the lawsuit would result in a court-imposed order after many thousands of dollars had been spent on legal costs. The Board wishes to make it clear that it intends to abide by the constitutional principle of separation of church and state, while also recognizing and allowing the permissible exercise of religion by its staff and students and all citizens. |
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 Cheraw High student accepted to Harvard
Contributed
Harvard College announced that 772 of 4231 applicants who applied for nonbinding early admission had been accepted. Cheraw High School Senior Joshuah Campbell will be one of the 772 students who will make up the Harvard Class of 2016. He received the news about his acceptance that evening while he was checking his e-mail in the drive-thru line at McDonalds.
Campbell sent in his statement of attendance on December 21. He plans to major in linguistics with a minor in music.
In addition to submitting an extensive application to Harvard that showcased his impressive academic and extracurricular record, Campbell also had an hour-long interview in Columbia with Dr. Jerry Gibson, Harvard Class of 1962, and state epidemiologist and director of DHEC’s Bureau of Disease Control. The interview focused on Campbell’s extracurricular activities, his transcript, and his SAT, SAT II subject tests, and AP scores.
Going to Harvard has been a dream for Campbell since he was in sixth grade. He wrote a great deal about Harvard in his journal assignments for his language arts teacher, Mrs. Michele Oakley, at Cheraw Intermediate School. He was also inspired by an aunt who spent a semester studying at Harvard.
Last May during the Memorial Day weekend, Campbell and his mother made a campus visit to Harvard where they attended a book presentation by Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr., a professor at Harvard as well as the director of the W.E.B. DuBois Institute for African and African American Research. Campbell was able to speak to Dr, Gates, who told him that he hoped to see him in one of his classes in the future.
Campbell turned down offers from the Governor’s Schools in Hartsville and in Greenville in order to continue his participation in “The Tribe,” the marching band at Cheraw High School. A member of “The Tribe” since eighth grade, he has served as the drum major of the award-winning band for the past two years. Choosing to graduate from Cheraw High School afforded Campbell with many opportunities such as participating in the National History Day program and being president of both the French Honor Society and the International Club.
Campbell’s proud parents are Brian and Linda Campbell, who also graduated from Cheraw High School.
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| The Chesterfield County School District is committed to a policy of nondiscrimination on the basis of age, handicap, national origin, race or sex in its educational programs, activities or employment practices. |
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