Midway Elementary School is helping all students develop the world-class skills and life and career characteristics of the Profile of the South Carolina Graduate by fostering a safe and nurturing environment for the development of each student through collaboration, best practices and high expectations. MES’s focus this year was on the growth and development of our reading and writing curriculum as well as the development of cross-curricular performance tasks. We continued our embrace of 21st Century Skills for Global Citizens and physical activity.
Lucy Calkins’ Units of Study — Reading and Writing continued to guide our ELA instruction. This year was our second year with the Units of Study — Reading. Teachers participated in Coaching Cycles and professional development hosted by our district and our school literacy coach. Additional professional learning was continued through the summer via Teachers College and Homegrown Institute. Through ELA instruction, teachers collaborated to develop authentic learning for students and designed methods for showcasing this learning, including soirées, wax museums and writing celebrations.
Three collaborative sessions were designed with educational consultants for the focus on questioning and critical thinking in the continued development of performance tasks that connected core instruction with art, music, PE and languages (French, Spanish). The performance tasks were showcased via student-created projects and performances during the school day, as well as evening events. The outcome of this professional learning made learning relevant and meaningful as it was real-life application.
This was our second year to host student-led conferences schoolwide. Students shared their data notebooks with parents and staff, including goals and reflections on the learning of which they were proud, as well as what they wanted to improve. This was a phenomenal event as students owned their learning and continued our implementation of proven best practices. We also continued to utilize and develop best practices from former professional learning, such as crew meetings, learning targets and the unpacking of them with students.
As we continue to value physical fitness, we hosted an all-day Field Day for all students and Bring Your Parent to PE Week. We continued the Morning Walk/Run Club prior to the start of each school day. Student leaders with their classmates continued to develop Tabata videos for use throughout the school year and during state assessments. These videos were used to energize and focus students. After-school fitness programs included a co-ed Run Hard team, a Girls on the Run team and a school running/walking team, Miles to Excellence.
Languages continue to be an important part of MES. Our Partial French Immersion program for kindergarten through fifth grade and our Spanish program for third through fifth grade are designed to support the vision of bilingual graduates. Parent groups support these language programs by sponsoring cultural opportunities that enrich the languages and grow global awareness.
The framework of our 21st Century Skills for Global Citizens supports the development of our student citizenship. Our students strive to be leaders here at school through school jobs as well as making a difference in our world through service projects. Schoolwide projects include Relay For Life, MES Food Drive, Celebrating Socktober and Jump Rope For Heart. Service learning is extended with grade-level learning through projects such as fourth-graders collecting school supplies for a school district experiencing tragedies from inclement weather.
By building strong relationships with our stakeholders and engaging instruction, MES is “making a difference for every child.”
Jan Fickling, Principal
Richenda Batson, SIC Chair