Our school is helping all students develop the World Class Skills of the Profile of the South Carolina Graduate by implementing a quality STEAM choice program in a positive and caring environment. Construction was completed on our brand new STEAM makerspace in August 2018, and our staff and students have been able to put it to good use! Throughout the year, we partnered with York County 4-H, York County Master Gardeners, and Girls Who Code, for example, to provide learning experiences that were engaging and connected to standards. We hosted community groups, such as the iMAGINE Rock Hill planning team, and students participated in the group’s first annual event in Rock Hill in October 2018. We eagerly anticipate being a part of this phenomenal event in the fall of 2019. In June and July 2019, students participated in our summer STEAM Camps held in the makerspace. It was a great place to learn about the continents and make connections between global and local problems that students could help solve. We look forward to creating more exciting opportunities for our students, staff, and families in this multi-functional space.
Oakdale was honored to join Winthrop University-School Partnership Network as a Partner School during the 2018-2019 school year. We welcomed college students pursuing careers in education and served as the “hands on learning” site for a course in the fall and spring. Our teachers served as host and mentor teachers for these aspiring educators, as well. This collaboration is mutually beneficial as pre-service and experienced teachers learn from each other about how to better meet the needs of our diverse population of students.
Student achievement continues to be a central focus at Oakdale. We are gradually making improvements overall in mathematics, based on MAP testing results. Teachers participate in professional learning experiences within and outside Rock Hill to hone their skills, so they can make our school vision of “Preparing ALL Students for a Successful Future” a reality. Our teachers have ongoing collaboration with our district instructional coaches and specialists to strengthen the variety of instructional strategies and assessments used in the classroom.
Preparing ALL students is a joint effort that we gladly embark upon with our parents and community members. All parents received our Parent Resource Notebook last year, and it is a tool we will build upon. The notebook includes, for example, tips for reading and math, parent-friendly definitions of common education terminology, and documents to help parents keep track of their children’s progress. Our PTO and SIC continue to be active supporters and provide valuable feedback about what is going well and what needs to be improved upon. Parent engagement sessions such as Pastries with the Principals, Word Detectives, Publix Family Math Night, and Blast Off to Summer Learning were well-attended and allowed us to continue to build strong home-school relationships. Volunteers are welcome at Oakdale, and they have shown up in large numbers to support our students in a variety of ways. The Winthrop Literacy Initiative, Call Me MISTER, local real estate agents, Central Office staff, parents, and retirees are among the people who have been committed to our Green Dragons. They serve as lunch buddies, mentors, tutors, guest readers, speakers, competition judges, technology instructors, just to name a few. The many hours and resources provided by our volunteers are very much appreciated.
Finally, our students continued to make their mark in the state at science and engineering competitions last year. Two students earned 3rd place and Honorable Mention out of over 500 entries in the Piedmont Region III Science Fair held at USC Upstate. Our students also competed in the SC 4-H Engineering Challenge in Columbia, SC. Four students earned 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place recognition in Photography, and one earned 2nd place in the Coding Challenge.
Working together, we know our students will reach even greater heights during the 2019-2020 school year!
Katrina Crawford, SIC Chairperson
Denise Khaalid, Principal