India Hook Elementary School is helping all students develop world-class skills, using life and career characteristics of the Profile of the South Carolina Graduate by encouraging innovation, critical thinking, communication, creativity, and collaboration. We are a school of about 640 students located in Rock Hill, SC. We opened our doors in 2007. We love our location nestled in a small neighborhood off of Twin Lakes Road.
Last year, India Hook piloted a different delivery method for gifted and talented services by serving in the area of gift. Meaning, children qualified as gifted in mathematics received the majority of their minutes in advanced mathematics instruction while children qualified as gifted in reading received the majority of their minutes in advanced reading instruction. Children qualified as gifted in both reading and mathematics were served thoroughly in both areas.
The scores of these students in both MAP and increases in reading levels has validated this model of service, therefore we will continue to serve in this way. In addition, each grade level cohort met for another hour each week to build community and to collaborate to solve real world problems.
India Hook is in our third year of PBIS and added even more creative ideas during the 2018-2019 school year. Norms for around the school with the acronym CREW (Creating a positive community, Respect each other, Excel everyday, and Work hard) were established last year. This year added incentives included coins given out by special area teachers for those classes that adhered to the norms. The class at each grade level that accumulated the most coins were rewarded at the end of the quarter with either extra PE time or Rec-In-A-Box, which is a free program provided by our Rock Hill Parks and Recreation. This program brings staff and games to the schools that foster collaboration and problem solving, which ties in nicely with our goals for all students.
Several of the highlights of our year were the collaboration and grants received by our 4th and 5th grade teams to develop and implement fitness focused STEM units with our BMX center and with a sports program promoting soccer. The year long projects resulted in a trip to the BMX center to ride and study the layout of the track and then the design of scale model tracks back at school by collaborating teams of students. This all was possible because of a partnership with the city of Rock Hill, the BMX Center, and Home Depot. At the end of the creation of model tracks, our students had the pleasure of their work being judged by our mayor, the BMX director, and our Chief of Academics and Accountability. What a day! Trophy's were awarded, but the best part was the discussion of the feedback given and how the teams would change their design and coach the teams next year to improve their models. That is what we want all graduates to enter the world ready to be able to do.
“The Pirate’s Way Motor Learning Lab” continues to be used to provide students the opportunity to fill the gaps left from deficiencies in their early developmental years. It also benefits all students by allowing them the chance to connect cognitive skills with psychomotor skills. The lab uses cross-lateralization activities to assist with reading left to right. It also offers many balance activities to assist with spatial orientation, which helps the students in sorting words, letters, shapes, numbers, etc. on a page. Fitness components are addressed as students work on Flexibility, Cardio-Respiratory Endurance, Muscular Strength and Endurance. Therefore, students will be able to improve their overall health as well as making connections in the brain.
Our creative PE teacher realized that she had extra time in her schedule and expertise with this lab, so she worked with our RTI team and spent time using the mobile lab to address weaknesses in basic math. The students had no idea they were working and learning as they "Played and Exercised with Emily."
We welcomed a new program to our building this year called Building Bridges. This program consisted of students with behavioral issues, having the goals of getting the behaviors under control and into regular classrooms as much of the day as possible. It was a huge success. The children and staff in our building embrace diversity and intentionally found ways to make the teachers and students become Pirates. We have truly built bridges together and learned from each other.
It has been our best year ever! I am passing the torch as principal after 12 years at India Hook. I know this school will only continue the pursuit of excellence and stay focused on what is best for kids and their future as Carolina Graduates!