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Media Tip Sheet is a service provided by the GCS Communications Department to the n= ews media.

Included for your use are news releases, a list of upcomi= ng events, and other district information.

The GCS Tip Sheet is distributed weekly throughout the sc= hool year.

Information: Call 355-8870; email questions@greenville.k12.sc.us

Here <= span lang=3Den-US style=3D'font-size:11.0pt;line-height:119%;font-family:"Aria= l Rounded MT Bold"; font-style:italic;language:en-US'>To Download Text and Pictures From Medi= a Tip Sheet.

School Board Members Recognized for Service

“School Boards Speak Out for Public Schools”

Greenville County Schools= and the South Carolina School Boards Association are celebrating School Bo= ard Recognition Month in January. Greenville’s 12 School Board members, alo= ng with more than 630 board members throughout the state, will be recognize= d by schools and communities for their service and dedication to public edu= cation.

The theme of this year’s = celebration, “School Boards Speak Out for Public Schools,” reflects the com= bined commitment of school boards to lead and advocate for academic excelle= nce and accountability in public schools to ensure that all students achiev= e.

Greenville County Schools= ’ Board of Trustees members hold leadership positions both within and outsi= de the district. They develop policies and make tough decisions on complex = educational and social issues impacting the entire community. The School Bo= ard oversees the governance of a school district that serves more than 70,0= 00 students.

Check out these events happening in our sch= ools!

Calendar of Events Showca= ses District and School Events for the Upcoming Weeks

SCHOOLS

JANUARY

Tuesday, January 17

Sustained Silent Reading Begin= s

Travelers Rest High

355-0013

Thursday, January 19

Love and Logic Parent Workshop=

8:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.<= /p>

Fork Shoals School

Lunch Provided

355-5000

Thursday, January 26

Cherrydale Idol & So You T= hink You Can Dance Talent Show – 6:00 p.m.

Cherrydale Elementary

355-3300

Friday, January 27

Spirit Day Football Frenzy

Bell’s Crossing Elementary

355-3800

Parent Power – 12:00 p.m.

Cherrydale Elementary

355-3300

Monday, January 30

PTA Family Math and Science Ni= ght – 6:30 p.m.

Fork Shoals School

355-5000

FEBRUARY

Wednesday, February 1

“Got Respect? I Do” Program As= sembly – Time TBA

Mauldin Middle

Featuring Chris Hollyfield, a = 4-foot-4” motivational speaker who helps students recognize and avoid teasi= ng and bullying by their peers.

355-6770

Monday, February 6

Pirate Math Night – 6:00 – 7:3= 0 p.m.

Westcliffe Elementary

Students and parents will part= icipate in math games to locate pirate treasure.

355-0300

DISTRICT

JANUARY

School Board Recognition Month=

“School Boar= ds Speak Out for Public Schools”

Thursday, January 12

End Second Quarter Grading Per= iod

Friday, January 13

Professional Development/Teach= er Workday

Students Do Not Attend School<= /span>

Monday, January 16

Martin Luther King Birthday (H= oliday)

Schools and Offices Closed

January 18-20

5K and First Grade Registratio= n

355-3100

Thursday, January 19

Second Quarter Report Cards Is= sued

Tuesday, January 24

Special Called Meeting – Super= intendent Search Items

Time TBA

Executive Session - Time TBA

January School Board Meeting -= 7:00 p.m.

J. Floyd Hall Administrative C= enter

Student and School News

Greenville County Schools’ Board of Trustee= s

&nbs= p;

· Roger D. Meek, Chairman, Area 26

· Debi C. Bush, Vice Chairman, Area 19

· Lynda Leventis-Wells, Secretary, Area 22

· Megan Hickerson, Area 24

· Glenda Morrison-Fair, Area 23

· Dr. Crystal Ball O’Connor, Area 27

· Tommie E. Reece, Area 17

· Leola C. Robinson-Simpson, Area 25

· Danna Rohleder, Area 21

· Charles J. “Chuck” Saylors, Area 20

· Pat Sudduth, Area 18

· Lisa Wells, Area 28

Seate= d, left to right: Glenda Morrison-Fair; Lisa Wells; Tommie Reece; Lynda Lev= entis-Wells (Secretary); Megan Hickerson, . Standing, left to right: Danna = Rohleder; Dr. Crystal Ball O’Connor; Pat Sudduth; Roger Meek (Chairman); Ch= uck Saylors; Debi Bush (Vice Chairman); Leola Robinson-Simpson.

2012 Financial Aid Workshops for Parents

<= span lang=3Den-US style=3D'font-family:Arial;language:en-US'>Parents of high s= chool seniors are invited to attend one of four Financial Aid Workshops to = be held in February. All workshops will begin at 6:30 p.m.

Sponsored by Greenville C= ounty Schools, these workshops will allow parents of high school seniors an= d college-bound students to work one-on-one with local guidance counselors = and financial aid officers from various colleges and universities.

Grant information, work s= tudy plans, the availability of loans, and other forms of financial aid wil= l be discussed. Experts will be available to go over financial aid applicat= ions and forms.

Workshops will provide in= formation and assistance to parents whose child plans to seek post-secondar= y education this fall. Although students and parents are encouraged to atte= nd the workshop closest to their child's school, all workshops are open to = the general public.

Financial Aid Workshop Dat= es

Thu= rsday, February 2- 6:30 p.m.

Tra= velers Rest High School

&nb= sp;

Thu= rsday, February 9—6:30 p.m.

J. = L. Mann High Academy

&nb= sp;

Thu= rsday, February 16—6:30 p.m.

Gre= enville Sr. High Academy

&nb= sp;

Thu= rsday, February 23 - 6:30 p.m.

Woo= dmont High School

Sustained Silent Reading at Travelers Rest High School

On January 17= , Travelers Rest High School, in its multifaceted approach to supporting th= e literacy development of our students, will incorporate Sustained Silent Reading into its academic schedule.

Sustained Sil= ent Reading is designed to support habits and skills of literacy by increas= ing student engagement in reading. In this program, students will engage i= n sustained reading at the same designated time every day. Teachers will m= odel reading by participating in this activity with the students. <= /p>

Students will= read approximately 15 minutes every day during their second period class a= nd are guided and encouraged to select books that are within their lex= ile range.

The possible = gains from this program include but are not limited to improved skills in t= he following areas: vocabulary development, reading comprehension, reading = fluency, general knowledge, and reading engagement.

The school be= ll schedule has been revised to support the incorporation of this program s= chool-wide.

For more informati= on, please contact TRHS Assistant Principal Mary Sloan at 355-0013.<= /p>

Congratulations to the Southside High School Forensic Team = on capturing the overall 1ST PLACE SWEEPSTAKES at the 39th annual Laird Lew= is National Speech and Debate Invitational Tournament hosted by Myers Park = High School in Charlotte. The team not only reached CHAMPION status for the second year in a row bu= t won the tournament in such a fashion that our overall score more than dou= bled that of the runner up (131-62). A special salute goes to Branden Lindsay for winning the 2012 Mustang Award. Th= e Mustang Award goes to the competitor who earns the most individual sweeps= takes points of all the students in the tournament.

RESULTS

= · <= /span>= DECLAMATION - 2nd-Serene Burgess; CHAMPION - BRANDEN LI= NDSAY

= · <= /span>= EXTEMPARENOUS SPEAKING - CHAMPION = – ABHI PANDYA

= · <= /span>= DRAMATIC INTERPRETATION - Quarterfinalists- Steven Berruecos, Jalen Gray, Z= akiya Pauling; 10th – Jordan Branham; 6th- Francine Tamakloe; 3rd- Taylor W= hite; 2nd – Branden Lindsay

= · <= /span>= HUMOROUS INTERPRETATION - Quarterfinalists– Branden Lindsay, Tiffany Hwang,= Francine Tamakloe, Maya Dodhia; Camille Lundberg; 11th- Kushal Hege; 10th= – Aaron Verhoeven; 5th place-- Jordan Branham; 4th place--James Thompson

= · <= /span>= DUO INTERPRETATION - 10th – Kushal Hege and Sundeep Bhanot; CHAMPIONS - BRANDEN LI= NDSAY AND JALEN GRAY

= · <= /span>= NOVICE CONGRESSIONAL DEBATE - 7th- Victorio Cabrera (Champion - Preliminary= Chamber)

= · <= /span>= ORAL INTERPRETATION - Quarterfinalist – Tiffany Hwang; Quarterfinalist – Or= yza Astari; Quarterfinalist – Taylor White; 4th—Serene Burgess; 3rd – James= Thompson; 2nd – Francine Tamakloe

= · <= /span>= RADIO SPEAKING - 6th- Camille Lundberg

= · <= /span>= ORIGINAL ORATORY - Quarterfinalist – Brendan McCartney; Quarterfinalist – S= ophia Yin; 4th- Oryza Astari

= · <= /span>= NOVICE PUBLIC FORUM DEBATE - Octafinalists - Varun Arora and Rahul Raghavan=

= · <= /span>= VARSITY PUBLIC FORUM DEBATE - Semi-Finalists – Rebeca Dominguez and Aahil M= erchant

= · <= /span>= VARSITY LINCOLN DOUGLAS DEBATE - Octafinalist- Varun Gopal; Octafinalist- N= eha Kumar; Octafinalist- Pooja Jayaraman

= · <= /span>= IMPROMPTU SPEAKING - Quarterfinalist- Sophia Yin; Quarterfinalist – Prateek= Shah; Quarterfinalist- Abhi Panda

= · <= /span>MUSTANG AWARD (Highest indi= vidual sweepstakes points for a single competitor) BRANDEN LINDSAY

· The Riverside High School Speech and Debate students took hom= e the following awards at the 33^rd Annual Mauldin I= nvitational:.

· Children’s Literature: 1^st Place- Anna Parh= am; 4^th Place- Stephanie= Hong; 5^th Place- Tasnim Pa= rvez; 6^th Place- Paulina G= allagher

· Extemporaneous: 1^st Place- Charlotte= How; 3^rd Place- Nida Ansa= ri

· Oral Interpretation: 1^st Place- Mary Caro= l Butterfield; 4^th Place- Anna Parh= am; 6^th Place- Cara Size= more

· Dramatic Interpretation: 2^nd Place- Anna Parh= am

· Original Oratory: 2^nd Place- Paulina G= allagher

· Impromptu Speaking: 2^nd Place- Nida Ansa= ri; 5^th Place- Shanza To= or

· Impromptu Duo Acting: 2^nd Place- Divya Kha= ndke and Marina Meshreky; 4^th Place- Katie Pot= ter and Spenser Bryant; 5^th Place- Daniel Pr= ettel and Macy Krimm; 6^th Place- Grace Pat= terson and Megan Watts

· Humorous Interpretation: 3^rd Place- Paulina Gallagher<= /p>

· Duo Interpretation: 5^th Place- Macy Krim= m and Daniel Prettel

· Novice Reading: 1^st Place- Stephanie= Hong; 2^nd Place- Spencer B= ryant

· Debate Results:

· Debbie Chen and Niki Driv= er: First Place, Varsity Public Forum Debate

· Adam Hoogsraal and Ben Mc= Call: Fifth Place, Varsity Public Forum Debate

· Alexander Koo: Sixth Plac= e, Novice Lincoln/Douglas Debate

· Jinsoo Kim: Third Place, = Congressional Debate (House of Representatives)

· Shane Grogan: Sixth Place= , Congressional Debate (House of Representatives)

· Lorenzo Barberis Canonico= : Best Presiding Officer; Fourth Place, Congressional Debate (Senate)

· Hiba Kouser: Sixth Place,= Congressional Debate (Senate)

Therapy Dogs, Inc., Upstate Ch= apter South Carolina, visited = Cherrydale Elementary School’s Girl Scout Tro= op 151 and the Visionary Leadership Institute. The children learned about t= he community service the dogs and owners do with the hospitals, hospices, s= chools, Shriner’s Hospital and other institutions. Kindergarten teacher B= eth Kern, organizer of HoodWinkin’, visits the com= munity with “Ladybug” and other dog owners to educate the children and pare= nts about proper pet care and responsibilities.

School Board Approves Purchase of CUICAR– Millennium Site= for New Middle School

The School Board has appr= oved the purchase of a 26.8-acre site in the CUICAR-Millennium Campus for t= he construction of a middle school scheduled to open in August 2014.=

The new school will relie= ve overcrowding at Beck, Bryson, Hillcrest, Mauldin, and Riverside middle s= chools. The school’s attendance plan will be announced in spring 2013.

The property is owned by = Mr. Clifford Rosen, who initiated the development of the CUICAR-Millennium = Campus. He has generously offered to sell the property at $75,000 an acre, = a price significantly less than the value of similar properties of comparab= le size in the immediate area.

The specifics of the purc= hase will be released in February or March once the agreement is finalized = and the district completes environmental and engineering studies and title = research, and receives approval from various state agencies. No further inf= ormation will be released until that time.

“We are very appreciative= of Mr. Rosen’s generosity and support of our students, schools and communi= ty,” said Board Chairman Roger Meek. “We now have an excellent site for thi= s innovative school addition to our school system and community.”

“The school will be based= on a projects-based curriculum that will encompass the sciences, technolog= y, engineering, the arts, and mathematics,” said District Superintendent Dr= . Phinnize J. Fisher. “The school’s instructional focus will promote partne= rships with local industries and businesses in or near CUICAR such as Sage = Automotive, GE Turbine, Hubbell Lighting, BMW, and TD Bank, and with Clemso= n University, local hospital systems, and other private and public entities= .”

The instructional program= will drive the design of the facility, which will be constructed to serve = up to 750 students. Plans also include possible expansion to serve up to 1,= 000 students. School district instructional and facilities staffs are worki= ng together to design a school to support the education program and to prov= ide a facility that is sustainable and flexible.

The property provides an = ideal location for a middle school. The site is centrally located in the co= unty, served by four lanes of traffic, water, sewer, gas and storm water re= tention systems, and provides easy access to Laurens and Woodruff roads, I-= 85, and I-385. The property’s zoning use includes schools.

The middle school was pla= nned to be constructed on the old J.L. Mann High School site with athletic = fields built on property to be purchased. However, use of the additional pr= operty was limited due to zoning restrictions so the administration began l= ooking for other options. Old J.L. Mann High School will be demolished late= r this school year and the property will remain in the school district’s in= ventory.