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OUR THEMEWorld-Class Champions . . . every child, every chance, every day!OUR GOALS● Provide world-class safety and a positive school culture.● Provide world-class, high-quality instruction to increase studentachievement.● Provide world-class communication and family engagement.January 9, 2023Welcome back and happy New Year! I hope you and your family had awonderful, relaxing holiday break, and you are all recharged andrejuvenated. A new year creates an opportunity to give yourself a freshstart. Let’s all do our part to make 2023 a year full of growth, learning,excitement, and possibilities for everyone. We were so excited towelcome all of our students back to school on Thursday, January 5.January is School Board Recognition Month. Please join me incelebrating our Laurens County School District 55 Board of Trusteesthroughout this month.Have a great rest of the week, and wishing you all a happy, healthy,and prosperous new year!

LAURENS SCHOOL DISTRICT 55 MID-YEAR KICK-OFF

SCHOOL BOARD RECOGNITION MONTHThe South Carolina School Board Association (SCSBA)designates January 2023 as South Carolina School BoardRecognition Month. According to SCSBA, the theme thisyear is Forward, Together, which reminds us of theleadership roles and responsibilities of school boardmembers, while also acknowledging the need for thecollective – parents, teachers, students, and administrators,particularly as public schools continue to deal with thechallenges of the past few years. As the elected/appointedrepresentatives of the people, they represent their localcommunities’ voice and vision for their public schools.Laurens County School District 55 (LCSD 55) appreciates the service of the LCSD 55 Board ofTrustees. Throughout this month, we will feature board members in the newsletter to show ourgratitude. Read the December 5, 2022, issue of this newsletter featuring the newly elected andre-elected school board members.MR. TODD VARNER, SEAT 1Mr. Todd Varner serves as a school board member because he wants theschools in his community to succeed. He is a graduate of Laurens District55 High School, had children who were enrolled in the district, and hiswife, Susan Varner, is a Primary Montessori teacher assistant at E.B.Morse Elementary School.Mr. Varner finds great joy in seeing our schools and staff members cometogether. The Homecoming and Clear Backpack Give-away events reflectthe district’s teamwork which gives him great pride. He envisions moreevents like this taking place in the future.Mr. Varner sees his role as vital in planning for the future of the district. He is proud to share thatthe LCSD 55 Board of Trustees is developing a plan to address future growth, as well as lookinginto data to determine how to provide the best education for LCSD 55 students.MR. JAMES “BUBBA” RAWL, SEAT 7Laurens County School District 55 (LCSD 55) is very dear to Mr. Rawl.He and his daughter, Catie, are graduates of Laurens District 55 HighSchool (LDHS), and his son, James, is currently a senior at LDHS. Mr.Rawl’s biggest reason for serving as a school board member is hisdesire to make a difference in the community. Mr. Rawl hopes to beinstrumental in providing quality public education.As a retired SC Law Enforcement Division (SLED) Agent, school safetyis among his top priorities. He is very proud of the district’s work towardsplacing metal detectors at LDHS, enforcing the Clear Bag Guidelines, and supporting the work ofSchool Resource Officers (SROs). Mr. Rawl plans to advocate for stronger partnerships betweenthe Laurens County Sheriff’s Office and the Laurens City Police Department.Mr. Rawl started his term of service in December 2020 and is proud that during his term, theschool board approved teacher pay increases. Mr. Rawl will continue to be a conduit foreducational and administrative concerns until his term ends in November 2024.

DECEMBER 2022 SPIRIT OF 55 CERTIFIED STAFF MEMBER OF THE MONTHLaurens County School District 55 Superintendent Dr. Ameca Thomasrecognized Mrs. Krystal McGrew as the December 2022 Spirit of 55Certified Staff Member of the Month. Mrs. McGrew is a third gradeteacher at Waterloo Elementary School (WES). She holds a Bachelor’s inElementary Education from Lander University and a Master’s inElementary Education from Southern Wesleyan University.Mrs. McGrew has known since second grade that she wanted to becomea teacher. She is now in her 18th year of teaching. She said, “I lovekeeping up with students long-term, and have seen many studentsgraduate and become successful adults during my career.”According to WES Principal Kimberly Penland, “Mrs. McGrew is a fabulous teacher, and alwayswants to provide fun and engaging learning experiences for her students to make themsuccessful. She is always using data to guide her instruction, and she does a phenomenal job ofproviding small group instruction to meet the specific needs of her students. Waterloo is verylucky to have Mrs. McGrew on our staff. She loves her students and shows excitement every dayas she watches them grow.”DECEMBER 2022 SPIRIT OF 55 SUPPORT STAFF MEMBER OF THE MONTHThe December 2022 Spirit of 55 Support Staff Member of the Monthaward was given to Mrs. Stephanie Cogsdale by Laurens County SchoolDistrict 55 Superintendent Dr. Ameca Thomas. Mrs. Cogsdale is theAttendance Clerk/Receptionist at E.B. Morse (EBM) Elementary School.EBM Principal Dr. Jason Bailey proudly shared, "Mrs. Cogsdale does atremendous job of monitoring and following through on studentattendance. She also has become a trusted communicator that parentscan interact with concerning school events. Most importantly, her positiveattitude and team-oriented nature have been a tremendous asset to ourschool community. I am so thankful to have Mrs. Cogsdale's warm, calm,and positive demeanor as the first experience many visitors encounterwhen arriving at E.B. Morse Elementary School."MEET TANYA TOWNEMs. Tanya Towne is in her 4th year serving as the Director of the JoeR. Adair Outdoor Education Center. She is also a teacher at the centerand organizes the Michelin STEM Challenge. Ms. Towne holds aBachelor of Science in Elementary Education degree from theUniversity of South Carolina Upstate and is currently working on hercertification in Environmental Education. She has a passion for theoutdoors and teaching and learning about Science, Technology,Engineering, and Math (STEM).Ms. Towne was formerly a classroom teacher in the district and her students competed in theannual Michelin STEM Challenge. She has been instrumental in making the Michelin STEMChallenge happen as part of her role for the last four years. She organizes, provides suppliesto teachers, and helps test the cars. Ms. Towne sees firsthand that the students haveownership of their projects, and it helps build their confidence. She said, “For some students, itis empowering to know they can use tools to create something they helped design.”

2022 MICHELIN STEM CHALLENGELaurens County School District 55, Laurens County School District 56, Joe R. Adair OutdoorEducation Center, and Michelin have partnered for the last 20 years to hold the Michelin Science,Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) Challenge each year. The challenge is a design andbuild competition for students from grades three to six. Michelin donates money to support thisevent and manpower to facilitate the competition.In this competition, students are challenged to design and construct a model vehicle andcompete to see which model vehicle goes the farthest and the fastest. This challenge aligns withthe South Carolina College- and Career-Ready Standards. Each grade level has slightly differentcriteria and increases in complexity. Third-grade students build a rolling vehicle that will go downa ramp. Fourth-grade students build a wind-powered vehicle. Fifth-grade students build a vehiclethat incorporates mass by adding a 500g weight. The sixth-grade students’ challenge aligns withtheir simple machines unit of study and challenges them to design a catapult that is scored basedon accuracy and distance.To prepare for this competition, students in LCSD 55 worked in small groups of four. Someclasses went to the Joe R. Adair Outdoor Education Center to use tools under the guidance oftheir teacher and staff members at the center. After the teams built their vehicles, they competedagainst each other to determine classroom winners. There can be two winners per class. Theseclassroom winners competed against other classrooms in Laurens 55 and Laurens 56 SchoolDistricts on December 15th & 16th at Clinton High School.Students, teachers, and parents were all full of joy and excitement at the 2022 Michelin STEMChallenge. Abigail, a third-grade student at Gray Court-Owings School said, “I’m excited thatwe’re gonna race our car!” Kinsley, a fifth-grade student at Waterloo Elementary School said, “Ilearned to pay attention when putting the car together. It was a good experience to get to knowmy classmates while working on cars.”Michelin employee Michelle Phillips said, “This is a good program for the kids to be involved withengineering, math, and science.” David Freeman, another Michelin employee added, “It is goodto see students in a competition and do similar activities that we did as children.”Amy and Shawn Spivak, parents of E.B. Morse ElementarySchool third-grader Ava Spivak, echoed, “We are thrilled tobe here. It’s good for kids to learn to try their best and be ina competition to see what hard work does.” The Spivaks,pictured on the right, have been supportive of this challengefor many years. Their son, Kole Spivak, won 1st place forDistance in 2012, when he was in third grade. Kole’sthrowback photo is on the far right.Joe R. Adair Outdoor Education Director Tanya Towne said,“The kids love building cars! They look forward to it and thefield trip. When I go into the classroom or kids come for field trips, they talk about building cars.This challenge and experience will stay with the students for years to come!”

MICHELIN STEM CHALLENGE

LCSD 55 MICHELIN STEM CHALLENGE WINNERS3rd Grade DistanceThird Place - Gray Court-Owings ElementarySchoolTeacher: Elizabeth Morrison“Fast and Furious”14 m 9.5 cmStudents: Jayden Vermilyea, Hunter McCutchen,and Kaleigh Abrams3rd Grade SpeedThird Place - Laurens Elementary SchoolTeacher: Claire Pratt“Star Cars”Students: Aubrey Burden, Collins Finley, andStella Aiken4th Grade DistanceFirst Place - E.B. Morse Elementary SchoolTeacher: Amy Blakely“The Explorers”30 m 45 cmStudents: Skyy Smith, Noah Webster, and BoClayton4th Grade SpeedFirst Place - Waterloo Elementary SchoolTeacher: Lisa Nelson“Georgia the Beast”Students: Ciara Ford, Trenton Foster,Oliver Tweedy, and Eli Ice4th Grade SpeedSecond Place - Hickory Tavern SchoolTeacher: Stefanie Vera“Vera Speed Team”Students: Briella Harris, Briann Kissiah, andMason Jaskula5th Grade DistanceThird Place - Waterloo Elementary SchoolTeacher: Destiny Antone“Speedy Spiders”11m 39 cmStudents: Zayne Ricks, Destiny Young, andAbigail Horton5th Grade SpeedThird Place - Gray Court-Owings ElementarySchoolTeacher: Gwen Freitas“Nitro”Students: Jovany Solano and Tationa James6th Grade DistanceFirst Place - Sanders Middle SchoolTeacher: Laura Woods“Woods Distance Team 1”11 m 38 cmStudents: Harper Nelson and Emma Jarett6th Grade DistanceSecond Place - Sanders Middle SchoolTeacher: Laura Woods“Woods Distance Team 2”9 m 96 cmStudents: Wells Rhodes and Dominick Mease6th Grade DistanceThird Place - Sanders Middle SchoolTeacher: Laura Woods“Woods Distance Team 4”9 m 45 cmStudents: Chloe Wrobel and Isabella Cain6th Grade AccuracySecond Place Tie - Gray Court-Owings MiddleSchoolTeacher: Rebecca Smallwood“Peachicken”70 pointsStudents: Joselyn Juan Lucas and Cullen Grier6th Grade AccuracyThird Place Tie - Laurens Middle SchoolTeacher: Beth Martin“Martin Accuracy Team 1”65 pointsStudents: Miles Crow, Landon DasherHickory Tavern Middle SchoolTeacher: Tamara Herring“Herring Accuracy Team 1”65 pointsStudents: Sophie Hughes, Peyton Davis,Tiffany Hurley

3rd & 4th Grade Winners (Left to Right): Fast and Furious, Star Cars, The Explorers, Vera Speed Team,and Georgia the Beast5th Grade Winners (Left to Right): Speedy Spiders and Nitro6th Grade Accuracy Winners (Left to Right): Martin Accuracy Team 1, Herring Accuracy Team 1, andPeachicken6th Grade Distance Winners (Left to Right): Woods Distance Team 4, Woods Distance Team 2, andWoods Distance Team 1

LAURENS MIDDLE SCHOOL “CAN THE PRINCIPAL” FOOD DRIVELaurens Middle School (LMS) PrincipalClay Cotney was “forced” out of his officeon December 15, 2022, because generousstudents filled it with 1,317 canned goods.The students held the Can the PrincipalFood Drive from December 5-15, 2022, todonate items to a local pantry. Ms. Corley’sfirst period enjoyed 30 minutes of free gymtime with music and games as an incentivefor being the first period with the most donated items.COMPUTER SCIENCE EDUCATION WEEKComputer Science Education Week was December 5-9, 2022. The Computer Science EducationWeek website states it is an annual call to action to inspire K-12 students to learn computerscience, advocate for equity, and celebrate the contributions of students, teachers, and partnersto the field.Mrs. Michelle Spires is the School Librarian at Gray Court-Owings School and a big believer inthe importance of teaching Computer Science. She facilitates computer science lessons eachyear and welcomes her students to teach her something she didn't know how to do. She said,“Students are so immersed in the world of technology that we have to foster their learning in thisarea even when it means they know more than I do!”Over the past several years, Mrs. Spires and her students have been participating in Hour ofCode activities in the library during Computer Science Education Week. “It's extremely importantfor students to begin exploring and to be taught computer science skills at all ages becausetoday's students will enter a workforce with very different technologies than what many adultsgrew up using,” said Mrs. Spires.According to the Hour of Code website, the event is an hour-long introduction to computerscience, designed to demystify the ‘code,’ to show that anyone can learn the basics and tobroaden the participation in the field of computer science. Also, according to Hour of Code,Computer Science helps nurture problem-solving skills, logic, and creativity.LCSD 55 fully supports Mrs. Spires and other educators like her who have a passion for teachingScience, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM). The knowledge and skills gained fromlearning STEM prepare students to become college- and career-ready.

LCSD 55 WINTER CELEBRATIONSLCSD 55 WINTER RESOURCES & HOLIDAY MESSAGESLCSD 55 is thankful for the continued partnerships and support of stakeholders. Watch theChristmas Video and Thank You Message from Superintendent Dr. Ameca C. Thomas, and enjoythe winter series of Read Along Time with Dr. Thomas.CHICK-FIL-A (CFA) LEADER ACADEMY “DO GOOD DECEMBER PROJECT”Participants of the 2022-23 LCSD 55 CFA LeaderAcademy are positively impacting the Laurenscommunity. The participants completed their DoGood December Project. The Deliver team(pictured on the right) raised $353.88 andpurchased items for thirty-eight stockings forhomeless children, while the Drive team hosted atoy drive. The students turned over the collectedtoys to the Laurens Police Department (picturedon the far right) for distribution to children in needin the Laurens Community. The American LegionPost 25 gave a $1,000.00 check to the Sheriff's Office and a $1,000.00 check to the LaurensPolice Department to help with this project.MIDLANDS STUDENT SUMMITClemson University’s College Preparation and Outreach Department is holding the MidlandsStudent Summit on February 4, 2022, at Lower Richland High School. The summit is open to all7th-12th grade students. Read the Midlands Student Summit flyer to register.FREE RADON TEST KITThe South Carolina Radon Program offers one free radon test kit per home that can be requestedat www.scdhec.gov/radon. Radon test kits can also be purchased from the National RadonProgram (www.sosradon.org, 1-800-767-7236) for $17.BOARD OF TRUSTEESWatch the LCSD 55 Board Work Session and Board Meeting held on November 28, 2022, usingthe links provided. The next LCSD 55 Board of Trustees regular monthly meeting will be onMonday, January 23, 2023, at 6:30 p.m. in the large training room of the district administrativeoffice. Doors will open at 6:00 p.m. for the meeting. Individuals who desire to speak during PublicParticipation in the regular monthly meeting must complete the Request to Speak During PublicParticipation form and submit the form to the Office of the Superintendent no later than 12:00noon on the day of the meeting. The form is also available at the reception desk of the districtadministrative office.

SUPERINTENDENT DR. AMECA C. THOMAS RECEIVES RECOGNITIONLaurens County School District 55 celebrates Superintendent Dr. Ameca C. Thomas’srecognition from the National School Public Relations Association (NSPRA). Dr. Thomas wasselected as one of 25 superintendents in the nation to be designated as a 2022Superintendent to Watch. Read the press release or visit the NSPRA website to learn more.STAY IN THE KNOWA weekly video to share school district newsDecember 2, 2022December 9, 2022December 16, 2022A podcast of one-on-one conversationsArmond FloodA chance to hear how L55 has positively impactedstudentsMason GibbsA chance to hear about our excellent teachersBrennan DavisCLOSINGOn behalf of the LCSD 55 Board of Trustees, administrators, and staff thank you for yourpartnership, support, and continued engagement as we work together to serve your children andour community. Your input is greatly valued and we love to hear from you. Contact me atathomas@laurens55.org, call 864-984-3568, attend our school and district events, or view ourschool board meetings. Have a great week!Sincerely,Ameca C. Thomas, Ph.D.Proud Superintendent ofLaurens County School District 55Laurens County School District #55 is committed to the principle of equal opportunity. It is the policy ofthe district not to discriminate on the basis of race, religion, sex, color, age, national origin, immigrantstatus, English-speaking status, familial status, or disability with regard to students, employees, orapplicants for admission or employment.