School Board member Amelia McKie's hope for our students

Richland School District Two is partnering with DHEC to provide Tdap immunizations

The Tdap immunization, commonly called the Tetanus and Whooping Cough vaccine, is a requirement for all students entering seventh, eighth and ninth grades for next school year (2015-2016). Pertussis immunity wears off over time, so students in the targeted grade levels are required to have the vaccine to prevent the spread of Pertussis/ Whooping Cough.

Pertussis/ Whooping Cough is highly contagious and is spread via droplets from a simple cough. Pertussis, known for uncontrollable violent cough, often makes it hard to breath. After coughing fits, someone with pertussis often needs to take deep breaths, which results in a “whooping” sound. Pertussis most commonly affects infants and young children and can be fatal, especially in babies less than 1 year of age. Visit the Center for Disease Control's Pertussis/Whooping Cough page to learn more.

The best way to protect against pertussis is immunization. By state law, students must show proof of receiving the Tdap vaccine at the start of their seventh-grade school year or they will be subject to suspension. The deadline for compliance for next school year is Wednesday, August 19, 2015.

Richland School District Two is partnering with DHEC to provide Tdap immunizations in the middle schools for current sixth graders so they can meet the seventh grade requirement. Consent forms are going home Monday March 2, 2015, and are due back to the school nurse Friday, March 6, 2015. Please contact your school nurse for questions or concerns.

Below are the schools and the dates of Tdap vaccination clinics:

• March 24 - Longleaf Middle School 
• March 25 - E.L. Wright Middle School and Anna Boyd School 
• April 7 - Blythewood Middle School 
• April 14 - Dent Middle School 
• April 21 - Muller Road Middle School 
• April 23 - Summit Parkway Middle School
• April 27 - Kelly Mill Middle School 

A Day in the Life of Spring Valley High School's Kloo Hansen

Even on a two-hour inclement weather delay, Spring Valley High School teacher Kloo Hansen's classroom operates like a well-oiled machine. As students begin to arrive, her intern University of South Carolina student Josh Joseph writes the students names on desks using a dry erase marker. Seats in her blended learning classroom are assigned with an eye to creating a mix of learners at each four-desk group.

World geography classes in first and second period began a unit on human population. Students came in and immediately started their "bell work," five questions, including the exact world population on their birthday. The questions were posted on Google Class and included links to helpful resources, the  U.S. and World Population Clock and www.7billionworld.com, which displays seven billion people on a single page and claims to be the largest web page in the world. The students then took a short survey about their interest in the topic. After a quick informative National Geographic video about the world's population, they began drafting questions they wanted to answer or have answered about the topic.

As they worked, Ms. Hansen circulated around the room encouraging students to refine questions, "Instead you might want to ask, 'What's happening to allow this to exist?'" and noting ones she looked forward to learning more about. "The more information you have, the more interesting facts you find, the more you're going to enjoy this unit. You're steering the ship." she told the class.

Simultaneously, she recorded class participation on her Chromebook using class management software Class Dojo. Sounds indicating that she was awarding or subtracting Dojo points reminded students to stay on task. Next, students discussed their questions with their group and selected four to post to Padlet, a web-based collaboration tool. Ms. Hansen will use the questions to help drive the unit.

Toward the end of first period, a group of teachers from Blythewood High School, lead by Technology Integration Specialist Chuck Holland, stopped by to observe. As the lead teacher for the district's Blended Learning Project, Ms. Hansen is accustomed to regular visitors in her classroom. Blended Learning classrooms like Ms. Hansen's (there are 20 at Spring Valley High) are flexible, technology-infused, collaborative and student-centered. She often paused to ask, “Does this make sense?”

She took a few moments to share with the visitors how she used a variety of formative assessment tools like Class Dojo, Padlet and Geddit to keep a "pulse" of students' understanding of the content. Students can access the information anywhere and any time.

"I give them choice. I give them buy-in. I've seen gains every year that I have added blended learning tools," she said.

During lunch, Ms. Hansen and Mr. Joseph prepare for fifth period's AP psychology class which began studying human development. On a dry erase board, she posted pictures of herself and encouraged students to guess her age in the photos. Later, she showed the class examples of an upcoming mini-group project about human developmental stages, in which they will include their own lifespan pictures.

Ms. Hansen's seventh period AP human geography class prepped for a March Madness style map activity. First step: define a state: a  sovereign territory with specific boundaries, has an established government that is able to make alliances and treaties. The groups then tried to name all the states of the world they could in 10 minutes, writing the names on their desktops with dry erase markers. After the challenge, students discussed the ease or difficulty of the activity.

Ms. Hansen is passionate about blended learning and the difference it can make in her student's lives. "It lets me get right to good stuff where they are applying the concepts and really understanding the content."

The school day ends, but instead of packing up Ms. Hansen headed to a meeting aimed at helping a student struggling in one of her classes. It's all in a Day in the Life!

Below is Ms. Hansen's day in photos. Visit our A Day in the Life album on Flickr to see more of Ms. Hansen's day.

This week on YouTube

Watch videos about Joseph Keels Market Place Program, Westwood High School student artist Ija Charles, Retiree Appreciation and Retiree Luncheon.

This week on Flickr

Click the picture to visit our photostream and see pictures from: Bethel-Hanberry Elementary African American Read-In, A Day in the Life of Spring Valley High School's Kloo Hansen, Lake Carolina Elementary Upper family fun night, North Springs Elementary Black History Month activities, Ridge View High School's hearts day, Kelly Mill Middle February Character Awards and MORE!

School Board meeting canceled and two-hour delay for schools Wednesday

In response to a winter weather advisory that warns of the potential for dangerous travel conditions tonight and in the morning, the regularly scheduled school board meeting for Tuesday, February 24 has been canceled and Richland School District Two will operate on a two-hour delay for students and employees on Wednesday, February 25.

A two-hour delay means middle schools will start at 9:30 a.m., elementary schools will start at 10 a.m. and high schools will start at 10:30 a.m.

District officials will continue to monitor weather conditions with the assistance of Richland County Emergency Preparedness. The district will keep parents, students and staff informed by using the district’s Blackboard Connect system to call with emergency and other messages.

Parents can also get information about school cancellations and delays by checking this website, watching R2TV (the district’s cable access channel on Time Warner) and staying tuned to local media reports for updates.

A Day in the Life of Spring Valley High School's Kloo Hansen on February 25, 2015

Meet Kloo Hansen, a social studies teacher at Spring Valley High School since 2008. Ms. Hansen teaches World Geography, AP Psychology and AP Human Geography. She is an innovative teacher who likes to incorporate new technology and concepts into her classroom. Her style of teaching is ever-evolving, creative and engaging. She likes to present her students real world understandings of the subjects she teaches, bringing in relevant topics and activities for her classes. Students would describe Mrs. Hansen as "energetic," "respectful," and "passionate."

In addition to serving her students with the highest quality education, Ms. Hansen endeavors to support her professional colleagues. She has helped plan, organize, and implement professional learning opportunities for teachers at her school and in the district. Most recently, she has served as the lead teacher for the Blended Learning Project sponsored by the district, and facilitates teachers integrating technology in their classrooms. Like us and get a peek inside A Day In The Life of Kloo Hansen on Wednesday, February 25, 2015." #ADITL