Dozens of District Five administrators, teachers, parents, and community members gathered this week to create a document that will help guide the district over the next five years.

It was the beginning of a 4 month long process that will result in the writing of District Five's Strategic Plan.  Leaders met at Spartanburg Community College over two days to discuss district goals in the areas of student achievement, school climate, teacher and administrator quality, and other district defined priorities such as sustainability, environmental impact and facilities.

Action teams will begin meeting in January to write specific performance goals in each area and define steps the district will take to meet those goals.

The District Five Board of Trustees is set to vote on the Strategic Plan at a meeting in February.

Schools across District Five stopped to give thanks last week, in celebration of the upcoming holiday!

Parents and community members crowded campuses as Thanksgiving gatherings and programs were held.  At Reidville Elementary School, parents and family members were invited to enjoy a traditional Thanksgiving meal.  Even local firefighters chipped in to serve families their turkey and stuffing!


River Ridge Elementary School kindergarten students put on their annual Thanksgiving performance, in front of a packed cafeteria of parents, family members, and classmates.  Turkeys, pilgrims, Indians, and even a few ears of corn filled the stage and sang songs of thanks and celebration.

Teachers at Abner Creek Academy incorporated the holiday into their classroom lessons.  Students in Ms. Crow and Ms. Barnes' kindergarten class had fun making disguises for their turkeys based on the book, "Turkey Trouble".  Also, in Mrs. Boyd and Mrs. Proper's class, kindergarteners got in the spirit of Thanksgiving by reading "Pilgrim, Pilgrim, What Do You See?".
At Wellford Academy, K5 students learned about pilgrims and Native Americans during a day of classroom rotations.  Students learned how to work together to build a table for a feast, dance like Native Americans, paint a tee-pee, and also tasted turkey jerky.  The students also drew Native American symbols on handmade vests, made a bracelet representing the pilgrims' journey and made Thanksgiving cards for loved ones.

It was a night of champions at the November Board of Trustees meeting in District Five!  Board members took time out to honor more than 100 band members and student-athletes for their accomplishments.

First, the Board recognized the Byrnes High School Rebel Regiment Band, who capped off an amazing season with a 5A State Championship!  It marks the first time the band has brought home that award in a decade.  Director Bryan Bone, along with fellow band instructors Gary Rhoden and Austin Sanders, were there, along with this year's drum majors and captains, to accept recognition on behalf of the Rebel Regiment.   Way to go, Rebel Regiment!
In addition, the Board recognized dozens of student athletes from D.R. Hill Middle School, Florence Chapel Middle School, Byrnes Freshman Academy and Byrnes High School for their accomplishments during the fall sports season.  The Florence Chapel girls volleyball team was honored for winning this year's Peachtree Conference Championship.  Also, the Byrnes High School girls golf team received recognition for its 2016 Upper State title.  Golf Coach Arthur Brooks and Swimming Coach Sarah Assey also received recognition for being named Region Coach of the Year in their respective sports.  We are proud of all of these athletes and coaches!

Hundreds of businesses leaders, community members and D5 retirees will see the artwork of an Abner Creek Academy student this year, when they open up their mailbox to find District Five's Christmas card.

District Five's Teacher of the Year, Katie Henderson, was in good company recently!  Henderson, a 3rd grade teacher at Wellford Academy, attended the SC Teacher Forum Conference in early November, along with Teachers of the Year from school districts across the state.

The conference, called "Catching Fire", encouraged the teachers to use their passion for education to inspire them as they serve as leaders in their district.

The event was capped off by a visit and talk with SC State Superintendent Molly Spearman.  Each year, the conference is organized by the Center for Educator Recruictment, Retention and Advancement, or CERRA.

Have a great idea for your classroom, but just don't have the funds to make it happen!  The District Five Teacher Forum has just the opportunity for you!  The Forum is excited to announce the funding of $1000 in grant money to be used to fund classroom projects across District Five.

Grant applications are available through a link sent by email by your Teacher Forum representative.  You may also contact Paula Quinby at [email protected] with additional questions.

The deadline for submission is Friday, January 6, 2017.

Good luck!

Congressman Trey Gowdy paid the school a visit to surprise R.J. with his "I Am An Achiever" award.  The recognition honors students who have overcome significant  obstacles, and still work hard to achieve in life, and in the classroom.  The River Ridge student was born with a rare condition that means his heart is half the size of normal ones.  He's had numerous surgeries during his short life, and faces many medical challenges, but continues to do his best at school.

Teachers at River Ridge wrote Gowdy and nominated R.J. for the recognition.
Family members, classmates and current and former teachers were all there to witness the honor.

Congratulations R.J. Stokes!  We are so proud of you!

You might as well call them "elves" this holiday season!  Students in the Leadership class , led by Teresa Schiltz, at Byrnes High School, have been busy raising money for needy projects around the community.

Days before Thanksgiving, the class donated $200 to the Carpenter's Table, a local food pantry working to provide a holiday meal to hundreds of area residents.

Students also loaded up shopping carts recently, to purchase toys and gifts for Middle Tyger Community Center's Christmas Shoppe.  Leadership Byrnes donated $400 to that effort, and combined it with another $600 given by Byrnes faculty, to total $1000 to help out MTCC and District Five Family Ministries.

Way to go, Leadership Byrnes!

Students at Beech Springs Intermediate School buried their heads in a book (or two!) recently, all to raise money for their school! 

Students at the school participated in a Read-A-Thon, in which they were challenged to read as much as they could over a short amount of time.  In all, students raised more than $3600!  The top seven fundraising students were treated to a limo ride, and lunch at Copper River Grill.  It was a tasty reward for a great cause!

Great job, Beech Springs students!

A local food bank has stocked shelves, thanks to the good deeds of some Berry Shoals Intermediate School students!

Beta Club students at Berry  Shoals have collected canned  foods to supply the food bank at Middle Tyger Community Center.  Students delivered more than 248 cans of food just in time for the Thanksgiving holiday!

What a blessing during this season!

We are proud of you, Berry Shoals!

Members of the Byrnes High School Rebel Theater Company took the stage to compete against some of the best from across South Carolina recently, and came out with big honors!

The Company's production of "Two Rooms" earned them 3rd place overall  at the South Carolina Theater Association Conference in November.

In addition, student Jaden Jones was awarded Overall Best Actor.  Chevez Smith and Alan Lanxton  were also awarded with All Star Awards for best in cast.  Lanxton beat 80 other auditioning seniors from across the state to win the Association's scholarship competition.  He received $1000 for performing a monologue.

Way to go, Rebel Theater Company!

Congratulations are in order for Beech Springs Intermediate School band director Thomas Cotter!

Cotter was recently selected as the Middle School Clinician for the Rock Hill Honor Band.  The group gathered for a performance during the weekend prior to Thanksgiving!

Great job, Thomas Cotter!

Can you spell "Champion"?  Some talented students at D.R. HIll Middle School sure can, in addition to a lot of other really difficult words! 

The school recently held its annual spelling bee, and 8th grader, Dawson Jennings, came out of top!  Jennings will represent D.R. Hill  at the county spelling bee in March.  7th grader Reagan Marsh was awarded 1st runner up.

Congratulations to these two D.R. Hill Middle School students!

3rd grade students at Lyman Elementary School recently had a lesson tasty enough to sink their teeth into!  The students participated in the school's 4th annual "Punkin Chunkin" competition, where they build catapults to launch candy pumpkins.

Each class held a class competition in the areas of distance and accuracy (shooting into a bucket), and then class winners competed for a grade level championship.

Congratulations to these students:
Kruiz Green, Katelyn Marquess, Bethany Pittman, Ella Fisher, Jackson Novak, Caleb Massey, Dylan Howard, Evan Collins, and Dalton Ford.

Overall grade level champions were:  Kruiz Green and Dylan Howard.

Great job, Lyman students!

Little Mermaid Takes the Stage

Students from D.R. Hill Middle School were taken on an adventure "under the sea" recently with a fantastic performance of Disney's "The Little Mermaid"!

The D.R. Hill drama department, under the direction of Betty Bohmer with support from choral director Shannon Scott, treated the D5 community to a magical production full of Ariel, Prince Eric, Flounder, Sebastian and all the favorites.

Costumes, comedy, singing, and dancing all combined to show off the many talents of D.R. Hill students as they took the audience on a great adventure!  Bravo, D.R. Hill!

The Byrnes High School State Champion Runnin' Rebels basketball team got a superstar surprise recently!

Basketball star, and Cleveland Cavalier player, Lebron James, teamed up with Nike to reward state champions across the country with some exclusive Nike shoes and gear.  The campaign, labeled with the hashtag, #ComeOutOfNowhere, was meant to reward teams for their hard work, but also to encourage them to keep striving for excellence.

Byrnes players received the surprise before practice on a recent afternoon, complete with a video and hand written message from James.

Keep working hard, Runnin' Rebels!\

Calling all rising basketball stars!  The Byrnes High School Lady Rebel basketball team will be holding a youth camp for ages K5-6th grade on Saturday, December 10.

The camp will be held at the Byrnes High School gym from 10:00 am -5:00 p.m.  Cost is $30 per child, and $10 for each additional sibling.

You can sign up at the door or contact head coach Missy Fowler at [email protected] .