District 7 Makes History with Memphis: The Musical, April 28 - May 1 |
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Above: Scenes from Tuesday's dress rehearsal |
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This week, something monumental is happening: Spartanburg High School and District 7 and will present MEMPHIS, the first musical theatre production in our own world-class District 7 Fine Arts Center. Memphis is a Tony Award-Winning Broadway musical has become one of the most stunning, brilliant and meaningful shows in Broadway history.
In addition to being a hugely entertaining show with fantastic music and dancing, the story of Memphis is one in which students are immersing themselves into portraying characters who went through deeply challenging experiences. Dr. Terry Pruitt, Chief Academic Office and show director, noted that rehearsing to present Memphis has been both a challenge and a joy. "The story, based on historical events, has left us at times shocked, disappointed, and overwhelmed with many different emotions. It has also lifted us up, brought us closer together and made the production of this great show even more important."
In addition to the talented cast of actors, the show features accomplished student musicians who perform as part of the onstage band with catchy, hummable melodies and a pop sensibility that draws liberally from gospel, R&B and rock.
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"Memphis was first cast in 2020 and several weeks before opening night, it had to shut down due to the pandemic. Fast forward to 2022, this new cast is as talented, as strong and determined to renew the District 7 tradition of musical theatre excellence with this production in our very own theatre," said Dr. Pruitt.
Our Board of Trustees had a vision for the Fine Arts Center that involved both the high school and the community. The result of this vision is our 1,000 seat auditorium, which serves the entire district as a venue for music and drama performances, lectures, dance, and other cultural events. It serves all schools within the district while also providing space for community performances.
We are forever grateful to our District 7 community for their support and we look forward to seeing you at the show!
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School Plays Return to the Stage in D7 |
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It is wonderful to have theater productions returning to our district schools. Below are some glorious photos of recent shows: EP Todd's Aladdin Kids, Mary H Wright's Artistocats Kids, Jesse Boyd's The Wizard of Oz, and Pine Street's Willy Wonka Jr. Our elementary schools left it all on the stage during these performances! District 7 appreciates and thanks all who poured so much effort into making these musicals the beautiful performances they were. The experience was absolutely amazing for our young people.
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Youth Art Month was celebrated in District 7 and on view was a virtual art show featuring work by students at Whitlock Flexible Learning Center (above) and an art installation at the Drayton Mills event center featuring the work of Drayton Mills Elementary School (below). These exhibits along with featured artwork from all of our schools reflect a shared commitment to the arts in D7.
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Enroll Your Student in D7 for 2022-2023! |
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District 7 has opened the enrollment process for ALL new and returning students. Please complete the annual enrollment process for your student now!
Visit spartanburg7.org/studentenrollment for information on what parents must present at schools to apply/enroll for 4K-5K and to find details about online registration for returning students.
An enrollment letter was recently sent home containing your student's Snap code and enrollment instructions. For returning families, the easiest way to complete enrollment is through our PowerSchool Parent Portal. Get details on how to activate your account on our Powerschool Parent Portal page online. In addition to enrolling your student each year, the PowerSchool Parent Portal gives parents access to upcoming class assignments, grades, attendance, and provides the simple way to know how your student is doing throughout the year. Additionally, the State Department of Education is using the Parent Portal this year to conduct a valuable School Climate Survey for parents.
Thank you for being a partner in your child's learning!
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Spotlight on i-Ready Success Strategies |
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Throughout this year, D7 has continued to learn how to leverage i-Ready lessons and assessments to create a shared teacher/student/parent understanding of individual academic growth. As we increase the effectiveness of how we use i-Ready, it will become a springboard for deeper conversations about additional support when needed. Students are reviewing their own progress and discussing those results with their teachers in order to gain a deeper understanding of what they need in order to improve, along with increased confidence and motivation to do so.
Schools, like Carver Middle (above), are finding creative ways to rally students, teachers and parents around the exciting possibilities that i-Ready brings. On the Friday before spring break, Carver held a celebration pep rally for approximately 500 students who grew in both ELA and Math. Community members Terrance Hawes and Christopher "Ceej" Jefferson helped to plan and host the event, which included live performances, dance battles (between students and teachers), and gift-card give aways!
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At Cleveland Academy of Leadership (see video, above), Eric Carson was surprised with his favorite song, a special classroom visit from his dad, and $50 for having the most growth on i-Ready in the entire school. Principal Marquice Clark says, "It’s great to synergize through the victorious mindset!"
Drayton Mills Elementary Principal Thomas Webster created a school-wide presentation to help students understand what the growth goals mean and why they are important and to recognize students and classes who grew the most. He issued school-wide challenges for meeting growth goals in reading and math, with prizes that only elementary children would love: letting a tarantula and live snakes crawl on him, spending the night on the roof, and learning to ride a unicycle and then riding it down the school hallway (he cannot ride a unicycle and is not overly confident about trying...). What great ways to celebrate growth and make it fun!
As a reminder, parents can access their student's weekly i-Ready progress on their student's Macbook. Simply click into the i-Ready app from the Classlink page. Alongside your student's data is a link to the i-Ready parent resource webpage. These parent resources can also be found on District 7's i-Ready webpage here.
We appreciate our entire D7 family for creating the camaraderie and excitement around i-Ready. It is inspiring to see our students and staff so motivated.
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Special Olympics Event Builds Inclusive Mindset Among Students |
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Some days at school, the most valuable lessons are learned in the hallways. On April 19th, the heart and spirit of D7 was on display throughout Spartanburg High School as student athletes were sent off in style by the student body to compete in Area 12 Special Olympics track and field games. During this Special Olympics Parade of Athletes, the hallways were lined with SHS students and staff who enthusiastically cheered them on.
SHS students also volunteered to work alongside the Special Olympics athletes, with teacher cadets serving as buddies and student council members managing the field events. In total, about 50 McCarthy Teszler and Spartanburg High School student athletes participated in the games.
Young people helping young people is more than a one-day experience; it is a mindset we aim to develop for life. All students learned valuable lessons about appreciating the differences in others and building an inclusive culture. They saw firsthand what the Special Olympics is and how much these special kids want to play sports, have fun and excel.
D7 students – each and every one – reflect the promise of bright futures to come. We congratulate these exceptional students!
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McCarthy Teszler senior Matthew Kellett received the Special Olympics Athlete of the Year Award. Matthew has participated in Special Olympics for over a decade in tennis, volleyball, bowling, 3 on 3 basketball, 5 on 5 basketball, and track and field. |
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Senior Michael Way, also from McCarthy, carried the torch to start the games. Michael has participated in Special Olympics for several years. He loves seeing people come out from the community to cheer for him and his friends.
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Spartanburg High School Students are Changing the Sports Media Landscape
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These media guides are not your average montage of black and white photos of players - they are comprehensive press kits of 20+ pages for each sport, created by Spartanburg High School students to provide media and fans with resources for creating buzz about our teams. Included are rosters with color pictures, schedules, and fun facts about the history of the sport at Spartanburg High School. We applaud Todd White and his students in the Economics of Sports Class for compiling and designing these useful guides. Our student athletes and parents (and our opposing teams!) are giving the guides rave reviews!
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8th Graders Earn Prestigious Junior Scholar Designation |
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Congratulations to 39 eighth graders who were honored as South Carolina Junior Scholars during a ceremony at the District 7 Fine Arts Center in March. Our Junior Scholars are: Maya Abouelenein, Sydney Brough, Molly Bryant, Sebastian Cartwright, Esmeralda Chavez-Perez, Thomas Cheek, Brooklyn Clarke, Reese Cooper, Reese Crocker, Virginia Delaney, Sara Catherine Evans, States Farr, Bolen Fields, Sarah Grace Fluckiger, Brendan Foote, Presley Goudelock, Abby Hampton, Austin Hardy, Alexis Horne, Cameron Jaynes, Wyatt Joyce, Leah Keen, Myles Klosterman, Brice Krydynski, Claire Lauer, Levi Lazenby, William Love, Brennan Mahaffey, Sam Mitchell, Evers Morris, Connor Parrott, Josiah Rogers, Anna Sandago, Carsyn Smith, Addie Usry, Khamren Vongsay, Nathaniel Wagner, Charlotte Ward and Mazlyn Whisnant.
To become a South Carolina Junior Scholar, eighth grade students must earn a score of 550 or higher on the Evidence-based Reading and Writing section of the PSAT or a score of 530 or higher on the Math section of the test. Out of 60,000 eighth graders state-wide who took the PSAT this year, only 3,500 were identified as Junior Scholars, placing them among the top 6% of all eighth graders in our state. These students become eligible for a variety of summer enrichment opportunities offered by local and regional colleges and receive special recognition and awards from the South Carolina Department of Education.
D7 students also earned all three of the highest achievement awards in Spartanburg County. Myles Klosterman (below right) received two awards - the highest overall PSAT score in the county and the highest score on the Evidence Based Reading and Writing section, and Sebastian Cartwright (below left) earned the highest score on the PSAT Math section. Myles and Sebastian are both students at McCracken Middle School.
We salute our students, teachers and administrators, and families for their dedication to excellence in education!
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McCracken's Future City Team Receives
International Accolades
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While reduce, reuse, and recycle has become a common mantra for environmentally conscious consumers in America, the zero-waste city concept scales that idea to a massive level. A group of students at McCracken Middle School not only imagined it but built a model city with a waste-free future, where trash never ends up in landfills, incinerators, or the ocean. Their creation allowed them to win the 19th South Carolina Regional Future City Competition along with the Outstanding Project Planning award at the international competition. During an awards ceremony at McCracken on March 23, representatives from the Ruth Patrick Science Center and the Savannah Nuclear Energy presented the team with their Regional Awards - Best City Model award, the Best City Presentation award and the Best Project Q&A. The international award was announced via a live telecast.
The team of Thomas Cheek, Wyatt Joyce, William Lancaster, Tessa Lewis, Brennan Mahaffey, Finn McEnroe, Sam Mitchell, Ben Neely, Henry Phillips, Marianna Saad and Ben Schafer built a 3D model of their fictional future city, Mt. Vajra, situated on the base of the Himalayas. Waste from the city was reused to make diamonds batteries that helped power the city while also creating a unique economy to offer a wide variety of jobs and to be an appealing destination for living and visiting. Mt. Vajra had its own hydro water filtration, hydroponics and nuclear power for a circular waste free society.
More than 45,000 students from 1,500 middle schools in the U.S., and teams Canada, China and Nigeria participated in this year’s Future City program. With support from the Spartanburg Science Center, the program was adopted by several schools locally and McCracken Middle School performed alongside dozens of teams from schools across the state for the third year in a row.
The 2022 team was coached by McCracken Middle School 7th grade science teachers, Jennifer Keiner and Darlene Porter; and former District 7 Board Trustee Andy Oberg served as the team’s engineering mentor.
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3rd Graders Place First AGAIN in National WordMasters Challenge |
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A team of District 7 third grade ODYSSEY students have done it again! They earned the highest score in the second round of the WordMasters Challenge competition and are the FIRST PLACE team in the nation out of 145 teams comprised of more than 125,000 students in the Gold Division. The competition encourages growth in verbal and vocabulary reasoning and has become a point of pride for our district.
The students from the winning team of third graders from Pine Street School are: Charlotte Clementson, Clark Conklin, Lily Dargis, Bryan Haecker, Frances Halligan, Britton Matthews, Wilson Neely, Aila Kate Peuser, Alek Resumovic, Caroline Ringo, Charlotte Smith, Suzanna Story, Judah Suits, Emerson Wagner, Connor Waugh and Eli Wittwer. Kudos to Lily Dargis and Jesse Boyd’s Audrey Duvall who were also recognized for being two of only five third graders in the nation to earn a perfect score on this extremely difficult test.
The students on the first-place team prepared under the guidance of gifted and talented teacher and coach extraordinaire Susan Holcombe. In celebrating their success, we salute Ms. Holcombe and all our dedicated educators whose commitment to academic excellence is standard.
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Norse News Spotlight: Capturing the Moment |
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Researchers debate the psychological effects of photo-taking
by Violette Franke, Norse News Co-Editor in Chief
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With the increasing presence of social media, people feel constant pressure to take and share photos with their followers. According to nytimes.com, people took an estimated 1.3 trillion photos in 2017, a stark increase from the 350 billion photos taken in 2010. The increasing pressure to document one’s experiences through snapping photos raises concerns over whether constantly documenting life moments may cause people to miss out on living their lives.
According to Yale Insights, Gal Zauberman, a professor of marketing at the Yale School of Management, took to researching this concern. Zauberman and his co-researchers conducted a number of experiments in a lab setting, where they randomly assigned participants to either take pictures, or not take pictures, of experiences. After the experience, the participants were asked to record their reactions. Zauberman’s research showed that the photo takers reported engaging with the experiences more and enjoying them more. The findings apply to both positive and negative experiences, so taking photos makes one more engaged with the negative experiences causing increased internal negativity.
“My first intuition was that somehow [taking photos] would harm your experience because it disengages you,” Zauberman said. “It introduces another task. It’s not natural. There’s something that stands between you and the experience. But we found exactly the opposite of that.”
However, Linda Henkel a psychology professor at Fairfield University, did research suggesting that photo-taking impairs human experiences by “off-loading” our memory. According to npr.org, in 2013, Henkel conducted a study showing that people have more difficulty remembering art objects they’ve seen in a museum if they took pictures of them. An analogy to describe this effect is writing down a phone number. Henkel explained that if you write down someone’s phone number, you’re less likely to remember it offhand because your brain tells you that there was no need.
“When people rely on technology to remember something for them, they’re essentially outsourcing their memory,” Henkel said. “They know their camera is capturing that moment for them, so they don’t pay full attention to it in a way that might help them remember.”
Ultimately, researchers are undecided on whether the effects of photo-taking are either good or bad. Psychologists encourage people to take photos for themselves rather than to impress peers on social media.
Eliza Hammett (11) is on the SHS photography staff and enjoys taking pictures in her free time. “I enjoy taking photos because I feel that it gives me the ability to capture people’s true emotions through a photo,” Hammett said. “I do think that it can take away from being able to live life in the moment because I can be overly worried about capturing the perfect picture but my love of taking photos makes it worth it to me.”
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The insightful piece above was written by Violette Franke, Norse News Co-Editor in Chief. We congratulate her for earning third place in bylined editorial and third place in photo illustration at the at the S.C. Scholastic Press Association's Winter Excellence in Scholastic News Awards ceremony. Other Norse News staff award winners include: Leah Chandler, third place in column; Lily Hayes, Autumn Johnson, and Selena Mok for first place in photo gallery; Sarah McMeekin, second place in news and second place in staff editorial; Dev Patel, second place in feature; and Grace Till (former senior) first place in review.
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Norse News Award Winning Writers |
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and Award Winning Photographers |
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We thank all our 7Headlines subscribers for their support of The Norse News, Spartanburg High School’s long-standing staple. You can navigate their entire award-winning DIGITAL EDITION here. If you or your business are interested in advertising in the online publication, or you would like to support the publication, please contact Mrs. Angela Eaton at areaton@spart7.org.
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Jerome Rice, Student Transition Specialist and coach at Spartanburg High School, was elected Mayor of Spartanburg last year after serving on Spartanburg City Council for over a decade. In an expose by WSPA he shares how his journey to politics began in tragedy and how he is taking on public health in his first year as mayor. As part of his public health initiative, Mayor Rice is promoting community walks in different neighborhoods in Spartanburg. This gives him an opportunity to promote exercise while trying to understand the needs of his constituents, he said.
Rice calls the event “Miles with the Mayor.” He plans to hold this event every third Saturday of each month throughout his tenure as mayor.
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Caleb Gaither is the new head boys basketball coach at Spartanburg High School - WSPA shared the news on April 22. Gaither, a former Dorman assistant and most recently head coach of Northwestern High School in Rock Hill, brings familiarity to the area, head coaching experience and a state championship winning pedigree – he led Lower Richland to the AAAA state title in 2017.
On and off the court, Gaither said his teams will win in all aspects of the game and what it means to be a student-athlete, "We're going to put a product on the floor that's going to win games, we're going to win in the classroom, we're going to win in the community. Everything you can think of that young student athletes need to excel in, we're going to do that."
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Help Us Spread the News - Join Our Team! |
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District 7 is a wonderful place to work, grow, and contribute in meaningful ways to the lives of children and families in Spartanburg. We featured three of our teachers sharing why they love being part of the D7 family in a new recruiting video.
Please help us share our open positions for the 2022-2023 school year, which include a wide variety of opportunities. From teachers to custodians to bus drivers to coaches to administrative support positions, and many more in between, there are many places in our D7 family for dedicated and talented individuals!
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Students and staff enjoy seeing Superintendent Stevens in their schools every week. As our champion of D7's Power of ONE, he is their biggest fan and they know it! |
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Mary H Wright's kindergarten field trip to Strawberry Hill was a SWEET success! |
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The sounds from these 5th grade musicians at Jesse Boyd were rich and beautiful during their recent concert.
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Carver's student council handed out eggs to students with positive affirmations. What a fun way to make students feel 'egg'tra special! |
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D7 staff members have bravely stood up for safety since the pandemic began, including those who joined our teams on a temporary basis as contact tracers in schools. As their role came to an end this month, our contact tracers were thanked by each of their schools for their hard work and dedication. Above, Ms. Hemrick of McCracken Middle is surprised with a special send-off.
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McCracken 8th graders Sebastian Cartwright, Levi Lazenby, Sam Mitchell and Leah Keen recently competed in the Regional Finals of the International Geography Bee and National Science Bee. Levi and Sam qualified for the National Geography Bee Final and in Orlando and Levi is qualified for the International Competition in Vermont. Congratulations! |
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Five seniors were named as recipients or alternates for the prestigious SC Teaching Fellows award: Chase Rose, Melonda Sullivan, Savannah Prescott, Anna Jakubchak and Corrine Bowden. Only 200 talented seniors who desire a career in education are named as Fellows each year. Fellows receive up to $6,000 in annual scholarship money. We look forward to these future educators making a difference in the lives of their own students one day! |
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Pine Street School's 5K set a new participation record this year! Runners, walkers, and even family pets laced up and hit the pavement. |
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Safe to say “Hat Day” was a success at Meeting Street Academy. Shine to all our scholars, teachers and faculty for their school spirit. |
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Spartanburg High School Senior Deacon Cox is gas metal arc welding (GMAW) a bracket that was fabricated in welding II class for D3 Maintenance. The bracket will be used to
repair the gate at Daniel Morgan Technical Center.
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On the Red Carpet! Mrs. Stevens and Spartanburg High School's English department planned a field study for all 11th and 12th graders to see The Great Gatsby at the Chapman Cultural Center. |
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Carver Middle School 8th graders participated in a Workforce Workshop that provided hands-on experience with skilled professions to introduce students to several career fields. The Workforce Workshop tour featured a customized, interactive trailer loaded with information, skills challenges and, incidentally, a whole lot of fun!
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When he was just 5 years old, Tradd told his mother, Anna Hodge, he wanted to start his own holiday, Tradd’s Giving Day. “I started thinking about how there are kids in the hospital,” Tradd said. Each March since that time, Tradd has collected toys and donations for hospitalized children. His family is considering formalizing the effort into a nonprofit organization because so many people now want to participate.
For Tradd, it is rewarding when the toys are delivered. “I’m really just happy to see the smiles on their faces and see that they are doing a little bit better when they have something to play with,” he said.
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Memphis The Musical
April 28, 29 and 30 at 7 p.m.; May 1 at 3 p.m.
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Month of April
Community Service Month
National Autism Month
Wednesday, April 27
Administrative Professionals Day
Thursday, April 28-May 1
McCarthy Teszler Spring Market
Friday, April 29
Arbor Day
Saturday, April 30
McCarthy Teszler Annual Plant Sale
Month of May
Mental Health Month
Sunday, May 1
Monday, May 2 - Friday May 6
Teacher Appreciation Week
Tuesday, May 3
School Board Meeting
Teacher Appreciation Day
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Wednesday, May 4
National Bike to School
National School Nurse Day
Thursday, May 5
Cinco De Mayo
Sunday, May 8
Mother's Day
Monday, May 16
Induction Teacher Celebration
Tuesday, May 17
D7 Retirees Dinner
Friday, May 20
Class of 2022 Senior Walks at Elementary Schools
Saturday, May 21
SHS Graduation 8am
Thursday, May, 26
Half Day for Students
Friday, May 27
Half Day for Students/Last Day School
Monday, May 30
Memorial Day Holiday
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Friends and family mark your calendars - McCarthy Teszler has some fun activities coming up! Their Spring Market on Thursday, April 28th is a new event this year and will be similar to their Holiday Fair. Students are creating crafts to sell and the school will have community partner informational booths for families. On Saturday, April 30th, the school will hold their annual plant sale. |
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610 Dupre Drive Spartanburg, South Carolina
P: 864.594.4400
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