Our school maintains a focus on helping all students develop the world-class skills and life and career characteristics of the Profile of the South Carolina Graduate by providing rigorous and Arts-infused educational programs for students at Hilton Head Island Elementary School for the Creative Arts (HHIESCA), and for its annexed multi-age Daufuskie Island Elementary (DIES) satellite school. A collaborative relationship among teachers, an active PTO and School Improvement Council, and diverse community shareholders drives the implementation of the five-year strategic plan, supporting the whole child and the three-tiered South Carolina graduate profile-development of world-class knowledge, world-class skills and life and career characteristics.
World Class Knowledge is demonstrated at both school sites through the rigorous standards-based viable curriculum in ELA, Math, Science, and Social Studies. Integration of Arts-infused curriculum in collaboration with community shareholders provides evidence of authentic and meaningful learning across content. Specific partnerships include those held with the Arts Center of Coastal Carolina, The Port Royal Sound Foundation, the Hilton Head Island Symphony Orchestra and the Coastal Discovery Museum at Honey Horn Plantation. Through the opportunities provided within these programs, teachers and children are immersed in academic learning and cultural experiences provided by experts and artisans from the community. Students receive world-class knowledge that will enable them to fine-hone skills of problem-solving and critical thinking while also applying characteristics of teamwork and interpersonal relationships. Professional development and implementation of inquiry-based learning and our commitment as a staff to facilitate a strong Arts-focused learning environment further supports evidence of achievement in the area of World Class Knowledge.
We are dedicated to leading our students down the path of developing strong world class skills. As an Arts in the Basic Curriculum (ABC) School of Distinction, our vision includes rigorous Arts lessons taught by instructors certified in Art, Music, Dance, and Drama/Theater. We nurture a partnership with the Arts Center of Coastal Carolina to facilitate opportunities in which all classrooms may work with an Artist in Residence on a unit of study directly correlating with the academic content standards taught at each level, and experience academic field trips to enhance student learning. Teachers receive training regarding best practices in Arts-infusion within the curriculum. Our experiences in the Arts support the research that student engagement through the Arts facilitates self-expression, collaboration, teamwork, and skills of creativity.
Our community-based partnerships create opportunities for students to study and become aware of history and culture of the local area, such as the February 2022 Gullah "Go and Tell" Festival held within the school, facilitated through Arts instructors. During this event, teachers throughout the school provided engaging lessons and opportunities for students to experience Gullah story-telling; song-writing; singing; and dance. In collaboration with the Arts Center of Coastal Carolina, 3rd grade students experienced a Sweetgrass bracelet weaving workshop led by local Gullah Artisans.
Arts centered clubs are available to students in the areas of instrumental and vocal music; theater; and visual art. In December 2021, we hosted the Winter Festival of the Arts, showcasing the outcomes of Fall clubs. The school community viewed a chorus and hand-bell choir performance, and experienced an Art gallery walk comprised of student masterpieces. In the Spring of 2022, the Drama teacher facilitated an afterschool Drama club that culminated in April 2022 via a performance of "Peter Pan, Jr." for the school community. In May of 2022, the school held our annual BRAVO Celebration of the Arts event in which all teachers of each grade level showcased Arts-integrated projects throughout the building. The community enjoyed visiting the campus and seeing evidence of inquiry-based student work, integrating the Arts and academic standards.
As a school within a district that holds a 1:1 technology plan, students benefit from a technology-rich program. All students of grades K-5 at both sites are provided the opportunity to explore learning through use of technology, via iPads at the primary grade levels and laptops at the intermediate elementary levels. An Arts-infused Lego and Technology Lab program is present within HHIESCA to create opportunities for students to plan and design with creativity. In addition to our Arts-centered clubs, students participated in academic enrichment clubs such as Gardening, Math, Reading and Writing.
The third tier of the Profile of the SC Graduate is the development of Life and Career Characteristics. In the 2021-22, HHIESCA teachers continued practices surrounding the premise of responsiveness to the needs of a diverse learning community using techniques aligned with the Responsive Classroom approach, and added P.B.I.S. (Positive Behavioral Rewards and Incentives) strategies to assist with meeting the social-emotional and learning needs of children. Teachers continued to facilitate daily classroom focus on maintaining high expectations for self within a community, while also providing in-classroom rewards programs to recognize students who exemplified the characteristics of our school B.E.A.T. (Behavior, Effort, Attitude, Teamwork) initiative. Each month, all classroom teachers selected four students from their class as the B.E.A.T. recipient for each of the four components of the acronym, and rewarded them during a class ceremony with a certificate and medallion. The students' pictures were displayed with other grade level recipients on a bulletin board for schoolwide recognition. The PTO supported staff in this endeavor by providing B.E.A.T. pins for all staff to hand out to students in various locations of the campus, when students were observed demonstrating positive B.E.A.T. attributes. Students enjoyed displaying the pins on their belongings as evidence of their hard work! The PTO supports the school in recognizing students for academic achievement, by quarterly Honor Roll celebrations at the upper elementary grade levels. Student recipients were acknowledged in grade level presentations throughout the year, and provided a certificate of achievement; lapel pin from the PTO; and an Honor Roll pencil. In the blended approach of Responsive Classroom and P.B.I.S, students are encouraged by teachers to learn the life skills of self-directing actions; utilizing a global perspective; and behaving with integrity, while receiving incentives and rewards for positive achievement.
We continue to incorporate the character education program in effect throughout Beaufort County School District through our Guidance program. Students representative of all grade levels are recognized monthly for exemplifying the trait of the month. We are proud this year that two students were selected as district representatives for this honor.
We celebrate our continued progress within our Arts-infused school of choice, and are committed to the vision of providing a safe, nurturing, rigorous, and Arts-infused environment that will promote preparedness of all children for a successful future following graduation.
Pamela Lucas-Principal, Leslie Shaw-SIC Chair-HHIESCA, Lindsay Tilton- PTO President, HHIESCA, Erin Quinn- PTO President, DIES