Playing it COOL
Third-grader Weston Burnett cuts the ribbon during the dedication for the school's new sunshade with help from Rusty Bennett, an owner of Poe's Tavern, which funded the playground addition.
The school held a dedication this morning for a vivid blue sunshade that provides a new focal point for the playground and allows students a welcome spot to escape the heat and potentially harmful rays of the sun.
Poe's Tavern generously donated funds for the shade covering to help protect children from developing skin cancer later in life, and Rusty Bennett, one of the owners of the Sullivan's Island restaurant and gathering spot, was on hand for the ribbon-cutting.
The PTA recently voted to purchase tables that will be installed under the sunshade as well as additional playground equipment recommended by Principal Susan King.
The whole staff and student body turned out to say "Thank you!"
Sullivan’s Island Elementary School Announces New
PTA and Friends Boards
Friends of Sullivan’s Island School foundation (FOSIS) and the Sullivan’s Island Elementary School PTA recently held board orientation, welcoming new board members and officers.
Newly elected Friends officers include: President Loren Ziff; Vice President Anne Burnett; Bill Medich Treasurer; Lisa Crow Secretary and Carol Killough, Immediate Past President. Friends Board members include: Todd Abedon Charles T. Cole, Jr., Deanne Conant, Holly Covington, Millie Day, Kim Johnson, Robbie Kennemur, Louise Kohlheim, Lisa Mitchell, Carolyn Newton, Linda Norton, Todd Poore, Marie-Louise Ramsdale, Michelle Rovner, Daniel Slotchiver and Mary Jane Watson.
New PTA Board Members include Susan Ballenger President; Jen Smith Vice President; Heyward Robinson Treasurer; Janie Ball Secretary; Susan Gourdin Membership; Melissa Kelly Volunteer Coordinator; Deanna Kem Ways & Means; Kathleen Brunson Program Chair and Judith Smith and Susan Smith serving as Wavelength e-newsletter Editors.
The SIES PTA and Friends Foundation work together to assist the school with volunteer support, and financial assistance, supplementing shortfalls in public allocations. During the 2008-2009 school year, Friends and PTA have raised a collective $112,000, which has been allocated to the school in the form of library and technology improvements including SMART boards, Airliners and senteo clicker systems for each classroom, faculty training, an on-line accelerated reader subscription, cultural enrichments and an allocation to underwrite Spanish and Computer instruction for all grades, K-5 for the 2009-2010 school year.
The new board has already begun plans for the 2009-2010 school year and will be soliciting sponsors for the annual events and school publications throughout the summer. For information on how you or your business can be involved with the school, visit www.friendsofsies.org or email info@friendsofsies.org
Donations to Friends are tax deductible and may be sent to the Coastal Community Foundation of South Carolina, who holds and manages our funds. Please make checks payable to “CCF”, with FOSIS noted in the memo field, and mail to: 90 Mary Street, Charleston, SC 29403.
Congratulations SIES Math Fest Team!
On Saturday, April 18, twenty SIES 4th and 5th grade students participated in the Math Fest competition in Columbia. Led by 4th grade teacher Judy Callan, the 4th grade team earned 2nd place honors overall, and the 5th grade team placed 3rd overall. In the individual competion, 4th graders Isabella Minson, Christopher Diamond-Hettinger, and Michael Psenka ranked in the top 20 overall. 5th grader Kyle McGue also finished in the top 20, and Jake Anderson placed 2nd overall. Way to go team!
Fourth grade team competitors were Christopher Diamond-Hettinger, Michael Psenka, Price Nimmich, Alex Dodenhoff, Linsey Yarbrough, Isabella Minson, Vivek Pandey and Elliot Suggs. Fifth grade competitors were Kyle McGue, Dylan Robinson, Robert Shirley, Reid Haigler, Emma Cohen, Nathan Thompson, Kate Harper, Jake Anderson, Will Bridgham, Lauren Medich, Gillian Armstrong and Cody McLellan.
SIES teachers celebrate the school's Excellent Absolute Rating and Excellent Growth Rating on the SC State Report Card, as well as their recent recognition as a School Improvement Council Riley Award Honor School!
Cub Scout Pack 59 Webelos revitalize Sullivan’s Island Elementary School Nature Trail
SULLIVAN’S ISLAND, South Carolina, January 30, 2009–
The Cub Scout Pack 59 Webelos, chartered by Stella Maris Catholic Church on Sullivan’s Island, re-dedicated the Sullivan’s Island Elementary School Nature Trail today in a brief ceremony recognizing the importance of this natural asset to our community. 4th and 5th grade Webelos Cub Scouts Christopher Diamond-Hettinger, Matthew Dodds, Wynn Fabrizio, Kyle Harris, Clayton Johnson, John Jones, Andrew Killough, Devon Lee, Jack Marino, Price Nimmich, Michael Psenka, AJ Schmidt, and Elliott Suggs, along with their families, spent two Saturdays in November and one day over Christmas break cleaning up the trail, which had been neglected for some 14 years.
“The importance of children understanding and caring for our natural environment cannot be underestimated. I am extremely proud of the Webelo's efforts to revive this very special trail. Sullivan's Island Elementary School is extremely fortunate to have an "outdoor science classroom" just beyond our backdoor! I look forward to seeing this educational resource used by our students and others for generations to come,” said Sullivan’s Island Elementary School Principal, Susan King.
After a few outings to confirm the existing path placement and post markers, (all of which were reclaimed and restored), the Webelos den was put to work trimming and raking aside limbs, vines and weeds, all in accordance with Town existing beach path ordinances. Following the Boy Scouts of America Outdoor Code, the scouts did not remove anything from the site except trash found. No foliage was completely removed from the trail, instead it was raked aside to allow wildlife to continue using the berries and branches as food and nesting sources.
The Sullivan’s Island Nature Trail was created in 1985 by former SIES Principal Fleming Harris and former SIES teacher Judith Cummings Reese. At that time, with the assistance of many government agencies and individuals including the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, a booklet trail guide was created to highlight the flora and fauna of the trail, completely illustrated with pen and ink drawings by Mrs. Reese. Soon after, the trail was utilized not only by island children, students throughout the state of South Carolina enjoyed field trips to the trail to see and learn their coastal science lessons first hand. Some of these children had never seen the beach, despite living within miles of the ocean. Webelos den leader Carol Killough is heading up an effort to redesign and reprint the now depleted booklets this spring, with the help of Billy McCord from SCDNR, Mary Pringle from the Island Turtle Team and printing donated by island resident Robbie Kennemur of ProLegal Copies. Artwork and photography of native species located on the trail is needed. "After walking the nature trail, I was very impressed with the diversity of plant and animal life in such a small area. I can't think of any other school that has a setting so rich in maritime and coastal flora and fauna as Sullivan's Island Elementary. I commend the scouts for their very hard work in clearing the paths and bringing the trail back to life,” said Island Turtle Team Project Leader, Mary Pringle.
The Sullivan’s Island Nature Trail has 15 stations, which allow students and teachers to see first hand the coastal landforms, plants and animals which make up our fragile ecosystem. The Trail starts at the school playground, which backs up to the Maritime forest. From the Maritime forest, students traverse through the secondary and primary dunes, out to the beach to tidal pools and back through a separate trail to see wax myrtles, “toothache” trees, the effects of the salt spray and more.
“It is our hope that the Pack 59 Webelos dens of the future will continue to adopt this trail as their community service project and that it will be annually maintained and regularly utilized by children throughout the State for years to come,” said Killough.
 Pack 59 is a Cub Scout pack with the Coastal Carolina Council of the Boy Scouts of America and is chartered by Stella Maris Catholic Church on Sullivan’s Island. Scouts from Isle of Palms, Sullivan’s Island and Mount Pleasant are members of Pack 59, with active dens for each grade 1-5. If a boy is interested in becoming a cub scout, or would like more information, he may contact the Council Service Center at 843-763-0305.
School groups interested in arranging use of the nature trail may contact Trudie Cantrell at SIES at 883-3118.
Friends of Sullivan's Island School
2015 I'On Avenue
Sullivan's Island, SC 29482
843.883.3118
info@friendsofsies.org
Tax-deductible contributions may be mailed to:
Coastal Community Foundation (enclose a note indicating "FOSIS")
90 Mary Street
Charleston, SC 29403
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