The Bobcat Brief

May 17, 2024

Upcoming Events

Wednesday, May 22: NEHS End of Year Celebration

Thursday, May 23: BHS Senior Walk for Students

Monday, May 27: Memorial Day - No School

Friday, May 31: Device Collection (Kindergarten, 1st, 2nd, 5th)

Monday, June 3: Device Collection (3rd, 4th); Field Day (more information below); 5th Grade Crossing Over Ceremony at 6 p.m.

Tuesday, June 4: Kindergarten Sing-a-long 9:00 a.m.

Wednesday, June 5: Last Day of School/Early Dismissal & All Lost & Found Items Donated

5th Grade Crossing Over Ceremony

Our annual 5th Grade Crossing Over Ceremony is scheduled to be held on Monday, June 3 at 6:00 p.m.

Each year our 5th grade students submit a design to be considered for the 5th Grade Crossing Over Ceremony's invitation and program. We are proud to share our semi-finalists and winners for this year's invitation and program!

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Field Day

Mark your calendars for our upcoming field day events. If you'd like to volunteer, please reach out to your child's teacher.

Monday, June 3rd

PreK- Kindergarten - 8:00-8:45

Grades 1-2 - 9:00-10:00

Grades 3-5 - 10:15-12:15

Thank you, Wellness Team!

We would like to take a moment to congratulate our Wellness Team! These folks planned and implemented several wellness initiatives throughout the 2023-2024 year. Under their guidance, our school participated in the MUSC BCCW School-based Wellness Initiative and earned our school $1,000. Thank you so much, Nurse Fickes, Mrs. Tyson, Coach Adkins, Ms. Dounn, Mrs. Bossak, Mr. Holmes, and Mrs. Simonis!

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May - SC Ready Testing Information

Grades 3-5 will continue with SC READY testing next week. Below are our school-specific testing dates and a few important reminders.

Coosa Testing Dates:

Tuesday, May 21: Math (Gr. 3, 4, 5)
Wednesday, May 22: Science (Gr. 4 ONLY)
Thursday, May 23: Writing Field Test (Gr. 3, 4, 5)

We ask that all students come to school well rested, fed, and on time, prepared to do their best.
Testing begins promptly at 8:00am. Students that arrive late will not be allowed to enter the testing environment. They will be required to test at an alternate time or date.
During testing students may not be in possession of any electronic device that can be used for communicating, recording, timing, creating images, or storing images. These devices include, but are not limited to, cell phones, media players, electronic readers, smart watches, and headphones. Parents and students should be aware that these devices will be collected by the TA before testing begins. During testing students are prohibited from using the testing device to create, store, or transmit by any means any documents or images. This is a state requirement.

Please contact your child’s teacher or our testing coordinator, Mrs. Roberts, with any questions or concerns.

National Speech-Language-Hearing Month

Trivia Question #2: At what age does the American Academy of Pediatrics recommend recreational use of screens?

Answer: Did you know…. A meta-analysis based on 29,017 children revealed that daily screen time increased from 1.4 hours pre-pandemic to 2.7 hours during the pandemic (Plamondon et al., 2023).

So, it’s safe to say that we ALL have experienced increased screen use in the last few years, and our children’s young brains are developing in the midst of this cultural phenomenon. So, the BIG question… Does screen time “definitely, always” negatively impact development?

Here are some things to consider:

What is being watched?
Why is the screen being used/what is it replacing (e.g., “opportunity cost”)? What is the balance of screen use and other activities?
Is the child benefitting from the content?
Is someone…

…monitoring what is watched?
…tracking the length of time in front of screens?
…co-viewing and connecting what is watched with the real world?

Screen Time Tips:

Know the screen time recommendations (see chart below)
Understand “the why” – do your research!
Watch for negative changes in behavior – if you see meltdowns when it’s time to turn off, then you may be overloading him/her with too much visual processing
Create tech free times and locations AND tech “possible” times and locations (as appropriate) – iPads and phones are great for long road trips, but maybe not short trips around town
Be in control of the charger and/or password – YOU’RE the boss!
Use and set up timers – a great tool to help you not be the “bad guy”
Change device setting to grayscale – reduces visual overstimulation
Plan ahead – take coloring books, word searches, and favorite books to help when out and about!
Teach screen time etiquette – this is the world in which they live; let’s equip them to handle tech responsibly.
Balance screen time with other activities – play games that promote conversation with your kids.

Information adapted from “Screen Time, the Pandemic, and Development” by Angie Neal, M.S.,

CCC-SLP, SC State Dept. of Education

Until next week, I’ll leave you with THIS trivia question…

Trivia Question #3: What communication disability affects 1 in 9 Americans of ALL ages?

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Beaufort County School District's Five-Year Strategic Plan Meetings

We hope our Coosa community members and families can attend one of the below meetings to share your voice:

Beaufort County School District is excited to invite you to participate in shaping the future of education in Beaufort County!

Join us at one of our six community meetings to share your thoughts, ideas, and aspirations for our schools. Your voice matters; together, we can work towards excellence in education for all our students.

All meetings begin at 6 p.m.

Meeting Details:

May 20 - Battery Creek High School media center

May 23 – Bluffton High School cafeteria

Can't make it in person? No problem! You can still share your input online at https://connectbeaufortschools.org/strategic-plan-input from May 6 to the end of May.