Memminger Manifest

We are pleased to share with our Memminger families the exciting activities, events and academic accomplishments happening at our school during the last month. Our students are our highest priority and we strive to showcase their schoolwide experiences throughout the year. This month’s highlight was our PTO Color Fun Run fundraiser event. It was a spectacular success! Thank you, PTO, parents, contributors, sponsors, volunteers, students, teachers and community members, for your unwavering support.

Cindy Smalls & Cherie Wash

As you know, an incident resulted in a Lockdown of the Memminger campus; since then, our staff has been working with the district’s security team, our School Resource Officer (SRO), and others to review the incident, identify areas of the response that went well, and discuss areas of the response that could have been improved.

Lockdowns are uncommon occurrences, and while we hope not to have another one at Memminger, we want to ensure we are as prepared as possible to handle any potential security incidents on campus. A key way to improve and increase preparedness is to conduct an after-action review of critical incidents that do occur. A few examples of the things that went well in the recent Lockdown include:

• A concerned citizen followed the “see something, say something” concept. Although the report was determined to be unfounded, the initial information was based on what was perceived as suspicious activity, and it was reported immediately to school officials.

• When the information was received and processed at the school, the decision was quickly made to place the school in Lockdown. All of the details were not fully known during the initial report, and a Lockdown was determined to be the best response to ensure the safety of students and staff.

• Our on campus police officer, SRO Zagol, was a tremendous resource in quickly engaging the situation and taking action to ensure the campus was safe.

Dedicated to continuous improvement, here are opportunities for growth:

• While the school’s public address system was used to place the school in a Lockdown, additional communication to teachers and school staff could have included more details, more quickly.

• The notification to parents of the Lockdown was through an email that was sent over an hour after the school day had ended. This left parents unaware of what had happened, especially as students were first being picked up or arriving home from school.

• The Lockdown was released once the campus was deemed safe; however, the decision to release the Lockdown was initially communicated to the staff via the public address system instead of in-person, which is standard operating procedure. After the PA announcement was made, staff and law enforcement then went room-by-room to confirm the message that the Lockdown had been lifted.

Our team at Memminger is committed, above all, to ensuring that we do what is necessary to keep our students and staff safe. We are thankful to teachers, students, staff, and our SRO for their quick response to the most recent incident. We feel confident that the lessons learned have made us safer and better prepared. We greatly appreciate your support. If you have any questions or suggestions, please feel free to reach out to us.

11/5: Election Day, No School

11/13: Fall Pictures MAKE-UP / RETAKE Day

11/22: Kona Ice Available for $3

11/25-11/29: Fall Break (Monday 11/25 is Weather Make-Up Day, if needed)

12/4-12/5: i-Ready Reading Winter Assessment

12/10-12/11: i-Ready Math Winter Assessment

More and more students are being picked up late, some as late as 5:00. We understand occasional emergencies or unexpected delays, but please make necessary arrangements to have your child picked up on time on a regular basis. We begin dismissal at 3:15 and normally finish around 3:30.

Click the picture above to sign your child up for Fall Retake Pictures. This link will allow parents to sign up to receive updates via email regarding their child's school portraits. These updates include promotions, additional deals and the ability to order more pictures at a later time. When entering student information, parents should be sure to enter the student's name as it is on file at the school.

To pay online, visit www.strawbridge.net. Click Order Pictures and enter the following code:

We did it!

We met our goal by raising $30,022!!!

Thank you to all who donated their money and time to make this year's Fun Run a huge success!

And a big thank you to Memminger's PTO who hosted this event. Your dedication to our students is appreciated more than you know!

At Memminger, we believe that all of our students are here to become deep, critical reasoners. To help foster this, we are implementing SOS - Stretch or Support - which was created by the CCSD's Gifted & Talented Department. This schoolwide enrichment program connects EVERY student to their area of strength and allows them to grow this reasoning area by playing GAMES. You read it right - games.

These carefully selected games help push students in 3 main reasoning areas - VERBAL (reasoning with words), NONVERBAL (reasoning with pictures, patterns, shapes), and QUANTITATIVE (reasoning with numbers). All students from kindergarten through grade 5 grade will have an opportunity to engage in SOS games.

The purchase of SOS games was completely funded by our amazing PTO!! We cannot thank them enough for supporting this very important initiative. They were able to fund one kit of at least 15 games to EACH classroom!

Wonder Works coordinated the ordering and delivering of all the games. They have worked closely with CCSD in the past and are real experts in connecting schools and families to games that really hone in on the 3 reasoning areas listed above.

But don't worry - SOS will not get in the way of normal instruction. We have some creative ways to build this in for each student to experience without jeopardizing the integrity of our curriculum.

NOTE: To volunteer you must have already completed the Volunteer Application through CCSD.

We do not own the rights to this music.

A huge thank you to Ms. Krieg and Ms. McIntosh for coordinating our first annual Trunk or Treat event. We were super impressed by the turnout! We have the best families and it was clearly shown by your outpouring of support on last Tuesday. We look forward to hosting this event next year! It was a great time had by all!

We ask that all Memminger families ensure their information in Power School is correct and updated. We need working email addresses AND phone numbers for all our students. If you have not done so already, the family and emergency contact information should be updated. We appreciate your assistance with this matter.

If you have any questions, please call or email Chris Bocharski.

843-724-7778

christine_bocharski@charleston.k12.sc.us

Students can purchase snacks in the cafeteria during their lunchtime on Fridays.

Thank you to our AMAZING cafeteria staff for making this happen!

CASH ONLY!

We need your help in becoming an "Attendance Champion" school in CCSD!

Every minute of learning during the school day is important. Students who miss more than 10% of the school year for any reason are considered chronically absent. Students who attend school everyday and on time are more likely to read at grade level, achieve good grades, and score highly on standardized tests.

You can help us become an "Attendance Champion" school by ensuring your child attends school daily and aims for 95% or higher attendance rate.

Arrival:

Students may arrive starting at 7:50am.

Instruction begins at 8:15am.

Students arriving after 8:15am are tardy and must be signed in at the front office.

Dismissal:

Students will begin dismissing at 3:15pm.

The cutoff time to pick up your child early is 2:30pm.

Absences:

We understand absences are necessary for illnesses and emergency situations. Upon returning to school, please send an excuse detailing the reason for your child's absence to your child's teacher. You can also send excuses to Ms. Chris Bocharski at christine_bocharski@charleston.k12.sc.us.

If you need to pick up your child early, you will need to arrive no later than 2:30pm and have your ID ready. This will allow us time to prepare our normal dismissal. We appreciate your understanding and thank you in advance.

Click Here to Order The 24-25 Yearbook!

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Our CD classes are wrapping up their tree unit where they got to explore how they grow, who lives in them, and what things are made from trees. CD also got to go on walking field trips to the public library for a MOJA festival event and our annual Halloween experience! We are excited to explore our new units in November: buildings (CD-4) and light (CD-3)!

Character….Setting….Plot….

What do these words describe? Story Elements.

For the last four weeks, kindergarten has been learning about different types of fiction stories to include folktale, tricksters, and legends. Students learned that trickster tales demonstrate how smaller characters can outwit larger, stronger characters, and folktales are made up stories that were passed down orally from generation to generation.

While exploring different types of classic stories, we dissected each story to identify the characters, settings and plot. The unit of study concluded with a field trip to the Gaillard Center, where the kindergarteners enjoyed a wonderful, live performance of “Goodnight Moon” and “The Runaway Bunny”.

Our IB unit this month led students to encounter different cultures from around the world as they explored the ways in which folktales from different lands have similar themes, characters, the adventures of supernaturally small characters, and the exploits of cunning tricksters. They began to learn about map skills and where they are on the map!

Second grade has been exploring how geography and natural resources impact civilizations. Students have become experts on landforms and different bodies of water as they created maps and models of different areas. We have also been diving deep into ancient civilizations, such as Ancient Greece, to understand how geography impacted the lives of civilians. Students were able to read and write fictional stories in October as we went through the writing process.

3rd grade has had a great October! We have gotten to explore animal classifications in detail. Particularly, we dove into mammals which was perfect, because it led us right into exploring the human body. In this unit, we are exploring the 7 systems of our body. We are using robots as we explore the digestive system! This has tied in perfectly with our IB Unit: Who We Are as we explore what makes us, us. We have also been working on rounding and adding and subtracting on a number line using three digit numbers. 3rd grade will soon be jumping into learning about Vikings. We are teaming up with Ms. Mixon and Ms. Norman to create our own Nordic deity trading cards!

Our 4th graders have had a fantastic start to the school year! In math, we are focusing on strengthening our multiplication skills. We’re learning about multi-digit multiplication using helpful strategies like arrays, number lines, and area models. We’re also exploring important concepts such as factors, multiples, prime and composite numbers, and practicing our multiplication facts through fun problem-solving activities. These skills connect to our IB unit, “Decisions Have an Impact on Humanity,” as math helps us make informed choices that affect ourselves and others. Next, we will dive into fractions! We will learn how to find equivalent fractions, add them, and compare them. We can’t wait to see how these new skills will help us in our math journey!

5th grade has gotten off to a hot start! In science we learned about the Earth’s systems and the water cycle. We researched and dove into the world of water filtration and how water gets cleaned. Students were given a budget of $10 and one day to make a water filtration system. We used some brackish water from a local pond and the results were amazing! Our scholars did such a great job and had great success! We connected this to our IB Unit of Sharing the Planet and discussed the relationship between our natural resources and the organisms that use them! Looking forward we are excited for our new unit in reading- poetry! Be on the lookout for some great poetry soon!

What is the IB PYP? It is the International Baccalaureate Program which is designed for students aged 3 to 12 and focuses on the development of the whole child. It nurtures students’ curiosity, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills through a transdisciplinary approach that connects different subject areas.

From the beginning of the year, we have been focusing on developing the attributes of the IB Learner Profile, which include being inquirers, knowledgeable, principled, thinkers, open-minded, communicators, reflective, caring, risk-takers and balanced. Our goal is to cultivate responsible global citizens who are prepared for the challenges of tomorrow. This innovative educational framework emphasizes inquiry-based learning, encouraging our students to become active, caring, and lifelong learners.

Our first color team challenge was one of service learning. Through our PTO, we had a “change challenge” to take action and collect our spare change to donate to those affected by Hurricane Helene. The teams took this challenge and ran! In just two short weeks, we were able to raise almost $1500 that will be donated to a school community in need, the Senior Class at Brevard High School, through the Community Foundation of Western North Carolina. The Red Team came in first place and raised over $450. The Blue Team, in second place, raised almost $350, and the Green and Gold Teams each raised just under $300. Thank you to the families and staff who donated to help our neighbors in need!

Here at Memminger, we use Kagan Cooperative Learning structures to provide equitable opportunities for students to share their thinking and interact with one another. The use of these cooperative learning structures leads to improved student engagement and academic outcomes. At our latest faculty meeting, teachers learned and participated in the Kagan structure Sage-N-Scribe. This structure “maximizes overt active participation for problem-solving and makes it into a socially engaging event.” In this structure, students get to both orally describe their process for solving a problem as well as write their partner’s ideas for solving a similar problem; making everyone’s thinking visible. We can’t wait to see this structure in action in our classrooms!

We celebrated Unity Day on October 16th! It is the signature event of National Bullying Prevention Month. This is a day when we can come together in one giant, ORANGE message of hope and support. The call to action is simple: wear and share the color orange. This vibrant statement becomes a conversation starter, showing support for students who have been bullied and for bullying prevention.

PE is full of team players this week as we finish up our cooperative unit and focus on working together with our classmates. From crossing rivers of “hot lava” to building hula-hoop houses, students have been using their collaboration skills and practicing effective communication in order to complete various tasks and challenges in the gym. Next week, we begin our throwing and catching unit and will work with different projectiles such as wiffle balls, footballs, and frisbees. Don’t forget those tennis shoes!

Every Wednesday during IB Clubs, Ms. Mixon hosts Graphic Novel Club where second and third graders come to enjoy their favorite graphic novels. The stars of these meetings are our therapy dogs. Baylee, a sweet black lab, and Charlie, a gentle golden retriever, both lay patiently while students take turns sitting beside them. Even the most hesitant readers find their confidence growing when these dogs show extra encouragement, offering a gentle paw or nuzzling closer when they struggle with challenging words.

When used in maritime, the term 'manifest' refers to the document where a ship's cargo, passengers, and crew are listed. This detailed list is used for customs clearance and port operations.

Since Memminger's mascot is the Mariners, we wanted to stay true to the maritime theme. Think of Memminger as our ship and this 'Manifest' as the detailed list of all that is happening in our school. We hope our families find it both informative and reliable resource for all things Memminger!