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Volume 2 August 2015

Message from the Superintendent

Welcome to a brand newedition of 50 Shares! Thepurpose of this publication is toshare with you all of thewonderful things happening inour school district. This is anexciting time in District 50!This school year, our missionas educational superheroes will be to use oursuperpowers to improve and advance our educationalprogram to meet the needs of every student! With yourcontinued support we will overcome every challenge andmake our district a place we can all be proud... AND

In This Issue

Welcome Back

EHS ChromebookRollout

Eaton Grant

District Winners

D50 Retirees

Mark Your Calendar

Picture Perfect

Uptown Video

Students Rising Above

High School Football

THEN SOME!

Welcome Back!

On August 17th, eager students, teachers, and staffreturned to schools in Greenwood School District 50.Everyone was all smiles as students showed off theirbrand new outfits and reunited with friends.Administrators, teachers, and support staff were alsohappy to get the school year kicked off and see all of thestudents return back from a long Summer Break.

Superintendent Johnson was pleased with the successof first day activities. "I am very excited about our smooth opening inGreenwood School District 50!" Superintendent Johnsonexplained. "Our superheroes were hard at work todaymaking a difference in the lives of all children! Theplanning and teamwork of our administrators, teachers,and support staff was evident in every school. Teachingand learning began as soon as students entered theclassroom. I appreciate very much the hard work anddedication of our school staffs and assistance from ourparents."

Click here to see a special Welcome Back videohighlighting students, staff, and parents on the first day!

EHS Chromebook Rollout an

Picture Perfect

Below are the toppictures from thebeginning of school!

Overall Success

Emerald High School served as the first school inDistrict 50's Google Chromebook Roll-out. Over thecourse of three days, Chromebooks were distributed toevery EHS student in Grades 9th-12th.

Students received their Chromebook and alsoparticipated in a training session administered byInstructional Technology Director Kitty Tripp and herTechnology Coaches.

The roll-out included support from not only the Technology Team but also school administrators,Computing Services, and district office personnel. Oncethe dust had settled, over 960 Chromebooks weredistributed during the three day roll-out!

The success of the EHS Chromebook Roll-out willprovide the district with an excellent blueprint forupcoming roll-outs at Westview, Brewer, Northside,Greenwood High School, and Genesis EducationCenter.

D50 Receives Eaton CharitableContribution Grant

Seeing is Believing!

At the August Board of Trustees meeting, District 50received a check of $43,980 from Eaton representatives.Monies from the grant will allow District 50 to add aSTEM2 class to the district's high school STEM path,professional learning opportunities through the S.C.Governor's School for Science and Mathematics, andprovide more hands-on, real world applicationssupported with technology.

Annually, as part of the Community InvolvementPlanning cycle, Eaton's organizations in the Greenwoodarea independently brainstorm on organizations toconsider for the Eaton Charitable Fund. The Eatonorganizations consider the following factors: 1) BusinessAlignment (short and long term), 2) Employee Impact, 3)Community Impact.

Eaton and District 50 began a collaborative partnership in2009. Since that time, District 50 has receivedapproximately $90,000 in grants to support the STEMinitiative.

Ault & Babb Recognized asDistrict Winners at Opening of

School Celebration

District 50 now has anUptown music video,but not by Bruno Mars!Don't believe me? Justwatch!

Students RisingAbove

Each day superheroesin District 50 aremaking a difference inthe lives of studentsand helping them riseabove. Click here tosee why our studentsare thankful to havesuperheroes in theirlives each and everyday!

Gridiron Report

There is a positivebuzz surrounding the2015 season for theEmerald andGreenwood HighSchool Varsity FootballPrograms! GHSkicked off their season

District 50's Opening of School Celebration is a timewhere all employees in the district come together atEmerald High School's gymnasium to celebrate the startof a new school year. The event is also reserved for theannouncements of the District Support Employee of theYear and District Teacher of the Year winners.This year's winners were:

District Support Employee of the Year Lori Ault from Brewer Middle School

District Teacher of the Year Debbie Babb from Hodges Elementary School

Honoring Retirees for Years ofDedicated Service

At the July Board of Trustees meeting, several special

last Friday at RiverBluff with a 24-10 upsetvictory over DutchFork. The Eagles willhave this Friday off asthey prepare for theirnext contest onSeptember 4th versusDorman. EHS beginstheir season this weekat home against the 96Wildcats. Be sure toclick on the links belowto view the schedulesfor both teams andmake your way over toa game this season tocheer on all of ourstudents-athletes!

Go Eagles! Click here to viewGHS Schedule

Go Vikings!Click here to view EHSSchedule

individuals were recognized for years of hard work anddedicated service. In the Superintendent's Report, Dr.Darrell Johnson recognized 12 retirees for a combinedtotal of 249 years of service to the district. The retiringemployees received a certificate and gift from BoardChair Shell Dula and Vice Chair Tony Bowers as well asa standing ovation from those in attendance.

The 12 retirees in attendance included (Years ofservice): Tina Collins (5), Rebecca Powell (10), BrendaBussey (15), Mary Anderson (16), Karen Elliott (16),Anne Sipe (17), Lisa Arnold (25), Moses Miller (26),Michael Burton (29), Barbara Tolbert (29), KimNeighbors (30), Cecelia Shelley (31).

Mark Your Calendar9/7: Labor Day (Schools & Offices Closed)

9/16: Early Release Day

9/21: Board of Trustees Meeting

9/22: School Board Learning Over Lunch (Springfield Elementary School)

Greenwood School District 50 | 1855 Calhoun Rd. | Greenwood | SC | 29649 | (864) 941-5400

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