Pine Street Elementary School is helping all of our students to develop the World Class Skills of the Profile of the South Carolina Graduate by actively engaging in an inclusive, holistic curriculum using arts integration, academic excellence, and effective use of today’s technology. We first opened our doors in 1929 to an enthusiastic group of students and teachers in grades first through sixth. This year, Pine Street serves approximately 550 students in kindergarten through fifth grade in both in-person classrooms and a virtual learning platform. Although the grade levels and ways in which we serve our students have changed over time, our traditions, high standards, and commitment to academic excellence have never wavered. By using an arts-infused curriculum we strive to be a school that provides students with opportunities to participate and excel both inside and outside of the classroom. Our students benefit from being in a safe, supportive learning environment. Even during this challenging year, we have been able to continue our tradition of excellence through collaboration, creativity, and community service.
By providing students with diverse opportunities to participate in programs and activities we strive to enhance their world-class skills by nurturing the whole child which will help to prepare them for today’s global economy. Our 5th-grade students were able to participate, in “The Hovercraft Project” which is a perfect model for an integrative approach to instruction by combining science, engineering, technology, mathematics, the arts, and most importantly, teamwork! Additionally, the 5th graders worked tirelessly for the entire school year to raise the funds to be able to partner with the hands-on-meal packaging program, Rise Against Hunger. At the culmination of this hard work, students packaged approximately 10,000 meals in an effort to end hunger in our nation and across the globe. Opportunities such as these were not limited to our 5th-grade students. Within grades Kindergarten through fourth, students participate in a variety of service projects that involve raising funds to support local charities such as Relay for Life, the Spartanburg Soup Kitchen, Total Ministries, and Christmas Giving Trees. Unfortunately, due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, some of these projects were not able to be completed. However, we plan to reinstate many service projects once things are back to normal operation for schools. Our Junior Beta Club students look forward to continuing our tradition of logging over 2000 plus hours of community service all over Spartanburg County. Our Student Council plans to exercise its leadership muscles by organizing and facilitating these events throughout the upcoming school year. Each of these activities provides students with experiences that increase their ability to collaborate, problem-solve, and gain a larger perspective of the greater community outside of themselves.
Students at Pine Street School are exposed to world-class knowledge by offering rigorous programs of study in technology and world language. Kindergarten through fifth-grade students have the opportunity to learn two different “world languages:” French and Spanish. Our students in kindergarten and first grade have access to technology through a 1:1 program with iPads, and our 2nd through 5th-grade students are assigned a personal MacBook as an approach for increasing students’ access to a Global Learning Environment. These advanced opportunities better equip our students to compete in a technology-driven world. Teachers lay the foundation for students to use technology as a pathway to increase their knowledge through platforms such as Schoology, Nearpod, and Microsoft Office 365. Guiding students in this process of learning is a key component to monitoring their access as well as their learning trajectory along the way.
Teachers and Staff are active, life-long learners alongside our students here at Pine Street Elementary School. Professional learning goals are focused on acquiring strategies to enhance the learning and critical thinking skills of all students. By using innovative approaches to instruction students reap the benefits in the areas of reading comprehension, reading fluency, mathematics, science, and technology integration. Monthly Grade Level Chair meetings, weekly School Leadership Team meetings attended by the guidance counselors, administrators, and reading coaches, along with monthly faculty meetings helped to guide this improvement process, ensure effective lesson implementation, and target goals for continuous growth.
Everyone at Pine Street Elementary School is committed to striving for excellence each day. When arts infusion is combined with our standards for academic excellence and preparation for the future, we believe our students are well on their way to becoming South Carolina’s future. Our school is helping all students develop the World Class Skills of the Profile of the South Carolina Graduate by actively engaging in an inclusive, holistic curriculum using arts integration, academic excellence, and effective use of today’s technology each day and in every classroom.
As always, thank you for your support.
Dennis Regnier, Principal
Niki Bagwell, SIC Chair
