At C.E. Murray, we continue to thrive. We are continuing to focus on the Profile of the South Carolina graduate. This year, our students began and ended the year engaged in learning through the use of face-to-face and virtual classrooms, We continue to focus on providing every learner access to 21st century skills through a rigorous and comprehensive curriculum, as well as, hands-on career experiences. Our focus continues to be ensuring that all students are prepared for their chosen pathways and can succeed in a globally competitive, technologically advanced society. Additionally, we are offering a greater variety of programs and activities to support and assist students in achieving their personal, career, and future goals. Students are also learning important leadership skills through Stephen Covey’s Seven Habits and the Leader in Me program.
Our school-wide program promotes critical thinking in all content areas by utilizing blended learning strategies that integrate research-based instructional practices. We are continuing to emphasize face-to-face instruction, project-based learning, critical reading and writing practices, and ongoing online activities to equip our students for global competition. Teachers are challenged and encouraged to employ Inquiry-Based Learning activities through instructional delivery models that promote in-depth teaching and learning. Critical thinking is also fostered by challenging students to provide in-depth responses to questions that are asked at the higher levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy. These skills are introduced and practiced so they become a part of our students’ daily living processes and permeate their every thought, resulting in enhanced critical thinking ability. We have discovered that when students are able to answer high level Bloom’s questions with insight and depth, they perform better on assessments and are able to successfully apply those skills to life’s situations.
At C. E. Murray Middle School, collaboration is a vital skill that we use to promote World Class learners for the 21st Century. We are supporting the tenet that successful collaboration must be a school-wide practice to positively impact student learning. Therefore, teachers and administrators use research-based instructional strategies to facilitate and conduct our school’s Professional Learning Communities (PLCs), resulting in enhanced student collaboration in the classroom. In addition, administrators share a variety of innovative strategies and staff development opportunities with our staff via collaboration and pooling of resources. During PLC sessions, teachers work in collaborative teams to acquire the necessary skills needed to successfully implement technology and research-based instructional strategies. We are also witnessing how collaboration is extending beyond the borders of our classrooms into a school-wide climate and is providing a mirror that reflects real world situations and life itself. Students are learning first-hand how collaboration impacts life.
We are committed to expanding and deepening critical thinking skills across the curriculum, while also emphasizing the importance of multi-level collaboration. We will continue this path and provide every student the opportunity to possess the World Class Skills of the Profile of the South Carolina graduate.
Gwendolyn Harris, Principal Sheritta Beaufort, SIC Chairperson
