Savannah Grove Elementary School is helping all students develop the world-class skills and life and career characteristics of the Profile of the South Carolina Graduate by successfully growing exceptional students. We remain committed to challenging our students to achieve the highest levels of academic success. To be successful in this ever-changing world students need to be able to think critically and have the ability to solve any problem through innovation and creativity. Students need to know how to work collaboratively with others and succeed in a team-like atmosphere along with the ability to communicate. Savannah Grove Elementary School is focused on helping all students develop World Class Skills of the Profile of the South Carolina Graduate by incorporating the four C’s into everyday learning experiences. Listed are some of the exposures students are given to foster and enhance the four C’s.

Creativity and Innovation

• Project Lead The Way curriculum, which is aligned with the South Carolina State Standards, is used in all grade levels. Students use various kits to solve real-world problems with their peers. 

• Robotics for all second through sixth-grade students. Students had the opportunity to build robots specific to earth, life, space, and physical sciences as well as integrate math and engineering practices. 

• Students in the fourth grade participated in building BMX bicycles to broaden their understanding of forces in motion.  They used various STEM skills to assemble the bicycles and reversed the methods to disassemble them. 

• Students participated in a culinary arts experience in which they were introduced to and created various cultural dishes. After their training students prepared dishes for their peers and parents during our Growing Gifted Gators Expo (G3 Expo) Summer Showcase. 

• Students are encouraged to creatively write various genres to share with their teachers, peers, and community members. Each grade level will choose from different themes to focus their writing on. For example, fifth-graders created poetry and shared it via a poetry slam. 

Critical Thinking and Problem Solving

• All second through sixth-grade students has the opportunity to build robots specific to earth, life, space, and physical sciences as well as integrate math and engineering practices. Students have to fix problems that occur with their robots through trial and error.

• Students participate in a STEM lab weekly. During this time students work with the STEM lab teacher on various thinking challenges.

• Students participate in Project Lead the Way activities in classrooms and the PLTW lab with a Project Lead the Way trained teacher multiple times a week. 

• Classrooms utilize science kits to enhance concepts through hands-on activities that go beyond the regular curriculum.

• Students work to solve real-life scenarios in which they need to apply concepts learned from all content areas. 

Collaboration and Teamwork

• STEM lab offers an opportunity for students to work together on projects and solutions. Teams are given tasks and have to determine their strengths and weaknesses to accomplish the task.

•  Robotics provides teamwork and collaborative learning experience for all second through sixth-grade students.

• Kindergarten and first-grade students work together to build Lego communities. 

• Students form teams and work together using Quizlet, Google Docs, Kahoot, and Google Classroom.

• Gardening Club students come together to create a garden in which they have to work as a team to maintain.

• Students in fourth and fifth grade participate in flag football during the fall. The students are provided with homework support and sessions on coping with emotions and teamwork prior to playing flag football. 

Communication, information, media, and technology 

• Our classrooms in grades K-5 are one-to-one with Chromebooks

• Teachers in the school have attended district-offered Google Certification training

• Each year teachers are provided with professional development to ensure effective and proper utilization of technology in the classroom.

Our school will continue to provide World Class Skills to prepare all students for college and career readiness. The staff and community will continue to put resources in place to help students increase their readiness skills. 

Educationally Yours,

LaTonya Yates-Ford, M. Ed.

Principal of Savannah Grove Elementary