Blythewood Middle School is helping all students develop the World Class Skills of the Profile of the South Carolina Graduate. As a way to continuously spotlight these necessary skills, last school year, Blythewood Middle School (BMS) created an award that recognizes students who exemplify the ideals of World Class Knowledge and World Class Skills while developing Life and Career Readiness. Additionally, all of our teachers are required to have the Profile of the South Carolina Graduate displayed in their classroom. This serves as a daily reminder, to all of our students, the skills needed for them to be successful in the classroom and beyond.
During the 2022-2023 school year, we continued to focus on closing the learning and opportunity gaps that became ever more apparent during the pandemic. Our daily study hall time remained in place each morning before the start of school. Great emphasis is placed on study hall time as our Administrative Team, as well as our teachers, constantly remind our students that study hall time is another opportunity for them to catch up on missing/late assignments; complete homework that they may have missed the night before; study for upcoming tests and quizzes; and get additional assistance from their teachers. In addition to our regular study hall, Blythewood Middle School also implemented a "focused study hall". Focused study hall was designed for students that demonstrated, through their benchmark assessments, that they were in need additional tutoring time in order to master content standards. Our "focused study hall" began in March after Winter benchmark data was received and was taught by math, science and ELA teachers . Focused study hall took place at a minimum, twice a week, with emphasis placed on specific standards as noted by students' benchmark data. By the end of Focused Study Hall, we were able to see an increase in our benchmark scores from our Winter benchmark administration to our final benchmark administration in the Spring. Last school year, Blythewood Middle School implemented Seminar Days, these days were designed to ensure that Early Dismissal Day for our students were meaningful, relevant and filled with rigor by providing our students with intentional, focused time to review previous standards in math, ELA and science. This year, our school moved away from hosting Seminar Days only on Early Dismissal Days and focused on providing a schedule that would allow teachers to provide this needed Seminar time on days that would ensure that we get the most bang for our buck and provide immediate intervention.
While teaching and learning remain the top priority at BMS, we recognize that our students cannot learn if they do not feel safe. With increasing concerns about school safety throughout our nation, together with our school improvement council, Blythewood Middle School, implemented The BMS Safety Creed: Be Alert & Aware; Make Good Choices; and Safety is everyone's responsibility. Our safety creed is posted throughout our school; it is recited each morning on our "Electrifying News Show" and students are reminded of it regularly during weekly grade-level community meetings. At Blythewood Middle School, students learn daily about personal responsibility and accountability for themselves and to each other. Our School Improvement Council also partnered with the South Carolina Attorney General's Office and the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) task force. We look forward to bringing this information back to our parents and our larger community as we strive to ensure our students' safety on all fronts.
In accordance with our mission statement, at Blythewood Middle School, we take time out to celebrate our successes! This year Blythewood Middle School had several. We received our 5th re-designation as a National School To Watch; our Quiz Whiz Team brought home the District Championship for the 3rd consecutive year; eighteen students were named as Junior Scholars; 2 teachers were nominated by their students and featured as WLXT News 19 Teacher of The Week; our band program received a Superior with Distinction rating at their CPA; our orchestra program received a Superior rating at their CPA; once again our Beta Club program was named as a School of Distinction. Each year, Blythewood Middle School looks forward to celebrating our students by hosting block party celebrations to award students for their academic achievements; our yearly Field Day event to celebrate our students dedication to their academics; and quarterly Honor Roll celebrations for our students that make the Honor Roll, as well as Move-Up celebrations, for students that may miss the Honor Roll but are striving to improve by moving up a letter grade from one quarter to the next.
Not only did our students and staff demonstrate a commitment to excellence in the classroom, they also participated in several service learning projects: a canned food drive, “Winter Wishes'' campaign with our neighboring high school to benefit the "Homeless No More" non-profit agency; and in conjunction with Blythewood High School's No Place for Hate student club, our No Place for Hate student group raised money to provide doughnuts to all first responders in the Blythewood/Northeast Columbia area for their swift response during the Blythewood High School hoax/scare in October.
Blythewood Middle School continues to be committed to our mission statement: At Blythewood Middle School, our goal is to provide engaging and meaningful opportunities in a rigorous environment where relationships are built, successes are celebrated, and students are competitive in the 21st century. We develop global citizens who are prepared to lead and excel in their chosen pathways.
Our students are stronger because of the culture of community developed at Blythewood Middle School.
Karis M. Mazyck, Principal
Denean Rivers, SIC Chair
