Gold Hill Middle School is helping all students develop the World Class Skills of the Profile of the South Carolina Graduate by providing an education that centers on academic, social, and emotional growth. We demonstrate this vision by providing learners with a rigorous education where all students are valued and where the faculty exhibits academic excellence by advancing knowledge through high expectations, collaboration, and engagement.
We continue to maintain and strengthen our culture of high expectations by focusing on three areas while always keeping our STEAM framework (the 5-C’s: critical thinking, communication, collaboration, creativity, and caring) in mind.
Teaching, Learning, and Critical Thinking: Our School Improvement Council continued to explore workshop opportunities for our teachers on engagement strategies to reach students in poverty. Our STEAM leaders have provided open model classrooms and led professional development for our faculty. All of our certified staff have participated in Chromebook professional development as we prepare to go 1:1 with student chrome books for the 2019-2020 school year.
Leadership, Communication, and Collaboration: Our SIC assisted with creating the best platform for communicating with stakeholders, which led to the development of our newsletter Happenings @ the Hill. This newsletter, published weekly by the principal, is sent directly to our parents, staff, and students. It is also published on social media and our website. Our PTA hosted a several Spirit Night events. They have helped fund numerous teacher requests this year including software programs and licenses, literacy items, theater stage-craft items, and other classroom supplies.
Safe, Supportive, Caring, Creative, and Inviting School: Our SIC hosted a Future Jackets Night in our gymnasium. This event's purpose was to help ease the anxiety of our 8th grade students and parents as they make the transition to high school.
We hosted our Rising Bulldogs Night for our 6th grade parents in which over 220 parents and students attended. Our UpStanders Club organized activities and events that encouraged the heart: a staff appreciation breakfast, a campus clean-up, a bus driver appreciation day, and motivational messages throughout our campus. Our All-inclusive Book club and Book Buddies have continued their efforts in building relationships through literacy.
This year, we implemented a House System as a means of building a greater sense of community/family. This system is made up of eight Bulldog Houses. Character education based HOUSE meetings were held monthly along with House Games hosted each semester. We also offered HOUSE incentives during the school year resulting in the winning House holding the traveling trophy.
We participated in South Carolina's 17th Annual National Day of Concern & Pledge Against Gun Violence in October. We celebrated Mix It Up Day and Random Acts of Kindness Week. We had a distinguished guest speaker for our Veterans Day program, Mr. Jacky Bayne. Mr. Bayne is a Vietnam Veteran from Fort Mill who was declared dead twice in the same war. We continued our tradition of hosting Operation Get Smart for all students. Our Related Arts Department hosted its 11th Annual Festival of the Arts. The festival included student STEAM performances in Band, Chorus, and Theater Arts as well as numerous displays of student projects and treats made by our Family and Consumer Sciences classes.
We instituted the "Woot Woot Wagon" which brought snacks and treats to all staff members once per nine weeks. We conducted a Student Recognition Celebration where we recognized and celebrated student involvement in all areas including academics and extra-curricular activities. During second semester, we challenged each of our teachers and support staff members to send at least two blue "Gold Hill Good News" notes to students prior to Spring Break. We added an additional Spring Sports Recognition event so that all of our Spring athletes were recognized and celebrated. We hosted our first ever Bulldog Shake competition. This competition was designed to teach students how one’s handshake firmness, eye contact, poise, social grace, engagement, and confidence can benefit their future school and business careers and personal lives.
After reading the novel, Pay It Forward, by Catherine Ryan Hyde, our school adopted the theme of Paying It Forward, and participated in many student led projects including our continued support of BBEL Academy in Uganda. The culmination of our one school, one book read was our Bulldogs for Change Night (STEAM inspired LITERACY Night). We hosted a Police Force versus School Squad Charity Basketball Game. Fifteen student collaborative STEAM projects were presented that evening. Our school adopted the change project known as “Lemonade for Hope”. This group sold lemonade during our car rider dismissal and at a community event to raise money for St. Jude Children’s Hospital.
Gold Hill Middle School students, families, and staff further demonstrated our ethic of care by donating items, money, and/or time to the following organizations/events: Cancer Awareness/Research, Levine’s Children’s Hospital, Cookin’ for the Kids Chili Showdown, Dodgeball/Kickball for Athletics, Jeans for Teens, Gently Used Shoe Drive, Food Bank Collection, and Hat Day for Sunshine.
GHMS raised over $11,500.00 to fund tuition, boarding, and teaching salaries for our sister school, BBEL Academy through our BBEL semester walks.
GHMS school raised $4,000 for South Carolina Special Olympics in the Tega Cay Polar Plunge. We were the top fundraising school in the district for the second year in a row. GHMS also donated $1,500.00 for the all inclusive playground being built in Fort Mill.
The following are additional notable achievements from the 2018-2019 school year:
- A GHMS student was the District Spelling Bee winner.
- A GHMS student was the International Lion's Club Peace Poster winner.
- Our FIRST LEGO League team qualified for the state championship.
- Our Girls and Boys Soccer teams were conference champions.
- Our 6th grade Academic Team won their division..
- 5 of our students advanced to the state You Be the Chemist challenge.
- Our Honors Art class designed a dress to be worn in the York County Fashion Week Project Runway Competition.
- We hosted three student guest speakers this year: one FMSD student presented an anti-bullying lesson to our 6th grade Family and Consumer Sciences students. Another FMSD student spoke to our entire student body about overcoming obstacles, perseverance, and second chances. A third speaker was a student from Saint Anne Catholic School of Fort Mill who spoke to our entire 6th grade about the dangers of vaping.
- Our Black History Month program was hosted, organized, and delivered by our students and staff.
- Our production this year was Legally Blonde, Jr., the Musical coordinated by our Theater Arts and Choral Directors and involved over 35 students.
- A GHMS student was accepted into the SC Governor's School for the Arts and Humanities.
- A GHMS student was accepted into the 2019 GoSciTech Summer Camp at the SC Governor's School for Science & Mathematics.
- Our 8th grade Band and Honor Chorus participated in Disney Performing Arts.
- Two of our students placed in the middle school division of the district's Putting the "A" in STEAM Art Exhibition
- Three students attended Winthrop University's Garnet and Gold Leadership Summit.
- Our cheer team competed at 5 Invitational Style Events throughout the state of SC, earning three 1st place finishes and two 2nd place finishes.
This was another outstanding year at Gold Hill Middle School. Our success would not be possible without our hard working students, excellent faculty, supportive parents and incredible business community partnerships.
Yolanda Gordon, Chair of the School Improvement Council
Christine V. McNeil, Principal