The 2019-2020 school year at Kingsbury Elementary School was filled with many notable achievements by our students and staff! Kingsbury Elementary is helping all students develop the World Class Skills of the Profile of the South Carolina Graduate by embarking on a journey to become an accredited STEM school. Through this initiative, we will continue to support students as they develop world class skills by providing innovative and challenging learning experiences in a safe, supportive and culturally diverse environment. Becoming a STEM certified school will provide endless opportunities for students to collaborate and communicate as they become innovative problem solvers through critical thinking experiences in all content areas. Our school strives to maximize the potential of every child through strong relationships, high expectations and quality instruction. Kingsbury’s faculty and staff work together diligently to implement highly effective teaching strategies. These include: guided math, guided reading, Lucy Calkins writing program, differentiated instruction, integration of subject area content and use of Project Lead The Way Kits. Our reading interventionists work with struggling readers to develop foundational reading skills. Our math interventionist is successfully working with our teachers to assist all students in mastering the required standards. The Kingsbury STEM lab continues to provide hands on learning activities for our students. This program empowers students to adopt a design-thinking mindset through compelling activities, projects and problems that build upon each other and relate to the world around them. The engineering design model is also being implanted and embedded in our classroom instruction across grade levels. The after school STEAM club also reinforces this concept and our students have excelled in their efforts. This year our STEAM club placed second in a statewide trebuchet competition held at The Citadel. Family STEAM nights were also held to inform parents and solicit their involvement. The “Read to Succeed” initiative continues to be effectively executed through ongoing professional development. The entire instructional team continues to promote best practices in teaching and provide the resources needed to raise student achievement.
Kingsbury is committed to developing well rounded students. This year our fine arts department produced programs integrating dance, drama, and music. Kingsbury is currently implementing the ABC (Arts and Basic Curriculum) grant totaling $34,527 over a three year period. This grant will support ongoing comprehensive planning, strategic projects and standards based arts initiatives. These initiatives will include artist residencies, field trips, and student performances and published work. We also promote the integration of the arts through events like our “Putting the A in STEAM Night” which featured student art creations, skits and hands on experiments Our PBIS program continues to provide positive behavior incentives for our students. “The Knights in Training” and “GEMS” Mentoring Programs offer excellent role models for our students to emulate and develop strong character traits. The Kingsbury Character Education Program includes a Character Word of the Month. This program features guest speakers and prizes for students who consistently demonstrate the identified attributes. Kingsbury students are taught the value of serving others. Our school participates in numerous projects such as Shower Shaw with Cookies, Pennies for Patients, Relay for Life, just to name a few. This year Kingsbury Elementary collected and donated hundreds of canned goods to the needy through a partnership with United Ministries. Additionally, students and staff participated in a toy drive for the Emanuel Empty Stocking program to benefit needy children during the holiday season. A positive school climate is also fostered through events such as our Character Parade, Field Day, Breakfast for Volunteers, Family Reading/Math nights, and our Veterans Day Program. The annual “Boo Hoo Breakfast” for parents of students in Pre-K through First grade is also a traditional favorite. At Kingsbury Elementary, we share a common vision that all children can learn. Our school stakeholders, through hard work and devotion, provide an extraordinary learning experience. The theme for the 2019-2020 school year was “Growing Great Minds” and our school community answered the challenge. Thank you for your faithful support as we develop students to become leaders, lifelong learners and productive members of a global society.
