4^th graders at Central Elementary collected pennies for a purpose.  As part of a grade-level service project , fourth graders organized a “Pennies for Happy Wheels” fundraiser where all proceeds were donated to the Happy Wheels project.  Happy Wheels offers a free gift to all the children with long-term illnesses at MUSC in Charleston. The children who receive a Happy Wheels gift are being treated for illnesses such as cancer, heart and lung diseases and numerous other health problems. Each week, volunteers push a cart loaded with an average of 90 colorful new toys and books around the hospital, letting each child pick his or her favorite.

To keep the cart filled and rolling takes around $48,000 per year of private funding, which is where the fourth grade project comes in. During the collection week, 4^th grade students "wheeled around" a wagon to collect pennies for this program, but they happily accepted nickels, dimes, quarters, and dollars, too!  Money was weighed by grade level and the grade with the most pounds of pennies received an ice cream party.

If you would like to participate in this meaningful fundraiser, please contact Central Elementary School at 864-397-1400.

Mrs. Connie Avery's 5K class had their annual Pet Day with their third grade reading buddies from Mrs. Susan Moore’s class. Parents from both grade levels brought in their pet friends and shared information about their  furry and finned friends and students rotated around the 5 dogs, 2 cats, 1 fish, and 1 bird who came to visit.  All of the students had a great time meeting their pet friends.

Mrs. Trina Stephens’ 5^th grade students are potential engineers and architects in the making!  As a part of a recent technical design project in science, students methodically went through the steps of the technical design process and were challenged to create the tallest spaghetti stick tower structure for the least amount of money.  Students created a plan and a budget and “purchased” building supplies such as dried spaghetti, small and large marshmallows, and strips of tape that would enable them to build the tallest formation possible for the lowest price.

For fifth grade student Cameron Dilworth, it was certainly an eye-opening experience.  “Building our tower was much harder than I thought it would be!  I never realized just how much planning goes into building a strong spaghetti structure. Now that we’ve completed the project, I would have shopped, planned, and built MUCH differently!” 

Central Elementary School recently participated in the St. Jude Math-A-Thon program and raised over $1300 to benefit St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, the premier center for the research and treatment of childhood cancer and other deadly diseases. The Central community sponsored students by pledging an amount-per-problem or a one-time donation. Thirty-one students participated in this fun, educational event and learned how rewarding it is to help other kids. 

“It is always exciting to see the dedication of the students,” said Amy Turner, coordinator of the event. “The St. Jude Math-A-Thon not only encourages our students to work math problems, but it teaches the importance of helping others. Students realize that they can make a difference and they are learning math at the same time.” Thanks so much to those students who participated and those who generously donated to support them.

There must be hundreds of ways to celebrate the 100th day, and classrooms around Central Elementary exhibited many of them recently during the 100th day of school! Students participated in a variety of activities that celebrated the number 100. From collecting, counting, and graphing various foods in 5K, to working on writing assignments about different 100-related topics, to comparing and contrasting the weights, measures, and characteristics of items, the 100 theme resonated throughout the school.

Fun Fridays are just that at Central’s After Care program!   Students were recently visited by former Furman University football player, Keenan Adams, and Clemson University Cheerleader, Molly McWhirter, helped to get students some Super Bowl spirit.  Both taught students lessons that emphasized hard work, dedication, and character.  Mr. Adams then practiced some football skills with the fellas while Miss McWhirter wowed the girls with some awesome cheerleading stunts and even taught the students a few cheers of their own!

We’d also like to take this opportunity to welcome our new after school care director, Sarah Mudder.  Mrs. Mudder is excited to be a part of the Central Elementary family and has big plans for expanding and enriching the After Care program.   

After Care is currently accepting new students!  To learn more or to sign up, please contact our school’s front office at 864-397-1400.

Central Elementary Cares!  As a part of a class service learning project, Central third graders organized a canned food drive for Clemson Community Care and challenged students and faculty throughout the school to donate non-perishable food items to this local community food bank.  Every morning cans lined the halls as teachers put their donations out for collection.  The third grade students were in charge of collecting, sorting, and graphing the data on a large “Central Cares” wall graph.  “The donations have already exceeded our initial expectations!”, says teacher, Susan Moore.  “We are so proud that the Central community has come together so well for this great cause.”

It’s 8:00am.  The morning bell rings.  Everyone is silent and the opening theme music plays.  The Cougar News Network (CNN) is officially on the air at Central Elementary. 

Our school’s daily news broadcast not only informs students on the latest menu items and important announcements, but is a way for some of our fourth and fifth graders to shine.  Students are in charge of all aspects of the daily, live program and it’s quite an honor to be selected for the CNN staff.  Every nine weeks about 70 students audition for the four coveted spots.  There are two on-screen anchors, one audio technician, and one main cameraman. 

Want to learn more about CNN?  Click here for complete article.

The recent earthquake disaster in Haiti has caused one class at Central Elementary to take action.  “Hearts for Haiti” is a fund-raiser that is being organized by Mrs. Joy Ellison’s class to not only spread Valentine’s Day joy around our school, but to raise money for those affected by the earthquake.  For only 25 cents, students can write a Valentine to a friend or teacher and these hearts will be posted on our cafeteria walls during the week of February 8^th-15^th.  All proceeds raised will be donated to the Red Cross’ support efforts in Haiti.

Please consider supporting this worthwhile cause while spreading smiles at the same time.  If you aren’t a Central student or staff member but would like to make a donation, checks may be mailed or dropped off at the front office during regular school hours.  Please make checks payable to “Central Elementary” and in the Memo line write “Hearts for Haiti”.  Thank you for sharing your heart with others!

Cold weather brings warm rewards for students at Central Elementary School.  As a part of our school-wide PBIS (Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports) program, students receive orange cougar tickets for accomplishments, excellent behavior, and academic achievements.  These tickets are collected by the students and can be traded in at either our Cougar Store (which travels classroom to classroom once a week) or for yummy treats such as hot chocolate, popcorn, or slushies during lunch time.  Central Elementary assistant principal, Paula Alexander, is the head of our PBIS program and is thrilled about the slew of orange tickets that our students have earned through this accountability program.

Twenty one members of the Central Elementary School faculty and staff are participating in our own on-campus version of “The Biggest Loser”.  Participants weigh in with our school nurse every Friday and will do so until the end of the year.  After only one week, these folks have already lost a total of 64.3 pounds!  Bravo to these participants for making a new year’s resolution and sticking to it!

Central Elementary is proud of fifth graders Paige Rouse, Brooke Cantrell, and Addison Garrett for being selected to perform in the South Carolina Elementary Honor Choir.  These three ladies will travel to Charleston on February 4^th with their music teacher, Lauren McCall, to perform.  Thousands of audition tapes from around the state were submitted and, from those, only 250 students were awarded this prestigious honor.  Bravo to these three vocalists as we know they will do a great job representing Central Elementary in Charleston!

As an incentive to sell cookie dough, top sellers in Central Elementary’s PTO cookie dough fundraiser were recently rewarded with an ice cream party.  As an extra special treat, our principal, Mr. Southard, volunteered to be made into a human ice cream “Southard Sundae”, complete with sprinkles and whipped cream.  Many thanks to all who supported our school through their purchases and to PTO for arranging this fundraiser!

Fourth grade students at Central Elementary traveled back in time during their recent Colonial Day celebration. As a culmination to their study of Colonial America in social studies, students dressed in traditional garb and participated in a variety of activities and games from the period. Students made homemade candles, wrote with quill pens, and even had a chance to play with Whiligigs and other games like their historical counterparts would have done. Colonial Day was a chance to let these fourth graders experience history in a fun and interactive way. 

4th graders at Central Elementary would like to thank everyone for their participation in our school’s recent Clemson vs. USC link competition.  Students and staff purchased team colored links for 10 cents each which were hung around the school prior to the big game .  For this fundraiser, Clemson fans donated more money than USC, but, alas, that didn’t equate to a win for the Tigers.  There may have been a heated battle on the football field, but at Central everyone came together to raise over $300 that will be used to offset expenses for their upcoming field trip to Atlanta.  

From becoming doctors, chefs, cowboys, ballerinas, and yes, even a ladies’ man, students in Mrs. Lisa Cheek’s 4K class at Central Elementary have HUGE plans for their futures that are as varied as the students themselves!