
Excellence is Our Standard.
Failure is Not an Option.
Mission Statement
Our mission is to inspire and empower all students to be life long learners, to pursue their dreams, and to contribute to the global community.
CCSD CHOICE APPLICATION: APPLYING TO ST. ANDREW'S MIDDLE FOR THE 2010-2011 ACADEMIC YEAR
StAndrewsMiddleApplication2010-2011.pdf

"Make it a great day or not.
The choice is yours."

IMPORTANT UPCOMING DATES
Book Fair: Monday, November 16 - Friday, November 20
Interim Reports: Tuesday, November 24
Thanksgiving Break: Wednesday, November 25 - Friday, November 27
GUIDANCE DEPARTMENT
Please refer to the Guidance link at left (near the bottom of the page) for community resources and workshops.
Support High Quality Education

TEACHER OF THE YEAR 2009-2010
Congratulations to Mr. Robbie Ledford, St. Andrew's Middle School Teacher of the Year for 2009-2010! As the math teacher for 6th grade males, Mr. Ledford is very focused on student success. His students made the highest gains in the district on the math MAP test in spring 2009. Mr. Ledford is the drama club sponsor. He is also a very active member of the School Improvement Council and the PTSA. We are fortunate to have Robbie as part of our school community.

FIRST QUARTER AWARDS
Congratulations to all the students who were recognized at the awards ceremony for the first quarter on Thursday, November 19th. For a complete list of students who received awards see the "Awards" file under "School Resources" at left.

STUDENT OF THE WEEK
Congratulations to the following students who were selected by their teachers as the "Student of the Week". Students who are recognized with this honor are exemplary role models and follow school rules.
Week of November 9-13, 2009
Grade 6: Austin Skipper, Amber Jamerson
Grade 7: James Ford, Ladajia Richards
Grade 8: Daniele Rinaldi, Brandy Laboard
For pictures of these students see "Student of the Week" under "School Resources" at left.

PTSA FUNDRAISER
Congratulations to 6th grader Brionda Jenkins who was the top seller in the Sally Foster fundraiser! Brionda sold $600 worth of items. The PTSA Board awarded a Walmart gift card to Brionda for her awesome efforts.

FALL BOOK FAIR
The media center will be hosting a Scholastic Book Fair the week of November 16-20. All proceeds from the book fair will go towards purchasing books for the media center.

FREE FRIDAY FAMILY FEST
The Junior League of Charleston is sponsoring free admission for everyone at the Children's Museum of the Lowcountry on Friday, November 20th. See the attached flyer for more information.
JL Free Friday FlyerNov_20_09.pdf

WINTER CONCERT
SAMS Band and Strings students will perform a winter concert on Wednesday, December 9th at 6:30 in the auditorium at West Ashley High School. The concert is free and open to the public.

WELCOME SUBWAY (SAM RITTENBERG)
OUR NEWEST BUSINESS PARTNER
SAMS recognizes the value of collaboration with the business community and appreciates those businesses who are ready and willing to be one of our business partners. Please help us say thanks to our newest business partner: Subway on Sam Rittenberg Blvd. Thanks particularly to Kimberly Pringle, the store owner, it is great to have her working with us. Ms Pringle says she/Subway is willing to help in many ways such as during teacher appreciation week, donations, etc (they have already given us a coupon for a six-foot sub!). To get things started, she is offering 50 cents off a 6 inch and $1 off a footlong sub to anyone with a SAMS ID. This Subway is located at 1704 Sam Rittenberg Blvd and the phone number is 573-2530. Thanks again Subway on Sam Rittenberg!!!

HELP FOR FAMILIES
In these difficult economic times, many of us are struggling to make ends meet. If you could use any help, please see the resources listed below.
FOOD PANTRY: Location is Seacoast Church - West Ashley, 2049 Savannah Highway # H, Charleston, SC 29407. Hours of operation are Thursdays from 9 a.m. - 11 a.m. Please bring an ID.
THE SALVATION ARMY: Location is 2135 Ashley River Road, Charleston, SC 29407. (Sign up dates for Thanksgiving and Christmas assistance eligibility were in October.)
Please bring an official photo ID, social security cards for everyone in household, birth certificate and/or proof of guardianship for children under 12, proof of income, and a list of expenses.

MILITARY MAGNET ACADEMY APPLICATIONS
Students who are interested in attending the Military Magnet Academy for the 2010-2011 school years may click on the attachment for information and an application. Contact either of our guidance counselors (Jim Brooks for boys at 402 7815 or Elizabeth White for girls at 402 7811) for assistance.
MMAApplication20091030.pdf

ACADEMIC MAGNET HIGH SCHOOL
Are you thinking about applying to the AMHS next year? If so, click on the attachment for information.Students who are applying there will do a writing sample here on November 18th (this is a part of the application). All applications are due on December 4th. Contact either Ms. White (girls guidance counselor @ 402- 7811) or Mr. Brooks (boys guidance counselor @ 402-7815) for assistance.
APPLICATIONS FOR ACADEMIC MAGNET HIGH SCHOOL.docx

BURKE HIGH SCHOOL
Students who are interested in applying to Burke's Advanced Placement Academy for the 2010-2011 academic year should see Burke's web site
http://burke.ccsdschools.com/home.aspx or contact Burke Guidance Counselor Michele Garris at 579-4312.

SC GOVERNOR'S SCHOOL OF THE ARTS
The South Carolina Governor's School of the Arts & Humanities, located in Greenville, SC, is currently accepting applications for its summer programs. Application deadline for all summer programs is
January 8, 2010. For information on programs available see the flyer (page 1 page 2) or visit www.scgsah.org. Applications are available on the web site.

REACHING OUT TO MILITARY IN AFGHANISTAN/IRAQ
8th Grade ELA teacher Mr. Doug Browne is interested in getting in touch with anyone who has a close relative currently serving in Afghanistan or Iraq. His students will be writing letters to military members serving in these countries as well as getting together holiday care packages for them. You may contact Mr. Browne at 763-1533.

PTSA SPONSORS HISPANIC HERITAGE EVENT
On Thursday, October 22nd, the PTSA sponsored an evening celebrating Hispanic culture. The evening's festivities included a sampling of Hispanic food, music and dance. Each grade level at SAMS worked hard on projects focusing on the rich cultural heritage of the Spanish-speaking countries. Some of these projects were presented at the event. The highlight of the evening was a performance of the salsa dance by SAMS students. This was an exciting event which attempted to bridge the cultural gap by recognizing the many contributions Hispanic people have made to our lives here in the United States. For photos from the event, see the file "Hispanic Heritage Month" under "School Resources" at left.

DUKE TIP
Listed below are our students who qualified for the 2010 Duke TIP (Talent Identification Program). Each year, Duke University asks schools in 16 states to identify their highest achieving students on standardized achievement tests to participate in their 7th Grade Talent Search. These students are then offered the opportunity to take the SAT or ACT test. Those who have "exceptional performance" on either of these tests will qualify for Duke TIP's summer studies programs and/or e-studies distance learning programs. All participants will gain valuable knowledge and experience from this test now as well as other benefits. We congratulate all these wonderful students.
Jacob Adkins, Trey Altice, Anthony Ballzigler, Chesleigh Burns, Collin Camburn, Luz Caramo, Carson Carroll, Spencer Clark, Brooke Cole, Thomas Covington, Kameron Cull, James Daniel, Elizabeth Davis, Dalton Edens, Zachery Ferguson, Ryan Green, Ted Haydel, Malayeshia Hubbard, Noah Johnson, Madison McDougall, Emily Mcguire, Devin McSween, Allen Mealing, Nikolas Minks, David Moore, Gracen Kahn, Jordan Merritt, Christopher Pownall, Alexis Ryan, Timothy Smith, Naomi Stokes, Preston Tenczar, Destinee Waddy, Barsha Ray.

CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR POTENTIAL
SC JUNIOR SCHOLARS
The eigth graders listed below could become SC Junior Scholars. They qualified for this opportunity by scoring either advanced or proficient on
both the ELA and math portions of their most recent PACT test (6th grade). To become a SC Junior Scholar, they must score a 50 or above on the PSAT in either verbal, math, or writing. Congratulations again to all these high achieving students, just qualifying for this is an honor. Do your best on this test, hopefully you will become a SC Junior Scholar. Here is a great PSAT prep website for students. The site offers a course explanation, practice quiz, interactive study units, paper based test, and full length test.The site is
http://www.gleimpsat.com.
Contact Jim Brooks at 402-7815 if you have any questions.
Dalton Adkins...Deron Benjamin...Jacqueline Boucher
Elizabeth Bowens...Tiara Brown...Kara Calejo
Alyxandria Cepeda...Lindy Clark...Dekeiya Cohen
Virginia Coaxum...Deborah Cuellar...Jasmine Dais
Juliette Daniel...Chancelor Fuller...Shelby Geiger
Mariela Gomez...Dontae Greene...Ashlin Hamel
David Hatcher...Dakota Hintz...Siara Jimenez
Kristin Johnson...Christina Knight...Alina Latifullina
Sarah Lawrimore...Jimmy Lin...Nicanor Matutina
William Maull...Delany McConnell...Bryce Middleton
Nychelle Mitchell...Sarah Robinson...Jonathan Ruiz
Christian Saxon...Chantel Smalls...Wyatt Smith
Thomas Spigner...Elizabeth Strickland...Dion Taylor
Ericka VanDyke...Chloe Varner...Andriel Wright
Allison Young.

A COMMUNITY OF READERS HOME READING AWARD
If you are interested in participating in Charleston County's 2009-2010 "A Community of Readers Home Reading Award," see the attached directions for filing an application. The COR Standards for Reading, Communicating and Writing are available by clicking
here. Applications must be postmarked no later than
March 15, 2010.
Home Reading Award p2.jpg

GROCERY STORE PARTNERS
Now you can support St. Andrew's Middle School every time you shop for groceries at BiLo, Food Lion, Harris Teeter or Publix! Check out the "Grocery Store Partners" link under School Resources at left for more information.

TARGET'S TAKE CHARGE OF EDUCATION PROGRAM
We are pleased to announce that St. Andrew's Middle School will earn 1% of all sales used on a Target credit card. To take advantage of this wonderful opportunity for our school, go to the following web site and enroll to designate SAMS to earn some FREE money. Our school ID is 119335.
Thank you to all the parents and community members who have volunteered their time at our school. Together we will achieve excellence.

REASONS TO VOLUNTEER AT SAMS
1. The government values one hour of volunteer time at $18.16. Every time you volunteer you are contributing money towards your child's education!
2. Find out what your child's day at school is really like.
3. Spend time with other parents working to raise middle schoolers.
4. Show your child that school is important by giving your time to make it better.

Project Wisdom:
Our character education program provides students with positive social and academic skills by reinforcing the six core values (trustworthiness, caring, fairness, respectfulness, responsiblity, and good citizenship). Every week we provide students with a theme that relates to one or all of the core values. We ask that you reinforce the core values at home to help with the emotional, social, academic, and physical growth of our students.
Our character education program provides students with positive social and academic skills by reinforcing the core values of life (trustworthy, caring, fair, respectful, responsible, and a good citizen). Every week we provide students with a theme that relates to one or all of the core values. This information is available for your perusal at
http://standrewsms.ccsdschools.com. We ask that you reinforce the core values at home to help with the emotional, social, academic, and physical growth of our students.
Theme for the Month of November – “Daring to Be My Best”
Nov. 2nd-6th: Kindness: Making a Kinder World
Nov. 9th-13th: Caring: Show the World You Care
Nov. 16th-20th: Helping Others, Helping Ourselves
Nov. 23rd-24th: Thanksgiving