The Hamilton Career Center Transition Program operates two school-based enterprises, the Considerate Café and the Learning to Grow Gardens.  The mission of these programs is to assist transition students to become contributing members of society through education in the areas of employability skills, independent living skills, social skills and self-determination.  Working in the school-based enterprises provide students with opportunities to practice the skills learned in the classroom in a simulated work environment.

This season's Clemson-University of South Carolina football game may have come and gone but the impact will last in a variety of ways.  The athletes and fans of the two schools will either continue to tout the win or bemoan the loss.  For Seneca Middle School English/Language Arts teacher Cassie Moore, however, the impact will likely take a completely different form.  Moore was one of many teachers in South Carolina who encouraged their students to participate in the Read Your Way to the Big Game Contest sponsored by the South Carolina Department of Education.  She was recently thrilled to learn she was one of just five educators statewide to win a $500 prize for that participation.  Being an enthusiastic lover of books herself and one who has a gift for inspiring a love of reading in her students, Moore undoubtedly has a plan for the prize money that involves books.  In fact, Moore said of her win, "I'm so glad that the Seneca Middle School media center promoted this event and supported all the students who participated.  It's wonderful to see that everyone knows how important it is to read.  The $500 will be used to buy class sets of novels so that all students can enjoy this generous gift."

The Walhalla Performing Arts Center was host to Black Jacket Symphony November 14th and 15th.  Known for re-creating entire albums by classic rock & roll performers, the group presented Fleetwood Mac's Rumours album in concert to full crowds both nights.  A few weeks before the show, the director of the WPAC, Mark Thompson, presented our band directors with an opportunity for students to play along with the group on the song "Tusk."  The original version by Fleetwood Mac, released in 1979, was performed with the University of Southern California Trojan Marching Band.  Almost sixty students, representing all three high school marching bands, joined Black Jacket Symphony for the encore each night.

Any school year is filled with events of all sorts.  At Seneca Middle School, one of the most revered events of the year is the observance of Veterans Day.  Each year students may invite the veteran(s) in their life to attend a reception and assembly in their honor.  This year approximately 60 veterans of all ages gathered in the Media Center to mingle and enjoy a morning snack before heading to the Tim Howard Gymnasium where they were greeted with a standing ovation from the assembled audience of students, faculty, and staff.  Upon being seated in places of honor, the visiting veterans were treated to excellent performances of patriotic music performed by the school's award-winning Honors songs during which the veterans stood to be recognized as their service branch's song was being played.  The program ended with each veteran being individually recognized and escorted out of the gym by the student(s) who invited them.

On Monday, October 21st, the three School District of Oconee County High Schools will compete in the inaugural Litter Bowl Competition.  Sponsored by SDOC, Oconee County Sheriff's Office, and Palmetto Pride, the competition will see which school can pick up the most trash on the roads around their school.  The winning school will be awarded the Litter Bowl trophy on Friday, November 1st during halftime of their football game.

In education, there is a long tradition of learning from lectures and textbooks.  For some students, however, that isn't the most effective method for learning.  Fortunately, hands-on activities sometimes bridge the gap for those students, especially in STEM areas.  Recently, Dr. Jorge Rodriguez, Lead Engineer for the Clemson EXPLORE Mobile Lab visited the eighth grade science classes of Dona Gardner and Dr. Katie Gillespie at Seneca Middle School to work with their students on an activity that was not only hands-on but literally about bridge building, too.  The activity began with Dr. Rodriguez telling the students about the main types of bridge design.  The students then formed groups to brainstorm the best miniature bridge they would design and build in a class out of a proscribed list of available materials.  The challenge, as in real life, was to develop a design which would both meet specific design criteria and be cost effective.  The students were very creative and came up with very different design ideas, modified their designs as necessary throughout the design/build/test process, and were quite invested in the final results of their efforts.

The Marching Warriors attended the C. Phillip McIntyre Tournament of Bands Competition September 28, 2019, at Byrnes High School.  They competed in the Silver Division which consisted of 16 bands.  The Warriors walked away with 1st Place Division 2A, Best Percussion, Best Music and the title of Silver Grand Champion with the highest score in the Silver Division.  

Walhalla Elementary celebrated International Literacy during the week of September 9-13, 2019.  The students were able to see traditional foods from India, Russia, Poland, Mexico, England and El Salvador on display.  They read the labels and talked about which items looked similar to what they normally eat and which ones looked very different.