Message from Ware Shoals School District...We are aware that winter weather is being predicted for some areas, but reports we've received for our area from the National Weather Service lead us to believe that we can safely operate on a normal schedule. We will monitor conditions through the night, and if we experience freezing rain or snow that would make travel dangerous, you will get a call and text by 5:45 to notify you of an eLearning Day.
Today, Dr. Brannon Traxler, Dir. of Public Health for DHEC, held a video chat to review changes in guidance for schools regarding quarantines. The "requirement" that students without symptoms test on day 5 to return to school on day 6 is now a "recommendation" when testing is not feasible.
Since testing is not feasible at this time due to a shortage of resources, students who were to test to return this week may return tomorrow if they are symptom-free and agree to wear a mask at school the rest of this week.
https://www.facebook.com/wspatv/videos/1386468225127863
We realize there are quite a number of students who were expecting to test today and tomorrow to come back to school from being quarantined. Unfortunately, we have only 2 of our 5 nurses who are able to report to work today and tomorrow and the volume is too great to handle along with taking care of the usual daily tasks of a school nurse.
We will allow for the use of at-home rapid tests. DHEC recommends that we proctor those tests, so they can be done at home via FaceTime with one of our nurses or with an administrator.
If that is not possible, you may submit a test done at home but you will have to complete a DHEC form that will be available from the school nurse. It can be found on our website under the COVID tab. The form is called "At-Home Rapid Test Result Attestation."
Complete guidance for at-home rapid testing is on pages 24-25 of the most recently released guidance booklet for schools, also available on our website under the COVID tab.
Please let us know if you have any questions.
We still have dangerous areas on some of our back roads. Tomorrow’s temperature doesn’t reach above freezing until nearly 9am.
We will be on a 2 hour delay for staff and car riders or bus riders whose parents can get them to school. Our buses will be on a 3 hour delay, so expect those students to arrive between 10:30 and 11:00.
When we report our schedule online to TV stations, we won’t have the option to put all that information (2 & 3 hr delay, depending on transportation), so we will report a 2 hour delay.
Wherever you’re coming from, please drive safely! Allow extra time for travel. Even some of our highways have runoff, which will result in black ice until the temperature gets sufficiently above freezing.
Ware Shoals School District would like to take a moment to honor the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
A vaccine clinic will be held at First Baptist Church next Wednesday, January 19, from 9-4. Vaccines and boosters will be administered for ages 5 and up. The flyer has a QR code for pre-registering, but that's not required.
Have questions about school attendance and the pandemic? Get answers this Thursday, January 13, 6:00 pm, in an informative Q&A webinar hosted by the SC Department of Education and the Carolina Family Engagement Center.
See more here: https://tinyurl.com/387nc7uc
Please join us in welcoming SRO Bryan Snow to Ware Shoals Primary. The Laurens County Sheriff's Office received a State School SRO grant to fund an officer for WSPS, which is located in Laurens County. All schools now have a full-time SRO, and we are so thankful!
Ware Shoals School District 51 would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
COVID testing will be held in front of Ware Shoals High School from 10:00-1:00 on these dates: December 28 & 30, January 4 & 6.
You’re encouraged, but not required, to preregister at the following links.
STUDENTS:
https://schools.coquihealth.com/registration/8a67eb7d-9f73-474d-aae6-30a94b9e49f4
FACULTY:
https://schools.coquihealth.com/registration/e54bec9e-36a2-4e3c-aad9-63bd4144563e
We are very proud of our staff and students for their amazing efforts in raising funds for "Christmas Is for Kids" and for collecting items for the Community Food Bank, located at Ware Shoals United Methodist Church. LEARNING, SERVING, LEADING and CARING!
"The purpose of human life is to serve, and to show compassion and the will to help others." Albert Schweitzer
Ware Shoals Middle and Ware Shoals High raised over $25,000 this year for Christmas Is for Kids! Christmas will be extra special for 107 children in our district, thanks to the generosity of individuals, business, and civic organizations. We are very thankful to all who donated to this wonderful cause!
Ware Shoals School District 51 would like to take this time to remember Pearl Harbor Day. We will never forget!
Ware Shoals School District 51 would like to wish everyone a safe and happy Thanksgiving. Enjoy time with family and friend!
Ware Shoals High School and Ware Shoals Middle School are very grateful for Mt. Bethel United Methodist Church’s donation of $2,000 for the "Christmas Is for Kids" program. Luke Snyder, WSHS Student Body Treasurer, is pictured with the donation. Thank you, Mt. Bethel, for helping us honor our motto of “Learning, SERVING, and Leading!”
Join us in thanking Publix and United Way of the Lakelands for donating gift cards to our teachers and other area teachers for purchasing school supplies. We are so grateful for their generosity!
Duke power update link has more more information concerning the power outage at Ware Shoals High School. Thank you!
https://outagemaps.duke-energy.com/#/current-outages/ncsc
The South Carolina Department of Education in partnership with SC DHEC, the Carolina Family Engagement Center, the South Carolina School Improvement Council, and the South Carolina Chapter of American Academy of Pediatrics will host a Pediatric Vaccine Virtual Town hall on Thursday, November 18 at 6:30 p.m. Participants will be able to ask questions and hear from experts regarding the COVID-19 vaccine for ages 5 and up.
Register today: https://bit.ly/3kELiP8
"Christmas Is For Kids" Used Book Sale:
The Ware Shoals High School and Community Library will host their annual used book sale the week after Thanksgiving - November 29th through Friday, December 3rd. All proceeds will be given to the WSHS student council "Christmas Is For Kids" program. Paperback books are 50 cents, hardbacks are $1, or you can fill a bag with books for $5. Because the book sale will be held at the same time as the Community Library Gingerbread House competition and exhibition, we will have a special sale the night of the gingerbread house judging: fill two bags with books for $5. The library would like to extend a special thank you to everyone who has donated books; we have more books this year than we have had in the past. If you have questions, please call the library at 864-377-4440.
Congratulations to Ware Shoals Primary for being Save the Children's Partner of the Month for October! Dr. Kem Owens, Ms. Carla White, and their staff have been working very hard to make sure the After School and In School programs meet the STC criteria for success so that students learn and grow! Save the Children is a worldwide organization that helps children get ready for kindergarten and learn to read by third grade — a major indicator of future success.
