hey stone! are you ready to run!? - Greenville County School District

mark your
calendar
Sept. 1
Reflections Contest Begins
Sept. 5
Labor Day – No School
Sept. 9
Team Spirit Day $1
Sept. 12
Open House K-2
5:30 pm Dinner
(reserve & pay on-line)
6:30 pm Meeting
Sept. 15
Open House 3-5
5:30 pm Dinner
(reserve & pay on-line)
6:30 pm Meeting
Sept. 16
Crazy Hat Day $1
Sept. 23
Backward Day $1
Sept. 29
Fall Picture Day
Sept. 30
Fall for Stone
The
scoop
STONE ACADEMY OF COMMUNICATION ARTS
115 Randall Street, Greenville, SC 29609 864-355-8400
Edward P. Holliday, Principal www.greenville.k12.sc.us/stone
Join
September 2011 Volume XIX, No. 1
The PTA!!!
PTA Open Houses – September 12th K-2nd
& September 15th 3rd-5th
Dinner at 5:30 pm and Meeting at 6:30 pm
If you haven’t already joined the PTA please consider joining
now! The cost is only $5.00 and the first class to reach 100%
participation receives a pizza party. Each class after that who
reaches 100% wins an ice cream party. Join today!
Stone Academy PTA Membership – Join Now for $5.00
GET OTHERS TO SIGN UP AS PTA SUPPORTERS FOR STONE ACADEMY!
It’s easy and it benefits our children. Our goal is 100% membership!
Please return this form along with your payment.
Member(s) Name: __________________________________________________
Child’s name/grade/teacher: _______________________________________
Child’s name/grade/teacher: _______________________________________
Child’s name/grade/teacher: _______________________________________
Would you like to sponsor
a Teacher/staff member’s PTA membership? __________________
# of memberships: ________________ Total: _________________________

Dear Parents,
Welcome back! I hope you and your family had an enjoyable summer and
found an opportunity to spend quality time together. Now that we have all
had a chance to relax, we are gearing up for the new school year.
We expect to have a great 2011-12 school year despite our budget
challenges! Our instructional theme for the year will be “Create!” and will
foster creativity in many disciplines. Our professional development focus will
be on balanced literacy and arts integration. We will begin the year with inservices
on a book study of Regie Routman’s Reading Essentials Transforming
Our Teaching Through Reading To Understand. We will do a series of fourteen
ninety minute Regie Routman in Residence professional development videos
during the course of the year. We will again use a professional development
day to pair an arts teacher with each grade level to develop new artsintegrated
lesson plans. We will have monthly in-services called “Technology
Tuesdays” to learn how to fully utilize the updated technology purchased last
year in the REFRESH plan.
With renewed energy, we will continue addressing our multi-year goals for
continuous school improvement. These goals are based on data analysis and
are listed below. Strategies and action plans for implementing these goals
are too detailed for inclusion in this document, but are available on the Stone
Academy web site:
www.greenville.k12.sc.us/stone.geninfo/quality.asp
1. We will reduce the percentage of students scoring below basic and
increase the percentage scoring advanced and proficient on PACT language arts.
2. We will reduce the percentage of students scoring below basic and
increase the percentage scoring advanced and proficient on PACT math.
3. We will improve the technology skills of teachers with staff development,
and students with technology-integrated projects. We will offer technology
training to parents.
4. We will increase communication and collaboration between teachers and
parents in the education of students.
We are delighted to tell you that the Greenville County School
Board voted on August 23 to approve the administration’s
recommendation to purchase .253 acres located adjacent to the
Stone Academy Townes Street parking lot. Hopefully this
land will be graded and paved for additional parking by
early 2012.
We look forward to seeing you at the September
open house/curriculum night. Please come to visit
your child’s classroom and learn about important
procedures and get an overview of the year’s curriculum.
Ed Holiday

Mark your calendars for our 6 Chick-Fil-A
spirit nights this school year! And new for this
year...expanded hours! Drop by the Cherrydale
location between the hours of 3:00 and 8:00 for
an after-school snack or later in the evening for
dinner with the family! Parents and students,
grandparents, teachers, etc. can eat inside or in
the drive thru, just BE SURE to mention you are
with Stone Academy in order for the school to
receive credit. We hope to see you all there!
September 1, 2011
October 6, 2011
December 1, 2011
January 5, 2012
February 9, 2012
March 8, 2012
Boosterthon Fun Run
We are so excited to bring to Stone
Academy...”Boosterthon Fun Run!” This is going to
be our Fall fundraiser and takes the place of our
previous fundraiser, Innisbrook. The Boosterthon
Fun Run program lasts nine days and has three
parts: Pep Rally, Team Days and Fun Run. This
is a family-friendly, community building event
that includes every student! There is no door-t0door
selling. Students help their school simply
by gathering pledges/donations from friends and
family. Sponsors can pledge a per-lap amount or
flat donation toward that student’s Boosterthon
Fun Run. The lap average for all students (around
our school track) is 25-35.
The Pep Rally is the opening kick-off to
Boosterthon and the Boosterthon team (sent
from Boosterthon headquarters) leads this
exciting assembly-style meeting in the school
gym. The team explains what will be happening
over the next week and also talks about how the
students will learn character lessons over the
next six days. Every student will receive a t-shirt,
an informational pledge pack and their own
personal access code to funrun.com.
The next six days are Team Days. The team
spends a few minutes each day (3-5 minutes) in
the classroom talking about the character theme,
rewarding students for helping their school and
creating a class team with their teacher as the
coach! They pick a team name and create a team
banner.
The Fun Run is the day everyone has been
waiting for! The ‘Boosterthon Speedway’ is set
up early in the morning. When students arrive to
class, they put on their Boosterthon t-shirts and
prepare to come out to the Speedway! Students
run for 30 minutes to upbeat, themed music.
Parents and grandparents line the inside of the
track as the official cheer squad!
As you can see, we are really excited to bring
this fitness emphasis, character program to Stone
as our Fall fundraiser! The dates for our event are
October 10-21, 2011.
Should you have any questions, please
contact Leslie LaRue (Boosterthon Chair)
at leslieclarue@gmail.com or Stephanie
Southerland (Boosterthon Vice-Chair) at
stephaniesoutherland@hotmail.com.

From the PTA President...
Dear Stone Families,
Welcome back! I hope your school year has
gotten off to a great start! The PTA is very excited
to be back at school and is looking forward to
another great year at Stone Academy! First let me
welcome Leora Riordan to this year’s Executive
Board as the Vice President of Communications &
Hospitality. Leora has been a parent at Stone for 9
years and has served on the Board many times in
various capacities. As we gain one, we have also
lost another dear friend. Many of you already
know that my Co-President, Kate Combs, recently
moved to Wilmington, North Carolina, as a result
of her husband’s transfer. She will be greatly
missed by those of us who have grown to rely on
her wisdom and friendship! We wish the Combs
family much luck in their new endeavor and I will
be forever grateful for Kate’s continued advice!
This summer we were fortunate to have the
time and resources for several improvements that
will make a positive impact each student. First
off, the entire dance floor in Ms. Poole’s studio
was replaced with a state of the art flooring
system that should never have to be replaced or
refurbished. This wonderful improvement was
made possible using funds from Arts Alive and
will serve dancers for years to come! Secondly, we
owe a big thank you to our Arty Dance Party DJ
(and Stone Parent), Josh Wyatt, for the new sound
system in our cafeteria! Josh was able to purchase
the equipment at cost and install it himself, thus
saving us thousands of dollars that can now be
used elsewhere! Now we will be able to hear our
guest speakers clearly and enjoy our student
performances even more than we already do! And
last but not least, I want to thank my husband,
Rob, for helping me create our first PTA website!
This will not only save paper, but it will allow
us to pay for things on line using a credit card
or PayPal account! Some of the websites features
include: purchasing your PTA membership,
donating to field trip scholarship funds, making
donations to your child’s classroom, making
reservations & paying for PTA dinners & viewing
the Directory (password protected) on line, just
to name a few!
The web address is:
www.stoneacademypta.com
As you may remember from our last Spring
meeting, Stone Academy was one of ten schools
to be chosen for the Coordinated Approach
to Child Health or CATCH program. Our Food
Service workers spent much of their summer at
the Culinary Training Camp taught by Chef Ron
Jones, learning new recipes made from scratch
with locally sourced food. I hope you will come
by the cafeteria and try our new lunch menu with
your child.
Healthier lunches are just a beginning. As part
of the Live Well Greenville, we are encouraging
parents and students to make better choices in
all aspects of our lives. This includes, eliminating
unhealthy food from our fundraising, making
healthier choices for birthday & classroom
celebrations and creating a safe environment
for our children to walk or bike to/from school;
all of which are geared towards creating a
positive impact on the health of our students and
families, essentially, helping us to Live Well!
Speaking of walking or biking to/from
school... Stone Academy will participate in
the International Walk to School Day, the fist
Wednesday of October, to raise awareness about
the benefits of adding this healthy activity to our
daily lives. I hope you will join us as we create
safe routes to school. If your morning routine
simply doesn’t allow this or you live too far away,
take an evening stroll with your family or park
close by and walk the rest of the way!
I want to leave you with a brief look at the
fundraising opportunities that we have going on
in Fall. Your $1 donation on each of these days,
will go towards helping someone less fortunate
to participate in their classroom field trips!
September 9th – Team Spirit Day! $1 to wear
your favorite team jersey, t-shirt, socks, what
ever to show off your team spirit!
September 16th – Crazy Hat Day! $1 lets your
child wear their most creative, funny & craziest hat!
September 23rd – Backwards Day! $1 to wear
your clothes to school backwards!

And for the Parents we have...
September 30th – Fall for Stone
Our Fall Fundraiser for Adults only! This year’s
event will be held at the Greenville Women’s Club
and will feature a Low Country theme! What a
wonderful excuse for a date night! Tickets will be
available to purchase on the Stone Academy PTA
website for parents, grand-parents, teachers and
administrators!
A Sneak peak into October...
October 21st – Our NEW Boosterthon Fun Run!!
A healthy fundraiser that will get us all up and
moving! Sponsor your child and their friends to
participate in this run around our new track and
help us replace funding from wrapping paper
sales! This is what Living Well is all about!
October 24-28th – Red Ribbon Week
Keeping our children OFF DRUGS and
educating them on positive life choices!
That’s all for now! I hope to see you at the:
PTA OPEN HOUSE
September 12th, Grades K-2nd
Dinner at 5:30 pm from TRIO
**Reservations & payment on line
www.stoneacademypta.com
Brief meeting at 6:30 pm
PTA OPEN HOUSE
September 15th, Grades 3rd-5th
Dinner at 5:30 pm from TRIO
**Reservations & payment on line
www.stoneacademypta.com
Brief meeting at 6:30 pm
(**ALL PTA DINNERS MUST BE RESERVED AND PAYED FOR
IN ADVANCE THERE WILL NOT BE ANY EXTRAS)
Please never hesitate to call or email me if
I can make your experience at Stone Academy,
better or healthier!
Sincerely,
Missy Latham, PTA President
(864) 907-6933
missylatham@yahoo.com
Red Ribbon Week 2011
October, 24th – 28th
Early education is the best prevention of
substance abuse in the teen years and beyond,
so each year Stone Academy’s PTA sponsors
Red Ribbon Week. Each day during the week,
we invite our students to show they are drug
free and plan to stay that way by dressing in a
different theme. Parents can join in the fun too
for lunch on Wednesday, then on Friday for our
Red Ribbon Rally at the end of the school day.
On Wednesday, October 26th parents are
encouraged to support their household’s pledge
to be drug free by wearing red, signing up for our
Blood Drive and joining your child for lunch. We
have a special menu prepared by our cafeteria
staff fresh from their culinary classes!! Also, the
Blood Connection’s Blood Mobile will be at the
school from 10:15-2:30 tso that we can help
others by donating blood! Pencil it in now and
look for the RSVP form soon.
On Friday, October 28th at 1:30pm we will have
our Red Ribbon Rally on the field by Croft Park!
Parents are encouraged to watch the parade of
classes and stay for the Greenville County Sheriff’s
Office K-9 Unit’s presentation to our students!
So, pull out your craziest socks, favorite
jerseys and lots of RED to show that you and
your family pledge to be Drug Free!! More details
to come!

HEY STONE! ARE YOU READY TO RUN!?
Do you like to move? Do you like to be outside? Would you like to be a better runner? Then this
club is for you! The Stone Academy Running Club will help you build your physical fitness and will
also be a LOT of fun! Read on for more details!
Who: Stone Academy 3rd-5th grade students
What: Stone Academy Running Club
When: Every Friday from 3:00-3:30 pm, weather permitting
Where: After dismissal on Fridays, Running Club students will meet in the gym.
At 3:00 pm we’ll go running around the Croft Park track!
Why: To promote healthy living and physical fitness
Cost: This is a total steal – just $5.00! If you were a member last school year
(2010-2011) you do NOT need to pay again – but we do need a new
permission slip from you by Friday, September 16th!
We will tally up your number of laps each week. When you reach 50 laps, you will get your very
own Stone Academy Running Club wristband! AWESOME!!! For every 50 laps you run, you’ll get another
colored wristband.
Want to get started? Get a parent to fill out the permission slip below. Wear or bring tennis shoes,
comfortable running clothes, and a water bottle to school Friday, September 16th. And get pumped!!!
Student name: ____________________________________________________________________________________
Grade and Teacher: _______________________________________________________________________________
Parent names: ____________________________________________________________________________________
Home address: ___________________________________________________________________________________
Best phone # to reach you on Friday afternoon: ___________________________________________________
Email: ____________________________________________________________________________________________
Alternate phone #: ________________________________________________________________________________
My son/daughter __________________________ has permission to participate in the Stone Academy
Running Club each Friday from 3:00-3:30pm in Croft Park.
• I agree to pick them up promptly each week by 3:30pm, and understand that if I fail to do so
three times, he/she will no longer be allowed to participate.
• I give the teacher in charge of my son/daughter limited power of attorney to act in my
absence and see that my son/daughter, gets whatever medical treatment is necessary in case
of sickness or accident.
Parent signature:___________________________________________________ Date: ________________________

2011-2012 Theme: “Diversity Means…”
Students are encouraged to create and submit works of art in six
areas: dance choreography, film production, literature, musical
composition, photography and visual arts. Please make sure you
read and follow all rules so October that your 4 work will be judged.
Below is the link for the entry Your form, teacher rules and consent form.
www.ptareflections.org/cs/student_entry_form
Turn in entries to the Mrs. Littlejohn
in the library by Tuesday October 4th.
Do you bring your dog on campus?
If you walk your dog onto the school campus, please remember the following points:
• Dogs are NEVER allowed inside the building. In addition to liability issues,
we have had sanitation problems.
• City ordinances requires that dogs be on a leash at all times.
• Be sure to clean up after your dog if necessary. Remember, our children
run and play on this campus. The health and well-being of children is our
foremost concern!
Don’t forget
to show your
Stone Academy
‘reward’ card
each time you
shop at Bi-Lo,
Publix and
Target. This
is an easy and
effortless way
for the school
to receive
money from
these ‘Partners
in Education.’
Should you need
another card,
simply stop by
the desk in the
school lobby.
They are in a
plastic bin for
your taking!

2011-2012 PTA Executive Board
President Missy Latham missylatham@yahoo.com 864-907-6933
President Elect Don Thompson diadon2000@aol.com 864-325-0385
VP Ways & Means Leslie LaRue leslieclarue@gmail.com 864-201-9572
VP Comm. & Hosp. Leora Riordan leordan@bellsouth.net 864-630-2335
VP Service & Enrich. Amy Clauss amyclauss@bellsouth.net 864-313-2998
Secretary Megan McCarter megan_mccarter@bellsouth.net 864-918-2319
Treasurer Erin Dando erindando@hotmail.com 864-569-5412
District 1 Southwest Council President,
Kim Antonakos
National PTA
541 Fairbanks Ct., Ste. 1300
Chicago, IL 60611-3396
800-307-4PTA (4782)
www.pta.org
District 1 PTA President,
Kelly Yanty
South Carolina PTA
1826 Henderson St.
Columbia, SC 29201
800-743-3782
www.scpta.org
Stone Scoop is a publication of the Stone Academy PTA. Kim Haines, Editor; Michelle Rainey-Owens, Graphic Designer