Seneca High School Chorus Awards

Seneca High School's chorus students participated in a Chorus Solo and Ensemble competition at Converse College on Saturday, February 23rd. Congratulations to the following students:

Superior Plus Rating- Solo Category
Tess Krabbe
Adrienne Pitre

Superior Rating- Solo Category
Emmy Williams

Superior Plus Rating- Advanced Solo Category
Jeremy Peirce
Rashad Roberson

South Carolina Music Educator's Scholarship
First Place- Jeremy Peirce
Second Place- Rashad Roberson

Women's Ensemble- Excellent Plus
Gracie Campbell
Hali Cannon
Erin Cartmell
Angela Collins
Shirlandria Dixon
Fredeica Henderson
Morgan Jones
Natasha Lyle
Lavika McKey
Nicole Regeness
Jaleesa Skelton
Brittni Stevens
Aliecia Washington
Christy Watters

Men's Chorus- Superior Rating
Levandrick Bacote
Cody Crooks
Shakeyon Evett
Paul Fort
Lance Glenn
Randy Marchbanks
Stephen Nicholson
William Rathbone
Spencer Rogers
Wynton Stephens
Lucas White
Andrew Willard

Madrigal Ensemble- Superior Plus Rating
Michele Burton
Christina Cleveland
Mary Douglas
James Jernigan
Tess Krabbe
Kendall Leslie
Michael Mendes
Michael Peckham
Jere,y Peirce
Adrienne Pitre
Jordan Ross
Joel Smith

Congratulations to students and to Mrs. Diane McFarlane and Ms. Melissa McClain!

January Rotary Student of the Month

Congratulations to Jalessa Skelton for being named Seneca High School's Rotary Student of the Month. She was honored today during a luncheon at the Seneca Rotary Club. Jalessa is a senior at Seneca High School and will be attending Converse College in August. She plans to pursue a degree in education and will minor in music. I am very proud of Jalessa. She is an excellent student and is a positive role model for all of our students. Congratulations to Jalessa.

Governor's Citizenship Award

Congratulations to Emily Holleman for receiving the Governor's Citizenship Award. The Governor's Citizenship Award honors one student from each participating school for outstanding service, leadership, responsibility, character, and discipline. Each winner receives a Governor's Citizenship Award certificate and a Governor's Medal of Citizenship. Emily will be recognized at the State House this spring.

2007-2008 The Investment Center Character Awards

Congratulations to the following students for receiving The Investment Center Character Award:

Seniors (1st Quarter)
Emily Holleman and Cody Burkett

Juniors (2nd Quarter)
Anna Williams and Kevin Egan

Sophomores (3rd Quarter)
Kalyn Guill and Hunter Jarrett

Freshman students will be selected for 4th Quarter.

Congratulations Students!

Students Watch Clemson vs. Duke

This past Wednesday night, Mrs. Brewer took her students to Littlejohn Coliseum to watch the Lady Tigers play Duke. Students enjoyed watching the game, cheering with the cheerleaders, taking pictures with the Tiger, and spending time with their classmates. While we did not get to see the Lady Tigers win (Duke 83 Clemson 54), we certainly enjoyed the game. Having the opportunity to spend time with our students is one of my favorite activities as Principal at Seneca High. I truly enjoyed my evening at the game with the TTI class.

Seneca High School's First Book Club

I was very excited to participate in our Media Center's first book club. Mrs. Chrissy Robinson and Mrs. Cheryl Cook have done an outstanding job creating an environment that both students and teachers can enjoy. Please read below to find out more about the first book club.

On Friday, February 8th, and Monday, February 11th, the Seneca High School Media Center came alive with 78 students and staff members discussing the characters and plots of books they had voluntarily read for the school’s first book club meetings. Using recommendations for young adult literature from the American Library Association and VOYA magazine, Seneca High School’s media center staff (media specialists Chrissy Robinson and Cheryl Cook, and media center clerk Betty Gamble) selected the following books for student reading: the light-hearted young adult mystery Bad Kitty by Michele Jaffe , Copper Sun from the genre of historical fiction by award winning young adult fiction author Sharon Draper, and the science fiction/fantasy selection of Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment by best selling young adult and adult fiction author, James Patterson.

In January with the announcement of the SHS book club, the media center staff was met with an enthusiastic response by students and staff members with all 60 book copies being circulated within the first week. To the surprise of the media center staff, many students quickly read their first selection, returned their books, and then began reading a second selection for the book club meeting to be held in February. Seneca High School media specialist Chrissy Robinson stated, “We were thrilled to find that so many students and staff members responded with such enthusiasm to the book clubs. Due to the limited number of copies of books that we had, students started sharing books with one another in order to give others the chance to participate in the book club.” Media specialist Cheryl Cook added, “As librarians, it was very encouraging to see young adults so excited about recreational reading; but it was equally exciting to see the students’ demonstration of the Seneca High community spirit.”

The Seneca High School media center provided a total of 60 copies of the books for students and staff members wishing to participate in the book clubs. Over a three week period, participating students and staff members read the books at their own pace, then in February met in the media center to enjoy a lunch and to participate in discussion groups. Student feedback and participation indicate that the book clubs were a success and that students hope for more meetings and books in the future. SHS media specialists are currently exploring funding options for more book clubs in the future, including state and federal grants.

Working Opportunity

Mrs. Brewer's Transition to Independence class spent today working at Goodwill of Seneca. Students sized, tagged, received, and stocked donations. One student sorted donated items and placed the items in designated containers. Another student stocked the shelves and racks with priced merchandise, and another tagged and sized the merchandise. All students were able to stay alert for the entire work shift, meet production standards, perform repetitive tasks, stay focused on the task, and practice and maintain good health standards. I am proud of our students!

Students Sign Athletic Scholarships

I am proud that we had two students sign athletic scholarships today. Chantelle Davidson signed a track scholarship with Winthrop University, and Conner Hawkins signed a football scholarship with Furman University. These two student athletes have done an excellent job in the classroom and in their sport. I congratulate them both and wish them much success!

Jesse A. Pearce- National Merit Finalist

Seneca High School congratulates senior Jesse A. Pearce!! Jesse has advanced to Finalist standing in the National Merit Scholarship Program of 2008. He has high potential for future academic accomplishment.


Only 15,000 students nationwide have advanced to the Finalist stage of the competition. Of the 15,000 approximately 8200 will be named Merit Scholarship winners in March. Congratulations Jesse!

SHS Teachers Write EIA Teacher Grants

Teachers at Seneca High School had the opportunity to participate in an EIA teacher grant workshop with District Grant Writer Jennifer Dodd today. EIA teacher grants support the improvement of classroom instructional practices and procedures. Grants may be written for projects that support instructional activities and for the implementation of the South Carolina curriculum standards. Grants may be writtent to support teachers in the following areas:

• implementation of performance assessments



• instructional activities for parental reinforcement at home



• computer-assisted instruction



• techniques for motivating and rewarding achievement



• techniques for improving students' study skills



• innovative teaching strategies, activities

Teachers may write individual grants up to $2,000, or teachers may submit group grants up to $6,000. Seneca High School is proud of the following teachers for participating in this workshop:

Stephanie Brewer, Al Langston, Michelle Williams, Demetric Tensley, Hans Schmidt, Jaquette Gilbert, Cheryl Cook

All County Orchestra

Seneca High School would like to congratulate the following students for being selected to participate in All County Orchestra:

Sheida Abdi
Saxon Cook
Brianna Hyslop
JoAnna McAnally
Olivia Piccirillo
James Quarles
Kim Romero
Brianna Smith
Brian Stephens
Zach Suffern
Jason Vo
Javier Zamarripa


The concert will be Thursday, January 24, 2008 at 7:00 at West Oak.

Mrs. Brewer's Class visit China Inn

Mrs. Brewer's students have been studying China. During the unit, students learned about the geography, history, and people of China. Guest speakers, Sam Holleman and Dr. Norton, shared pictures and artifacts from their visit to China. The students enjoyed learning about the Great Wall, Terracotta Soldiers, pandas, the Chinese New Year, and Chinese Food. As a culuminating activity, students had the opportunity to eat lunch at China Inn on Friday. In addition to eating Chinese cuisine, many students ate with chopsticks! Mrs. Brewer has done an outstanding job with her students. They have had the opportunity to participate in many educational activities this year.

Coach Duncan and Family Visit Seneca High

Today was exciting at Seneca High as we welcomed Coach Duncan. Coach Duncan spent several hours touring our school and athletic facility, and meeting teachers and students. Coach Duncan also met with all boys interested in playing football. More than 100 young men met with Coach Duncan to hear about the football program. He began explaining his expectations for our students and our football program. Seneca High School and the Athletic Booster Club hosted a reception for Coach Duncan, his wife Misty, and their two children. We had a great turn out of students, parents, faculty, and community members. Coach Duncan plans to be at Seneca High School a few days each week during second semester. Our school and community are proud to have Coach Duncan join our faculty.

A huge thank you to Frank and Beth Thompson and the Athletic Booster Club for coordinating the reception.

Seneca High Welcomes New Football Coach

Seneca High School welcomes Head Football Coach and Social Studies Teacher Ron Duncan. Coach Duncan was approved by the School Board on Tuesday, January 8, 2008 during its regularly scheduled meeting. Coach Duncan comes to Seneca High School from Bamberg-Earhardt High School where he has established a successful football program. He has an overall record of 50-12. He has been named Region V Coach of the Year for the last four years. His football team has had numerous accomplishments including being the Region V Champions and Upper State Champions in 2007, Region V Champions in 2006, and Lower State Champions in 2005. He is described as being an excellent teacher, running a first class football program, a great communicator and a person with high expectations. Ron is married to Misty and has two children- Jackson and Laney Claire. We are excited to have Coach Duncan at Seneca High School. A reception will be held for Coach Duncan and his family on Thursday, January 10th from 4:30-6:30 in the Seneca High School cafeteria- students, parents, faculty, and staff are invited.

Welcome Back!

I would like to welcome our students, faculty, and staff back to Seneca High School. I hope that everyone had a safe and restful break and is looking forward to a great 2008. Students and teachers will prepare for exams that begin on January 11, 2008. I have included the exam schedule on the right column of my blog. The schedule can also be found on the school's website. It is important for students to study and do their very best on these exams. Second semester will begin January 17, 2008. As we enter a new semester, please contact the school if you have any questions or concerns. The faculty and staff of Seneca High School enjoy working with your student and want to provide a positive and safe learning environment for all students.

Also included on the right column of my blog is our registration schedule for next school year. Please be sure to mark important dates on your calendar.

Have A Happy New Year!