Free ACT, PSAT, SAT, and Advanced Placement Exam Reviews

The Office of eLearning in the Division of School of Effectiveness is pleased to offer free access to ACT, PSAT, SAT, and AP Exam Reviews for any Dutch Fork High School student who wishes to prepare for one or more of these exams during the 2011-12 school year.  This is also available to any public school, charter school, private school and home school students.  

Educators, students and parents can gain access to the reviews athttp://scvspconnect.ed.sc.gov/.  Simply click on the Course Information tab and then the Test Preparation tab.

If you have technical questions please contact Courtney Foster, administrative assistant for the South Carolina Virtual School Program at cpfoster@ed.sc.gov or 803-734-8039. 

Report Card Pick-Up Night at Dutch Fork High!

Dutch Fork High School will hold a report card pickup on this Thursday, October 27th from 5-7 pm. At that time parents/guardians will be able to pick up the first quarter report cards, standardized testing results, and meet their student's teachers. Also, there will be a food drive that night for canned food items that will be used for those in need in the Dutch Fork area. Any canned food items you bring will be greatly appreciated.

Additionally, we will be hosting a free, informational workshop entitled “How to Plan and Pay for College 101.”  The information you receive will be invaluable to all college-bound high school students, regardless of grade, and their parents.  We will cover scholarships, financial aid, how to get the most free money from colleges, selecting the right major and college, options for actually paying the bill, and much more.  The workshop will be held this Thursday, at 6:30 PM in the auditorium. 

The workshop is free, but we do ask that you register so we know how many sets of handouts to prepare.  Please register by going to http://www.cfcsc.com/ or by calling 798-0390.  We look forward to seeing you at the workshop and Report Card Pick-Up!

Dutch Fork Teacher Cadets Study Disabilities

- IRMO, SC

Using materials from both the DF Health Occupations class and a grant from Family Connection of SC, DFHS Teacher Cadets spent a day this week experiencing what it would be like to have a disability. The purpose of the lesson was to increase understanding and build empathy for those who navigate through school with needs ranging from visual impairment to physical disabilities.

"It's really frustrating," said senior Meghan Kircher. "You don't realize how much you use your senses until they are taken away from you." Meghan was referring to the visual impairment experience which required that she wear goggles smeared with Vaseline and then perform two tasks - reading from a book and trying to locate a snack in the vending machine.

Austin Williams agreed. "Being in a wheelchair makes me feel like I'm disturbing everyone around me, but it increased my understanding of how tough it is on a day to day basis getting around our halls."

The area between the old and new part of the building was especially hard for students using the wheelchair and crutches. "That incline isn't hard at all when you're walking, but trying to go up in a wheelchair is hard," senior Ramel Brown explained. Coming back down poses its own problems.

"I feel like I'm going to fall forward," said Brown. "This is a lot harder than it looks!"

Students experienced hearing impairment through listening to a CD with muffled directions. They also had to use a mirror to write their name and draw through a maze. Other activities included mouth painting, sign language, and blind-folded activities.

"This definitely helps make the students more aware and more sensitive," said teacher Carol Jackson. "While they are doing the activities, they think it's fun, but later when they write their reflections, they realize just how difficult it would be live 24/7 with some of these disabilities."

Students will be taking their new sensitivities into the classroom in the spring when they do a two-month internship called "field experience."

"This is one of the activities they will always remember," Jackson said. "They become different people after spending just one class walking in someone else's shoes. In fact, I ran into a Cadet who graduated in 2011 recently at Applebee's. She told me she had just changed her major from nursing to special ed. I can't help but think that this activity in her senior year may have had something to do with that."

Very Bright Ideas at Dutch Fork High!

Patrick Smallwood, Science Teacher has recently been awarded a Bright Ideas Grant from the Mid-Carolina Electric Cooperative. Bright Ideas is Mid-Carolina Electric Cooperative's way of "energizing innovative lessons" by educators at local schools. "The idea behind Bright Ideas," according to MCEC's CEO Jack Wolfe, "is to help empower good teachers, to provide support outside of normal public school funding for great projects that deserve to be used in the classroom, yet need that extra assistance."

The grant is titled "Renewable Energy Instruction Utilizing PASCO Data Acquisition Technology"

The grant supports new cross-curricular probeware instruction for 10th-12th grade students at DFHS. Students will use Horizon Renewable Energy equipment to obtain and analyze lab data for various renewable energy sources. The curriculum will be implemented in Biology and Chemistry classes, as well as other current courses.

We are very proud of this accomplishment and thank Mr. Smallwood for his leadership of our science program and helping to acquire additional financial resources for our school. Additionally, we would like to salute Mid-Carolina Electric Cooperative for their continued support of public education.

Students Qualify for National Merit Scholarship Competition

Dutch Fork High School would like to recognize and congratulate the following seven students who have been named semifinalists in the National Merit Scholarship Competition. Those students are as follows: Benjamin Aaron, Nicholas Kowalski, Aubrey Leaman, Justin Moore, Elizabeth Walker, Jessica Wang, and Zachary Wang. As a semifinalist in the competition, they have the opportunity to compete for some 8,300 National Merit Scholarships worth more than thirty-four million dollars that will be offered next spring.

Congratulations are also extended to Rachel Baughman, Brandon Giles, and James Mitchell. They are being recognized as Commended Students in the 2012 National Merit Program.  Finally, Charles James is being recognized as a National Achievement Program Semifinalist. As a recipient, he now has the opportunity to continue in the competition for approximately 800 Achievement Scholarship Award offerings.

We are very excited for these students and wish them the absolute best as they progress through the scholarship competition.

District SAT Champions!

Congratulations are extended to the SAT Team from Dutch Fork High. These students have been practicing for several weeks and recently competed in the Lexington/Richland 5 District SAT Competition on Friday October 7, 2011. In Lexington/Richland 5, the SAT competition is held annually to prepare students for exam, promote SAT excellence, and to continue producing high SAT scores in our district. Students on the Dutch Fork High School SAT Team met challenging standards, completed rigorous preparation, and demonstrated their excellence in both math and verbal skills as tested on the SAT.

After weeks of preparation coupled with a day of competition, we are pleased to announce that Dutch Fork High has won the competition and are the 2011 School District Five of Lexington & Richland Counties SAT Champions. We are extremely proud of our coaches (Susan Aplin and Erin Rivers) and players (Jacob B., Beau B., Glenn B., Fatema B, Arthur., James B., Ellen G., Brandon G., William G., Mary H., Madeline K., Nicholas K., Aubrey L., SeongSoo L., Rhianna L., Justin M., Alessandra M., Bryce P., Tulsi P., Mark P., Samadwara R., Benjamin S., Michael S., Elizabeth W., Zachary W., Jessica W., and Yi W.) who worked hard for this honor and recognition.

We appreciate the entire Dutch Fork family: faculty, staff, students, and parents for their effort and support of our continued pursuit of excellence.

By: Robert S. Jackson, Ed.S., Assistant Principal for Instruction

PSAT Administration at Dutch Fork High!

By: Robert S. Jackson, Assistant Principal for Instruction

On Wednesday, October 12, all 10th grade students and paying juniors will take the PSAT test during blocks 5B and 6B.  There will be NO delayed opening on Wednesday (10/12/11) for this reason.  Students need to be at school on time and report to their designated testing classroom. Alphabetical rosters are posted beside each testing room door on the 200 hallway and in the guidance hallway.  Please bring your own calculator and #2 pencils.  Get a good night's rest, eat a good breakfast before coming to school, and do your very best on the test! We plan to see more National Merit Award winners.