- Week of February 5, 2007

BLACK HISTORY MONTH

Several Richland One schools and departments are planning special programs and activities in observance of Black History Month. Following are some of the events scheduled for the week of February 5:

* Pine Grove Elementary will hold an African-American Read-In Day on beginning at 8 a.m. Monday, February 5. Guest readers, including school staff, district administrators and the school resource officer, have been invited to share books written by African-American authors with the students. At the end of the day, teachers will be asked to 'drop everything and read' a book by an African-American author. Pine Grove Elementary is located at 111 Hufstetler Drive in Columbia.

* District-level administrators have been invited to participate in part one of Hand Middle School’s first African-American Read-In, beginning at 9 a.m. Monday, Februrary 5. During the read-in, invited guests will visit classes throughout the school and read selected African-American literature to students. The school’s theme for the month is 'Our Rhythm ' Our Connections: African-Americans in the Arts.” Hand Middle is located at 2600 Wheat Street in Columbia.

* Students in grades 3-5 at Meadowfield Elementary School will hold an opening ceremony kicking off their Black History Month celebration from 1 to 1:45 p.m. Monday, February 5 in the school cafeteria. Meadowfield is located at 525 Galway Lane.

* The art department at Hopkins Elementary School will hold a quilt exhibit at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, February 8. New and old quilts will be on display along with a written history of each quilt. The theme of the exhibition is 'The African-American Contribution to Quilting.' Every class at Hopkins Elementary has been studying quilting and quilting artists, and they have made paper quilt designs. Hopkins Elementary is located at 6120 Cabin Creek Road in Hopkins.

CHALLENGE DAY

A powerful, award-winning and potentially life-changing program for youth and adults that has been featured on the "Oprah" show is coming to Columbia and students from Dreher High School will be among the participants.

Through Challenge Day, teens confront their behavior and feelings on issues like bullying and experience the impact through the eyes of their peers. The organization says its vision is to "create world where every child feels safe, loved and celebrated.

Challenge Day will be held in Columbia on Tuesday, February 6, from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Martin Luther King Park gymnasium on Greene Street in Five Points. The day will include a variety of games, trust-building activities and presentations.

Fifty Dreher freshmen were selected to participate, along with 18 volunteer facilitators. Dreher was selected to be one of four Challenge Day pilot schools in South Carolina. For more information about the local event, contact Debbie Kinder at 929-3968. For more information about the national Challenge Day movement, go to www.challengeday.org.

MALE CONFERENCE

Lewis Greenview Elementary’s School Improvement Council is working to encourage men to take a more active role in our schools. The Greenview SIC is sponsoring a special conference called "Men Standing Up, Stepping Out and Making a Difference Where It Counts," on Saturday, February 10 at the school.

Activities will begin at 9 a.m., with a keynote speech by former USC basketball standout and retired professional player Terry Dozier, and will continue through 2 p.m. Breakout session topics will include gang awareness, hip-hop culture, male health issues, financial planning at state of the family. Registration is free.

Greenview Elementary is located at 726 Easter Street.

FATHER-DAUGHTER DINNER

The Youth Voices of Lower Richland and Lower Richland High School are inviting teen girls and their fathers or father figures to a special evening of fun, entertainment and dancing called “Father-Daughter Dinner: The Princess and the Knight.” The Father-Daughter Dinner will be held from 5 to 8 p.m. Saturday, February 10 in the LR cafeteria.

Lower Richland High is located at 2615 Lower Richland Boulevard in Hopkins.

Media with inquiries about Tip Sheet items are asked to call Edith Caudle in the Office of Communications at 231-7504.