Good afternoon, this is Rick Parker, Principal of Indian Land High School, calling with our Sunday Weekly Update.
On Tuesday, 2/11, I started a new tradition at Indian Land High School recognizing the Top 20 Seniors achieving academic excellence. The banner you see below will be going up on the wall in the front entrance area with each senior’s portrait displayed. Here are the Top 20 Seniors names:
McKinley Ausrud, Jakub Bania, Allison Basik, Maddox Birkett, Hunter Bishop, Mia Francis, Isabelle Grimmer, Madison Harris, Emma Irvin, Isabella Kiger, Sanne Kil, Ethan Leddy, Addison Meadows, Gehhna Mehra, Mearon Mokonen, Olivia Noonan, Ashton Oenbrink, Maya-Stella Omoresemi, Logan Philbeck, and Victoria Richter.
My hopes are to motivate all students to aspire to get their picture up on the wall their senior year. Please join me in congratulating these students on their achievement.
A big shout out to all our EOC teachers and their students (Algebra I, Ms. Buchanan, Mr. Darkwah, Ms. DeLeo, and Mr. Melchin; Biology I, Mr. Lynch, Ms. Disher, Ms. Lucente, and Mr. Appleberg; English II, Mr. Reno, Ms. Hobbs, Ms. Adams, Ms. Park, Ms. Shrum; and US History: Ms. Knight, Ms. Meadows, Ms. Hargett, and Ms. Axt) who participated in the District Benchmarks last week! All classes achieved 98% participation. This academic data will be used to help develop the best plan of action to finish the year strong.
To celebrate Black History Month we had Clinton College’s drumline visit our students during FLEX last week. Check out the link below to get pumped up for the week ahead.
https://share.icloud.com/photos/0b3dn6crLFHink6CIg96Lq7ig
February is Black History Month. Indian Land High School presents its second annual Celebration of Black History, sponsored by Student Council (STUCO). Last year we were excited to host the Lancaster Trailblazers Photo Exhibit that highlighted the achievements of local pioneers. This year we would like to continue the tradition with a focus on modern day entrepreneurs. We are seeking representation from area businesses.
Inviting you to join our celebration, we are looking for local vendors to bring your business to Indian Land High School on Friday, February 28, 2025 from 4:30-7:00 pm. You are encouraged to bring information, goods, and a community-minded spirit. If you would like to participate, please fill out the Google form using the link below. We look forward to hearing from you.
Link to Google Form: https://tinyurl.com/yc7z66cd
Here is What’s Important Now for next week:
· Monday, 2/17 is a Teacher Professional Development Day - No School. We have Parent Conference Night from 5-7 pm. This is a chance to meet your child’s current or new teachers for second semester.
· Wednesday, 2/19 - W.A.R.R.I.O.R. University Parent Event: “Let’s Talk Vaping” See attached flyer. Please see the Counseling Link to services provided at ILHS ILH Counseling
· ACCESS Testing continues again this week. All students involved in this testing need to be present at school and OTOT.
· The LCSD district’s window for administering the Student Panorama Survey is March 3-7. We will be administering the 20-30 minute survey to students on March 3rd in Homeroom. I have included a letter from me explaining the survey and an option to Opt-out if you do not want your child to participate. ILHS Panorama Survey Student Opt-Out Letter
Student Drop Off: Thank you for all your support with the new procedure. The line is moving quicker! If you have not have noticed, I had the curb painted yellow designating the area for morning Drop Off. Once you enter the designated yellow area and stop moving, please let your student out and not wait to you get at the front of the line. This keeps the line moving.
From the Testing Coordinator
Juniors - ACT is March 11, 2025 and the SAT is April 9, 2025. Thank you for signing up! More information is to come on these opportunities!
The New 1st edition “From the Land” Monthly Newsletter is out on social media and websites: https://www.canva.com/design/DAGcvg189sc/ev28WrnYJp5cRgSEUqqNVQ/view?utm_content=DAGcvg189sc&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link2&utm_source=uniquelinks&utlId=hee8fe436a0
The February Newsletter will go out on 2/23.
Attendance Protocols
To notify ILHS of your student's absence, please send an email, with any necessary doctor's notes attached, to the following address:
ilhs.attendance@lcsd.k12.sc.us
You may also include the student's teachers' email addresses in the same email to let them know of their absence, but we must be notified at the above email address to properly code their absence. We do not receive attendance changes over the phone.
A few reminders:
· Students are given 10 "parent notes" per year. Missed class time excused with parent notes will need to be recovered.
· If you have a doctor's note, dental note, etc. to provide, we can code the absence as "Medical" to help reserve your parent notes.
· While you may send in hard copies of these notes, you can also simply scan/take a photo/screenshot them and email them to the attendance email address.
· Please allow up to 48 hours for attendance changes to be put into PowerSchool.
· For tardiness or early dismissals due to medical appointments, please scan/take a photo/screenshot and send in the medical note so we can excuse the tardy or early dismissal.
· Students that need to dismiss early must bring a handwritten note from the parent or guardian to the main office with time and parent signature. Students will be given a pass to leave class at the indicated time (Phones nor emails will be accepted for early dismissal).
From our PTSO:
It is almost here! Join us February 22nd at this year's 2nd Annual Indian Land Gala. This event is a great way to connect with other families & community members and the silent auction is sure to have something to catch your eye! We have 15 local businesses participating and we have sold over 200 tickets so far! Don’t miss this event!
What is the Indian Land Gala? A way to bring parents, staff and community members together to support Indian Land High School. The money raised will be split between the ILHS Athletic Booster Club, ILHS Band Booster Club, ILHS PTSO & Ultimate Warrior. Passed monies raised supported the Athletic Booster to purchase some well needed sporting equipment, Band was able to purchase uniforms (still not enough as our Marching Band is growing at an alarming rate) and the PTSO was able to provide 2 - $500 scholarships for seniors & provide a meal for over 200 staff members all 5 days of Staff appreciation week. We would love to see you at this year's Indian Land Gala on February 22nd at the Ballantyne Hotel. Your support is needed to help us continue to provide a great environment for our children. If you are interested in sponsorship, please reach out as we have several options available.
Indian Land Gala Committee - IndianLandGala@gmail.com
Lastly, I leave you a quote from Helen Keller, “The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched - they must be felt with the heart."
Have a great week!
