Editor

Parents, students district officials and school board members gathered this past Saturday morning for what is fast becoming an annual event, the Fairfield County School District’s Back to School Rally.

In a show of solidarity for the kids and education, the whole group assembled in the Fairfield Middle parking lot and marched en masse to the FCHS gymnasium, where parent specialist Yolande Montgomery welcomed them, saying the school year for the students would be full of “new friends to make, new faces, to greet and new things to learn,” and she told the students “we want you to know that you are special, we are excited about the new things that are going on in this school district, and we welcome you back for a great school year,” she said.

Rae Boyd, representing superintendent Dr. Samantha Ingram brought greetings and gave an overview of the day’s informative sessions.

“We want to regain the commitment that we have with our parents, students and educators in Fairfield County.

“We know that our world is changing rapidly, and sometimes there are turbulent times, because we have crime, and wars and people. In a time of turbulence and change, it is more true than ever that knowledge is power; for every day that you are in school, students, I want you to gain that knowledge , because that is where you can make a difference in our society.

“You have opportunities to increase your knowledge, and therefore, increase your knowledge and power in the world,” she said.

Readying parents for the first day of school, Boyd said, “we have a Code of Conduct and a dress code. I know that some of you have not finished your back to school shopping, but when you do, please think about the dress code. Students should dress for success,” she said.

She spoke for a moment about the people she called “true heroes the teachers. Teachers go into this profession to change lives, and if you give them the respect, they come to teach,” she said.

School board chairman Harold Heath said they were overwhelmed with the amount of parent support, demonstrated by the presence of so many parents and students at the rally.

“We are looking for great things academically and athletically this year,” he said.

Individual sessions covered topics ranging from math games for elementary students, to a session on the Code of Conduct, to a session on setting and reaching goals, and how parents can help their students succeed at those goals, especially with an emphasis on the various assessment tests and how parents can use the results to help their students in the areas they need to concentrate on.

In addition to the school sessions that day, a special panel discussion with SCANA, Shaw Construction and Midlands Technical College was set up in the auditorium. Representatives talked about the need for qualified construction and crafts people for the proposed two nuclear units at V.C. Summer Nuclear Station and V.C. Summer human resources director Scott McFarland talked about the future need for qualified operators for those two units.

“We’re looking for the first of the two reactor units to start up in 2016. Now that sounds like a long ways away, but someone who is a freshman in high school today, if they go to college and graduate with a four-year degree, that will be 2016, so it is not too early for anyone to be prepared for a very exciting future (with the nuclear power industry).”

He advised that students who are interested in this field need to concentrate on math and science courses.

Various volunteer agencies and supporters also had booths set up during the rally for parents and students to investigate what they had to offer.