Starr-Iva Middle School

🎶🎺 Middle School Band Night was a SUCCESS! 🥁🎷 Last week, 14 new middle school students joined the fun for Band Night, bringing our total to 30 students participating that evening! We love seeing our SIMS students getting involved, making memories, and sharing their musical talents! A big thank you to Mr. Wilcox and everyone who helped make this night such a success! The future of our band program is looking BRIGHT! 🎶

Making Sense of Percents in 6th Grade Math! Ms. Simek’s 6th graders put their math skills to work with a hands-on card sort challenge! Students were given different dollar amounts and tasked with calculating the percent increase or decrease between values. Then, they took their thinking a step further by identifying the corresponding fraction and decimal multipliers! We love seeing students think critically, make connections, and build a deeper understanding of math through meaningful, hands-on learning!

🌱🐓 Growing Knowledge in Agriculture! 🌾 There’s always something exciting happening in Mrs. Caldwell’s Ag classes at SIMS! Students have been busy making seed tape, creating compost bottles, learning about chicken anatomy, and exploring our raised garden beds. They’ve even taken their learning outdoors to explore the natural world around them! From understanding how composting works to learning how to grow their own food and care for animals, our students are gaining real-world knowledge and practical skills that go far beyond the classroom. We love seeing our students get their hands dirty, ask questions, and learn by DOING!

🏎️💨 Science in the FAST Lane! 🏁 Who knew Hot Wheels could teach us so much about physics?! Our 8th grade scientists put friction to the test last week with a hands-on Hot Wheels lab! Using cardboard ramps, toy cars, and a little creativity, students worked together to investigate how friction affects motion. There was plenty of measuring, testing, problem-solving, and teamwork happening as students put their scientific thinking into action! We love seeing our students learning by DOING and having a little fun along the way!

We have something BIG to celebrate at SIMS!🎉

In the 2024-2025 school year, Starr-Iva Middle School earned a composite score of 46 on our South Carolina School Report Card, giving us an overall rating of “Average.”

After a year of hard work, intentional instruction, and a whole lot of dedication from our students and staff, we are SO PROUD to announce that SIMS has earned a composite score of 52: a SIX-POINT increase and an overall rating of “Good” in the 2025-2026 school year!

Even more exciting? We improved in every single reporting area in which we were evaluated! We also moved up in the SchoolDigger rankings!
These numbers represent so much more than a rating. They represent students growing, teachers going the extra mile, staff members pouring into our kids, and a school community committed to getting better every single day. This kind of growth doesn’t happen by accident, and we couldn’t be prouder of the hard work that made it possible.

But here’s the best part… “Good” is just a pit stop on our way to “Excellent!”
We are now just FOUR POINTS away from an “Excellent” rating, and that’s exactly where we’re headed! We know there is still work to do, students to reach, and room to grow, but we are excited about the progress we’re making and even more excited about what’s ahead!

To our teachers, staff, students, families, and community: THANK YOU! This is a celebration for ALL of us. Your hard work, support, and commitment to Starr-Iva Middle School are making a difference!
We’re celebrating “GOOD” today and working toward “EXCELLENT” tomorrow! 🙌

This is the final week of RESTART! Thanks for joining us on our one book one school journey this year. It's been fun, and we are looking forward to celebrating this week with a surprise for all students on Wednesday!

Congrats to our kiddos who received positive referrals last week for being great friends and going above and beyond!

We’re hiring at Starr-Iva Middle! 🐯🧹

Anderson 3 has an immediate need for a custodian to join the SIMS team. Help us keep our schools clean, safe, and ready for students each day. 🖤💛

Apply Now >>> bit.ly/A3Jobs

🌱 Growing More Than Vegetables at SIMS! Our sixth graders at Starr-Iva Middle School are growing more than vegetables; they’re growing knowledge! After participating in a social studies workshop led by Clemson University professor Dale Layfield, Dr. Nora McMillan was inspired to bring that learning back to SIMS in a BIG way! She created our Growing Minds Hydroponic Garden Club, giving students a hands-on opportunity to explore agriculture, STEM, history, and so much more. Using ten indoor hydroponic systems, students are growing a variety of crops while monitoring plant growth, recording observations, and discovering connections between agriculture, science, water resources, economics, and society. Supported through USDA grant funding and a university partnership, this first-of-its-kind opportunity for our sixth graders is building agricultural literacy, curiosity, and critical-thinking skills: all while giving students another reason to be excited about learning! We LOVE seeing what happens when teachers take their own learning and turn it into new opportunities for our students. At SIMS, we’re growing minds in more ways than one! 🌱

Welcome to Week 8 and HAPPY Reading!

At SIMS, ACE means Attend. Commit. Engage, but it’s more than just a name; it's dedicated time to meet students exactly where they are and help get them exactly where they need to be. Take a look at Mrs. Wheeler and Ms. Cox putting that into action! During ACE, students received targeted small-group instruction focused on fractions, decimals, and percents, giving them extra time, support, and practice with the skills they need most. Small groups. Targeted instruction. Individual needs. That’s what ACE time is all about! 🎯 ACE the school year with us at SIMS

We are SO proud of our Crescent Marching Band! This past Saturday, they competed at Easley High School against 15 bands and came home with some incredible hardware! 🥇 1st Place in their division 🏆 Grand Champions of the Lower Division Competition And this one is extra special: this is a FIRST for Crescent! With so many of our current SIMS students marching alongside our Crescent students, we couldn’t be prouder to celebrate this huge accomplishment! Congratulations to Mr. Wilcox and all of our band kiddos! Your hard work, countless hours of practice, and dedication are paying off in a BIG way!

Congratulations to our September Staff Spotlight: Misty Stamey! Her thoughtfulness, positivity, leadership, and friendship make SIMS a better place every day!

At Starr-Iva Middle, technology has a purpose! 💻📚

Teachers already work hard to make sure technology is used intentionally when it truly enhances student learning. Tech-Free Week gave everyone a chance to Restart. Refresh. & Reconnect.

For one week, students and teachers traded a little screen time for more paper and pencil, books, conversation, collaboration, and some good old-fashioned instruction. ✏️📖

🎉 Club Day was a SUCCESS at SIMS! 🎉 Last Friday, our students had the chance to step outside of their normal routine, connect with others, and spend time doing something they enjoy during our Club Day! From creating and competing to learning, laughing, and trying something new, there was a little something for everyone. ❤️ We loved seeing our students build relationships with classmates and teachers around shared interests and just have FUN together! The best parts of middle school may just happen beyond the classroom. A HUGE thank you to our teachers and staff who planned, organized, led, and ACED clubs to make the day such a success!

Guidance lessons on creativity and friendship had Mr. Jordan breaking out the guitar! 🎸 Our core values have been an excellent way to share, connect, and work together each month. We love seeing our students grow through these meaningful lessons and experiences!

Some of our future Crescent FFA members participated in an FFA 101 workshop presented by our very own State FFA President Jabe Holtzclaw and State FFA Vice President Brooklyn Iseli!

The workshop focused on the FFA mission of premier leadership, personal growth, and career success as students prepare to become future Crescent FFA members. We’re excited to see how these students grow and lead! 💙💛

You know what’s exciting?! 🍩🎉 Donuts and extra recess for being the grade level that showed the MOST academic achievement on SC READY! Our 8th graders got to celebrate their hard work with Mr. Lollis, and they earned it! During the celebration, students also got the scoop on their upcoming 8th grade field trip and the expectations that will help them earn their spot. Attendance matters. Behavior matters. Grades matter. And the choices they make throughout the year matter! We love celebrating where our students have been while also challenging them to keep pushing toward where they’re going.

Week 7 of Restart is here! Happy Reading!