Tuesday, January 27, 2026 will be an eLearning day. ALL Lancaster County schools, buildings, and facilities will be closed. The Lancaster County School District has been in contact with Lancaster County Emergency Management and the SC Department of Transportation and inspected roads and multiple school campuses across the county and found widespread runoff and wet parking lots that are expected to refreeze overnight. Several campuses currently have ice and slush in areas with limited sunlight, especially around entrances, sidewalks, drop-off lines, bus loops, and other secondary areas that remain shaded. Standing water and runoff are expected to freeze as temperatures continue to drop tonight. Due to the hazardous conditions from ice we have determined closure is essential. As a safety precaution, ALL Lancaster County schools, buildings, and facilities will be closed on Tuesday, January 27, 2026.
Students and staff are expected to actively participate in the eLearning day. We recognize that power outages and interrupted services may prevent students and staff from communicating and completing assignments during eLearning. Upon return to normal schedule, students will have the number of eLearning days plus one additional day to complete any elearning assignments.
Students will receive eLearning information from their schools and teachers. Please visit https://bit.ly/LCSDeLearning if you have any questions.
Updates will be provided via the district website, email, text, phone and social media. Stay safe and stay warm.
#LCSDWinterVibes
Message from Interim Superintendent, Dr. Norris Williams
Lancaster County School District is aware that inclement weather is expected over the weekend. Due to anticipated hazardous conditions caused by snow and ice, ALL afterschool athletics, activities, and school related programs will be canceled beginning at the end of the school day on Friday, January 23, 2026 through Sunday, January 25, 2026.
We are closely monitoring the weather event and our team has been communicating regularly with Duke Energy, South Carolina Department of Transportation, and SC Emergency Management Systems. We will provide an update on delays or closures on Sunday, January 25, 2026.
#LCSDWinterVibes
https://lancastercsdsc.sites.thrillshare.com/o/safety-transportation/article/1503715
One issue that came up last year was traffic. To address this, we have a new plan in place that includes updated drop-off and pick-up procedures, as well as staggered start times with a larger gap between dances to help with the flow.
Another concern was families arriving without car rider tags. If you do not have a car rider tag for all students you are picking up, you will be required to pull into the staff lot while an administrator cross-checks your ID with our records in PowerSchool. If you need a car rider tag, please contact the front office as soon as possible, and we will send one home with your student.
If you are carpooling- which will help reduce traffic significantly- please be sure the driver has your student’s car rider tag.
Save the date: the Spring Dance will be held on March 21!
ILISPTO Dine Out Dates:
NEXT WEEK: Superchix from 4-8pm (Redstone)
FEB 4th: Jersey Mikes- ALL DAY! Use code "JMGIVES" in the app if you order ahead!
FEB 18th: Jett's Pizza, 4-8pm
Yesterday we honored Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s entering legacy of justice, equality and peace. We are inspired to carry forward history by treating everyone with kindness and striving to build a more compassionate world.
Last week, our teachers gave lessons with this in mind. Ms. Arner's 6th grade Social Studies classes learned about Martin Luther King Jr.'s dream and wrote about their dream for the future. Then they watched, "My Friend Martin" and thought about their dreams.
We hope you had a restful weekend, Warriors. Have a great week!
She writes, "Using AI, I generated several images to represent the poem “I Dream a World” by Langston Hughes. The students were given one of these images and worked in groups to determine how the figurative language, mood, and tone were represented in the images. They had to annotate around the pictures showing which elements of the images represented what lines or emotions from the poem. When we finished, students shared their work and we used the things they noticed in their art analysis to analyze the poem. Then we listened to and annotated an excerpt of Dr. Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech and compared and contrasted both pieces."
Thank you for sharing, Ms. Garrison- and great work, Warriors!
Happy Friday, Warriors!
As you know, there will be no school on Monday, January 19th in observance of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. We will be sharing just a few of the many ways students learned about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. at ILIS throughout the weekend!
Up First: Here is the display in the media center. In addition to this beautiful tablescape with books, Ms. Harris, Ms. Sebree and Mr. Shackleford put together a trivia sheet and a chance for students to write their own speech. If they completed one (or both), they got a prize!
Nurse Leslie and her assistant Addison updated the board outside their office this week, and no cap, it’s low-key iconic. This space is used to drop some real-life tips on how to take care of yourself, stay healthy, and know when it’s the right time to swing by the nurse’s station. Because listening to your body is always a W.
We’re not even being dramatic when we say these two are built different. Major green flag energy from a team that truly loves our kids and keeps our school feeling safe, supported, and healthy. Slay, Nurse Station Squad. 🫶
Below is a message from Mr. Miller:
Today, I met with all 1,200+ students across four sessions to review and reinforce expectations for both behavior and academic performance. Please take time this evening to discuss this conversation with your student.
Students will continue to be held accountable for their actions and their work, as they always are, but expectations will be emphasized with increased consistency following today’s meetings. I am pleased to share that students demonstrated excellent behavior during these sessions and asked thoughtful, respectful questions. I am very proud of how they represented our school.
If you'd like to look at the slides used in today's discussion, please check our website under "Parent Resources", or click here: https://lancastercsdsc.sites.thrillshare.com/o/ilis/page/meeting-with-miller
The PTO wants you to save the date for the school dance! It will be on March 21st, and the theme will be voted on by the students. Tickets will be available for purchase through Zeffy ONLY, likely starting at the beginning of March. There will be A LOT more information to come, including how we plan to improve the drop off/pick up experience. (We highly recommend and encourage you to find people to carpool with as well.) Stay tuned for more details!
We also want to thank Ms. Harris, Ms. Morrison, Ms. Fleischman, Ms. Gorrell and Ms. Nugent for moderating the event!
We have a message from our very own Deptuy Thompson!
"Please help our school support Special Olympics South Carolina by making a donation through our team's fundraising page for the 2026 Walnut Creek Polar Plunge which will take place on Feb 7th 2026 at 3:00pm. Even a small donation will help our school achieve our goal! ILIS has not received the Coolest School Trophy, and I know our kids deserve to have that trophy at our school! They are the most spirited, supportive, kind, driven, and goal oriented in all of Lancaster County! Let's support our school, our students, and our students that will be participating in the Special Olympics South Carolina! Let's show all of Lancaster County that ILIS is the best school in all the land!!! Thank you so much for your support for an amazing cause!
Here is our team link!! https://www.classy.org/team/792090
EVERY DONATION MATTERS!!! You can use a debit card and it is safe and secure. I have already started the donations for us! I know we can beat all the schools (Including South Middle and Buford who are leading right now) LETS GO WARRIORS!!!!!!!"
Thank you so much for your support, Warrior Families!
https://form.jotform.com/242983805089166
