Aiken High

As students return from Fall Break next week and hurricane recovery efforts continue, Aiken County Public Schools will operate on a two-hour delayed schedule on Monday, October 14, and Tuesday, October 15. This delayed start will help increase visibility as school buses, student walkers, and others travel to school, ensuring safety as we navigate roads that may still have fallen trees and debris following Hurricane Helene. We understand this change may be challenging for many families and appreciate your patience and cooperation. Crews have made significant progress clearing debris, and we will continue to evaluate road safety for early morning travel. We will make a decision regarding start times for Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday by noon on Tuesday. Breakfast: A grab-and-go breakfast will be available for students. Lunch: Lunch will be served; menus may be limited as we restock all perishable food items. Half-Day or Partial-Day Programs: Students on half-day and partial-day schedules, including Early Learning Special Education students, will not attend school on Monday or Tuesday as buses will be unable to run mid-day routes. No Before-School Activities: No activities will be permitted before school starts on the two-hour delay. Aiken County Career and Technology Center: Monday: Morning session students should report to their high schools. The afternoon session will continue as planned. Tuesday: Morning session students will attend the afternoon session. Afternoon students will stay at their high schools. In evaluating roadway conditions, the Hammond Hill neighborhood remains a concern. We are currently exploring transportation options for students residing in that neighborhood and will communicate with impacted families over the coming days once a determination is made. As our community recovers from this catastrophic storm, please exercise additional caution and care in travelling to school. Sidewalks may be blocked in some areas, visibility may be limited due to debris, and some powerlines are still low-hanging. If your child walks to school or to a bus stop, we encourage you to walk the route with them in the coming days or plan to walk with them Monday morning.  We look forward to welcoming everyone back on Monday!

Important Information for Students Registered to Attend College App Day October 16th (You can still register!) Please ensure you have access to the following information on the day of the event: Your Social Security Number Your Driver’s License Number Your Parent’s Driver’s License Number (Many colleges require this information). Additionally, remember to bring your cell phone to access your personal email for creating and verifying college applications. Do not use your AHS email for college applications. If you plan to sign out early, please bring a signed note from a parent granting permission.

NWS issued a wind advisory for tomorrow, Oct 10, 4AM-8PM. The hazard is 30-35 MPH gusts on weakened/leaning trees, causing concerns for travel in early morning & evening hours. With safety at heart, employees will begin on a delayed start of 9AM & no activities after 5PM.

NWS issued a wind advisory for tomorrow, Oct 10, 4AM-8PM. The hazard is 30-35 MPH gusts on weakened/leaning trees, causing concerns for travel in early morning & evening hours. With safety at heart, employees will begin on a delayed start of 9AM & no activities after 5PM.

The 2024 Aiken High School Marching Band Presents their Community Performance of Espana. The AHS Band had an Incredible start to the 2024 season, but the devastation from Hurricane Helene led to half of our competitions being canceled. We hope you will join us on Saturday, October 12th, for what will now be our last performance before the State Championship on October 19TH!!! Everyone is invited…Come out and Join us. Go Hornets!!!!

Hornet Family, Come out and join us tomorrow at Hagood Stadium from 12:00 PM-2:00 PM for Food (while supplies last), Fellowship and Fun. This is a free event. We look forward to seeing our Hornet Family and Community. We will need volunteers to help with the event if you would like to assist in that way please call 8036412500 or email Principal Moore at amoore7@acpsd.net or Dr. Hostetler at khostetler@acpsd.net. If you would like to donate items for this event we need the following: Items to Donate to families. diapers wipes water Non perishable food Personal Care items, such as shampoo, soap, conditioner, toilet paper, etc Cleaning Supplies flashlights blankets Gift Cards Board Games and Cards Books Items may be dropped off at AHS until 5:00 PM today and from 7: 00 AM tomorrow until 10:00 AM.

Shelter Update: Community shelters are being consolidated at this time. The Red Cross Shelter at Paul Knox Middle School remains open for families in need.

Tonight, Oct. 4, at 6PM, Public Sheltering for Aiken County will open at Paul Knox Middle (PKMS) and Aiken High (AHS). PKMS: 1804 Wells Road, North Augusta; (enter Wells Rd. and Pisgah Ave.); AHS: 449 Rutland Dr., Aiken (enter Taylor Gym).

Hornet Community, Looking for a few ways to lend a helping hand during this time? Here are a few ways to are a few ways Hornets can lend a helping hand.

To help ensure that the information available through websites and social media posts from local Emergency Management Operations officials, Chambers of Commerce, public safety and media outlets are able to be seen by families with limited access to the internet, we are resharing through our school system-managed platforms. We hope that this is helpful to those needing access to water, ice, food, information, and other resources. The availability of resources included below is not guaranteed, please verify that the resources are still available. Much of this information is being shared from posts made on social media platforms from media stories, as well as the following sites: Aiken Chamber of Commerce https://www.facebook.com/AikenChamber/ CSRA United Way https://www.facebook.com/UnitedWayoftheCSRA/ United Way of Aiken County Phone lines and internet are down at the office. Message this Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/uwaiken/ North Augusta Chamber of Commerce https://www.facebook.com/GNACOC/ FOOD/WATER Salvation Army Feeding Sites: • Salvation Army Soup Kitchen-604 Park Ave., Aiken • YMCA- 621 Trolley Line Rd., Graniteville • KJs in Edgefield- 155 Carolina Sq., Edgefield The North Augusta Community Center, 495 Brookside Ave, will be opening for handing out water and food until 5pm or while supplies last. Golden Harvest Food/Ice Distribution Site (Oct 2): National Wild Turkey Federation, 770 Augusta Rd., Edgefield @ 2pm Hub for Community Innovation Augusta 631 Chafee Ave from 4:00-5:00PM (Oct 2) The Salvation Army Kroc Center of Augusta 1833 Broad St at 4:00PM (Oct 2) Center of Hope 1384 Greene St at 5:30PM (Oct 2) Ridge Spring-Monetta schools will serve hot food and bottled water will be available at no charge starting Wednesday, around 4 p.m. at Monetta Volunteer Fire Department. Water Via the New Holland Volunteer Fire Department: If you need water for flushing toilets, washing we have non-potable well water at our HQ station at 2243 Old Ninty Six Indian trail. The hose is on left side of bay building. Please do not block driveway to trucks. - Chief Dennis Jackson South Carolina Rural Water For small water districts needing assistance, call Nick Rubin 864-617-3169. SHELTER True Testament Church • 1031 Reynolds Pond RD, Aiken SC 29801 • 803-295-9800 Jet Middle School • 1095 Columbia HWY, Johnston, SC 29832 POWER While power companies attempt to restore power, having main power shut off at the house, with lines connected to a house, which were taken down by a tree, would help with tree removal and power line issues. Once power is restored, please leave your front porch lights on which shows utility workers that power has been restored. Candles - Place candles in safe holders away from anything that could catch fire. Never leave a burning candle unattended. Wednesday Morning (October 2) Update from Aiken Electric Co-Op & Dominion Energy provided by our local legislative delegation: AEC’s outage management system is up and running. There currently have 22,757 meters without power. There are 140 AEC employees and 50 fiber contractors reconnecting members. Additionally, 340 contractors are working on the Co-Op system and another 100 arrive tomorrow. This weekend, the total number of contractors working to restore power should be 600. Dominion reports that in Aiken County they have restored service to 26,000 customers with 34,000 still without power. Dominion says there should be a lot more connections made today. Dominion Energy o Power Outage: 888-333-4465 o Downed Lines: 888-333-4465 o Gas Leaks: 800-815-0083 Aiken Electric Co-Op: 877-264-5368 DRIVING With many traffic signals remaining with no power, please treat those intersections same as a four way STOP intersection. CHARGING STATIONS/SHOWERS (please bring your own toiletries/towels) YMCA – Aiken & North Augusta • 621 Trolley Line RD, Graniteville, SC 29829 • 401 W Martintown RD Suite 111, North Augusta, SC 29841 CHARGING STATIONS/ICE SRP Park will have charging stations set up by our main gate. At 3pm we will begin distributing ice, 1 10lb bag per person, until we once again run out. COMMUNITY EVENT This Thursday, October 3rd, from 3:30 - 6:30 p.m., Cedar Creek Church is hosting a Family Hangout at the Banks Mill Campus of Cedar Creek Church. This will be a time for all families to connect, play games, enjoy each other’s company. Snacks, drinks, and charging stations will be available, and the worship center will be open for anyone seeking quiet time for prayer or meditation

Parents, guardians, students, teachers and staff: We know that some of our families have experienced tremendous loss with this storm and we are keeping everyone in our thoughts and prayers. With extensive damage to many homes, widespread power outages, and fallen trees and power lines making roadways too dangerous for travel, Aiken County Public Schools is canceling Intersession Week, this includes all programs for remediation and acceleration such as coding camp, ESY services, the ACT/SAT workshop, etc. Athletic activities and Quest Zone are also cancelled. Essential Employees should stand by for additional direction on reporting to work as they will be asked to do so once conditions are safe and power is restored.

Thank you all for your patience and understand as we navigate this natural disaster that nobody was truly expected to affect us the way it did. With careful consideration, we are not going to play our game tomorrow. We are going to move our game to Monday, 9/30/24. Kick off will be 5pm. I have spoken with South Aiken and North Augusta and that is both tentative plans. We are aware a curfew may affect these plans but hoping things are heading in the right direction by Sunday. We will move the tailgate to another game and be a smaller scale event. Thank you all in advance!

Good Morning Hornet Family, We hope that you all have made it safely through the storm. Due to concerns of safety for all, the damage and loss of electricity throughout Aiken County from the storm., we have canceled both the Homecoming game against Gilbert scheduled for tonight as well as the dance Saturday. Both will be rescheduled with a date to be determined. Thank you for your understanding and please stay safe.

IMPORTANT UPDATES!

Sign up for a free PSAT/SAT/ACT workshop offered during Fall Break! The workshop will take place at AHS from 9-3PM. You can register here: https://forms.office.com/r/sZvkv4ABLr

SC Governor's School for Science and Math will be at AHS on October 30th from 12:30 - 1:15 to talk with 9th and 10th grade students. Interested students that will be in class at this time should stop by the school counseling department for a pass to attend.

ACPSD Changes Due to Hurricane Helene - Due to the potential impact of Hurricane Helene, which is forecasted to make landfall in the Gulf of Mexico today and arrive in Aiken County late tomorrow afternoon, Aiken County Public Schools has several changes to the remainder of this school week to announce. All after school activities tomorrow, Thursday, September 26, are cancelled. This includes athletics, arts, meetings planned for after school, and Quest Zone. Friday, September 27, will be an e-learning day for all students. Teachers and staff will work remotely on Friday. We recognize that several high schools have athletic events this week, including some with Homecoming. Some of those schools have moved their football games to this evening. Others are planning to host their games Friday night after the storm passes through. Should the weather necessitate a change to those plans, additional information will be shared by our high schools directly. We apologize for the disruption that this change will cause to our students and families and, as always, appreciate the flexibility and cooperation of our school community. Please stay tuned to local weather precautions and follow recommendations to keep your family safe.

Aiken County Career Center Applications are now open. Scan the QR code to apply or click: https://forms.office.com/pages/responsepage.aspx?id=LTBu-BNw9EGZhxwTXOQTK88ce58K4h9PsrAeqtVwxbtURjNGSlRQQjBKMTk3OVlYNUtVQVdVQ0VHUy4u&origin=QRCode&route=shorturl . See your Counselor if you have questions.

Get your tickets for the Homecoming Dance! Tickets will be sold in the cafeteria during all 3 lunches from September 23-27th, and they are $15.

Aiken iNNOVATE is now accepting applications! Our program offers a full-time virtual learning experience for students in grades 6-12 within the Aiken County Public School District. We welcome students who are self-motivated, disciplined, and ready to succeed in a flexible, home-based environment. To apply or learn more, visit our website at www.acpsd.net/o/dai/page/ai-applications-and-registration. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us at Ai@acpsd.net.