Byrd Elementary

Fall Break is Oct. 7 through Oct. 11. Byrd Elementary will be closed. See you Monday, October 14.

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

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.

Parent Conference Day is on Monday, October 21. Please contact your child's teacher to schedule your conference!

Coding Camp 2024-Fall Intercession

Golden Broom Winners Announced! To promote a cleaner learning environment, our students and staff have been working hard to keep their areas clean! The Golden Broom is awarded to three classes that have done their part to ensure that their areas are kept nice and tidy. Congratulations to our first three golden broom winners.

Ensuring the Safety of Our Schools: Addressing Recent Rumors - We are aware of misinformation circulating throughout our schools and communities regarding rumored incidents of school violence at various campuses within our district. Please know that these messages are being reposted and reshared at schools throughout our district and at schools throughout the state. Your children’s safety is our top priority. We take all threats seriously and work in collaboration with law enforcement to fully investigate each and every rumor and/or post that is shared. There is no active threat impacting the safety and security of any of our school campuses. Rumors of this nature cause a great deal of concern, stress and anxiety. When those are shared on social media, the impact is far-reaching, and causes unnecessary concern for other parents, students, and staff, and divert critical resources away from genuine safety and security efforts. If ever there is an actual incident of school violence at your child’s school or if a threat of violence at your child’s school warrants your attention, school and/or district communications will notify you. We are committed to sharing accurate information as quickly as situations allow. We hope to never have to notify you of an actual event of school violence, and we are fully committed to maintaining the safety and security of our schools through a variety of safety measures and close collaboration with local law enforcement. If you or your student ever have a safety concern, or if you hear a rumor of a safety concern, we ask that you immediately notify the appropriate authorities. This includes local law enforcement and the administration at the district office or the school involved. Thank you for your support as we work together to keep our schools, and your children safe.

Our Fall Book Fair is September 9-13. Students may shop during their designated library time shown on the flyer. We will have make-up sessions throughout the week as well. Consider setting up your student's E-Wallet via this link: https://bookfairs.scholastic.com/bf/byrdelementaryschool4

We will have our "Grand Days" at Byrd Elementary on September 11-13. Grandparents are invited to eat lunch with their student and visit the Fall Book Fair.

All Aiken County Public School District schools, buildings, and offices will be closed for Labor Day, Monday, September 2, 2024. We hope that everyone has an enjoyable Labor Day Weekend and look forward to seeing students back at school on Tuesday, September 3, 2024.

September is Attendance Awareness Month! Students that are on time (7:30 am) and present each week will earn a reward on the Friday of that week. Students that are on time and present the entire month, will earn an extra reward on the last day of September.

Visit our website, https://www.acpsd.net/o/district/page/2024-one-cent, for information on the sales tax and the school facility project needs that will be on November’s ballot for voter consideration, and make plans to join us at an informational meeting: • Tuesday, September 3, 6:30 p.m. at Silver Bluff High School (Area Five) • Monday, September 9, 6:30 p.m. at Ridge Spring Monetta Middle High (Area Four) • Tuesday, September 17, 6:00 p.m. at South Aiken High School (Area One) • Tuesday, October 15, 6:00 p.m. at North Augusta Middle School (Area Two) • Monday, October 28, 6:00 p.m. at Midland Valley High School (Area Three)

Show your team spirit and join us for College Colors Day.

This year students at Byrd Elementary will be participating in schoolwide clubs on Early Dismissal days. You should have received a letter informing you of which club your child chose. All clubs will occur during the school day on Early Dismissal days throughout the year. Students will be dismissed at 11:30. K-1 clubs will be 8:45 - 9:30. 2-5 clubs will be 9:45 - 10:30.

Get ready! The Scholastic Book Fair is coming our way (YAY!). Choosing their own books empowers kids and inspires them on their journey to becoming lifelong readers. AND—as always—every purchase at the Fair benefits our school. Here’s what you need to know about the big event, which will take place from September 9-13 from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Library. Say goodbye to cash and hello to eWallet—your child’s digital payment account. Before the Fair, set up eWallet for worry-free, cash-free purchases. Anyone can contribute! Share each child’s eWallet so friends and family can add funds and give your kids more books to enjoy. To add money to an eWallet please visit our book fair homepage https://bookfairs.scholastic.com/bf/byrdelementaryschool4. If you have any questions regarding book fair or ewallets email Ms. Goldman at egoldman@acpsd.net.

Join us for our annual Title 1 Business Meeting and Open House on Tuesday, August 20.

The Wide Area Network (WAN) outage affecting internet access district-wide and phone lines at our school campuses has been fully resolved. Our IT team, in collaboration with our service providers, has successfully restored both our primary and secondary circuits. All systems are now operational, and normal communication channels have been re-established .We appreciate your patience and understanding during this disruption.

Important District-Wide Announcement: Internet and School Phone Outage We are currently experiencing a Wide Area Network (WAN) outage that is impacting internet access district-wide and phone lines across all our school sites. This disruption appears to be due to a fiber cut on the network, affecting both our primary and secondary circuits. Please be assured that our IT team is working diligently with service providers to resolve this issue and restore full connectivity as quickly as possible. In the meantime, should you need to reach a school during this outage, please contact our District Office directly at (803) 641-2428. Updates will be shared here as new information becomes available. Thank you for your patience.

🚀🎉 Get ready, everyone! Our BIG fundraiser kicks off in just a few days, and we couldn't be more excited! 🎉🚀 Our goal is to raise to fund amazing incentives and meet the needs of our incredible students and staff. We know we can do it with your support! We are asking ALL parents to pre-register their student(s) here: 👉 https://www.shopfund.com/parentregister But wait, there's more! 🌟 Please help us get a head start by having at least one person support our fundraiser before the official kick-off day. Any student who is registered and gets 10 shares clicked will be entered into a drawing for over $100,000 worth of prizes! 🎁✨ Imagine taking a huge chunk out of our goal even before we officially begin! Thank you so much for your help and support! Let's make this the best fundraiser ever! image1.jpeg

As we continue to monitor this tropical storm to ensure the safe operation of our school buses and all who will travel to and from our schools in the mornings and afternoons, the Wagener and Salley communities’ roads have been most heavily impacted by the extensive rainfall we’ve experienced. This morning’s two-hour delay was particularly helpful for drivers in that area who were able to identify and avoid roadways covered in water. With additional heavy rain forecasted overnight and into tomorrow morning, the following schools in the Wagener and Salley areas of our county will operate on a two-hour delayed start tomorrow, Thursday, August 8: Busbee Elementary School, Corbett Middle School, and Wagener-Salley High School. Due to tomorrow’s delayed start at Busbee, Corbett and Wagener, only lunch will be served in their cafeterias. All other schools and offices will operate on their regular schedules tomorrow, Thursday, August 8; regular breakfast and lunch service will be offered. Afterschool activities will be cancelled again district-wide tomorrow, including practices, meetings, and aftercare through Quest Zone. Only employees at schools in the Wagener and Salley areas of the county will report to work on a delayed schedule tomorrow morning. Employees who live in the Wagener or Salley area and work in another area of the county are encouraged to contact their supervisor for any arrangements for a delayed arrival that may be needed. As shared yesterday, please be reminded of safety precautions that are encouraged in rainy conditions with potential flooding and, whether walking or driving, always turn around should you encounter an area covered with water. Further information is available at www.weather.gov. We appreciate the continued understanding of our community, and patience with the changes that this tropical storm has necessitated this week. We’re hopeful a little break from the rain today will help alleviate some of the conditions that have been most concerning, but we will continue to monitor the forecast and condition of roadways for any additional changes that may become necessary to ensure the safety of our students, staff and families. We recognize that these changes to school operations are challenging for everyone, and will always announce changes with as much notice as possible. Thank you again.