Happy Sunday! Here are our updates for the week of Oct. 21st.
We will begin counting tardies as normal starting Wednesday, October 23. Car riders will be marked tardy after the car line closes at 7:28 and walkers will be marked tardy if they do not make it to the crosswalks by 8:00.
Monday, October 21 is Parent-Teacher Conference day and your teacher should have already assigned you a time to come.
October 22-24 is Cogat testing for 2nd grade students only. This will begin promptly at 8:15 so please be on time or you will have to sit in the office until the test is over, and make the test up on another day.
October 24 is our Wacky Science/Trick or Treat Night from 5:30-7:30. Come in your school appropriate costumes if you would like. No scary costumes and no weapons please. You do not have to dress up but you may.
It is not too late to purchase a Yearbook recognition ad for your 5th grade student. Visit Jostens.com, click find my school, type Hammond Hill, clic shop for Yearbook Recognition Ads. The cost doesn’t include the yearbook so you will have to purchase separately if you wish. Ads must be purchased by October 31 – no exceptions.
October 29 is PTO Spirit Night from 5:00-8:00 at Your Pie. Please come out and support HHE.
Remember, HHE is the place to BEE where we provide High-quality Instruction, Valuing Everyone. Thank you and have a great week!
🏆 This past week we gave away some special awards. These are our 1st time winners:
• The Cleanest Cafeteria Table Award: Ms. Harper’s Kindergarten class
• The Cleanest Room Award: Mrs. Gentry’s 1st Grade class
• The Best Hallway Behavior Award: Mrs. Hoffmann’s 4K class
These classes will keep the trophies for a week and pass them to the next week’s winners.
Congrats to each of these classes! 🏆
Just a reminder: there is no school for students on Monday. Teachers will be meeting with parents from 10-6. Thank you!
This past week, Miss Webb‘s third grade class participated in a pilot program called “Sound Off with Home Fire Safety Patrol” by Sergeant Chavous. The students learned about smoke detectors, identified the sounds, where to install them in their homes as well as how to identify safety hazards in their homes. They were taught how to conduct a home fire drill and implemented the drill in their homes with their families. Congratulations to all students for completing the program! Sgt. Chavous plans to teach this class again in the future!
This past Wednesday October 16th, was the National Day of Concern. On this day students around the nation pledged against gun violence. All week Sergeant Chavous read to 4K, Kindergarten and First Grade classes the book, The Gorp's Gift. This book teaches young students that guns hurt and they pledged not to touch a gun.
Join us in helping our neighbors recover by sending in non-perishable food items. Please send in donations by October 31st. Thank you for your support!
Hammond Hills Area families (HHES, PKMS, NAHS):
Thank you for your support and patience as we navigate together the impact of Hurricane Helene.
With power lines, poles, trees and debris on sidewalks and streets in the Hammond Hills neighborhood remaining, we highly encourage families to use the car line for student drop-off whenever possible. If your child must walk to school or the bus stop, we strongly recommend that an adult accompany them.
The combined bus stops impacting Paul Knox Middle and North Augusta High School will continue until further notice. Additionally, we are making the following temporary adjustments to Hammond Hills Elementary walker schedules as well.
To enhance safety,
New Start Time for HHES Walkers: Beginning Wednesday, October 16, we will adjust the start time for HHES walkers by 30 minutes, moving from 7:30 AM to 8:00 AM. This change will allow more daylight for safer navigation to school.
Early Dismissal for HHES Walkers: HHES Walkers will be dismissed 15 minutes early at 2:15 PM to give them a head start before car rider dismissal begins at 2:30 PM, helping them reach home with less traffic.
Regular arrival and dismissal times will resume for all non-walkers.
Thank you for your continued support and patience as we continue these safety precautions to ensure students a safe journey to and from school. Please do not hesitate to reach out to the school office if you have any questions or concerns.
Thank you to our District employees who lent a hand today to ensure all of our students arrived safely at school today. We appreciate your support!!
Thank you to the parents for a smooth arrival and dismissal today. We will see you tomorrow at 9:00am.
Remember there is no parking on side streets and there is a detour to Riverview Drive around to Stanton, if you are coming from the bottom of Woodlawn Avenue. HHE is the best place to be where we provide High Quality Instruction Valuing Everyone.
The One Cent Sales Tax Community Meeting in the North Augusta area is being held tomorrow night, Tuesday, October 15, at 6 p.m. We hope to see you tomorrow night at North Augusta Middle School to learn more about the facility improvements that voters will consider in November.
Hammond Hills Neighborhood Update: The current conditions in the Hammond Hills neighborhood have raised significant safety issues for students walking to school or walking to a bus stop, and for our school buses traveling due to low-hanging power lines and fallen trees and debris.
Our team has been actively assessing the roads for safety in preparation for students return to school tomorrow.
There are no streets that are unpassable by school buses serving Hammond Hill Elementary School students. All regular stops will be made as planned for students attending Hammond Hill Elementary.
There are, however, several streets serving Paul Knox Middle School students and North Augusta High School students who live in the Hammond Hills neighborhood that are not able to be accessed safely by school buses at this time. In the interim, those stops are being combined with the closest accessible stop.
• Previous stops at Stanton Drive & Brooks Drive and Stanton Drive & Hastings Place, are being combined to one stop at Hammond Drive at Stanton Drive.
• The previous stop at Medie Avenue & Indian Mound Drive will now be combined with the stop at Riverview Drive & Medie Avenue.
• And the previous stops at West Woodlawn Avenue & Dunbarton Drive, 986 Campbellton Drive, 971 Campbellton Drive, will be combined to the stop at Amherst Drive at West Woodlawn Avenue.
Families living in the Hammond Hills neighborhood are strongly encouraged to accompany their child on their walk to school or to the bus stop, or that they arrange alternative transportation for them until the situation improves. Our top priority is the well-being of all students, and we believe this precaution is necessary at this time.
Please be reminded that sidewalks may be blocked in some areas, visibility may be limited due to debris, and some powerlines are still low-hanging. Please expect additional law enforcement presence along these routes over the coming days as they work with us to keep students and families safe.
We look forward to all students arriving safely to school and returning safely home, and we thank you for your attention and cooperation as we recover from Hurricane Helene.
🚨🚨 We have been working closely with North Augusta Public Safety and District personnel to create an extremely safe arrival and dismissal plan for all students.
If you are coming from Amherst, up Woodlawn Ave, you will be detoured to Riverview Drive and around to Stanton Drive, to get in the car line. No cars will be able to enter Woodlawn Ave from the opposite side of the street from the school between Riverview Drive and Stanton. We have areas where only one car can fit. You may still turn right on to Woodlawn from Holiday, but you will not be able to turn left from Holiday.
Our walkers also have their route blocked by debris in a few places and will have to carefully walk into the road to get around it. Please take caution of this. We are asking once again to please not park along any of the streets and drop your child off to walk. It is not safe and will create even more traffic jams than needed. District personnel, NA public safety officers will be stationed along Woodlawn to assist with the safety of our walkers, as well as traffic flow. Thank you for your patience and understanding. 🚨🚨
Please read the attached letter from our Principal.
Monday and Tuesday we will operate on a 2 hour delay. Breakfast and lunch will be served. We look forward to seeing everyone!
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!
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.
NAHS football team will be at Hammond Hill on Wednesday, from 9-12, helping to get our grounds ready for our kids on Monday! We’d love to borrow some yard tools if you have any- rakes, gas blowers, weed eaters, leaf bags, trash bags, etc.
We welcome any help and/or use of your equipment/donations to get our grounds ready. You may label your equipment and drop off at the office before Wednesday at 9. If you would like to volunteer your time and muscles, we gladly welcome those too but please don’t feel obligated. 🐝❤️🐝
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).
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
