ONE POINT ABOUT THE ONE %
FIVE OF EIGHT OF THE COUNTY’S HIGH SCHOOLS HAVE BEEN RECENTLY UPDATED OR REBUILT, A SALES TAX RENEWAL IN 2024 WOULD ADDRESS THE REMAINING THREE.
South Aiken High, Silver Bluff High, and Midland Valley High were each built in 1980. At the time of the One Cent Sales Tax in 2014, they were referred to as the district’s “new” high schools.
Improvements at those campuses, if approved by voters, include secure, welcoming entrances, updated athletic facilities, purpose-built classrooms for culinary arts and other CTE courses, and more.
For more Penny Tax Facts, visit www.acpsd.net/OneCent.
Friendly Reminder,
Veterans and families are invited to attend our Veterans Day Ceremony this year on November 7th @10:00am, please be sure to RSVP using this link https://forms.office.com/r/RXgJ5p9NZR
so we can ensure your students will be in attendance for the program. We look forward to seeing you! RSVP form will close November 5th, at the end of the school day.
ONE POINT ABOUT THE ONE %
THE SCHOOL DISTRICT WILL HOST A LIVE INFORMATIONAL MEETING ABOUT THE SALES TAX ON OCTOBER 29 AT 6PM.
ACPSD has engaged in an effort to educate the community about the One Cent Sales Tax, and has shared information in a series of meetings held throughout the county over several months.
A virtual meeting will be held this evening, Tuesday, October 29, 2024, at 6PM.
Join at www.acpsd.net/OneCent.
Tonight is Spirit Night at Your Pie! Take the night off from cooking and support HHE! 🍕🐝
ONE POINT ABOUT THE ONE %
SC PUBLIC SCHOOLS GET NO FUNDING FOR CONSTRUCTION/MAINTENANCE
Upkeep, maintenance, and construction of schools is considered a “local responsibility” in South Carolina. School Facilities are funded locally through voter support of sales taxes and bond referendums.
We will be sharing information and facts about the One Cent Sales Tax as we lead up to Election Day on Tuesday, November 5. For more information, please visit our website at www.acpsd/OneCent.
Please make plans to join us at 6 p.m., Monday or Tuesday night this week for an informational meeting. Tonight’s meeting, Monday, October 28, will be at Midland Valley High School, and tomorrow, Tuesday, October 29, you can join us virtually as we’ll live stream an informational meeting from our District office to our website where viewers can join online from the comfort of their own home.
ONE POINT ABOUT THE ONE %
THE SALES TAX IS A 10-YEAR TAX AND DOESN’T AUTOMATICALLY RENEW.
Aiken County voters will have an opportunity to consider a renewal of the 2014 One Cent Sales Tax on Election Day. If renewed, the One Cent Sales Tax will extend for an additional 10 years and benefit school facility projects listed on the 2024 ballot. If not renewed, the 2014 One Cent Sales Tax will sunset (expire).
For more Penny Tax Facts, visit www.acpsd.net/OneCent.
ONE POINT ABOUT THE ONE %
BEFORE THE 2014 SALES TAX SUCCESS, IT HAD BEEN 38 YEARS SINCE A SCHOOL REFERENDUM PASSED.
Prior to 2014, 1976 was the year of the last successful referendum benefitting the county's public schools. Without funds available, school maintenance needs were deferred over decades.
For more Penny Tax Facts, visit www.acpsd.net/OneCent.
This week is Red Ribbon Week! Please see the attached flyer for the dress up days.
Tuesday is also Spirit Night at Your Pie. Please come support our school and take a night off from cooking!
Veterans & Families,
You are invited to attend our Veterans Day Ceremony on November 7th, 2024 @ 10:00am. Please fill out the RSVP form (1 per family) if you plan to be present at our special event. We look forward to seeing and honoring our Veterans on this day. https://forms.office.com/r/RXgJ5p9NZR
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.
