J. D. Lever Elementary

✨ Thank you to everyone who has purchased, shared, or donated to our fundraiser! Because of your support, we’re moving steadily toward reaching our goal. We truly appreciate each and every one of you! 💙🙌

Wednesday, August 20, 2025, is a scheduled Early Dismissal Day for students.

On Early Dismissal Days, elementary school students are dismissed at 11:30 a.m., middle school students at 12:10 p.m., and high school students at 12:30 p.m.

Early dismissal times are slightly different for Aiken Scholars Academy (ASA), as well as our schools in the Ridge Spring area. ASA early dismissal will be at noon, Ridge Spring-Monetta (RSM) Elementary is at 11:55 a.m., RSM Middle at 12:15 p.m. and RSM High at 12:20 p .m. The ASPIRE Evening Program will not be held tomorrow.

These Early Dismissal Days are part of the 2025-26 Aiken County Public School District Calendar and are necessary to support state-wide required teacher training. Please make any necessary arrangements for your child's early dismissal. Elementary school student after school care through Quest Zone is available.

Wednesday, August 20, 2025, is a scheduled Early Dismissal Day for students.

On Early Dismissal Days, elementary school students are dismissed at 11:30 a.m., middle school students at 12:10 p.m., and high school students at 12:30 p.m.

Early dismissal times are slightly different for Aiken Scholars Academy (ASA), as well as our schools in the Ridge Spring area. ASA early dismissal will be at noon, Ridge Spring-Monetta (RSM) Elementary is at 11:55 a.m., RSM Middle at 12:15 p.m. and RSM High at 12:20 p .m. The ASPIRE Evening Program will not be held tomorrow.

These Early Dismissal Days are part of the 2025-26 Aiken County Public School District Calendar and are necessary to support state-wide required teacher training. Please make any necessary arrangements for your child's early dismissal. Elementary school student after school care through Quest Zone is available.

This summer, Aiken County’s most talented young artists immersed themselves in the acGATEWAY experience, which is an intensive, high-level arts program designed to challenge and inspire! From vibrant visual art displays to moving theatrical performances, students demonstrated what passion, focus, and creativity can achieve in just a few short weeks! Want to see what makes acGATEWAY so special? Watch our behind-the-scenes student videos and discover why this program has been a beloved part of Aiken County since 1992 and keep an eye out for 2026 acGATEWAY audition information for our summer 2026 opportunity. #acGATEWAY #AikenArts #GiftedAndTalented #ArtsEducation #StudentShowcase #VisualAndPerformingArts #ACPSD https://www.acpsd.net/page/gateway

Parents and Guardians now is the time to schedule a well-visit or vaccine appointment with your child’s healthcare provider to avoid the back-to-school rush before the 2025-26 school year begins on July 21! The SC Department of Public Health is also offering a vaccine clinic for students in grades 5K–12 on July 8 from 9–11:30 a.m. and 1–3:30 p.m. at the Aiken County Health Department (222 Beaufort Street NE, Aiken). Call (803) 642-7543 to make an appointment and bring vaccination and insurance records; a parent or guardian must accompany children under 16. No-cost vaccines may be available, though administration fees may apply. Don’t forget to submit your child’s updated SC Immunization Certificate to their school and note that all rising 7th graders must have a Tdap booster given at age 10 or older. Contact your child’s healthcare provider or school nurse with any questions and visit acpsd.net/page/nursing-services for more information.

Aiken County Public School District’s full-time virtual program, Aiken iNNOVATE, is now accepting applications for the 2025–2026 school year. If you or your student are currently in 5th grade or higher and interested in a flexible, innovative learning environment, now is the time to apply. Aiken iNNOVATE offers a 100% virtual experience with certified ACPSD teachers and curriculum, providing students in grades 6–12 the opportunity to learn from anywhere while staying connected to their school community. To apply, visit www.acpsd.net/ai. If you have any questions, feel free to email Ai@acpsd.net. Don’t miss this opportunity to take charge of your education through Aiken iNNOVATE. Spots are limited.

The Seamless Summer Meal Program returns for Summer 2025! The ACPSD Child Nutrition Program will be offering nutritious meals at no cost for children aged 18 and under, as well as for individuals with disabilities up to age 21. Meals will be served Monday through Thursday from June 2 to June 26, 2025. See flyer for more details!

Aiken High School’s Educators Rising would like to invite you and your children to enjoy “A Royal Family Ball” in the Aiken High School cafeteria. This event is for families with young children to experience a “prom-like” event, where they get to dress up in fancy clothes, dance to fun music, eat delicious snacks, make crowns, decorate “chalices,” enjoy other activities, and take pictures of the memories! Tickets are available on GoFan.com see the link below and QR Code in the picture. Costs are $5.00 for each child ages 3-years-old to 12-years-old (children 2 + under are free). All children must be accompanied by an adult family member (18-years-old and up). Costs for adult tickets are $10.00. If you have any questions, please email Mrs. Christa Franklin (cfranklin2@acpsd.net), the Educators Rising adviser and Early Childhood Education Instructor. bit.ly/royal-family-ball

Tomorrow, Wednesday, March 5, there is a threat of severe weather with wind gusts in the morning forecasted to exceed 40 mph. This wind speed exceeds the threshold allowed for school buses to be on roadways. This wind event will result in a need to shift to e-learning tomorrow. Employees should plan to report to their work location on a two-hour delayed start, with no building or office opening before 10 a.m. Afterschool extracurricular practices, games, and events will continue tomorrow as scheduled. There will be no QuestZone tomorrow. We apologize for the challenges that this will cause our families and appreciate your continued cooperation and support!

ACPSD fifth graders are invited to submit an application for the Aiken County Career and Technology Center’s CTE Techno Camp being held on Saturday, March 15, from 8 a.m. until 3 p.m. Interested students must submit an application by next Wednesday, February 26, at 5 p.m. to be considered. As part of the application, students will select their choice of two CTE programs to explore such as Under the Hood, Team Fashion Design, Photo Pea: Introduction to Photoshop, Code-A-Bot: Robotics, Digital Art and Media: Photography, Cosmetology 101, Barber Shop 101, Aiken Culinary Chefs, Nail Tech 101, An EMT to the Rescue!, The Life of a Biomedical Scientist, and Hair Braiding 101. For more information, please visit the Aiken County Career and Technology Center’s website. Techno Camp Information is available under “Resources,” or call (803) 593-7300. Application Link: tinyurl.com/CTEtechnoCamp

Good evening from J D Lever Elementary School. Please join us for a Family Night of Fun this Thursday, February 13th from 5:00 pm until 6:30 pm in the cafeteria here on our campus at J D Lever for our Valentine Bingo Day! Not only will there be prizes, there will also be a Valentine Card making table. The cost will be one dollar per Bingo card per game. There will be pizza, soda and chips available for sale. Please remember that this is a cash only event, so please plan ahead.

Aiken County Public Schools will return to in-person learning and work tomorrow, Friday, January 24; in an abundance of caution, all schools and offices will begin the day on a two-hour delayed start. In preparation for a decision on tomorrow’s operations, our leaders have driven hundreds of miles across the county. Daytime temperatures are beginning to increase, melting snow and drying most roadways. However, it would not be possible to investigate each and every road that families and employees may travel tomorrow, and there are possibly secondary roads and well-shaded dirt roads that may remain unsuitable for travel. Please use additional caution when traveling to school and work tomorrow, avoiding less-travelled secondary routes, where possible. The safety of our students, staff, and families is of most importance; please reach out to school leadership with any concerns. Families in our more rural areas, please stay tuned for possible school bus pickup location changes that may be necessary. Important Details for tomorrow: • Student Meals: With the delayed start schedule, only lunch will be served tomorrow in our cafeterias. • Half-Day & Partial-Day Programs: Students on half-day and partial-day schedules, including Early Learning Special Education students, are encouraged to attend school if possible, however school bus transportation will not be available 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. • After-School Activities: Afterschool care through QuestZone will be held tomorrow, as well as other activities planned for after school hours if scheduled by event organizers, club sponsors, coaches, etc. • Aiken County Career and Technology Center: Morning session students should report to their high schools. The afternoon session will continue as planned. We look forward to welcoming everyone back in-person tomorrow. Thank you for your patience and flexibility!

ACPSD E-Learning/Remote Workday Thursday, January 23 We hope you’ve had an opportunity to enjoy the snow and that the assignments for e-learning today have been worthwhile practice. In collaboration with local Emergency Management officials, district administration is monitoring the impact of Winter Storm Enzo. Based on current conditions of significant snowfall accumulation in many areas and predicted freezing temperatures overnight, Aiken County Public Schools will continue in an e-learning format tomorrow, Thursday, January 23. With travel concerns for students and families, as well as teachers and staff, tomorrow will also be a remote workday for employees. Just like today, teachers will be available for student questions and support with e-learning assignments. We apologize for the disruption that continued e-learning tomorrow may cause, and appreciate your support and understanding. The safety of travel conditions will be reevaluated mid-day tomorrow with the hopes that conditions will allow for a safe return to in-person learning for Friday. An update on our district’s operations for Friday, January 24, will be announced no later than 4 p.m. tomorrow. Thank you again for your flexibility.

With snow expected across our county today and into tomorrow morning, all Aiken County Public Schools will transition to e-learning and a remote workday tomorrow, Wednesday, January 22. Student e-learning will be available online, and our teachers are available for support. Should your student have any questions, difficulty, or need assistance with their e-learning assignments, please reach out. While snowfall is not expected to continue beyond tomorrow morning, temperatures are predicted to remain well below freezing. Accumulating snowfall may impact our district’s operations for Thursday. A decision on operations for Thursday will be announced by 4 p.m. tomorrow, and will be made with the safety of all students, families, and employees at heart. As always, we are grateful for the flexibility of our school community. Please be safe, and stay warm and tuned in to any further updates that Winter Storm Enzo may cause for our operations this week.

Our school district administrators are continuing to monitor Winter Storm Enzo alongside Emergency Management Officials. With the possibility of snow forecasted late tomorrow afternoon and into the evening hours, Aiken County Public Schools will operate on an Early Dismissal Schedule Tuesday, January 21, 2025. Just as on Early Dismissal Days, elementary school students will dismiss at 11:30 a.m., middle school students at 12:10 p.m., and high school students at 12:30 p.m. Breakfast and lunch will be served prior to dismissal. Early dismissal times are slightly different for Aiken Scholars Academy, as well as our schools in the Wagener and Ridge-Spring areas. Ridge Spring-Monetta and Busbee Elementary dismissal is at 11:55 a.m., A.L. Corbett Middle, Wagener-Salley High, and Aiken Scholars Academy dismiss at noon, and Ridge Spring-Monetta Middle and High dismissal is at 12:15 and 12:20 p.m., respectively. The Center for Innovative Learning (CIL) will dismiss at 1:30 p.m. Students on half-day schedules who require bus transportation, including Early Learning Special Education students and others, will not come to school tomorrow as buses will be unable to make mid-day routes. Afternoon classes at the Aiken County Career and Technology Center will not be held. Students enrolled in an afternoon class at the Career Center will remain at their high school. There will be no after-school care tomorrow through QuestZone and no events to include athletics, arts, clubs, etc. will be held tomorrow afternoon or evening. All schools and offices will also close early tomorrow. The district’s offices will close no later than 2 p.m. with the Operations Center closing at 1:00 p.m. While snowfall is not expected to continue into the day on Wednesday, temperatures are predicted to remain well below freezing during the morning and evening hours. Any accumulating snowfall may impact our district’s operations for Wednesday. A decision regarding Wednesday will be announced by Tuesday evening. Thank you for your flexibility and cooperation as we adjust our operations when weather conditions require as part of our efforts to ensure safety. Please be safe, bundle up, and tune in for any further changes to our regular operations that Winter Storm Enzo may cause. We look forward to seeing our students and staff tomorrow morning.

As we approach the MLK Jr. Holiday Weekend, please note that district administration alongside local Emergency Management officials is monitoring the winter weather system that may impact our county next week. On Monday, January 20, all schools and offices will be closed for Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Due to a threat of potential inclement weather next week, students will come home from school with their laptop and charger tomorrow. South Carolina school districts are limited to five e-learning days each school year. We used the first of those e-learning days last Monday (January 6), making up for the closure September 27 due to Hurricane Helene. Friday, January 10’s school closure will be made up on the March 14 Weather Makeup Day as designated on our district’s 2024-25 school year calendar. Notice will be shared at a later date regarding the format of March 14’s Weather Makeup Day. The format of the March 14 Weather Makeup Day, more specifically, if the day will be made up in person or through e-learning, is contingent upon the number of e-learning days that remain available for our district to use as we near the end of this very cold winter. A final decision regarding school operations for Tuesday, January 21, will be announced by 3 p.m. on Monday, January 20. As always, we appreciate your continued support. We look forward to seeing students at school tomorrow and wish your family a wonderful long weekend.

REMINDER: We will dismiss at 11:30 a.m. Please make plans to be at your students bus stop or in car line for pick up.