Chameleon Chronicle August Edition

Welcome to the 2023-2024 School Year! We are so glad that your family is part of the Howe Hall AIMS Family. We are looking forward to a great year. Our theme for the year is Chameleons Believe and Respect the Arts while Valuing Everyone. In short, Chameleons are BRAVE. We will be challenging your child to be BRAVE this year. Be sure to ask them what it means to be Brave after the first day of school.

Parents are permitted to walk students to class on the first day of school only. Please understand that we will be signing all visitors in through the Raptor System so you will need an ID and patience. Parents must enter and exit the school at the front office.

We will have staff available to help students find the classroom once they are in the building. Our objective is to have routines and procedures in place to keep everyone safe and build life skills of perseverance and independence.

Drop off is the first step to ensure your student has a successful day. Please make sure you have reviewed with your student how you will handle the morning goodbye so that he or she is prepared to hop out of the car and head into the school building. Practice unbuckling the car seat or seat belt with your child and grabbing all supplies so when it is time he or she is able to hop out of the car with all of the items needed for the day. Staff members will be on duty beginning at 7:30 in each location to ensure safe transition from the car to the school building. Please do not permit students to get out of the car until staff are on duty.

We have three options for morning drop off: Chameleon Care, Back Lot (Kindergarten through 1st grade plus older siblings) and Side Lot (2nd -5th grade). Once students understand where classrooms are located and how to navigate the building parents may use either back or side lot for morning drop off but must use the grade specific pick up location unless permission has been granted from the principal.

1. Chameleon Care is available for our families that have registered to attend. Drop off will be in front of the school by the visitor parking spots from 6:30-7:30 AM. The only families permitted to drop in front of school are the ones that will attend morning care. There will be a Chameleon Care staff member standing at the door to greet students heading to our morning program.
   
2. Back Lot is for our kindergarten through first grade students due to the close proximity of the K-1 classrooms. This car line is designed for parents to enter from Price Street and follow the flow of traffic towards the school. We ask that cars stop before the bridge so that cars can exit the loop. Back lot holds between 10-12 cars, so be mindful when you see that it is full.
3. Side Lot is for the students in second through fifth grade. Students are asked to stay inside the vehicle until staff is on duty and directs them to exit the car. Students need to be able to independently exit the vehicle with needed supplies. Students will walk down the sidewalk and enter the building at the steps closest to the field/ playground area. We unload approximately 10 cars in a single file line next to the sidewalk of the school. Cars will double stack on the back side of the loop so we can keep traffic from backing up on Howe Hall Road. When you enter side lot if there are cars stacking up, please pull into the shortest line. We rotate each line to ensure the quickest drop off possible.
   

We appreciate your help keeping our students and staff safe and ask that you refrain from being on the cell phone, signing your child’s papers, or being distracted while in the car line during drop off or pick up. Please do not get close to the awnings. It is safer for our staff if you allow space for them to step off the sidewalk when cars have stopped.

Regular attendance is necessary for students to make the desired and expected academic and social progress. However, we recognize that some absences are unavoidable. Please see the BCSD Student handbook for more information about lawful and unlawful absences. https://core-docs.s3.amazonaws.com/documents/asset/uploaded_file/3875/BCSD/3359843/student_handbook_8723.pdf.

Please be sure to send in an excuse if your child is absent from school. The excuse needs to list the date of the absence, the date of the excuse, the reason for the absence, and the telephone number and signature of the parent or guardian or certified medical practitioner. Please understand that excessive tardiness and early sign-outs impact student learning outcomes. For more information about attendance or excuses please email Ms. Yolanda Odgers at odgersy@bcscschools.net or calling the front office.

Please see the BCSD Student Handbook or Policy JGDC and JGDC-R for more information about medication at school. For more information, be sure to reach out to our school nurse Amber Foiles at foliesa@bcsdschool.net or by calling the school at 843-820-3899.

If your child needs to pay for lunch, please send the money with the student or add it through My School Bucks https://www.myschoolbucks.com/ver2/getmain.action?clientKey=&requestAction=home. Contact the school if you need assistance. For information about Free and Reduced Lunch Applications please go to https://www.bcsdschools.net/o/hha/page/free-and-reduced-lunch-application.

We have three options at dismissal: Chameleon Care, Back Lot (K-1, siblings, and outside daycares) and Side Lot (grades 2-5). Please use the grade level assigned dismissal location. All requests for a change in location must be made by email to the principal for consideration. We will be collecting data during the first few days of school to balance the dismissal locations.

1. Chameleon Care is available for our families that have registered to attend. Students will need to be picked up by 6:00 PM. Students must be registered and accounts must be in good standing to attend. Students will be signed out using the code provided.

2. Back Lot is designed for our kindergarten through first grade students due to the close proximity of the K-1 classrooms. This car line is designed for parents to enter from Price Street and follow the flow of traffic towards the school. We ask that cars stop before the bridge so that cars can exit the loop. Back lot holds between 10-12 cars so be mindful when you see that it is full. Students will be called to numbers and the teacher on duty will load the car. Students need to be able to independently buckle the seat belt or car seat.

3. Side Lot is for the students in second through fifth grade. Students will be on the grass area by the building and will be called to the station. Students need to be able to independently buckle the seat belt. We load approximately 11 cars in a single file line next to the sidewalk of the school. Cars will double stack on the back side of the loop so we can keep from backing up traffic on Howe Hall Road. When you enter side lot if there are cars stacking up, please pull into the shortest line. We rotate each line to ensure the quickest drop off possible. If the lot is full when you arrive please pull into the American Legion parking lot. When space is available your will be able to enter the car line. Please pull all the way up the number that was called.

For dismissal, we ask that the person picking up your child has the orange card with your last name in the front windshield of the car. Please call the front office if you need additional cards or to create car pool pickup cards. If the person picking up in the line does not have the orange card we will need identification and the name to be listed on the colored bookbag tag provided at Meet the Teacher. We appreciate your help keeping our students and staff safe and ask that you refrain from being on the phone, or being distracted while in the car line during drop off or pick up. Please do not get close to the awnings.

Chameleons BELIEVE and RESPECT the ARTS while VALUING EVERYONE