Chameleon Chronicle 2024

We are off to a fantastic start this school year! Our recent Parent Nights were a huge success, bringing together families and educators to build strong partnerships for our students' achievement. Wonderful things are happening in our classrooms as we embark on a year filled with learning, growth, and community.

As we head into the Labor Day weekend, we hope you take the time to relax and enjoy some well-deserved time with family and friends. Thank you for your continued support, and here's to a wonderful September ahead!

If you attended one of the grade level parent nights please complete the survey below. We are always looking for ways to improve. Thank you for a great start to the school year.

This year, we are excited to announce that the students at Howe Hall AIMS will have an extra P. E. class once a week. During these classes, students will participate in team sports and running or walking laps with the goal being to have run 26 miles prior to January 25, 2025. Now you may be wondering, “What is so special about January 25, 2025?” It is the date of the Charleston Youth Marathon! Our goal is to have all students at HHA run/walk enough laps during their extra P.E. classes that they would each have gone a total of 26 miles by the time January 25 rolls around. Then they will only need to run the final two tenths of a mile in order to have completed an entire marathon, which is 26.2 miles. The teachers in charge of the P.E. class will be recording each student’s mileage while at school. We encourage all of our parents to register their children now for the Charleston Youth Marathon using the link listed below. Go to the orange box that says, “Register Today”. Under the categories tab, click Youth Marathon. The event is free and children who register will receive a free t-shirt and finisher medal. This goal of running/walking 26 miles is a great opportunity to begin to create a healthy lifestyle of physical activity in our children.

The Actor’s Toolbox begins with students signing a silent contract that they promise to control their bodies, voices, and imaginations and to concentrate and cooperate. Then, students practice strengthening their concentration and cooperation skills through a series of challenges. Adopting a common language pinpoints areas where students are making strong vs. weak choices and provides students with a sense of ownership over their behavior. This language, and even signing the contract itself, can be done throughout the day to reinforce set expectations. It also prepares students for deeper applications of content through the use of drama and provides teachers with both a management tool as well as a way of assessing student understanding.

Students are also learning the difference between a stage voice and a speaking voice. A stage voice is one that students should use when on stage or presenting in front of their classmates. A speaking voice is one that you use when speaking to someone beside you.

Students will be in Control of their:

Body

Voice

Imagination

Concentration

Cooperation

If you don’t know me already, I am Mrs. Irimescu and I am the Art teacher here at Howe Hall AIMS. I have taught here as an art teacher for 6 years and I previously taught here as a third grade teacher for 6 years. This gives me a unique perspective when it comes to infusion lessons because I have been on the general education teacher side, as well as, the Arts teacher side. I live in Goose Creek with my husband and two daughters. I am so excited to see all of the new creations the students will make this year. I am eager to share what we will be doing in infusion lessons and during our exploratory classes. If you have any questions or need to reach me you can reach me at irimescub@bcsdschools.net or through Rooms.

Hello! My name is Mrs. Kim Steele and I am the DANCE Educator here at Howe Hall AIMS. This is my 23rd year teaching and I am so honored and proud to call AIMS my home! I am very excited to share my

love of all things dance with your student(s). I am positive and know that we will all BE BETTER TOGETHER this year. Thank you parents for supporting the arts here at our fantastic school. Message me on ROOMS if you have any questions or concerns.

Hello and welcome to the 2024-2025 school year! I wanted to take a moment to introduce myself to you. My name is Mrs. Liebenow and I have been teaching music for over 29 years! My family members are all musicians and we love the fact that music can be a lifelong skill. My job is to teach music to the students at Howe Hall Aims. Sometimes music is fun and easy and other times it is hard work. This year, we will be exploring a variety of exciting skills, including instruments, singing, movement, music history, shows, composing, and rhythms.

I am looking forward to a fun and engaging year ahead, filled with lots of musical adventures! Thank you for your support as we embark on this journey together.

Please send an email if you have any questions at liebenowc@bcsdschools.net.

Hello, My name is Mrs. Kim Pond. I have been teaching PE for over 28 years. I love teaching PE and I know your kids will love it too! This year, we are excited to have Mr. Voss join us on Mondays. Mr. Voss has taught PE for over ten years all over Berkeley County. He is excited to join us at HHA!

We will teach the importance of fitness and exercise on Mondays for their extra PE. On their other PE day (45 minutes) we will start with a Fitness Unit. All students will jump rope for Kids Heart Challenge in February. All students will participate in Field Day in April. Kindergarten through 2nd grade will be working on kicking, throwing, tossing, locomotor, and striking skills, as well as a body management unit with mats.

Students in grades 3rd-5th will participate in the Pacer Challenge, this is part of our state Fitness Gram Assessment for PE. Students in grades 3rd-5th grade will participate in the PACER challenge starting in September. They will also participate in Hockey, soccer, basketball, volleyball, Softball/baseball, and many more game activities.

Welcome to HHA Theatre! I am excited about the opportunity to get to know you as we explore the magic of Theatre! This year we will discover key concepts in acting: movement, voice, character, and ensemble. The students will build these skills through improvisational theatre, creative writing, and dramatic play. In addition to acting, we will research the origins of theatre, study a variety of acting styles, and explore key concepts in technical theatre and video editing.

We will use Strawbridge for our school portraits this year. Photo packages will be sent home with students after photos are taken on 9/12/24. Pricing for the photos is below. If you are not interested you simply return all of the photos back to the school.

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 Attendance Policy for more informatiion. https://go.boarddocs.com/sc/berkeley/Board.nsf/goto?open&id=BAQ5QL10D77A

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.

Please email your excuses to Yolanda Odgers or send them with your child.

Lawful Absences:

• Absences that are excused by a doctor or medical professional

• Death in the immediate family

• A recognized religious holiday

• Special circumstances approved in advance by the principal

• A parent sick note for illnesses may excuse up to 10 days

* Please note that Berkeley County School District does not view vacations as a lawful excuse to be out of school.

A total of three consecutive or five total unlawful absences is considered truant and may require an attendance intervention meeting.

Hello everyone. I hope you all had an amazing summer and are settling into the new school year. I wanted to take a moment to review a few things regarding the nurse’s office this year.

I have given each teacher a generalized guide on when a student should see me and how soon. If any of the 9 B’s are involved (see attachment), they may send the student directly to me without delay. Any other ailments or complaints are asked to try to manage them within the classroom and/or wait 20 minutes to see if symptoms subside. If symptoms persist or increase during that time, they may send the student to me for further evaluation.

If you have something at home that arises with your child that you would like to share with me, please email me at FoilesA@bcsdschools.net or give me a call if it’s during the school day. Please refer to the DHEC exclusion criteria see button below to help determine if your child should stay home from school. Thank you all for your help in making this a great year.

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://berkeleynutrition.net/?page=lunchapps.

We are looking to fill two parent representative seats on our (SIC) School Improvement Council. We do not have any open seat for the (FASC) Fine Arts Steering Committee at this time. We will use the third person selected for the FASC if we have a seat open up during the year.

A School Improvement Council is an advisory council to the principal and school on issues related to school improvement. The Fine Arts Steering Committee helps create the strategic art plan that serves as a guide toward the development and implementation of a quality arts education program. If you are interested in in serving on this committee or if you would like to nominate someone please stop by the office to pick up a nomination form. These forms are due by September 10, 2024.

Do you have a business? Would you like to be a Howe Hall AIMS Business Sponsor? We are looking for some partnerships, if you are interested please email mcalista@bcsdschools.net for more information.

Yearbooks are $25.00 if purchase before December 31st. On January 1st is will cost $30.00. Buy yours today!

If you are interested in supporting the Walk-N-Roll click on the photo and if you are interested in supporting one of our Chameleons please click the link below!

We are BETTER TOGETHER!