December Edition

Holiday Season Gratitude

As we approach the holiday season, I would like to take a moment to express my heartfelt gratitude to our incredible students, dedicated faculty, and supportive community.

Thankful for Our Students:
Your enthusiasm for learning and resilience throughout the year inspire me every day. I am proud of your achievements, big and small, and I look forward to seeing all the great things you will accomplish in the coming year.

Appreciation for Our Faculty:
To my amazing teachers and staff, thank you for your unwavering commitment to education and for creating a nurturing environment where students can thrive. Your hard work and passion make a significant difference in the lives of our students.

Gratitude for Our Community:
I am grateful for the support of our families and community members. Your involvement and encouragement enhance our school experience and help us build a stronger, more connected community.

As we celebrate this season of giving, let us remember to cherish the relationships we have built and the shared moments that bring us together. Wishing everyone a joyful and peaceful holiday season!

Warm regards,

Ashley McAlister, Principal

Our first graders have learned all about 2-D shapes and combining the shapes to make a composite shape. After learning about the art and science of making balloons for the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, as well as, 2-D shapes, students created their own balloons for our parade!

Our 3rd-grade show, A Place to Belong: The Chameleon’s Tale, was a true celebration of creativity, collaboration, and growth. We were incredibly grateful to have a new sound system, generously provided by BCSD, which added a professional touch to the performance and enhanced the overall experience for both the performers and the audience.

This was our second show of the year, and while we continue to improve our performances, particularly with microphone usage to ensure every student’s voice is heard, this production was a significant step forward. The show was ambitious, with every single student playing a role. This collective effort was a performance and a showcase of integrated learning across various disciplines.

Throughout the process, students took ownership of their learning. They created vibrant set pieces during infusion lessons, wrote original lyrics in music class, developed choreography in dance infusion, and crafted 20 pages of dialogue during theatre class. Each component of the show was a testament to their hard work, creativity, and teamwork.

Creating A Place to Belong was a one-of-a-kind experience that exemplified how the arts can bring learning to life. It was incredibly rewarding to watch the students take the stage with pride and confidence, knowing they had a hand in every aspect of the production. This show not only highlighted their learning but also provided a powerful reminder of the value of arts integration in education. We can’t wait to see how our performances continue to evolve and inspire in the future!

What an incredible day we had at our Veterans Day program! The event was a packed house, filled with families, friends, and community members coming together to honor our veterans.

Our talented students showcased their performances, captivating the audience with heartfelt songs, poems, and presentations that celebrated the bravery and sacrifice of those who have served. The energy was palpable, and the pride in our school was evident.

One of the highlights was the "Clap Out" down the hall, where students and staff lined the corridor, applauding and cheering for our veterans as they walked through. It was a touching moment that truly embodied our gratitude and respect.

Thank you to everyone who participated and made this day a memorable celebration of our heroes. We look forward to continuing to honor their service in our community!

As a part of the Counseling program at Howe Hall AIMS students are encouraged to follow a guiding life principle of “Treat others the way you want to be treated”. This central idea is something all students can understand and use throughout life. It is a perfect compliment to our schoolwide Character Education program that spotlights traits that will help students to

“be the best they can be” which is the goal of the counseling program. Students review this idea during classroom guidance lessons and are reminded to practice it in all settings and situations. One of the tools used to reinforce this idea is the acrostic THINK:

These questions remind students if the answer to any of the questions is “no” then keep the information to yourself and make strong choices to treat others the way you would like to be treated. A short and simple reminder to help choose your responses appropriately. There are visual reminders of this “THINK” strategy around our school and in classrooms.

As a part of HHA's College and Career Ready plans we would love to build a database of the careers/occupations represented by our families. Please complete the Google form linked below for Ms. Knight, our School Counselor. She would like to schedule career visits and opportunities for students to explore South Carolina's 16 career clusters throughout the year.

If you have a family member or friend with an exciting career/occupation (especially anything arts-related) we would love to have that information as well. Please email Ms. Knight at knightb@bcsdschools.net and share their contact information.

Happy December! Can you believe that we have almost made it through half of the school year? As we enter into the busy holiday season, I

“ho-ho-hope” that you will continue to read with your children. I have listed some ideas below that will help you make reading a priority in your home over the next few weeks.

1. One of the things that is important in reading comprehension is background knowledge. When your child is in that questioning stage of always wondering “why”, use the opportunity to have rich, meaningful conversations that will build background knowledge about the world around them. Take them to interesting places where they can experience different situations. It doesn’t have to be expensive. A walk through the woods can be filled with many new experiences and opportunities for vocabulary development.

2. Another way to build background knowledge is to read to your children. Even after children are reading on their own, they should still be read to. There are so many wonderful books out there to share with your children. Jim Trelease, the author of the best-selling book, The Read-Aloud Handbook, says, “The single most important activity for building the knowledge required for eventual success in reading is reading aloud to children.”

3. Make good use of your public library. Many of our county libraries have excellent reading incentive ideas and great motivational tools to get kids interested in reading.

4. The following are some games you can play with readers of all ages.

a. Scrabble – Use Scrabble tiles to spell words. Then have your child add (or multiply) the numbers on the tiles to include some math skills as well.

b. Use any game board along with flashcards. Before your child takes a turn, a word must be read or spelled correctly and quickly. Primary grades can use “heart words”. Students in grades 3 – 5 can use vocabulary words.

c. WORDO – Make a gameboard by having your child fold a piece of paper in half and then in half again. Now fold the paper the other way in half and then in half again. The paper should have sixteen boxes. Have your child write one letter or word in each box. Play like Bingo. The child will cover up one box when a word or letter sound is called out. Four in a row wins the game. You can call out definitions for vocabulary words with students in upper grades.

d. Write words and letters using a variety of media. Your child will enjoy using markers, smelly markers, chalk, dry erase boards and markers, fun pens, ABC magnets, finger paints, cutting letters from magazines, salt or sand, etc.

If your child is struggling in reading, and you need further assistance with things that you can do to help at home, please feel free to contact me. I will be happy to set up a conference with you. My email address is rayburna@bcsdschools.net .

We are thrilled to host our Kindergarten through Fourth Grade shows on the HHA campus this year! We are excited to celebrate each grade level independently, allowing us to create shows that align with their infusion lessons. This amazing opportunity, however, comes with limited seating in our multipurpose room. All students will have the chance to watch the grade level shows during the day, but we kindly ask that the evening performance be reserved for the families of the students on stage. We appreciate your understanding as we strive to provide a meaningful and engaging experience for all!

Making Nonrepresentational Artwork Using a Variety of Energy Transfers

Students explored different stations designed to use different ways to transfer energy in order to create an artwork. The students made observations and provided evidence that energy was transferred by light, sound, thermal heat, kinetic Movement, and chemical reactions to create artwork.

Light: Students cut out shapes and placed them on photosensitive paper. When the paper is exposed to light it changes color and when it is immersed in water the colors stay.

Sound: Students dropped liquid watercolor on a piece of paper on top of a speaker as it played music. The paint bounced along with the beat of the music to create abstract art.

Thermal: Students used double sided tape to adhere crayons to a piece of paper and then they blow dried them until they melted and created abstract art.

Kinetic: Students dropped tempera paint on a piece of paper in a box top. Then they placed a marble in the box and rolled it through the paint to create abstract art.

Chemical: Students painted a piece of paper with watercolor and added salt and vinegar to their paintings and watched the chemicals react with the paint to create abstract art.

Science Standard:

4-PS3-2 Make observations to provide evidence that energy can be transferred from place to place by sound, light, heat, and electric currents

Art Standards:
Benchmark VA. CR NH.2: I can use and combine materials, techniques, and processes to make art.

Benchmark VA.C NL.7 I can show art concepts among arts disciplines, other content areas, and related careers.

Mrs. Pond and 1st grade students and teachers had fun while using Chinese jump bands to build 2D shapes during math push-ins. Students worked in small groups to demonstrate the 2D shape they were given. While standing inside the band, students could use their hands, ankles and arms to make the vertices (the point where two lines meet to form an angle). Students were given 2D shapes like square, rectangle, Octagon, Pentagon, trapezoid, etc.

A note from Mrs. Pond and Mr. Voss: Students need to wear tennis shoes every Monday as well as their regular PE day. We have been seeing a lot of slides, flip flops, and crocs. All of these can be dangerous to walk/run or play games on their PE day.

The Hour of Code is a worldwide event designed to introduce kids of all ages to the basics of computer programming through a simple and enjoyable one-hour coding activity. The main goal is to show that computer programming and coding is for everyone, and that it can be fun to learn!

Our school library utilizes the resources available through Code.org to introduce coding to students of all ages. Code.org tells us: “Computers are everywhere, transforming every industry. The Hour of Code has a proven track record of making history. More than 100 million students have tried an Hour of Code. It's been showcased on the homepages of Google, MSN, Yahoo!, and Disney, with over 100 partners—including every Apple Store worldwide—joining the movement. Even President Obama and Prime Minister Trudeau wrote their first lines of code with us!” Students love getting to explore coding in the fun, age-appropriate ways that the Hour of Code site provides.

Hour of Code will be officially celebrated this year the week of December 9th-13th. We love to observe Hour of Code in the library in all grade levels! We hope that the Hour of Code will inspire our students to explore the exciting world of coding and technology. If you have any more questions or would like more information, please don’t hesitate to reach out!

As you are aware, students are completing assignments in an online program called i-Ready, but you may not know exactly what it is and why students are asked to work in the program. ​i-Ready is an online tool that helps teachers understand where your child is in reading and math, so they can support their learning in the best way possible. Here’s how it works:

1. Finding Learning Levels: Three times during the school year (August, December, and April), students complete the i-Ready Diagnostic. It takes 30 minutes to an hour for students to complete each subject (reading and math). This is used to figure out what your child already knows and what they need to work on. The questions adjust to their level, so teachers get a clear picture of their strengths and areas for improvement.

2. Personalized Lessons: After the diagnostic, i-Ready creates a set of lessons for your child, specifically chosen to help them grow in areas they might find challenging. Students should spend 30-49 minutes a week in i-Ready reading and math and pass 1-2 lessons in order to make progress by the end of the year. Think of it as an online tutor specific to your child’s needs.

3. Checking Progress: As your child works through lessons, i-Ready tracks their progress, showing teachers (and you) how much they are learning and where they might still need help.

4. Keeping Kids Engaged: i-Ready includes interactive activities and games to keep learning fun and engaging, making it easier for kids to stay interested.

5. Easy-to-Understand Reports: Teachers can use i-Ready to get reports on how your child is doing, which they can share with you. This way, you’ll know exactly where your child stands and how they’re progressing throughout the year.

We kindly ask that your child completes i-Ready lessons on their own, as it helps us understand what students can do independently. Feel free to check the My Progress tab to see all the lessons they’ve been working on—we love having you involved in their learning journey!

Michelle Power, M.Ed.

Instructional Coach

Howe Hall AIMS

Fluency is defined as being able to recall the answer within 3 seconds.

By the end of kindergarten, students should be able to add and subtract numbers to five in their heads.

By the end of first grade, students should be able to add and subtract numbers to ten in their heads.

By the end of second grade, students should be able to add and subtract numbers to twenty in their heads.

By the end of third grade, students should be able to recall basic multiplication and division facts fluently.

By the time mathematicians enter fourth and fifth grade, weak computational recall affects a child’s ability to access grade-level standards. Some fun ways you can practice math facts at home instead of just route flash cards are attached.

K example 2+3=5 or 5-4=1 1st example 7+2=9 or 10-4=6 2nd example 12+5=17 or 10-6=14

3rd-5th examples 6*5= 30, 2*8=16, 5*7=35

Students should not be in possession of ANY medication (cough drops, OTC medications, inhalers, etc.). If a student needs to have medication administered at any time during the school day, the medication must be signed into the nurse's office by a parent or guardian and must have the appropriate paperwork filled out along with doctor's orders, if applicable. Over-the-counter medications must be in a sealed bottle or container. If a student is found in possession of or administers medication to themselves, they are subject to disciplinary action per the BCSD policy. https://core-docs.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/documents/asset/uploaded_file/3875/BCSD/4698033/2024_-_2025_Student_Handbook.pdf

Thank you for your support and attention to this matter.

Amber Foiles, BSN, RN

Howe Hall AIMS

115 Howe Hall Road

Goose Creek, SC 29445

(843)820-3899

foilesa@bcsdschools.net

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.

It was certainly a busy November and we have so much to be thankful for. Our volunteers worked hard donating their time and energy to Helping Hands, Duty Free Lunch, Room Parent projects, and packing delicious treat boxes for our wonderful staff. I would like to extend a very special thank you to our first grade families for throwing a spectacular, well deserved, staff appreciation day this past month as well. It has been so nice to see so many of you at the school and I know that our staff greatly appreciate all that you do! Our next spirit day is coming up on December 5th at Culver’s. More information can be found on the back of this newsletter. Winter spirit wear sales are open through December 20th and our food drive will continue through December 13th. We look forward to providing more fun family events in the new year. We want to thank you for helping make these past couple months amazing for our school and children. Have the happiest of holidays and we look forward to seeing you next year!

Sincerely,

Tina Wright, HHA PTA President

We would like to kindly remind you that students are not permitted to bring weapons or toys that resemble weapons to school, even if they are for show and tell or part of a costume for our dress up days. This includes items such as toy guns, swords, water guns, or any other objects that may be perceived as weapons. Our priority is to ensure a safe and comfortable environment for all students, and we appreciate your cooperation in this matter.

Additionally, please note that plastic knives, regardless of their intended use, should not be included in lunch boxes. We encourage parents to opt for safe and appropriate utensils for their child's meals.

Thank you for your understanding and support in helping us maintain a secure and enjoyable atmosphere for everyone!