The Crocodilian

Hello, September! 🍎While the summer temperatures are still hanging around, fall is just around the corner—and we have so much to celebrate at HEC!

We are incredibly proud to share that H. E. Corley Elementary has earned Magnet Schools of America Nationally Certified Demonstration Magnet School status—the highest level of national magnet certification! 🎉

This recognition celebrates the strength of our Leadership & Montessori Magnet programs and our commitment to academic excellence, innovative learning, student leadership, diversity, and strong family and community partnerships. It is truly a reflection of the amazing work happening across our entire school community. ❤️🤍💙

We have also completed our beginning-of-year i-Ready assessments. Teachers will be sending home Family Reports this week, so please be on the lookout! These reports provide information about your child’s current learning levels and helpful ways you can support continued growth at home.

As we begin our second full month of school, routines are taking shape, learning is in full swing, and our Classy Crocs are ready to keep soaring! Thank you for your continued partnership in making HEC such a special place to learn and lead.

Ready to Learn. Ready to Lead. Ready to Soar. ✈️

Melanie C. Harris, Principal

Friday, September 4th - College Colors Day

Monday, September 7th - Labor Day, all D5 schools and offices are closed

Friday, September 11th - Patriot's Day - Wear red , white , & blue

Wednesday, September 16th - PTO Spirit Night at Texas Roadhouse, 4:00-8:00pm

Thursday, September 17th - Early Release Day, Dismissal at 11:40am

For Future Planning:

Friday, September 25th - Fall Picture Day

Thursday, October 2nd - Crocs & Cinema for 3rd-5th graders (see details below)

Thursday, October 16th - Crocs & Cinema for PK - 2nd graders (see details below)

We’re rolling out the red carpet for a brand-new HEC experience — Crocs & Cinema! 🐊⭐

Our Classy Crocs are invited to enjoy an evening of movies, friends, popcorn, and fun right here at HEC! We’ll have two different showings, giving families the opportunity to choose the movie experience that is the best fit for their child.

🎟️ Check out the flyers below for movie selections, dates, times, registration details, and everything you need to know!

We can’t wait to see our Classy Crocs at the movies! 🍿🎥

Lights. Camera. Classy Crocs!

We’re excited to bring Fall After-School Clubs to our 3rd–5th grade Classy Crocs, but we need the help of our amazing HEC community to make it happen!

Parents, family members, staff, and community members—do you have a hobby, talent, or passion you’d enjoy sharing with our students? We’d love to have you lead a club!

Art 🎨 • Cooking 🍳• Sports🏀• STEM ⚙️• Chess ♟️• Photography 📸—and more!

Interested in volunteering? Check out the flyer below and complete the linked Club Facilitator Form by Friday, September 11th.

Thank you for helping us create fun, meaningful opportunities for our Classy Crocs!

The H. E. Corley School Improvement Council (SIC) is made up of parents, teachers, and community members who work alongside school leadership to help make our school the very best it can be for students.

The SIC is an advisory committee to the principal and has the following responsibilities:

• Assisting with the preparation of the school’s five-year plan and annual updates

• Supporting the development and monitoring of school improvement and innovation efforts

• Preparing an annual report to parents on the school’s progress toward district and school goals

• Providing input on the use of school incentive awards

• Offering additional support and guidance at the request of the principal

More information about SIC roles and responsibilities is available on the South Carolina SIC website.

If you have a student in grades PK–5 for the 2026-2027 school year and would like to be a candidate—or nominate someone else—for SIC, please complete the nomination form below by Tuesday, September 8th. SIC Nomination Form – 2026-2027

Paper nomination forms are also available in the HEC Front Office for families who prefer that option. If you have any questions, please contact Principal Melanie Harris at mcharris@lexrich5.org.

We are excited to introduce a NEW way to celebrate birthdays at H. E. Corley!

Families may reserve a birthday message on our school marquee for $25. Your child’s birthday message will be displayed Tuesday through Saturday during the week you select. To keep our marquee celebrations consistent, families will select from four pre-approved birthday messages when completing the reservation form. Only four birthday messages will be available each week, and reservations will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis. Birthday messages will begin the week of September 15.

Payment must be submitted through Student Quick Pay by the 1st of the month in which your child’s message will appear. For example, a message scheduled during October must be paid by October 1. Reservations that are not paid by the deadline will be forfeited and may be offered to another family.

Special September Deadline: Because we are launching this opportunity after September 1, payments for September birthday messages must be received by September 7.

Please remember that completing the reservation form holds your requested spot pending availability and timely payment. Once all four spots for a week have been reserved, that week will be closed. In the event multiple submissions are received before a full week can be removed from the form, families will be contacted based on the order in which reservations were received.

We hope this becomes another fun way to make birthdays extra special for our Classy Crocs! 🐊🎈We can’t wait to see those birthday names shining on the HEC marquee! Ready to celebrate? Complete the HEC Birthday Marquee Reservation Form to reserve your child’s week.

Thank you for helping us make birthdays a little brighter at HEC!

Purpose: To strengthen the partnership between school and home by sharing one short, practical leadership-focused idea with parents each week. These “Parent Leadership Tidbits” will give families simple strategies they can use at home to help children develop independence, resilience, responsibility, and confidence.

Format: Each week, parents would receive a brief snippet—just a few sentences—with one leadership principle and a simple way to apply it at home. The goal is to be encouraging and easy to read, rather than adding another lengthy communication to families.

Goal: Through these brief weekly messages, we can create a shared language between school and home around leadership development. When parents and educators consistently reinforce the same principles, children receive a stronger and more meaningful message: leadership is not just something we learn at school—it is something we practice every day.

Let Them Struggle a Little

One of the greatest gifts we can give children is the opportunity to experience healthy struggle. When a child says, “I can’t do it,” our first instinct may be to step in and solve the problem. Instead, try asking, “What could you try next?” or “What part can you do on your own?”

Allowing children to work through age-appropriate challenges builds perseverance, problem-solving skills, and confidence. We want to help our children—not by doing everything for them, but by teaching them that they are capable of figuring things out.

Leadership starts with believing, “I can try.”

Meet our First Nine Weeks Safety Patrol! 🌟These student leaders are on duty each morning and afternoon, helping students out of cars, guiding our younger Classy Crocs safely to their classrooms, and helping arrival and dismissal run smoothly.

We are so proud to see our students stepping up to lead, serve, and set the example for others. That’s what leadership looks like at HEC! 🐊✈️ Way to go, Safety Patrol! Thank you for helping keep our Classy Crocs safe and ready to soar!

Learning Comes to Life at HEC! The Columbia Marionette Theater visited HEC to perform The Three Little Pigs for some of our youngest leaders! 🐷🎭 Our students enjoyed a fun, engaging experience that brought storytelling to life right before their eyes.

A special THANK YOU to our amazing HEC PTO for sponsoring this experience through our Teacher Grant Program! ❤️ Experiences like these extend learning beyond the classroom, spark curiosity and creativity, and remind our students that learning can—and should—be joyful!

We are grateful for a school community that continues to create meaningful opportunities for our Classy Crocs to learn, explore, and grow!✨

💻 Student Devices 💻

Families, we want to make you aware of a change regarding student Chromebook repairs. In previous years, technology insurance allowed for one break/repair at no charge.

This year, depending on the model of your child’s device and the repair needed, a charge may be applied to your child’s account if the device is damaged or requires repair.

We encourage families to remind students to handle their devices with care, keep food and drinks away from them, and transport them safely when devices are taken home.

Thank you for helping us keep our student technology safe and ready for learning!

• Our doors open at 7:10am. Please stay with your child until the doors open and/or you are instructed to let your child out in the carline by a staff member. There will be multiple staff members to assist ALL students during the first two weeks.

• Our instructional day begins at 7:40am, which means students must be in class by 7:40am in order to not be marked Tardy.

• Breakfast is served from 7:10-7:35am. Students will need to arrive in the cafeteria by 7:30 in order to receive breakfast.

• Car rider lines will close at 7:35am to ensure that staff are able to be in their classrooms and ready for instruction. After 7:35, please bring all students to the front circle and into the front office. Students will need to be signed in by a parent/guardian and obtain a tardy pass before reporting to class.

• 2:10pm is the latest for early dismissal pickup. If you arrive in the front office after 2:10 to dismiss your child, you will need to wait until dismissal at 2:30 for your child to arrive in the front office. Buses begin lining up in the front loop starting at 2pm, so parking on Chadford Rd. is advised.

• On early release days, early dismissal is before 11:10.

• After 3pm, all students not picked up in the car line will report to the front office to wait for a parent/guardian. CHAMPS Academy is only available to registered students.

• If your student is absent, dismisses early, or arrives late due to a medical reason: please either send in a parent note, fax or bring in the doctors excuse (if seen), OR submit an online student excuse form within 3 days. The form can be found through the button below or on the H.E. Corley Website under Quick Links heces.lexrich5.org .

Monday - Friday 7:00am - 3:30pm, Office door opens at 7:10am

Front Office: 803-476-4001 , Fax: 803-476-4020

School Counselor: 803-476-4005

School Nurse: 803-476-4009

Follow us on social media: Facebook & Instagram: @hecorleyelem

School Website: https://heces.lexrich5.org/