The Crocodilian

Thursday, January 29th - Normal school day (not early release) *No Afterschool Clubs

Monday, February 2nd - Pencil Gram sales begin through Feb. 6th

Exceptional Children's week Spirit Days, 2/2 - 2/6 (see flyer below)

Tuesday, February 3rd - CATE Open House, 5-7pm (see flyer below)

Thursday, February 5th - Spring Clubs 2:40 - 4pm, Good News Club, 2:40 - 3:45pm

Future planning:

February 11th - Class Picture Day

February 12th - HEC Leadership Day, 8:30-11am (see flyer below)

February 13th - Teacher Work Day, No school for students

HEC Celebrates Exceptional Children’s Week — February 2–6

H.E. Corley Elementary is proud to celebrate Exceptional Children’s Week as we honor and embrace the diverse abilities, strengths, and talents of all our students. At HEC, we believe every child is unique and valued, and we are committed to fostering an inclusive environment where students with varying abilities and disabilities are supported academically, socially, and emotionally.

We will celebrate with a fun Spirit Week filled with dress-up days 🎉 and fundraising activities to support our annual Polar Plunge efforts. Then, on Saturday, February 14th, our HEC Polar Plunge Team will head to the chilly waters of Lake Murray Dam to raise awareness, promote inclusion, and take the plunge in support of Special Olympics! 🧊💙

🌟 HEC Leadership Week — February 9–12 🌟

Get ready, HEC — Leadership Week is almost here! As a Leadership school, we are excited to pause, celebrate, and showcase our amazing leadership magnet program and the incredible student leaders who make our school shine every day.

This year, it’s all about Connections — we’re officially in our Connection Era! 💫 From building relationships to leading with kindness, our students are learning how their choices, voices, and actions connect to their classrooms, community, and world.

We’ll kick things off with engaging classroom leadership activities throughout the week, a dress-up Spirit Week 🎉 , and we’ll wrap it all up with our favorite tradition — HEC Leadership Day! You won’t want to miss the excitement, smiles, and student leadership on display.

Habit 5 - Seek First to Understand, then to be Understood. Listen before you talk.

Listening is the most important communication skill. Listening with our ears isn’t good enough, because less than 10% of communication is contained in the words we use. The rest comes from body language and the tone and feeling reflected in our voice. Point out that when we listen, not only with our ears but also with our eyes and heart - as a result, everyone is happier.

What can you do to teach your child to listen first?
1. Play a game by trying to go 10 minutes without talking even once. Instead, just watch the people around you, and listen to what they are saying. Try 30 minutes next time.

2. Help them to think of someone in your life who you think is a good listener. Your grandma? Your dad? Your best friend? What do you think makes them a good listener?

3. Help them to notice when someone is sad and notice their eyes or the way they hold their body. Tell them you know they are sad and you want to help.

→Send in a photo of your child doing these things at home and we will feature some of them in the next issue of the Crocodilian. Email the photo along with the student’s name, teacher, and grade to Katye Wilkinson at kwilkinson@lexrich5.org by February 12th.

The STP card is good for buy a large pizza, get a large pizza FREE!
It sells for $20.00
Use the card as much as you want until Thursday, December 31, 2026
The Slice the Price Card works at participating locations in 42 states. Go to www.SliceThePriceCard.com/map to see where the card works!

Join us for a Spirit Night at Sonic on Thursday 1/29 from 4-8 PM at the Irmo location (by Walmart)! A portion of every meal will be donated back to HEC PTO. Make sure you tell them you're with HEC!

Dinner plans are officially made for Thursday! Swing by Sonic, enjoy a treat, and support our school at the same time!

Orders accepted until Friday 1/31/2026

Join us for our Guardian Gala Dance on Friday, March 27, 2026, from 5:30–7:30 PM, as we step into the Emerald City for a magical evening!

This special event is open to currently enrolled students only, with one guardian per enrolled student (no siblings permitted). Students must be accompanied by an adult guardian. Each attendee requires a ticket. Tickets are $10 per person and will be available for purchase March 1–March 18, 2026.

Volunteer opportunities will be posted soon—an excellent way to bring a second adult into the event for free! Volunteers can help for one hour and enjoy dancing for the other hour.

Pizza from Lil House of Pizza will be available for purchase as part of the evening’s meal. Meals will cost $5 and will be pre-order only, sold separately from admission. No food sales will be available onsite. More details coming soon.

We’ll also be hosting a raffle during the event! Raffle tickets are $1 each, with a chance to win a variety of prizes. Cash or card payments will be accepted onsite, and you may purchase as many raffle tickets as you’d like. All proceeds benefit the HEC PTO and support our efforts throughout the school year. If you know of a business or individual who would be interested in donating prizes to our raffle, please reach out to hecorleyelempto@gmail.com.

Trivia time! Do you know why our theme is Emerald City this year? This is the 35th anniversary of HEC, which opened in 1990, so we're celebrating this milestone with the anniversary gemstone: Emeralds!

Get ready to dress up, hit the dance floor, and follow the yellow brick road as we enjoy a night in the Emerald City!