Chameleon Chronicle 2025

Dear Howe Hall AIMS Families!

Welcome back, everyone! I’m thrilled to welcome our students and staff back to campus for the 2025-2026 school year! We have many wonderful things planned for this year.

As many of you know we are under construction with the addition to the side lot parent pick up loop. We have been fighting against the afternoon thunderstorms so it is not complete at this time. We are hopeful it will be paved this weekend. Please avoid this loop until next Monday. If it is not finished we will have it marked and we will use the American Legion for overflow. We have updated the restrooms near fine arts and have a new floor in the MPR. We can’t wait for you to experience these exciting changes as we continue learning and growing together. Let’s get Creative and make this our best year yet!

Kindergarten Orientation Thursday, August 7th 4:30-5:30 PM

Join us for our Kindergarten Orientation event on Thursday, August 7th! Kindergarten families are asked to attend from 4:30-5:30 to learn all you need to know about kindergarten this year. You may bring your child's school supplies. Be sure to stop by the office to scan your ID, cafeteria for information on Chameleon Care, or to join the PTA. We look forward to welcoming you and kicking off a fantastic school year together!

Meet the Teacher Monday, August 11th New families 3:30-5:30 and returning families 4-5:30

Join us for our Meet the Teacher event on Monday, August 11th! New families are welcome starting at 3:30p.m. and returning families may arrive starting at 4:00 p.m. The evening will end at 5:30 p.m. This is a great opportunity to connect with teachers and staff. Students in kindergarten through third grade will be meeting their homeroom teacher. Students in fourth and fifth grade will meet their whole team of teachers. Mrs. Graham and Mrs. Griffith's classes will also be switching classes this year. School supplies may be dropped off at this time. Be sure to stop by the office to scan your ID, cafeteria for lunch information or Chameleon Care, multi-purpose room to see PTA, and the fine arts hallway to see all of your fine arts teachers. We look forward to welcoming you and kicking off a fantastic school year together!

PTA Spirit Wear Sale Going on Now

Chameleons! We are excited to announce pre-sales for this year's spirit wear! We can't wait to see everyone wearing their Chameleon swag!

August PTA Newsletter

Teachers and staff will be ready to greet you beginning at 7:15 a.m. on Wednesday, August 13th. Please note that parents/guardians will only be permitted to walk their children to their classrooms on the first day of school. If you are walking in with your child on the first day, please be safe and cross at the crosswalk and walk on the grass until you can walk on the sidewalk to the front office. Please do not park in the car lines as this is a safety concerns for those dropping off.

Be sure to fill out the student information sheet and the color tag with the names of those allowed to pick up your child from school. This tag should be attached to the bookbag and the information card returned to school the first day. Remember to put the orange dismissal card in your car so you are ready for dismissal pick up at 2:30 p.m. The orange cards will need to be placed on your dash.

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.

Morning Arrival

We will begin our arrival drop-off procedures at 7:15 am! Please continue reading to learn more about our process!

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 that when it is time, he or she can hop out of the car with all of the items needed for the day. Staff members will be on duty beginning at 7:15 a.m. in each location to ensure a 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 first 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 the 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.

Chameleon Care is available for our families who have registered to attend. Drop-off will be in front of the school by the visitor parking spots from 6:30-7:15 AM only. Drop-off after 7:15 will be permitted only in the car drop-off lanes. The only families permitted to drop off in front of the school are the ones that will attend morning care from 6:30 AM to 7:15 AM. There will be a Chameleon Care staff member standing near the door to greet students heading to our morning program.
Back Lot is for any students in grades kindergarten through fifth grade who want to eat breakfast at school in the morning and any other kindergarten through first-grade students. 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. The back lot holds between 10-12 cars, so be mindful when you see that it is full.
Side lot is under construction and will hopefully be finished soon. Side Lot is for the students in second through fifth grade who do not want breakfast from the cafeteria. Students are asked to stay inside the vehicle until the staff is on duty and directs them to exit the vehicle. 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 stack in the loop if necessary and form two rows on the back side of the loop so we can keep traffic from backing up on Howe Hall Road. We rotate each row to ensure the quickest drop-off possible, so please fill in all available areas in line.

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.

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 to the dismissal location. All requests for a change in location must be emailed to mcalista@bcsdschools.net for consideration. We will collect data during the first few days of school to balance the dismissal locations.

1. Chameleon Care is available for our families who 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 Procare App. We will not dismiss from Chameleon Care until after 3:00 PM due to side lot dismissal.

2. Back Lot is designed for our kindergarten through first-grade students and older siblings due to the proximity of the K-1 classrooms. This car lane 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 other cars can exit the loop. The 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. The side lot is under construction and will hopefully be finished soon. In the meantime, we will utilize the same process as last year with two lane loading. Side Lot is for the students in second through fifth grade. Students will wait in a designated area until their car is called. Students need to be able to independently buckle their seat belts. We load approximately 11 cars at a time and use two lane loading. We will start loading with the lane farthest from the sidewalk. Cars will double stack in the car loop so we can avoid backing up traffic on Howe Hall Road. When you enter the side lot, if cars are 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, you will be able to enter the car line. Please pull all the way up to the number that was called. When exiting the school, you will exit near the red light.

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 carpool 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.

From the Desk of Mrs. Odgers

Happy New School Year! I hope you had an amazing summer. I want to take a moment to emphasize the importance of regular attendance for achieving success in school. As you know, all school-age children in your care are required to be in school and on time every day.

If your child needs to be absent, please remember to provide a note for every instance

of absence. This can be submitted via email, as a handwritten note, or even a doctor's

note. Each note should include the date(s) of absence, the reason for the absence, the

student's full name, the name of their homeroom teacher, and must be signed by a

parent or guardian. You may send these notes through your child's communication

folder or directly via email to Mrs. Odgers at odgersy.net.

As we approach the school year, which consists of 180 school days, please be reminded

that students must attend a minimum of 170 days to meet attendance requirements.

Thank you for your cooperation and support in ensuring your child's educational

success.

Thank you,

Ms. Odgers

Attendance Policy JBD

From the Desk of Nurse Foiles

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 foilesa@bcsdschools.net or by calling the school at 843-820-3899.

From the Desk of Ms. Aymee Wilhite

It is time for school breakfast and lunch. Please remember students are not allowed to have knives in school even if it is used for lunch. Occasionally, plastic cutlery comes with lunch boxes. Please help ensure safety of our students by removing these items and checking knives are not brought to school in lunch boxes.

For information about Free and Reduced Lunch Applications, please go to https://berkeleynutrition.net/?page=lunchapps. or stop by the front office for a paper application. These applications must be completed annually.

If your students are eating school breakfast or lunch, you can check out the menu by clicking on the link below. If your child needs to pay for lunch, please send the money with the student or add it to his or her account through My School Bucks (https://www.myschoolbucks.com/ver2/getmain.action?clientKey=&requestAction=home). Contact the school if you need assistance.

Child Nutrition Services