Superintendent, School Board share plans for Hurricane Matthew make-up days

Plans to make up lost instructional days during Hurricane Matthew and the recovery efforts that followed were announced at the School Board meeting on October 24. HCS students missed seven instructional days in first semester due to the storm, with the exception of students in the Green Sea Floyds area who lost eight days due to prolonged electrical outages. 

State law signed by Governor Haley in May 2015 requires that school districts make up the first three lost instructional days due to inclement weather and that the district shall make all reasonable efforts to make the days up during the semester in which they were lost when operating on a four-by-four schedule for high school courses. After the first three days are made up, the local School Board may grant a waiver for the fourth, fifth and sixth missed instructional days. While the Board can’t officially vote until then, they announced that it was their intention to do so. After the School Board takes action to waive the fourth, fifth and sixth days, the administration will ask that the School Board seek a waiver from the State Board of Education for the remaining days: a seventh day for all schools; and an additional eighth day for students living in the Green Sea Floyds area.

After seeking input from principals who felt strongly that the required make-up days be restored to first semester, Superintendent Rick Maxey presented the following plan to the School Board for making up the first three days:

• November 23 is now a full instructional day. This is the day before Thanksgiving and was earlier listed as a staff and student holiday.
• January 2 is now a full instructional day and was previously indicated as a student holiday on the school calendar.
• Previously listed as a student holiday, January 13 will now be an instructional day, yet will have a two and one-half hour early dismissal to enable teachers to transition between first and semesters. (January 12th, which was originally a 2.5 hour early dismissal will now be a full instructional day)

Although they may prove to be unnecessary, two designated possible make-up days remain on the student calendar for the spring semester.

All Teachers: You're invited to #EDCampMyrtle on Nov. 12!

Click on the image for more details and to sign up!

HCS Hurricane Matthew Update (UPDATED: Mon, Oct. 17)

Green Sea Floyds Elementary and High will reopen for students on Tuesday, October 18. All transporation services for the Green Sea Floyds attendance area will also resume.

The District recognizes that there are still students and families in homes throughout the county who are without electricity, as well as those who live in areas where flooding makes roadways inaccessible. Parents who continue to experience hardships will be asked to provide a written statement to the school principal documenting their individual circumstances when their child is able to return to school.

Bus transportation will resume routine operations on Monday in all areas except Green Sea Floyds, which will resume on Tuesday. Transportation schedules will follow regular routes, as conditions allow. Parents are advised that bus transportation service may experience delays in both morning and afternoon routes as accommodations are made for impassible roadways. Parents of students who live in flooded areas who have questions about temporary modifications being made to bus routes are asked to contact the bus transportation office in their attendance area.

Bus Transportation

Bus transportation will resume routine operations, as conditions allow. Parents are advised that bus transportation service may experience delays as accommodations are made for impassible roadways.

Any questions relative to bus transportation should be directed to the bus supervisor in their attendance area.

• Aynor Attendance Area: 843.488.7125
• Carolina Forest Attendance Area: 843.236.0705
• Conway Attendance Area: 843.488.6094
• Green Sea Floyds Attendance Area: 843.392.3134
• Loris Attendance Area: 843.390.6822
• Myrtle Beach Attendance Area: 843.445.2041
• N. Myrtle Beach Attendance Area: 843.399.8575
• Socastee and St. James Attendance Areas: 843.293.6941
• Special Needs Buses: 843.488.6956
• Main District Bus Office: 843.488.6957

Storm-related student absences

HCS recognizes that there are families throughout the county that are still impacted, and may continue to be impacted, by the storm and flooding. If your child is unable to attend school because of continued hardships or roadway inaccessibility, please communicate this to your child’s school. When your child is able to return to school, please send a written note for the days in which he/she was absent with an explanation as to why he/she was unable to attend. Our administrators will work with families on a case-by-case basis to make sure students who are truly unable to attend do not incur unexcused absences.

Make-up days

There has been no decision regarding make-up days for the seven (7) instructional days lost due to evacuation and recovery efforts for Hurricane Mathew.

Extracurricular Activities and School Events

All information about extracurricular activities and school events will come from individual schools. 

Posted Mon, Oct 17, 2016, 2:55 pm

Application for Prudential Spirit of Community Awards Program - Due Nov 8, 2016

The search is under way for South Carolina’s top youth volunteers of 2017. 
Students in grades 5–12 are invited to apply for the Prudential Spirit of Community Awards if they have made meaningful contributions to their communities through volunteer service within the past 12 months. The deadline to apply is Tuesday, November 8, 2016. The application to apply for this award can be found by clicking on the links provided: http://spirit.prudential.com andwww.nassp.org/spirit.

This year the program marks its 22nd year of honoring youth volunteers. The program, sponsored by Prudential Financial in partnership with the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP), was created to recognize middle and high school students for helping people in need, promoting health and safety, protecting the environment, or volunteering in other ways in their local communities.

South Carolina’s top youth volunteers will be announced February 7, 2017, and they will go to Washington D.C. in May 2017 for four days of special recognition events. The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards program has honored more than 115,000 youth volunteers over the past 21 years at local, state, and national levels. Please see the attachment for additional eligibility details and important dates. 

Click here for more facts about the Prudential Spirit of Community Awards Program