Aiken County public schools will switch to remote learning Friday, colleges monitoring Hurricane Ian

Sep. 28—The Aiken County Public School District has announced that Friday will be a remote learning day due to anticipated weather from Hurricane Ian.

According to a statement from the school district, students should leave school on Thursday with their laptops and all their Friday assignments downloaded to their devices. Because power outages may occur laptops are asked to be fully charged.

Students in first grade and kindergarten may be assigned work that is to be completed with a pencil and paper, and the parents and guardians will be provided information about the assignments.

"In collaboration with County Emergency Management Officials, our district leaders have been monitoring this weather system to make the best possible decision regarding the safety of in-person learning for Friday. There are many safety considerations impacting this decision and we recognize the difficulties of remote learning for many students and families. Weather systems are difficult to predict. Based on the information available to us at this time, we believe this decision to be in the best interest of our students, staff and families. Specific information regarding e-learning assignments will follow from individual teachers and schools. Thank you, in advance, for your patience and understanding and please stay safe throughout the remainder of this week and weekend," the school district said in a statement.

Horse Creek Academy

Horse Creek Academy will also have an eLearning Day on Friday due to the possible impacts of Hurricane Ian, according to a Facebook post from the school.

Lunches, extra curricular events and services will be canceled. Families will not be charged for the lunches.

Elementary students will be bringing home paper packets and middle and high school students will work digitally on their Chromebooks.

Classes will be on a normal schedule on Thursday.

High school sports

Many of the high schools announced changes to the Friday night football games.

For North Augusta High School the varsity football game against South Aiken has been moved to Thursday, Sept. 29, at South Aiken. The JV game has been moved to Thursday at 6 p.m. at North Augusta High School, according to a social media post from the school.

For Fox Creek High School the varsity football game against Silver Bluff has been moved to Thursday, Sept. 29 at 7 p.m. at Lions Memorial Field. The JV football game for this week has been cancelled, according to a social media post from the school.

Strom Thurmond High School's varsity football home game with Batesburg-Leesville High School has been moved to Thursday at 6 p.m., the school announced in a news release.

The Wagener-Salley High School football game has been moved to Wednesday, Sept. 28 at 6:30 p.m. at Williston-Elko, according to a social media announcement from the school.

Aiken Tech

Aiken Technical College is also monitoring the hurricane, but planning to continue with a normal schedule on Friday.

"The College is closely monitoring local weather forecasts and any impact the weather may have on campus operations. Any changes to the College's operations or hours will be announced on our website and official social media pages," said Nikasha N. Dicks, director of marketing and communications for ATC.

USC Aiken

USC Aiken is monitoring the situation and is currently continuing on a normal schedule.

Postponements

The SPCA Albrecht Center for Animal Welfare's Wags, Wine & Whiskers: 10 Year Celebration, which was scheduled for 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 2 at Constantine House in Aiken, has been postponed to Oct. 9.

The dedication ceremony celebrating the completion of the Love to the Rescue wall, which was scheduled for 11:30 a.m. Friday, Sept. 30, has been postponed to Thursday, Oct. 6. The event will be held at the same time at Osbon Cleaners, 136 Pendleton St. S.W.

The annual Blessing of the Animals at All Saints Anglican Church has been postponed to Saturday, Oct. 8 at 10:30 a.m.

Cancellations

The Touch-A-Truck event scheduled for Saturday has been canceled due to the impending weather from Hurricane Ian.