Beaufort County School District, other schools announce Irma closures

As of Thursday afternoon, here’s when area schools and colleges are closing in preparation for Hurricane Irma:

▪  Beaufort County School District will have a half-day Friday, according to a district news release. Elementary schools will dismiss at 11:45 a.m., and K-8, middle and high schools will dismiss at 12:45 p.m. The district will also be closed Monday. All school-related activities, including field trips and athletic events, are canceled until further notice.

▪  Jasper County School District will be closed on Friday and Monday. All athletics and student activities are canceled until further notice, according to a district news release.

▪  Savannah-Chatham County Public School System will be closed Friday, Monday and Tuesday, the district announced in a news release Thursday morning. A return-to-school date is “subject to change.” Check the district’s website and social media channels for up-to-date information.

▪  Beaufort Academy will have a half-day Friday, with dismissal at 1 p.m., and will be closed Monday and Tuesday. All athletics and student activities are canceled until further notice, school spokeswoman Lisa Gallagher said.

▪  The Lowcountry Deanery, which includes John Paul II, St. Peter’s in Beaufort, St. Francis on Hilton Head Island and St. Gregory the Great in Bluffton, will be closed Friday. No decision has been made for Monday, said schools spokeswoman Mary Beth Dever.

▪  Cross Schools will be closed Friday, September 8th. If school is out for an extended period of time, “we will continue classes in K-8 through the Portals and/or Google Classroom,” the school wrote on its Facebook page.

▪  Thomas Heyward Academy will be closed on Friday and Monday, according to a Jasper County Emergency Services news release.

▪  Holy Trinity Classical Christian School canceled school Friday until further notice, according to a school news release. Families should check their email and Holy Trinity’s Facebook page for updates on re-opening.

▪  Sea Pines Montessori Academy will be closed on Friday, according to Melinda Cotter, head of the school.

Colleges

▪  The University of South Carolina Beaufort will remain open until noon Friday, Sept. 8, according to campus spokeswoman Kerry Jarvis. All faculty, students and staff, along with their vehicles, must vacate both campuses by then. Residential students evacuating with USCB to Aiken will depart Friday morning. Campus housing staff will provide more details. No faculty, staff or student is allowed to return to USCB until the campus is officially re-opened, which will be announced on the USCB website at www.uscb.edu/campus_alerts.html.

▪  Savannah College of Art and Design will close its Savannah campus Friday for the duration of the storm. Students unable to re-locate on their own will be re-located to the Atlanta campus, starting Thursday at 11 a.m. The college announced Tuesday that it is postponing the start of the fall quarter for one week.

▪  Charleston Southern University called for a mandatory evacuation of all resident students by noon Friday, according to the college’s website. The campus will close effective 9 p.m. Thursday. Sports events, campus activities, and campus visits are canceled until further notice.

▪  The Technical College of the Lowcountry canceled all classes beginning at noon Thursday until further notice. Please continue to check www.tcl.edu/emergency for the latest information.

▪  The Savannah campus and offices of South University will be closed Saturday through Wednesday, the school announced in a news release.

▪  The Citadel has canceled all classes, including graduate and evening classes, that are scheduled after noon Friday and until further notice, according to a school news release.

▪  College of Charleston is canceling all classes and college events beginning Friday, according to the college’s Twitter account.

This story was originally published September 6, 2017 at 2:49 PM with the headline "Beaufort County School District, other schools announce Irma closures."