Wednesday is 'gameday' for Bay District Schools. What parents should know about the first day

BAY COUNTY — Set your alarm clocks and get your backpacks ready, school starts Wednesday for Bay District Schools students.

As students and parents prepare for another school year, BDS officials offer their tips and tricks for navigating the first day back to school.

Director of Communications Sharon Michalik said staff members have been working hard all summer to prepare. She added that the first day of school is where their planning all comes to fruition, so everyone is excited to start again.

"They're anxious to get back in their classrooms and get set up. They're working hard to arrange their desks and decorate their rooms," Michalik said. "The support staff are working on schedules with administrators, transportation staff has been working all summer on the bus route ... Wednesday is kind of our gameday."

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Michalik said the No. 1 thing parents of new students need to do is make sure their child is enrolled in school.

"The first day of school is very busy, lots of things are going on in the office and it's really rough when kids show up that the school isn't expecting and they are trying to do all they can to work with the students who are there plus then get new students registered," Michalik said. "It's really important that all new students get registered (by Tuesday), that way they'll be able to start school on Wednesday. ... If they register on Wednesday, chances are there'll be a one- or two-day delay before they can start school."

She said attending the school's orientation and determining the student's mode of transportation back home before Wednesday also is important.

Getting your child into the routine of getting up early and eating breakfast also is helpful. Michalik said while you are getting a head start on your morning schedule, you also can use that time to go over what the child can expect during their school day.

"Talk about those routines because kids want to know what's going to happen next," Michalik said. "After I eat breakfast, then what am I going to do and when I get to school, then what am I going to do and how am I going to eat lunch and what am I going to eat for lunch. ... Talking through all of those routines, especially with younger students, is really very important."

Michalik said she urges everyone to be aware of more traffic on the roads in the coming days and to be aware of bus stops and school zones, as well as those students walking to school.

"Pay attention to the school zone signs, pay attention to where you need to reduce your speed to pass by a school safely," Michalik said. "Obviously, if the bus stops in front of you and throws out that stop sign, then you need to stop and make sure that the children are getting on the bus and getting off the bus as safely as possible."

Michalik said while the first day is very exciting, it is a huge undertaking to walk back into school after a summer off.

"If everyone can just be patient and understanding with the schools as we ease into that new routine," Michalik said. "That's one of the benefits really of starting on a Wednesday ... so it's Wednesday, Thursday, Friday to kind of ease into this new routine, then everyone has the weekend to recover. And then Monday, we're ready to hit the ground running."

If parents or guardians have additional questions, Michalik said they can look at BDS's Back to School' tab on its website at bay.k12.fl.us/back-to-school.

Orientation times

Orientation allows families to meet teachers beforehand and feel more familiar with the school's campus. While some schools' orientation dates have passed, here are the remaining orientation dates. 

Pre-K

• A. Gary Walsingham Academy — Tuesday, 9 a.m.

• Callaway Elementary — Tuesday, 8 a.m.

• Deer Point Elementary — Tuesday, 8 a.m.

• Hiland Park Elementary — Tuesday, 8 a.m.

• Lucille Moore Elementary — Tuesday, 11 a.m.

• Lynn Haven Elementary — Tuesday, 11 a.m.

• Merriam Cherry Street Elementary — Tuesday, 9 a.m.

• Northside Elementary — Tuesday, 8 a.m.

• Oscar Patterson Academy — Tuesday, 9 a.m.

• Parker Elementary — Tuesday,  9 a.m.

• Tommy Smith Elementary — Tuesday,  9 a.m.

• Waller Elementary — Tuesday, 9 a.m.

Kindergarten

• A. Gary Walsingham Academy — Tuesday, 10 a.m.

• Callaway Elementary — Tuesday, 8 a.m.

• Deer Point Elementary — Tuesday, 1 p.m.

• Hiland Park Elementary — Tuesday, 8 a.m.

• Hutchison Beach Elementary — Tuesday, 8 a.m.

• Lucille Moore Elementary — Tuesday, 11 a.m.

• Lynn Haven Elementary — Tuesday, 9 a.m.

• Merriam Cherry Street Elementary — Tuesday, 9 a.m.

• Northside Elementary — Tuesday, 8 a.m.

• Oscar Patterson Academy — Tuesday, 10:30 a.m.

• Patronis Elementary — Tuesday, 10 a.m.

• Tommy Smith Elementary — Tuesday, 12:30 p.m.

• Waller Elementary — Tuesday, 8 a.m.

• West Bay Elementary — Tuesday, 8 a.m.

Elementary schools 

• A. Gary Walsingham — Tuesday, 10 a.m.

• Callaway — Tuesday, 8 a.m.

• Deer Point — Tuesday, 9 a.m.

• Hutchison Beach — Tuesday, 8 a.m.

• Hiland Park — Tuesday, 8 a.m.

• Lucille Moore — Tuesday, 11 a.m.

• Lynn Haven — Tuesday, 9 a.m.

• Merriam Cherry Street — Tuesday, 9 a.m.

• Northside — Tuesday, 8 a.m.

• Oscar Patterson — Tuesday, 10:30 a.m.

• Patronis — Tuesday, 10 a.m.

• Southport — Tuesday, 9 a.m.

• Tommy Smith — Tuesday, 1 p.m.

• Waller — Tuesday, 8 a.m. for first grade, 9 a.m. for second and third grades, 10 a.m. for fourth and fifth grades

• West Bay — Tuesday, 9:30 a.m.

Middle schools

• Jinks — Tuesday, 9:30 a.m.

• Merritt Brown — Tuesday, 2 p.m.

• Mowat — Tuesday, 10 a.m.

• Surfside — Tuesday, 9:30 a.m.

Combination schools

• Breakfast Point — Tuesday, 8 a.m. for kindergarten; 9 a.m. for first grade; 10 a.m. for second grade; 11 a.m. for third grade; noon for fourth grade; 1 p.m. for fifth grade; 2 p.m. for middle school

• Tyndall — Tuesday, 8 a.m. for kindergarten; 9 a.m. for first grade; 10 a.m. for second grade; 11 a.m. for third grade; noon for fourth and fifth grades; 1 p.m. for middle school

Special purpose

• Margaret K. Lewis — Tuesday, 1 p.m.

• St. Andrew School at Oakland Terrance — Tuesday, 1 p.m.  

This article originally appeared on The News Herald: Bay District Schools reopen Wednesday for start of 2022-23 school year