Bulloch Back to School: What You Need to Know

New Year-New Faces

School administrators in new roles; Teachers promoted to administration

Multiple schools have new leaders for the 2019-2020 school year.  Superintendent of Schools Charles Wilson’s annual review of district and school-level needs plus job openings with some administrator positions resulted in multiple principal transfers and the promotion of some teachers into administration roles. This is a complete list of the principals and assistant principals assigned to each school.

Seven new leaders who received promotions are graduates of the school district’s Aspiring Leaders program:  Chad Prosser, Brad Boykin, Leigh Baker, Travis Brooks, Shannon Hinson, Marianna Voiselle, and Ragan Adkins.  The Aspiring Leaders program is one of the school district’s strategic initiatives to attract, retain and promote effective employees. The program provides qualified employees with the professional skills and competencies to help shape their effectiveness as a leader. Graduates of the program then have the capability to make a significant difference in the current and future performance of student achievement and organizational effectiveness within the school district.

In the area of prep sports, the district’s three high school’s each have new athletic directors to oversee student athlete eligibility, coaches, athletic facilities, and compliance with Georgia High School Association (GHSA) policies.  These new directors are Patrick Hill at Statesboro High School, Justin Chester at Portal Middle High School, and Aimee Civalier and Barrett Davis at Southeast Bulloch High School.

New Student Registration for Pre-k – 12th Grade

Register by July 30 to avoid wait times

For new students to our school system, parents and guardians may register their children online for school at any time.  All student registration is done online on the school district’s or schools’ websites via your own Internet-enabled computer, cellular telephone or tablet, or you may make an appointment to use a computer kiosk at your zoned school.  All school offices are open now, weekdays from 8 a.m. – 3 p.m. To avoid extended wait times at the beginning of the school year, we encourage parents and guardians to register any new students online prior to July 30.

If you have children already in the school system, but have a new child whom you need to register, you may also register him/her for school using your Campus Parent account. Simply log into your Campus Parent portal on your computer of mobile application, choose “More” from the left menu bar, then choose online registration.

All new student registration for K-12 students occurs online.  You may visit our website 24-7, from any Internet- enabled computer, laptop, digital device or cellular telephone you have to register your child at any time for school. The site will also guide you to the required documents you will need. If you do not have Internet access, you may contact a school office to make an appointment to use our registration kiosks.

Registration will remain open throughout the year. While our initial pre-kindergarten registration period ended in March, you may still register your child for pre-kindergarten online and be placed on our waiting list for any remaining spots or available spots that may come open during the school year.

Attendance is important every day

School begins Thursday, August 1.  Attendance is important every day. We need your support to ensure children attend school regularly and arrive on time.  It is a key component of your child’s academic success. A child can begin to suffer academically if they miss just 10 percent of school days. That is just one day every two weeks.

We understand missing one or more periods of school can be unavoidable. Please remember to send a signed, written parent note or doctor’s note about the absence within five school days of your child’s return to school. After a child reaches a total of five absences from school, additional documentation, like a doctor’s note, may be required for any further absences.

Did you move? Did your child’s information change?

If your family moved this summer, please remember to update your contact information in either the Campus Parent portal or contact your school.  If the relocation placed your child in a different school zone than he/she previously attended in our district, please contact your new school. Their office staff will assist you with the transfer of information. To avoid wait times, please do this prior to July 30.

Save the Dates:  Potential make-up days identified 

Severe weather in the form of hurricanes, snow and ice storms have caused school districts like Bulloch County Schools to close school for six or more days the past few years losing valuable student instruction time. As a result Bulloch County Schools’ 2019-2020 school calendar includes four potential make-up days which could be used should schools be closed due to severe weather or other emergencies.

Parents and students are asked to save these dates and plan for their potential use: November 25, November 26, April 6, and April 7.  The days will not be used automatically should an event occur. The superintendent will decide if one or more of them will be activated.  The school system will notify the public through its electronic telephone, email and text messaging system, the news media, and the school district’s social media platforms. A complete 2019-2020 school year calendar is posted on the district’s website and inside the district’s Student Handbook which will be distributed to each student during Open House and the first day of school.

School Safety: Visitor & Check-In Protocols

Bulloch County Schools has visitor protocols in place, and all schools use an electronic visitor check-in system, called CheckMate. While all schools will use a supervised open-door policy the first two weeks of the school year to accommodate new and young students and their families, on Aug. 19, strict adherence to school system visitor protocols will start. On that date, to ensure the safety of all adults and children in the schools, all visitors will be required to present a state-issued picture identification card or driver’s license to gain entry past the secured areas of any of the school district’s schools.  Should a visitor not have a state-issued identification card, other acceptable forms of picture identification may be accepted at the discretion of school administrators. School administrators have the authority to ask any visitor to explain his or her presence in a school building. To review all the school district’s visitor protocols and frequently asked questions, visit the online Back-to-School Toolkit.

School Safety:  Protecting Student Athletes

Optim Healthcare & Bulloch County Schools to host free workshop for parents and athletes

The new school year will bring exciting athletic seasons for student athletes.  Optim Healthcare and Bulloch County Schools want to ensure student athletes and their families learn healthy conditioning habits and sports safety, and they are partnering to do just that. They will offer a free workshop entitled, Protecting Our Student Athletes, for all student athletes and future athletes district-wide, and their families on Tuesday, Aug. 6, from 6:30 p.m. – 8 p.m., in the Statesboro High School auditorium. Visit the school district’s website or Facebook sites to register online.

Optim’s leading sports medicine physicians and trainers will share information on hydration, heat safety, concussion management, pre-season conditioning, a Q&A session, and more.  This is a time for parents and athletes to learn best practices to help protect athletes and encourage safety and good health.

Optim speakers will include the following: Dr. Don Aaron – Orthopedic Surgeon; Dr. Delan Gaines – Orthopedic Surgeon; Dr. Justin Lancaster – Non-Operative Sports Medicine; Ty Butler – Director of Sports Medicine; and athletic trainers – Bulloch County Schools.

Remember that all middle school and high school athletes must have a valid athletic physical on file prior to participating in any conditioning, practice or active play for any of the school district’s athletic teams.  Physicals can be obtained from your primary physician or at your school (if offered at school), and the physicals are valid for one year.  Summer is a great time to obtain these for your student athlete, and then your child would be covered for any sport he/she plays during the 2019-2020 school year.

Online tools offer convenience for families

Student registration; Student schedules & grades;

School meal accounts

• Online Registration: All new student registration for Bulloch County Schools’ students is done online, either via the district’s website or via computer kiosks at all schools during school hours. Families have convenient 24-7 access to use the online registration tool from anywhere and from any Internet-enabled device.

• Online Campus Parent & Campus Student: Parents and students have enjoyed 24-7 online access to attendance, class schedules, assignments, grades, report cards and announcements through Campus Parent Portal (Campus Portal) for almost 10 years. To better serve you, Campus Portal has been upgraded to Campus Parent and Campus Student. Visit the school district’s website or speak with your school’s media specialist about the use of these free online tools. For your convenience all parents and guardians of currently registered students who do not already have a Campus Parent account, should have received an email on July 15 with temporary login information to create an account.

• Manage School Meal Accounts Online with My School Bucks: Bulloch County Schools uses the My School Bucks website and mobile application (app) to provide parents/guardians the convenience of placing money of their child’s meal account in advance. This is the preferred method of paying for school meals. Simply go to the www.myschoolbucks.com website or download the mobile application from Google Play or the Apple App Store to enroll and start using the site to deposit funds into your student’s meal account. Once your account is established, you can check balances or fund the account anytime from your home computer, cell phone, or any Internet-enabled digital device. Your information is safe and secure. Your personal and payment card information is protected by the most advanced Internet security. Call (855) 832-5226 or visit www.myschoolbucks.com for more information.