August 23, 2024
Greetings Parents/Guardians and Caregivers,
As the new instructional year approaches, it is my most sincere hope that this letter finds our Houghton Academy families and students enjoying the last week of summer together, preparing to return for our first day of learning on Thursday, September 5, 2024. As I enter my seventh year serving our students, families, staff and community partners, it is with great pride that I share with our entire community that I have been appointed as the Principal at Houghton Academy by Dr. Williams Knight, Superintendent of Schools. As we prepare to welcome back our children through the doors, please review the following First Day Procedures with your child/children to ensure we have a safe and structured start to what is expected to be an extraordinary year.
Opening Day Procedures
Walkers and Drop Off Students
Will enter the building through DOOR 4 on the cafeteria side of the building. Parents/guardians and caregivers may walk their child to the door, however if you have a student in Pre-K or Kindergarten and would like to walk them to their room for the first day, you must walk through the evolv scanner prior to taking your child to their classroom as per District security protocol.
Bus Students
Will enter the building through DOOR 5 near the rear ramp entrance on the cafeteria side of the building. Upon entering into the building, all bus students will transition down the 1st floor hallway to walk through the evolv scanner before reporting to their assigned gathering location.
Students Gathering Locations
• All Pre-K students will be assisted by faculty/staff and report to the P1 Primary Wing near Room 108 and 109 where they will be greeted by their teacher and brought safely into their new classroom.
• All Kindergarten students will be assisted by faculty/staff and will report to the 2nd Primary Wing near Room 110 where they will be greeted by their teacher and brought safely into their new classroom.
• All students in Grades 1 and 2 will report to the cafeteria where they will be assisted by faculty/staff in locating the assigned table for their classroom. Upon all students arriving, the classroom teacher will walk students to their new classroom.
• All students in Grades 3 and 4 will report to the gymnasium where they will be assisted by faculty/staff in locating the assigned location for their classroom.
-All students in Grades 5 through 8 will report to their classrooms as follows: Grade 5 Girls (Room 310), Grade 5 Boys (Room 311), Grade 6 Girls (Room 306), Grade 6 Boys (Room 308), Grade 7 Girls (Room 320), Grade 7
Boys (Room 319), Grade 8 Girls (Room 315), Grade 8 Boys (Room 317).
Important Information for Parents/Guardians and Caregivers
Parking/Morning Drop Off
For all students being dropped off each day, parents/guardians and caregivers must park in the street in front of the building, ensuring that students ONLY exit your vehicle on the passenger side next to the sidewalk. parents/guardians and caregivers may not use the school parking lot during morning drop off due to the large number of buses transporting our bus students. Students will enter through DOOR 4 only at 9:10 AM each day.
Afternoon Pick Up
All parents/guardians and caregivers must enter the parking lot through the main lot entrance across from Weichec's. If you're picking up a student in Pre-Kor Kindergarten, you will report to DOOR 1 at 3:30 PM each day to sign out your child.
In the event you have a child in Pre-Kor Kindergarten that has a sibling in Grades 1 - 8, the older sibling will report to DOOR 1 so they may be picked up at the same location with your younger child/children.
All parents/guardians and caregivers picking up students in Grades 1 through 8 will pull around and line up along the sidewalk on the cafeteria side of the building then report to the rear cafeteria door at 3:30 PM each day to sign our your child.
Student Cell Phones and Devices
Per school and District protocol, all students that attend Houghton Academy are required to tum in their cell phone each morning to their homeroom teacher. Student cell phones are stored in new, classroom-specific lockable cases for the day which will be returned to students prior to dismissal. All student owned devices such as laptops, gaming units or tablets should not be brought to school. In the event a student is in violation of this protocol, their cell phone will be confiscated by administration and parent pick up of the device is required to have it returned. If a second offense occurs, the student's device will be turned over to th BPS Security Department and an appointment will need to be scheduled to obtain the device.
District Visitor Policy
All parents/guardians and caregivers that wish to visit the building for any reason must schedule an appointment at least 24 hours in advance, stating the reason for the requested visit to ensure your concern(s) are effectively addressed.
Emergency Contact Information Sheets
Please complete the enclosed Emergency Contact Information Sheet in its entirety and return it to school with your child on our first day back to ensure all of the information we have is correct and current.
We could not be more excited for the new school year to begin. I look forward to continuing to serve this amazing school community, knowing that our BEST is still yet to come. Please feel free to contact the school with any questions or concerns at (716) 816-4794.
Sincerely,
Kevin A. Garcia, Principal