It's back to school in Bay County: See bus routes, supply lists, dress codes and more

Samantha Neely, The News Herald
·6 min read

BAY COUNTY — As Bay County students return to their classrooms this week, here is your back-to-school guide with open house dates, school supplies and bus routes.

Bay District Schools will open its doors for the 2022-2023 school year on Wednesday.

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School supplies

To find out what your classroom needs, check out BDS's dedicated shopping lists at bay.k12.fl.us/school-supplies.

The following schools have released their school supply lists:

Elementary schools

  • Bozeman

  • Breakfast Point

  • Callaway

  • Cedar Grove

  • Cherry Street

  • Deer Point

  • Hiland Park

  • Hutchison Beach

  • Lynn Haven

  • Lucille Moore

  • Northside

  • Oscar Patterson

  • Parker

  • Patronis

  • Southport

  • Tommy Smith

  • Tyndall

  • Waller

  • Walsingham

  • West Bay

Middle schools 

  • Bozeman

  • Breakfast Point

  • Jinks

  • Merritt Brown

  • Mowat

  • Rutherford

  • Tyndall

High schools

  • Arnold

  • Bay

  • Bozeman

  • Mosley

  • Rutherford

Special purpose schools

  • Margaret K. Lewis

Dress code

According to the district's dress code policy, students are expected to come to school dressed appropriately with proper attention having been given to personal cleanliness, grooming and neatness of dress.

Students who choose not to follow the dress code will face disciplinary consequences and their parents will be asked to bring replacement clothing items to school, according to the policy.

To see a detailed report on the BDS dress code, visit bay.k12.fl.us/dresscode.

Where to find your bus route

Need help finding the proper bus? Parents and students can find bus routes by going onto the BDS website and inputting their information.

If you need to confirm your child for bus transportation, parents must log into the BDS Parent Portal in FOCUS, BDS's online system for parents to view their student's information. From there, they will go to the permissions tab and select "yes" in the section titled "My child will need bus transportation."

The district notes that any student who resides more than a "reasonable walking distance" from their designated school is eligible to ride the bus to and from that school, except students authorized to attend school outside their normal attendance zone.

According to Florida Administrative Code, "A reasonable walking distance for any student who is not otherwise eligible for transportation pursuant to Section 1011.68, F.S., is any distance not more than two (2) miles between the home and school."

To find your bus route, go to bay.k12.fl.us/bus.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has approved Bay District Schools for free and reduced meals for the 2022-2023 school year.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has approved Bay District Schools for free and reduced meals for the 2022-2023 school year.

Free and reduced meals

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has approved BDS for free and reduced meals for the 2022-2023 school year.

Based on their qualifications for the Community Eligibility Program, these schools will not need to submit an application for free or reduced meals:

  • Bay High

  • Rutherford High

  • Rosenwald High

  • Jinks Middle

  • Merritt Brown Middle

  • Mowat Middle

  • Deane Bozeman

  • Callaway Elementary

  • Cedar Grove Elementary

  • Hiland Park Elementary

  • Lucille Moore Elementary

  • Lynn Haven Elementary

  • Merriam Cherry Street Elementary

  • Northside Elementary

  • Parker Elementary

  • Southport Elementary

  • St. Andrew School at Oakland Terrance

  • Tommy Smith Elementary

  • Waller Elementary

  • West Bay Elementary

For students who do not attend the listed schools, BDS advises parents or guardians to take a few minutes to complete the form on its website or at myschoolapps.com.

Full-priced meal prices:

  • Elementary breakfast — $1.25

  • Elementary lunch — $2.50

  • 6-12 grade breakfast — $1.50

  • 6-12 grade lunch — $2.75

Bell schedules

Elementary schools start at 7:30 a.m. and end at 2 p.m., except for Callaway, Cedar Grove, Lucille Moore, Merriam Cherry, Parker and Waller's dismissal at 2:15 p.m.

All middle schools start at 9 a.m. and end at 3:30 p.m.

All high schools start at 8:15 and end at 3 p.m., except Deane Bozeman's start time of 9 a.m. and dismissal at 3:30 p.m.

Remaining schools' bell schedules:

  • Tyndall Academy — 7:20 a.m., 1:50 p.m.

  • Margaret K. Lewis School — 8:15 a.m., 2:15 p.m.

  • New Horizons Learning Center — 8:15 a.m., 3 p.m.

  • St. Andrew School — 7:30 a.m., 2 p.m.

  • Tom P. Haney Technical College — 7 a.m., 3:30 p.m.

  • AMI Kids — 8 a.m., 2 p.m.

  • Bay Haven Elementary (K-2) — 7:30 a.m., 2:30 p.m.

  • Bay Haven Elementary (3-5) — 7:30 a.m., 2:45 p.m.

  • Bay Haven Middle (6-8) — 7:45 a.m., 3:05 p.m.

  • Central High School (AM) — 7:15 a.m., 12:05 p.m.

  • Central High School (PM) — 12:05 p.m., 5 p.m.

  • Chautauqua Learn and Serve — 8:15 a.m., 3 p.m.

  • North Bay Haven Elementary (K-2) — 7:30 a.m., 2:30 p.m.

  • North Bay Haven Elementary (3-5) — 7:30 a.m., 2:45 p.m.

  • North Bay Haven Middle (6-8) — 7:55 a.m., 3 p.m.

  • North Bay Haven High (9-12, zero period) — 7:15 a.m., 8:05 p.m.

  • North Bay Haven High (9-12, regular period) — 8:25 a.m., 3:15 p.m.

  • Palm Bay Elementary — 8 a.m., 3:15 p.m.

  • Palm Bay Preparatory Academy — 8 a.m., 3:15 p.m.

  • Rising Leaders Academy (K-2) — 7:45 a.m., 2:45 p.m. (Friday 7:45 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. )

  • Rising Leaders Academy (3-5) — 7:45 a.m. - 3 p.m.

  • Rising Leaders Academy (MS/HS) — 7:45 a.m. - 3:15 p.m. (Friday 7:45 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. for grades 5-12)

  • University Academy (K-8) — 7:30 a.m., 3 p.m.

Students at Arnold High School head to their first classes on Aug. 10, 2021, the first day of the 2021-2022 school year.
Students at Arnold High School head to their first classes on Aug. 10, 2021, the first day of the 2021-2022 school year.

Open house schedules

Here are the dates for open houses:

Elementary schools

  • A. Gary Walsingham — Sept. 22, 5:30-6:30 p.m.

  • Breakfast Point — Sept. 15, 5:30-6:30 p.m.

  • Callaway — Sept. 22, 5-6:30 p.m.

  • Cedar Grove — Sept. 29, 5-7 p.m.

  • Deane Bozeman — Sept. 13, 5:30-6:30 p.m.

  • Deer Point — Sept. 29, 4-5:30 p.m.

  • Hiland Park — Sept. 29, 5-6:30 p.m.

  • Hutchison Beach — Sept. 22, 5-6 p.m.

  • Lucille Moore — Sept. 15, 5-6:30 p.m.

  • Lynn Haven — Sept. 15, 5:30-6:30 p.m.

  • Merriam Cherry Street — Sept. 22, 5-6 p.m.

  • Northside — Sept. 22, 5-6:15 p.m.

  • Oscar Patterson — Sept. 22, 6-7:30 p.m.

  • Parker — Sept. 8, 5-6:30 p.m.

  • Patronis — Sept. 15, 5-6 p.m.

  • Southport — Sept. 29, 5-6 p.m.

  • Tommy Smith — Sept. 15, 5:30-7 p.m.

  • Tyndall — Sept. 22, 4-5:30 p.m.

  • Waller — Sept. 22, 3-5 p.m.

  • West Bay — Sept. 15, 5-6 p.m.

Middle schools

  • Breakfast Point — Sept. 15, 5:30-6:30 p.m.

  • Bozeman — Sept. 13, 6:30-7:30 p.m.

  • Jinks — Sept. 22, 5:30-6:30 p.m.

  • Merritt Brown — Sept. 15, 5-6 p.m.

  • Mowat — Sept. 15, 6-7 p.m.

  • Surfside — Sept. 13, 5:30-7 p.m.

  • Tyndall — Sept. 22, 4-5:30 p.m.

High schools

  • Mosley — Sept. 19, 6-7 p.m.

  • Bay — Sept. 26, 6-7:30 p.m.

  • Bozeman — Sept. 13, 6:30-7:30 p.m.

  • Arnold — Sept. 19, 6-7 p.m.

  • Rosenwald — N/A

  • Rutherford — Sept. 19, 6-7 p.m.

Special purpose schools

  • Margaret K. Lewis — Sept. 13, 6-7 p.m..

  • New Horizons — Sept. 13, 6-7 p.m.

  • St. Andrew School at Oakland Terrance — Sept. 13, 6-7 p.m.

This article originally appeared on The News Herald: Bay County's first day of school: Supplies, bus routes, meals, more