August 14, 2023 | By Lisa Scagliotti

*Monday, Aug. 28, is the first day of school for students at Brookside Primary School and Crossett Brook Middle School. Photo by Lisa Scagliotti*

The 2023-24 school year is fast approaching and parents in the Harwood Unified Union School District have a little bit of homework to do ahead of the first day.

Communications are going out from each of the schools with more school-specific details such as daily schedules and student-parent-teacher conferences before school starts.

Below are some general reminders.

First days: Monday-Tuesday, Aug. 28-29

The first day of school for most students will be Monday, Aug. 28, including those headed to Brookside Primary and Crossett Brook Middle schools.

The exception is at Harwood Union Middle/High School where only 7th and 9th graders attend on the 28th. The rest of the student body gets one more day of vacation and starts on Tuesday, Aug. 29. The HUMS/HS Aug. 4 newsletter has more details and important dates and reminders for Harwood families.

The 2023-24 school calendar is posted on the HUUSD.org website where you can view, download and print it.

Registering online

Gone are the days of receiving school forms in a big envelope in your student’s backpack at the end of the first day of school.

The school district asks families to complete the registration process for returning students online now. That includes providing information for emergency contacts, health details for the school nurses to have on file, and various forms such as a general consent for field trips.

Registration is done on the PowerSchool platform where parents and students have accounts. There are instructions on the school district website both for families with accounts and those needing to make one. Find that information here.

Each school has a registrar staff member who can assist with questions, too. Their names and contact details are on the page at the link above.

*A school bus exits through fall foliage along the Crossett Brook Middle School driveway. Photo by Lisa Scagliotti*

Bus routes and schedules

Information from the registration process is used to finalize school bus routes. Preliminary routes with details on times and stops will be posted on the HUUSD.org website home page by the end of this week. That information likely will be revised somewhat by the time school begins and even within the initial days of school. View the Bus Routes page here.

Middle and high school athletics

For any middle or high school student looking to participate in fall sports, the meeting for student-athletes and their parents will take place on Tuesday, Aug. 15, in the Harwood auditorium, 6-7 p.m.

Students and parents will get to meet Harwood’s new Athletic and Activities Director Ian Fraunfelder who will go over policies and answer questions. Afterward students will meet with coaches.

Parents need to register students for athletics on a separate website and send information to the athletic department documenting their student’s most recent checkup. Student-athletes need to have had a physical within the last two years.

Trainings and tryouts for teams start this week. The athletic schedule is posted online on the Harwood Tandem calendar where you can sign up to link to your own online calendars and set up alerts when there are updates, etc. Much of the fall practice and game schedules have already been added to the calendar.

*Crossett Brook Middle School student play in 5th, 6th and 7th-8th grade bands. File photo by Lisa Scagliotti*

Crossett Brook Middle School band

Crossett Brook Middle School Band teacher Dan Liptak reminds incoming fifth graders interested in joining the band to sign up. This website has introduction information and a Google form to sign up.

Job openings and substitute teachers

The Harwood school district has a number of job openings to fill for the coming year including bus drivers and positions in various schools. That list is online on the district’s website.

In addition, the application for substitute teachers which will be needed district wide is online on the bottom of the HUUSD.org home page.

Back to school is around the corner