With the upcoming solar eclipse on April 8th, 2024, we want to ensure everyone is well-informed about our procedures to guarantee the safety of all our students. While Holmes County is not in the path of totality, our area may still experience partial eclipse conditions.
No students will be permitted to watch the eclipse outside. Safety is our priority. We will be using this event as a teaching and learning opportunity and teachers will have access to a NASA live stream of the event if they choose to share it with their students.
All outdoor activities will be moved inside during the eclipse timeframe (12:30 p.m.-3:30 p.m.)
Bus drivers are provided with safety information to help ensure the children have a safe journey home.
Schools will hold students inside until the latest possible time for dismissal.
Parents always have the option to pick their children up. Please ensure the designated person is named in the Parent Portal for pick-up and that the parent/guardian is honoring the school's previously posted early checkout windows and procedures. Absences will follow normal procedures.
All after-school activities will begin as scheduled AFTER 3:30 p.m.
If you have further questions, please don't hesitate to contact your child's principal. Thank you for your support as we strive to enjoy this memorable event in the safest manner possible for our students.
Holmes County School Board is applying for a USDA RUS-DLT Grant in the FY 2024 cycle. We are requesting funds to support a distance learning initiative that will place interactive video equipment at seven Hub/End-User sites within our service area of Holmes County, to include the communities of Bonifay, Ponce de Leon, Bethlehem, and Poplar Springs. This project is titled Linking Learning: Empowering Educators and Enriching Communities and will allow for distance learning opportunities for our students in the areas of dual enrollment - both college and workforce development, as well as access to highly qualified teachers in critical need areas such as math and science.
We would appreciate your input by answering a short survey found at the link below.
https://forms.gle/teGm6pBpL7ohF1Ub7
The School Board has approved the 2024-25 school calendars. Printable versions can be accessed at the links below.
Written Calendar:
https://www.hdsb.org/index.cfm?a=files.serve&File_id=DA90FAC5-8939-4B19-B83B-F6C10AC4217B
Color-Coded Calendar:
https://www.hdsb.org/index.cfm?a=files.serve&File_id=31C7D2A4-24F9-43D3-AFF2-D6EB5673D063
This week, the Florida Department of Education (FDOE) released school grades for the 2022-23 school year. As a part of Florida’s first-in-the-nation transition to using progress monitoring, grades for the 2022-2023 school year serve as a baseline and carry no negative consequences. These grades provide a starting point for future achievement for our schools.
The new grades are based on schools' performance in various achievement components. For elementary schools, those components are English, math and science components. Middle schools have those components, plus social studies and a middle school acceleration component. High schools are graded on English, math, science, and social studies components, plus a graduation-rate component and a "college and career acceleration" component.
All Holmes County Schools received a school grade of either “B” or “C” for 2022-23. Both Bonifay K-8 and Holmes County High improved by a letter grade to “B” status. Ponce de Leon High School and Poplar Springs School maintained their “B” status. Four of the six schools received a grade of “B”, but in spite of this, overall the district received a grade of “C”, based on the most recent scoring scale provided by DOE. Last year’s scale would have placed the district as a “B.”
Superintendent Brown stated, “While we are excited to see this improvement in our overall score, we are not satisfied with this score. Our goal is to make Holmes District Schools an “A” district even as we continue to chase the changing scale scores set by the state.”
Schools have just completed Progress Monitoring #2. We will be evaluating scores and growth demonstrated between PM 1 and 2, and revising instruction to meet academic needs as indicated by the progress monitoring results.
We are excited about our new partnership with Sodexo as we work to provide Holmes County students with a healthy and delicious food program. Below are links to our Sodexo food service site that offers menus and a welcome letter with more information about the program.
https://holmescounty.sodexomyway.com/
Welcome Letter: https://bit.ly/4588Lxy
Students will have different menu choices depending on their grade level. All students may choose from the Global Flavors/Variety or Fast Takes section. Additionally, students in Grades 5-12 have additional options as stated on each menu.
To assist with navigating the new site, schools are grouped as follows: Ponce de Leon Elementary is listed under the Elementary section. Bonifay K-8 is in the Middle School section. Bethlehem, Poplar Springs, Holmes County High, and Ponce de Leon High are listed in the High School section.
We are looking forward to trying new offerings in each of our school cafeterias. Menu selections will change often as we work to determine which foods our students like best. Currently, all meals are free for students. Later in the year we'll be adding some a la carte options that will require an additional cost, but there will always be multiple no-cost options available. We ask for your patience as we work to implement these new programs, and welcome your feedback!
The 2022-2023 ESE Parent Survey window is now open. Each year, the Florida Department of Education (FDOE) surveys parents of students with an individual educational plan (IEP) to determine how well districts and schools are partnering with parents and promoting parent involvement in their student’s education. All states must collect these data for reporting on their State Performance Plan, as required under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Additionally, survey results will be used to help schools and districts improve services and results for children with disabilities. The survey is open to all parents of students with an IEP receiving ESE services from preschool age to grade 12. While demographic information must be collected in compliance with federal requirements, individual responses are confidential. Beginning with the 2022-2023 school year, the ESE Parent Survey will only be offered in a web-based format. The survey will be open through June 30, 2023. For more information about the 2022-2023 Parent Survey, go to the ESE Parent Survey web page (https://www.fldoe.org/academics/exceptional-student-edu/parent-info/exceptional-student-edu-parent-survey.stml). To access the survey directly, go to the 2023 ESE Parent Survey (English and Spanish) https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ESEParentSurvey or 2023 ESE Parent Survey (Haitian-Creole)https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ESEParentSurvey_HC.
We will have 4 sites offering free breakfast and lunch this summer. All sites are open sites. Students age 18 and under may participate.
Bethlehem High School, Bonifay K-8, Ponce de Leon Elementary, Poplar Springs High
June 5-June 29 M-TH
July 10-13 M-TH
Breakfast is 8:00-8:30 a.m.
Lunch is 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
The Summer STEAM program is designed for students to explore the areas of science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics with hands on projects. Students will document their experiences and share with friends and family at the STEAM Showcase at the end of the program.
Summer STEAM Program will meet MONDAY – THURSDAY from 8:00 a.m.—2:30 p.m. at Bonifay K-8. The Summer STEAM Program will not meet on Fridays or during the week of July 4th. The program will be from June 5, 2023 through July 13, 2023.
Breakfast and lunch will be served daily!
Transportation Routes will be established after all summer program students have been selected. We will have pick up and drop off locations that you will be able to meet the bus at. If you need transportation, please complete the transportation section of this packet on page 3. Due to staff size, students will be bussed to Bonifay K-8 from their home school and back to their home school at the end of the day.
For more information and an application, please click the Related Files link below.