Parents and students, get ready for the Aug. 25 start of school in Harford County

Though it's barely past mid-August, summer is quickly coming to an end for more than 37,000 Harford County Public Schools students, who go back to their classrooms in less than 10 days.Thursday, Aug. 25, is the first day of the 2016-17 school year for students in kindergarten through 12th grade. The first day for pre-kindergarten students is Monday, Aug. 29, according to the calendar.The Harford school system opened its web portal listing school bus routes and stops last week. Parents can find their child's bus route, by visiting www.hcps.org and clicking on the &quot;School & Bus Locator 2016-2017&quot; on the left side of the page. Parents can search the route using their street address, ZIP code and child's grade.Parents/guardians are urged to access infofinder i to review and verify bus information for their student(s) as many stops, routes and bus numbers may have changed from the previous school year, HCPS said.Students will go to school for at least one full week this year before getting off for the Labor Day holiday on Monday, Sept. 5. Schools and offices will be closed that day.Professional development for new teachers starts Thursday, Aug. 18, and veteran teachers report Monday, Aug. 22, for professional development, according to the school system calendar.According to the its most recent projections, Harford County Public Schools expects to have approximately 37,400 students enrolled in all grades this year.&quot;Harford County Public Schools administrators and staff have been working all summer to make any necessary adjustments to curriculum and instruction for the upcoming school year,&quot; HCPS Manager of Communications Jillian Lader said in an emailed statement. &quot;Staff continue to work diligently to ensure that our buildings are ready for the return of students and staff. We are looking forward to having everyone back in our buildings for the 2016-17 school year.&quot;Opening this year will be first phase of new Youth's Benefit Elementary School replacement building in Fallston. The section of the building for kindergartners and first and second-graders will be ready for the start of school. The rest of the $37.1 million project, housing third, fourth and fifth grade students, is expected to be ready for the start of the 2017-18 school year next summer.Parents and students must have a slew of other tasks before going back to school. A checklist is on the school system website at www.hcps.org.Lists of school supplies are also available online at www.teacherlists.com, click the &quot;Find a List&quot; tab at the top of the page and enter your ZIP code to find the school supply list for your child's school and grade. Lists are available for public and private schools.The last day of school for Harford Public Schools, if all nine inclement weather days are used, will be June 16 for K-12 students. June 14 will be the last day for pre-K children. The year could end earlier if fewer inclement weather days are used.The 2015-16 year ended June 15. Schools were closed eight times for inclement weather, including a week during Winter Storm Jonas in January. In April, Jack Smith, who was Maryland's interim schools superintendent at the time, granted the Harford school system's request for waivers for of the missed days.

Parents and students, get ready for the Aug. 25 start of school in Harford County

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