As the calendar flips over to July, we know many families begin to look ahead to August for back-to-school planning. From frequently asked questions such as ‘When are the Open House dates?’ and ‘When will I be informed of my bus route?’, to annual reminders, we have you covered here in our Back-to-School primer!
See the section headings below for all things South-Western City School District back-to-school 2023!
When is the first day of school?
The first day of school is Monday, August 21, 2023 for grades 4-12. Students in grades K-3 follow a staggered start schedule:
Kindergarten-3rd grade students with…
- Last names A-G will attend August 21 only
- (will not attend August 22 & 23)
- Last names H-O will attend August 22 only
- (will not attend August 21 & 23)
- Last names P-Z will attend August 23 only
- (will not attend August 21 & 22)
Preschool first day: August 28, 2023
Combined, daily kindergarten, first, second, and third grade classroom schedules begin August 24.
Outside of the first day of school, check out our District Academic Calendar webpage for when school will be in session each of the next two years. Visit: https://www.swcsd.us/Calendar.aspx
When will Open Houses and Schedule Pick-up Days be held?
When can my student get their schedule? Will there be an open house at my child(ren)’s school and when will that be? Head to the link below for dates, times, and more information.
Open House/Schedule Pick-Up Calendar
While we highly encourage families to visit Open Houses for scheduling and class assignments, schedules will be made available starting August 15 via Infinite Campus.
What are the school day start and end times?
- Elementary Schools:
- School Day: 8:20 a.m. – 2:40 p.m.
- Intermediate Schools:
- School Day: 9:10 a.m. – 3:55 p.m.
- Middle Schools:
- School Day: 9:10 a.m. – 3:55 p.m.
- High Schools:
- School Day: 8:00 a.m. – 3:20 p.m.
- South-Western Career Academy:
- School Day: 7:55 a.m. – 3:02 p.m.
For information about the South-Western Preschool, please visit: https://swpc.swcsd.us/
When will I find out my elementary student’s teacher?
Families can log into their Infinite Campus Parent Portal account on August 15th (end of day) to find out their child’s teacher for the 2023-2024 school year.
I have not enrolled my child for school yet. How do I enroll my child?
New and re-enrolling student enrollments are processed digitally. Once the Student Enrollment Center (SEC) receives a completed online application, an enrollment specialist will contact you.
All students must be enrolled in the district prior to attending classes at any SWCSD location.
If you have moved since last school year, the change of address process is available on our website and it is required that you update it to start the school year. Visit the following link to begin:
www.swcsd.us/ChangeofAddress.aspx
Enrollment Steps: www.swcsd.us/EnrollmentSteps.aspx
Step 1: Verify your address at:
https://www.croppermap.com/swcsohiov2/
Step 2: Complete online registration form for your child at:
www.swcsd.us/StartEnrollment.aspx. To enter kindergarten, a child must be five-years-old by September 30.
Have the following documents readily available and ready to upload:
- A state-issued parent/guardian ID
- Original birth certificate OR original hospital certificate (with seal) OR original baptismal record (with seal) OR passport (note, if a passport is used, proof of custody or guardianship is still required)
- A lease (current and signed by landlord & tenant) OR a deed (signed and recorded) OR home purchase settlement statement (signed by seller and buyer) OR two different utility bills (gas, electric, water, internet, trash) in the parent/guardian’s name dated within the last 30 days
If you are living with a friend/relative in the SWCSD, you must complete BOTH required forms below: Review the forms carefully.
Oath of Residence Affidavit by Parent/Guardian Form (If Needed) - Immunization records – Students who are newly enrolled and were born in, resided in, or recently visited a Tuberculosis (TB) endemic country for more than thirty (30) days are required to show proof of a negative TB skin test, prior to being enrolled in SWCSD. (Revised Policy 5312).
Step 3: Once the Student Enrollment Center (SEC) receives a completed online application, an enrollment specialist will contact you to finalize the enrollment process.
Where are the supply lists?
A common question we get from families during July and August is “Where can I find a school supply list?”
The answer is….we do not have supply lists in the District and have you covered! All necessary items, unless noted in a higher grade level course description, are supplied by the District as a part of the $10 school fees.
As noted below in the School Fees section, school fees cover any and all school supplies needed for the school year so there are no school supply lists beyond these items. Beyond what the school provides in terms of supplies, we recognize that families often want to purchase other items for their students such as backpacks, additional binders, etc.
In making those additional purchasing decisions, families are reminded that Ohio has a Sales Tax Holiday for school items coming up in early August.
Ohio Sales Tax Holiday Information: August 4-6, 2023
2023-2024 Food Services meal prices are as follows for breakfasts and lunches.
Free and Reduced Meal Applications
Households may qualify for free or reduced-price meals and a waiver/reduction in school fees by completing a Free and Reduced-Price Meal Application which can also potentially affect school fees on a case-by-case basis.
Parents/guardians must complete one application per household after July 1. Completing the Free and Reduced-Price Meal Application has many benefits for households along with many benefits that extend for our students while in school. Parents/guardians who may qualify for free and reduced-priced meals are strongly encouraged to complete a Free and Reduced-Price Meal Application.
Parents can also complete the Free and Reduced-Price Meal Application online through the Infinite Campus Parent Portal under the ‘More’ tab at http://portal.swcsd.us. Paper applications are also available in all school buildings, the Student Enrollment Center, and at the Food Services Department. Your child’s application is only good for one school year and the first few days of the start of the next school year.
Thus, applications must be completed every year. More information is available here.
What are the 2023-2024 school fees?
Student Instructional Fees have been reduced once again to $10 per student for the 2023-2024 school year and are payable online!
- High school students may have additional course fees. These are noted on student schedules.
- Upon acceptance into South-Western Career Academy programs, letters will be sent home listing lab fees and uniform costs.
- For Class of 2024 seniors, all outstanding fees must be paid prior to graduation in order to participate in the ceremony.
*To pay school fees online, visit www.swcsd.us/SchoolFees.aspx
Financial Assistance with School Fees
In any and all cases, where the paying of fees may be a financial hardship, families that qualify under the federal guidelines for Free and Reduced lunch within a year will have their academic fees waived in that year and every year eligible as long as a Free and Reduced Lunch form is completed annually. This is in addition to their meal cost waivers or reduction based on the Federal Poverty Guidelines’ sliding income scale that all school Districts are to use for assessments.
Athletic, Band and Club Fees:
Earlier this year, the Board of Education approved the following fees for participation in athletic programs, marching band, and clubs as noted below.
Click here for the 2023-2024 Pay-to-Participate Guidelines and deadlines.
Fees were once again reduced this year compared to the 2021-2022 original rates. Board of Education Approved Pay-to-Participate Fees per individual for the 2023-2024 school year ONLY are:
- Middle School Athletics and Cheerleading –
$75$18.75 per sport - High School Marching Band –
$100$25 - High School Athletics and Cheerleading –
$150$37.50 per sport - In the Know, Student Council, Key Club, Mock Trial and Dance Team –
$10$2.50 per club - There is a Family Cap of
$500$125 per school year
NOTE: There is a Family Cap of $500 ($125 per school year)
Success Beyond the Classroom Scholarships
The Success Beyond the Classroom (SBC) Foundation was created to raise and award scholarship monies to South-Western City School District (SWCSD) students to help offset the cost of participation fees (P2P) for athletics and marching band. Participation fees for middle school and high school athletics and marching band were instituted during the 2009-2010 school year. The fees are applied to each student, per activity, with a cap per family.
SBC scholarships are awarded in varying amounts, covering up to 75% (maximum) of the corresponding participation fee. Students can apply for a SBC scholarship by completing an application and returning it to their school’s athletic director or mailing it directly to SBC before the established due dates indicated on the application.
Click HERE for the 2023-2024 Success Beyond the Classroom Scholarship Application.
**Turn in to the school’s athletic director (high school) or assistant principal (middle school)**
SBC Application deadlines for the 2023-2024 school year:
- June 16, 2023 – Marching Band SBC Applications Due
- July 28, 2023 – Fall Sports SBC Applications Due
- November 10, 2023 – Winter Sports SBC Applications Due
- March 1, 2024 – Spring Sports SBC Applications Due
Transportation Information
Students eligible for transportation services from the South-Western City School District will receive student-specific school bus route and bus stop information in the mail approximately 7-10 days before school starts. Please keep this letter in a safe place as it also contains your Infinite Campus Parent and Student Portal login information.
Please notify your child’s school of any change of address or childcare changes before school starts and file a change of address form with the Student Enrollment Center. Due to late enrollments and bus route changes, please allow flexibility the first week of school. Pick-up and drop-off times may fluctuate by 10-15 minutes as students, families, and drivers get acclimated to new routes.
Please do not call the Transportation Department for school bus numbers and/or route information. Contact your child’s school or view the information in Infinite Campus. Parents are reminded that during the first few weeks of school, stop times may vary substantially.
High School (Grades 11 & 12) Transportation Opt-In Information
In an effort to continue to fully utilize space and maximize efficiencies on all of our school buses, we ask the parents of 11th and 12th grade students to reserve their child’s seat on the bus by filling out the Opt-In form found in the Transportation Services area of the District website or by Downloading the Form Here.
StopFinder Mobile App
With the StopFinder Mobile app, families can receive real-time information on the location of their student’s bus by creating their own GeoAlert zones around their student’s bus route. Set up a zone for when the bus enters your neighborhood, the caregiver’s location, when the bus enters the school campus area, or is two stops away…families can set up the fields relevant to their schedule and can track their student’s bus through the secure StopFinder app in the Google Play and Apple App Store.
Prior to the start of school for families who do not have an account set up, you will receive a secure invitation code to your email address on file with your Infinite Campus Parent Portal information.
Read more: https://www.swcsd.us/StopFinder.aspx
First Time Riders Event Information
Have a first time rider and want to ease worries about how to ride the school bus? Meet with our SWCSD drivers and take a quick lap around the parking lot with your child.
Our First Time Riders/Kindergarten Welcome event on Saturday, August 5, 2023, from 9:00 a.m.-noon at Central Crossing High School (4500 Big Run South Road, Grove City, OH 43123).
Reminder: Update Emergency Contact Information in Infinite Campus
Infinite Campus (IC) is the District’s Internet-based student information system. Important features of IC are the Parent Portal and Mobile App: Campus Parent and Campus Student. In the parent portal, parents are able to access their child’s information, such as class schedules, attendance, academic reports, transportation information and coursework as well as pay fees and put funds in their child’s food service account.
Parents can also designate how and where they wish to receive emergency communications, attendance calls, general announcement messages, and email messages from teachers, the school, and the school district. New accounts need an activation key. Parents and students each have a unique activation key that will be included in the back to school letter being sent to homes the 2nd week of August. Be sure to save the letter if you have not yet set up your portal account. If you have a portal account, your username will be included in that letter.
To create an IC account, please go to: www.swcsd.us/ParentPortalMobileApp.aspx
If you already have an IC account, please update your emergency contact information at: www.swcsd.us/OnlineAnnualInformationUpdate.aspx Click here for directions to update your Parent Portal.
Back to School Immunization Requirements Grades 7 and 12
All students entering 7th grade are required to be vaccinated with one (1) dose of meningococcal vaccine prior to the start of the school year. All students entering the 12th grade are required to be vaccinated with two (2) doses of meningococcal vaccine prior to the start of the school year.
Parents must provide proof of the meningococcal immunization to their child’s middle or high school on or before the first day of school in August.
I would like to work the same schedule as my kids or grandchildren. Do you have any job openings or substitute openings?
There is no shortage of opportunity to find a career making an impact in the academic growth of a child right here in the South-Western City School District.
Whether it be as a Student Support Liaison, educational aide, bus driver, or rec center employee, we are hiring for not only these positions, but many more!
Visit our Careers Tab on our website at the link here to get started (click here).
SW Insider 