APS Kicks off 2015-16 School Year with Inaugural Back-to-School Bash

We at Atlanta Public Schools are doing everything we can to get our students prepared for the new school year, so this is a reminder about our first district-wide APS Back-to-School Bash from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, July 25, at the Atlanta Metropolitan State College Easley Conference Center.

This free event for APS students and families includes features education and afterschool resources, activities for children, door prizes and more! Our staff and volunteers have spent the past week setting up booths and packing backpacks with school supplies to make this a huge success! We are also holding drawings to give away bicycles, car seats and other great prizes!

We’ve truly designed the Bash to be a one-stop shop to get all of our students and families ready for school and eliminate the traditional hiccups associated with the first day of school. We plan to offer on-site school registration and enrollment, information about immunizations, class schedules and supply lists, afterschool enrichment programs, and just about everything our students need to arrive at school on Day One, ready for instruction.

It’s not all school business! Outside the Bash, families will see Braves Around Town, which will have fun activities for the students; a Sodexo Food Truck, which will feature sample menu items for this school-year; and the Fox5 StormChaser featuring meteorologist Adam Klotz.

After walking through exhibitor areas with a “Bash Passport,” students in grades Pre-K-12 will receive a backpack filled with school supplies (as long as supplies last)!

And at noon, we will rally together so I can thank all of our great sponsors for making the APS Back-to-School Bash a reality: Georgia Power, UPS, Google, Atlanta Metropolitan State College, Equifax, Amerigroup, and Gas South, Georgia Natural Gas and Georgia-Pacific.

A special shout-out to Fabiola Charles from Google, which gave generously and donated 1,000 backpacks. Fabiola personally rented a truck, drove it over herself and unloaded all the boxes. A truly fabulous partner!

After that, we will start the drawing for the bikes, car seats and more!

To make sure our students can get to the Bash, free shuttle bus transportation will be provided to and from the Bash from the Oakland City MARTA Station and the following APS schools at 9:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m. and 2 p.m.: Carver High School, Douglass High School, Grady High School, Jackson High School, Mays High School, South Atlanta High School, Sutton Middle School, Therrell High School and Washington High School.

If you have a registered APS student who requires special needs transportation to and from the APS Back-To-School Bash, please call 404-802-5513 to schedule a pick-up time and location.

For more information about the Bash, visit www.apsbacktoschool.com.