Bullpup Bulletin

Welcome Back, Bullpup Families!

We are thrilled to launch the very first edition of the Bullpup Bulletin, your quarterly peek into the heart of our school community. This year, we’re embracing the theme “Our School, Our Story”—a celebration of the people, moments, and milestones that make our school truly special.

As we begin this exciting journey together, we’d like to introduce the leadership team guiding our story:

• Melissa Culpepper, Principal
• Amanda Anderson, Assistant Principal
• Debbie Rogers, Assistant Principal

Together, we are committed to fostering a safe, supportive, and inspiring environment where every student can thrive. Whether it’s through academics, the arts, or acts of kindness, we believe every Bullpup has a story worth sharing—and we can’t wait to see what this year brings.

Stay tuned for updates, highlights, and ways to get involved. Let’s make this year unforgettable—together.

With Bullpup Pride,

Melissa Culpepper, Principal

Thank you for helping the 25-26 school year get off to a wonderful start! We have had many community businesses, churches, and organizations make contributions to support our students and staff.

Main Street Treats

Jersey Mikes, Harlem Location

Impact Church

Seigler's Karate

Sign up for Parent Portal. Parent Portal is utilized to access student schedules, current grades, progress reports, report cards, and family surveys. Track your student's progress throughout the year with this tool.

New to Columbia County Students: If you are new to the district, you will receive the needed student ID number on the first day of school. Parent Portal for new students will open on August 4.

We are so excited to see our families on Thursday, July 31st for our Open House event from 5:00-7:00. In an effort to reduce traffic in and around our school, families with last names beginning A-K are welcome to arrive at 5:00 and families with last names beginning L-Z are welcome to arrive at 6:00, as schedules permit.

All returning families and newly registered students who have completed their registration by 12:00pm on July 30 will be placed on a roster. Rosters will be posted in the front window of the school and at the end of each hallway one hour before open house. We have spent a great deal of time balancing rosters and ensuring the best placement for all of our students, as such, class changes will not be completed during open house.

All rosters are tentative for the first 10 days of school.

• We will be using the Car Rider Pro tag scanning system to improve the flow of cars through the line. Refer to the link with our new traffic route where the scanner will scan tags. A green box notes the location of the scanner. Tags will start being scanned at 1:30. Please ensure you pass by the reader in the right lane in a single line so that your child's name can be populated for dismissal. After scanning, cars may merge into a dual-lane carline after passing the purple line. Tags will be issued at Open House. We will provide one tag at no charge. After the first week, we will offer a second tag for $4.00. Tags must be turned in at the end of the year.

• If you would like to avoid the line at Open House, RSVP for a tag using the Google Form linked. RSVP tags will be in your child's homeroom the night of Open House.

Our welcome bell will ring at 8:10 each school day. Students may enter the building after this bell has signaled the start of the day. Please do not drop students off in the front of the school unsupervised before this time. Students should remain in their car before carline begins. If your child walks to school, please make sure they arrive no earlier than 8:10 as there will be no one to supervise if they arrive any earlier. Before and after school care is available at an additional fee for families that need supervised care outside of school hours. At 8:10, NHE faculty and staff will be present and ready to welcome your child to school.

If you will be bringing your child to school in the morning, please turn right as you enter the school parking lot and drive around the school building to the cafeteria side of the school. Both in the mornings and afternoons, we operate off a dual drop off/pick up lane. We ask parents to commit to the lane they enter. If you are in the right lane, you will need to turn right on West Boundary St. and if you are in the left lane, you will need to turn left on West Boundary. For safety reasons, please do not merge when exiting the car line.

*Pro Tip: Stagger your arrival time. If all 400 car rider parents arrive at 8:10 to drop off or 3:40 to pick up, then the line will be massive and traffic a nightmare. Consider coming in the middle or toward the end of drop-off (but not tardy) to beat the line.

Please do not exit your car in the car line. We will have several staff members available to help our students exit their vehicles and enter the building. Please have your child prepared to exit the vehicle with their bookbag and water bottle in hand.

In the afternoons, please do not call for students to come to your vehicles. We will be teaching students the safety procedures and they must wait to walk to their vehicles until they have been told it is safe to do so.

Please be patient with us and one another as we learn the new route and procedures for carline. Our hope is that we have a more efficient line with exiting both lanes at the same time. Please expect longer lines on the first seven days of school.

If your child is a car rider and you want him or her to eat breakfast at school you will need to have them here by 8:20. Of course, we will not deny any student a meal, but it will help for us to be able to serve all of our students and be ready to begin the day by 8:40.

The tardy bell rings at 8:40.

For safety reasons, parents are not permitted to park and walk to school to pick up or drop off students. Walkers must live within walking distance (1 mile) to be permitted to walk to and from school. If you are arriving to the school to pick up a student, you must enter the car line. Walkers are reserved for students who live within walking distance to the school. Walkers will be dismissed at two different locations depending upon where they live. See the walker release points LINKED ABOVE. Parents will meet their students at these locations

Please help us by preparing your child for their first day of riding a bus. Practice their bus number, phone number and address with them.

Complete a Lunch Application Before the First Day of School! As a Title 1 school, we ask all our parents to complete a lunch application prior to the start of the school year.

The following meal costs will be applied for the 2025-2026 school year:

• Student breakfast $1.75
• Student Lunch $3.50
• Adult Breakfast $2.75
• Adult Lunch $4.75
• Extra milk $0.50

If you have questions about your child's lunch account, please contact:

NHE Nutrition Manager

Tara Taylor (706)556-5995 ext. 2045

Email: melissa.culpepper@ccboe.net
Website: https://northharlemes.ccboe.net/
Location: 360 West Trippe Street, Harlem, GA 30814
Phone: 706-556-5995
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nhebullpups

Instagram: @northharlemelementary