MARTIN L. NESBITT, JR. DISCOVERY ACADEMY
August 2, 2023
Hi, Chargers! Welcome to the new school year! 😊
I hope you are having a wonderful summer and look forward to seeing you all on Monday, August 28th. Enjoy your final month of re-charging for another great school year!
Below you will find a variety of useful information and links to navigate as needed. Please let me know if you have any questions (heather.brookshire@bcsemail.org) or contact the office at 828.271.4521. Our school building summer hours are 8:30am-3pm Monday-Thursday.
Senior Meningitis Vaccination
All students entering 12th grade are required to have a meningitis vaccine booster dose before the first day of school. Talk to your Health Care provider or contact the Buncombe County Health and Human Services immunization clinic at 828-250-5096 to schedule an appointment. Our school nurse can be reached at emma.branzell@bcsemail.org if you have any questions.
School Meals
Free and Reduced applications are available online here. We ask that all families complete the application as we are working to increase our participation percentage. All students will be provided free meals this year! Find out more about our school nutrition program on our BCS website-departments-nutrition tab. Again, both breakfast and lunch meals are free but please do take a minute to complete the application.
Senior Portraits
Prestige Portraits will be at NDA to take yearbook pictures for the Class of 2024. Every senior should have scheduled an appointment for one of the days when Prestige is on our campus August 7th & 8th. Prestige mailed home information. The focus this summer is to accommodate the seniors interested in the Evolution Session, which includes casual poses, to minimize class interruptions in the fall on makeup days. If a senior only wants the yearbook poses in the summer, they can sign up for an Evolution Session, bypass prepaying online by selecting “Pay at your Session” and request a Yearbook Only Session when they get to the camera on picture day. The link to schedule a session at school is prestigeportraits.com. Seniors can either enter their 8-digit appointment code (which came in the mail) or find their school by entering in their city and state.
Parking Passes
Students may purchase a parking pass beginning August 7th. Form must be completed and returned to register for a parking pass. You can access the form on our school website here.
School Supplies
Students can access teacher webpages to locate school supply needs for specific courses.
Schedules
Students in grades 10-12 may pick up a hard copy of their schedule beginning Monday, August 7th. Freshman will be provided their schedule on Day 2 of orientation. Schedule change requests can be made for the following reasons ONLY: 1. enrolled in a course already taken, 2. a prerequisite is needed, or 3. a course is needed for graduation. All other requests will be considered if possible but not guaranteed as the master schedule is built around course selections made during Spring registration and balancing classes. Use the Calendly link to schedule a time to meet on campus to discuss a schedule change request beginning Aug. 7th here: https://calendly.com/heather-brookshire/student-schedule.
1-1 Device
Students in grades 10-12 may pick up their 1-1 device with your schedule beginning August 7th. Freshman will be provided their device on Day 2 of orientation.
Freshman Orientation
Day 1 Thursday, August 24th
· Arrive at NDA by 8:15am to depart for Camp Lutheridge
· Family Barbecue at NDA begins at 5pm
· Parent Informational sessions begin at 6pm
Day 2 Friday, August 25th
· Arrive at NDA by 8:25am for our on-campus orientation
· Students will need to be picked up by 2:25pm
PTSO
The BIG GIVE fundraiser begins at the start of school. Our annual fundraiser supports students and teachers for the 2023-2024 academic year. Look for donation forms in the coming weeks. Interested in PTSO updates, volunteer opportunities, or meetings? Please email NDAChargersPTSO@gmail.com to join our mailing list.
In closing, I am excited to announce and WELCOME:
· Mr. Greg Bailey is our new Assistant Principal. Mr. Bailey brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise in school leadership. Mr. Bailey is looking forward to serving our students in preparing them for their tomorrow.
· Spanish Teacher – TBA
Enjoy the rest of your summer; we are looking forward to another great school year!! Go Chargers!
Best,
H. Brookshire