PORTSMOUTH — The first day of school in Portsmouth is Wednesday, Aug. 30. Here’s some important information to help you get ready.

School hours

While every student has a 6.5-hour day, start times different by grade. Here are the schedules for each school:

• Hathaway and Melville: 8:45 a.m. to 3:15 p.m.

• Portsmouth Middle School: 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

• Portsmouth High School: 7:25 a.m. to 1:55 p.m.

Orientation sessions

All schools will host orientation sessions for new students or kindergarten students on Thursday, Aug. 24, at the following times:

• Portsmouth High School: 8 a.m. to 12:05 p.m. (An optional cookout, provided by senior class, will follow from 12:05-12:30. The cost is $5 per student.)

• Portsmouth Middle School: 9 a.m.

• Hathaway School: 11 a.m. to noon (new students) and 1-2 p.m. (kindergarten)

• Melville School: 9:30 a.m. (kindergarten) and noon (new students)

Middle school picnic

Portsmouth Middle School’s PTO is hosting a back-to-school picnic from 5-8 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 24, at the school.

The event will feature food trucks, games, music and more, according to the PTO.

You’ll be able to buy classroom supplies, school bundles and the new PMS T-shirt at the PMS Bookstore.

Bus schedules

You can find the 2017-2018 bus schedules here.

The bus schedule also appeared in the Aug. 17 issue of The Portsmouth Times.

Open houses

Here are when the fall open houses will be held:

• Portsmouth High School: 6-8 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 19 for all grades

• Portsmouth Middle School: 6-7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 6 (grades 5 and 8) and 6-7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Sept 7 (grades 6 and 7)

Early release days

The School Department has scheduled several early release days for professional development programs on Sept. 20, Oct. 18, Dec. 13, Jan. 17, March 21 and May 16. The dismissal times are as follows:

• Morning pre-K: 8:30-11:15 a.m.

• Afternoon pre-K: 12:30-3:15 p.m. (no early release for pre-K)

• K-4: 2:15 p.m.

• Middle school: 1:30 p.m.

• High school: 12:55 p.m.

More information

You can find more information about the upcoming school year by visiting the district’s website at www.portsmouthschoolsri.org.