School Schedule

Students are permitted on campus beginning at 7:45a.m

Tardy Bell rings at 8:15a.m

Dismissal Bell rings at 3:15p.m

TRANSPORTATION HOME

Any change in transportation home requires a note requesting the change including a telephone contact number. The note should be given to the teacher, and then sent to the office for approval. We need this for verification. For safety and security concerns, transportation changes CANNOT be made over the phone, email or fax and MUST be made prior to 2:45 PM.

Students are expected to be in attendance every day scheduled by the St. Tammany Parish School Board. Louisiana Compulsory Attendance Law states that students in the elementary school grades will be allowed ten absences each school year. Excuses for all absences must be presented in writing to the school within two days of the absence. PLEASE NOTE: Act 103 of the 1994 State Legislature deals with student truancy and tardiness and requires principals to report absences and tardiness to the child welfare supervisor. The Supervisor of Child Welfare must refer a student who is absent or tardy without an acceptable excuse five or more times in one month to the family or juvenile court. Policy also mandates that automatic retention of a student who has been absent for 10 or more days in a school year (extenuating circumstances are taken into consideration). Students are responsible for making up all missed assignments in a reasonable amount of time. Parents may request assignments for extended circumstances by calling the school office. A 24-hour notice must be given prior to picking up missed assignments. These assignments may be picked up in the school office. A student may earn a perfect Attendance Award at the end of the year if he/she has not missed one day of school and has not been tardy, nor checked out, on any occasion. A student who has one tardy or one check-out will not be eligible for the award. It is encouraged that parents schedule doctor’s appointments outside of school hours if at all possible. For more information on Louisiana’s Compulsory Attendance Law, please visit the following website: http://www.louisianabelieves.com/academics/attendance-requirements

TARDY

Students who are late to class disrupt the educational process for themselves as well as other students. Please assist us in teaching your child the lifelong skill of promptness. Students are permitted on campus beginning at 7:45. Our instructional day begins promptly at 8:15. A student is considered tardy if he/she is not in class and seated by 8:15 AM (students are marked absent if they are not in their homeroom teacher’s class by 8:15 AM). STUDENTS MAY NOT SIGN THEMSELVES IN AT THE FRONT OFFICE WHEN THEY ARRIVE TARDY. A PARENT/GAURDIAN MUST ACCOMPANY THE STUDENT TO THE FRONT OFFICE AND SIGN HIM/HER IN. When inclement weather is in the forecast for our area, please plan ahead and allow enough time for school travel, as traffic will be congested. Students who ride the bus to school are not considered tardy. Tardies are cumulative for the entire school year. Excessive unexcused tardies are reported by the Supervisor of Child Welfare to truancy/family or juvenile court.

CHECK-OUTS

Students will be checked out only to the parents, legal guardian or the specified person on the emergency contact card or after the office has obtained permission from the parent/guardian. ALL changed made in the office for the person not listed on the emergency card, must be done so with written permission from the parent or legal guardian and must provide proof of identification upon making the request/change. All persons checking out a student must present proper identification , this includes parents and legal guardians. Students are excused to check out during the day for the following: a) medical appointments b) funerals c) sickness d) illness in immediate family e) religious holidays f) natural catastrophe g) disaster. Students returning to school after being absent have two (2)days to present proof of their absences in order to be excused. STUDENTS MAY NOT BE CHECKED OUT AFTER 2:30p.m.

DISMISSAL

Itisimperativethatalldismissalproceduresarefollowedinanefforttocreateasafe environment for all students. As a reminder, only students who live in our immediate surrounding community are considered “walkers”, all other students and parents must utilize the car line. All students identified as walkers will have address verification completed. Additionally, all parents picking up students from the car line must have the Front Office issued car tag that clearly identifies student’s name. If any caregiver who is picking up the student does not have a name tag displayed, they will be asked to park in the designated areas and walk into the Front Office to follow check out procedures and will wait until all carline students have been dismissed. Please remember that the safety of all students is our primary concern and we appreciate our cooperation in this important matter. No student will be dismissed from the carline.

KEY REMINDERS

• There is no parking in the bus loop beginning at 2:20PM ending at 4:00 PM. This area must remain clear as we work to safely load all students.

• If you are unsure as to whether or not your child qualifies as a “walker”, when utilizing St. Tammany Parish Transportation site at www.stpsb.org/transportation/ , input your address, and you will see this message “Eligible within walking distance.”

• All students not considered a “walker” or a “bus rider” must utilize the carline.

• Parents may not pick up students directly from the front office. The front office may not be utilized as a waiting area for afternoon dismissal.

• Parents may not park in the designated faculty parking area to pick up children during dismissal. • If you are in need of a new or additional car line tag, please contact the front office.

• DISMISSAL CHANGES MUST BE DONE IN PERSON OR BY A WRITTEN LETTER. NO EMAILS WILL BE ACCEPTED FOR A DISMISSAL CHANGE.

EMERGENCY CARD and CHECK OUT PROCEDURES

A current emergency card must be on file in the office for each child enrolled. The card must have local numbers listed with the names of people who can pick up a child when the need arises. Valid IDs must be presented at the front office to check out a student. Students will not be released at classroom doors. You must provide the school (teacher/bus driver) with any information regarding medical conditions that require special attention for your child, the name of the child’s physician and hospital preference. It is your responsibility to fill out a new card if any information listed changes during the school year. At least one local number must be included. For the safety and security of our students, the last time a student can be checked out before final dismissal is 2:30 pm.