School Procedures
Arrivals
Student Arrival 8:45 AM
Student Dismissal 3:00 PM
After Care Dismissal 3:05 PM
Drop Off: Parent drop off is in front of the school building (10 Hollis St.). Students will exit the car on the right-hand side and enter the building through the entrance that leads to their classroom. This will be directed by staff members. Make sure you watch the video:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1tEt0ypw0tGs0f8MIrMyLBoSAboxcaqz8/view?ts=5f5a8d6a&pli=1
Bus Riders: Buses unload behind the school. The buses will enter from Tucker Avenue and follow the new pattern outlined. Students will disembark from one bus at a time (and one student at a time). This will be directed by both staff and drivers. Students will keep social distance when entering the building through the gymnasium door and the back door. Students have assigned seats on the bus.
Parent Pick-Up: Parent pick-up will take place at the front of the school building. Parents will display student names on their visor. Students will be dismissed to cars one at a time and supervised by staff. Please watch the video:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/18mjWqWaWM9aP0jyg4OxH1iW5PHJYTQum/view
Bus Riders: Students will be called to their bus as it arrives in the back of the school. Buses will exit out Tucker Ave. Students will sit in their assigned seat.
Van Riders: Students will exit the building with program paraprofessionals and go to their van parked in the semi-circle at the side of the school building.
Attendance
We all acknowledge that regular attendance at school is important and necessary for academic and social success. We ask parents to make every effort to have your children at school on time each day that they are in good health.
If your child is going to be absent or tardy:
Call the absentee line 978-433-8976 during the evening preceding the absence or before 9:00AM on the morning of the absence or tardy arrival. Please state your child's name and his/her homeroom teacher, and give a brief explanation for your child’s absence or tardy arrival. If your child is absent and you do not call the absent line, staff will call you later in the morning to verify that your child is safe with an adult.
PLEASE NOTE: If no explanation is given for your child’s absence, it will be considered an unexcused absence.
If your child is ill:
Call the absentee line 978-433-8976. Follow the guidelines on the school nurse's page. Please send a note stating that you are aware of the absence when your child returns to school after an illness.
Illness at school:
When a student becomes ill at school, he/she is sent to the school nurse. If the nurse feels that the student should be sent home, the parents/guardians are contacted. If parents/guardians are not available, the alternate name listed on the student's emergency card will be contacted. The parent/guardian may be required to provide written clearance from a physician for a child to return to school if signs of a contagious condition are exhibited.
Prolonged illness:
Students are required to bring a written note explaining his/her absence regardless of the number of days absent. You will be contacted by the school nurse if a student has an unexplained absence of 3 days of longer. After an absence of 5 days or longer, a doctor's note is required before the student can be readmitted to school.
If children are absent frequently and for no explainable reason (from parent or guardians) we may choose to report the absences to our truant office (Townsend Police Department). If students continue to be absent with no explainable reason, the school may file a truancy petition with the District Court of Ayer.
Please be advised vacations are unexcused absences.
If your child comes to school late (tardy):
Children arriving after 9:00AM are considered tardy and will be recorded as such. All children arriving tardy must be accompanied to the office by their parent/guardian to check in before going to their classrooms. Parents/guardians should send in a note acknowledging your awareness of your child’s tardiness. Excessive tardiness can be referred to the Truant Officer.
Dismissals
Dismissal Time
Children are dismissed from school beginning at 3:00PM (3:05 PM if they are in the after care program). All adults here for school pick-up should park in the front of the school. Bus pick-up is in the back parking lot of the school.
Busses usually leave by 3:05 PM. The school must be notified IN WRITING of all students requiring transportation changes. PLEASE NOTE: phone calls changing a student’s dismissal instructions will not be accepted unless there is an emergency.
Early Dismissal
Early dismissal must be arranged through your child’s teacher and the office. Please have your child bring a note stating: (1) the reason for dismissal, (2) the time s/he is to be dismissed, and (3) the name of the person who will picking up the child (not just ‘her grandfather’ or ‘Aunt Janie’). *No child will be dismissed into the custody of a person other than the parent/guardian of the child unless a note has been sent from the parent/guardian specifying the name of the person who is authorized to pick up the child that day. Please do not call the school for an early dismissal except in the case of an emergency. The parents/guardian or designated pick-up person must come to the office to sign out and pick up the child. Because of safety issues, children are not allowed to wait outside.
Lunch & Recess
Lunch:
Lunch will be available for all students, lunch menus are published each month and posted on the district and school websites. Students may bring a lunch from home. Students in grades K-4 will have lunch in the cafeteria. Lunch schedules will be published later.
Recess:
All students in grades K-4 will participate in recess following lunch.
Report Cards
Kindergarten
Kindergarten students will receive report cards twice a year. Kindergarten report cards will be distributed in January and on the last day of school. Dates to be announced later.
Grades 1-4
Report cards for grades 1-4 are sent out by trimester. Students in grades 1-4 will receive report cards in December, March, and the last day of school. Dates to be announced later.
Visitors and Volunteers
All persons entering the school must enter by the main doors outside the Main Office area and must sign in at the office. *No one is to go directly to a classroom. For security reasons, temporary badges will be issued to individual visitors and volunteers while they are in the school. All badges must be visibly worn while in the school. Please sign out at the Main Office when leaving.