EARLY MORNING STUDENT DROP-OFF

All walkers and students who are dropped-off should not arrive before 9:00 A.M. The school does not provide staff or facilities to supervise students arriving before this time.

If a student is being driven to school, the driver of the vehicle should not pull into the bus lane in front of the building. The side entrance should be used for student drop-off. If a parent has to walk a child into the school, please park in the school parking lot. Leaving vehicles unattended at the side entrance creates confusion and can become unsafe.

KINDERGARTEN DROP-OFF/PICK-UP

Parents picking up AM Kindergarten students from school should not arrive before 12:00 noon. Please also be aware that you must come into the office and sign your child out. We do not allow students to leave the building without being signed-out and accompanied by a parent or guardian.

Kindergarten students being dropped off for the PM session should not arrive before 12:45 PM.

SIGN-OUT PROCEDURE FOR END OF SCHOOL DAY

At times, it is necessary for parents to pick up a child either early from school or at the end of the school day. The procedures for both situations are the same. Parents must come into the office to sign a student out. Early dismissals are signed out on the Early Dismissal Clipboard. Parents simply picking students up at the end of the day need to sign the Student Call tablet in the office. The secretary will then call all students from the call tablet down to the front lobby at one time. This eliminates confusion at bus time and constant interruptions into the classrooms. We call students down for pick-up at 3:40 P.M.

TARDY POLICY

Any child who arrives after the scheduled beginning time for any session is required to present to the teacher a note of explanation from his/her parents. Parents are also required to sign the child in at the office. There is a Late Arrival Clipboard for parents to sign when bringing a child to school after 9:10 A.M.

VISITING THE SCHOOL

The security and safety of students and staff is a constant priority here at Metzgar and across our district. To this end, we have installed a "buzzer" on the side entrance door to our school. This side entrance is the one used during the day for parents and visitors to our building. It is locked everyday during school hours, as are all other entrances to the building. All visitors to the school must push the buzzer button on the outside of the door for admittance. All visitors are required to obtain a VISTOR'S BADGE from the office each time they visit the building . Please check in at the office before going back to any classrooms. Unannounced classroom visitations are extremely disruptive and violate safety procedures. Parents who need to speak to or meet with a teacher are expected to set up an appointment through the office. These procedures are important safety checks for us and allow us to monitor people entering and leaving the building.

BUSING OR DISMISSAL CHANGES FOR STUDENTS

Occasionally, there may be a time during the school year that your child will need to have a busing or dismissal change. Although this may be necessary at times, please be aware that busing and dismissal changes should be for child care or emergency reasons only and kept to a minimum. It becomes a cumbersome task to arrange lots of changes and is difficult to monitor who is going where when many changes occur. However, if it becomes necessary for your child to have a dismissal or busing change there are procedures in place to do so. If your child will be picked up early, ride a different bus home, get off at another stop, or will be picked up by another person, parents must send a note into the office to let us know of the change . Phone calls to the office become difficult and time consuming for the secretary. Notes from parents allow us to write bus passes quickly and efficiently and ensure that your child will know just what to do at the end of the day. Also, please keep in mind that when your child goes home with another child, both children need to have notes. We need to confirm that both parents are aware of the arrangements with their children.

QUIET TIME

At the end of each lunch period, there will be a 1-3 minute "quiet time" for students to organize and prepare for afternoon classes. Students are not permitted to talk during this time. Lunchroom supervisors will monitor the cafeteria during "quiet time."

PARTIES

There will be three classroom parties during the school year. These include Halloween, Christmas Holiday, and Valentine's Day. Individual teachers may wish to have additional parties such as pizza parties to reward a class, birthday parties for students, etc. Classroom parties will be sponsored by our PTA and notices will be sent to parents about volunteering for parties and what can be sent in as snacks. Teachers are to notify the office of any additional parties they may be having in the classroom.

BIRTHDAY TREAT/PARTY POLICY

Metzgar Elementary students are permitted to bring treats to school to celebrate their birthdays according to procedures established by individual classroom teachers. Students may not distribute treats outside of their own classroom. Teachers will inform parents of the individual classroom procedures for bringing birthday treats to school. Treats with peanuts or peanut butter are discouraged because of the high number of children who are allergic to these ingredients. Students are not permitted of pass out invitations at school to private birthday parties.

GAMES / TOYS POLICY

Students' games and toys are very precious to them and can be easily lost or misplaced when brought to school. They also are a distraction to the educational process. Therefore, students are not permitted to bring to school any games, electronic games including Game Boys, toys, action figures, athletic equipment, sports-related collectors' cards, wrestling or gun magazines. Individual teachers will inform parents of the classroom procedures for show and tell or special circumstances for which some games may be brought to school. Please note: The school is not responsible for any toys lost or misplaced. Students who bring expensive games or toys to school do so at their own risk.

CELL PHONES

Although many children these days are able to use and own their own cell phones, please be aware that student possession of a cell phone at school or on the bus is strictly prohibited. No student should ever bring a cell phone to school. Students who need to call home for a forgotten item or other important reason should report to the office for assistance.