Polices & Procedures

Absences     Tardies     Breakfast & Lunch Program     Class Parties     Visitors

Volunteers     Large Envelopes     Calendar     Minute of Silence     Dress Code

Classroom Observations   

The following policies and procedures will help ensure a safe, fun, and educational school year for your child.

Arrival & Dismissal

Students should not arrive before 7:35 as staff members are not available for supervision before then. Students may be dropped off in front of the building between 7:35-7:50 a.m. Please do not release children into the building without proper supervision.

Parents should not go to the classroom to pick up children. Parents must sign out their children in order to pick them up early. They will be called to the office.

Bus riders must ride their assigned buses. Bus changes are not permitted unless an emergency arises. When an emergency exists and a temporary change is needed, a student must bring a note to the office for approval. Bus changes should not be requested for after-school visitations among students.

Students who are picked up on a periodic basis will be put on our “Call List” and will report to the lobby. Those students who will be picked up every day will be placed on the “Permanent Call List.”

Dismissal will begin at 2:19 p.m. each day. 

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Absences

School Policy 9-19: Sickness of a student, severe illness or death in the family, exposure to a contagious disease, religious holidays, or extremely inclement weather shall be considered the only legitimate excuse for absence or tardiness. The parent or guardian should give an excuse in writing stating the cause of the absence or tardiness. Absence for any reason other than those stated above must be with the advance permission of the principal or his representative. Such absence requests must be made in writing stating the reason and time of absence.

Parents should call the attendance line the morning of an absence to report it. The number is 558-4487.

Students shall be allowed to make up work because of excused or unexcused absences, including in-school or out-of-school suspension in accordance with the following guidelines:

• The student/parent must request the assignments and the assignments must be completed in a timely manner. Timeliness will be determined by the nature of the assignments missed, the number of days of absence, and the grade level of the student.

In order to minimize interruptions to the instructional day, the following procedure is designed to help students, parents, and teachers:

• For absences of 1 day or less, teachers will provide make-up work to the student upon the student’s return.
• For absences of more than 1 day, make-up work can be requested by calling the school office at 558-8923. Make-up work will be made available 24 hours after the request has been made or upon the student’s return to school.
• Make-up work should be completed by the number of days absent plus 3 days. Deviation from the practice may be granted for extenuating circumstances.

Work missed which cannot be done at home (lab experiments, direct teaching, etc.) shall be made up at the discretion of the teacher through alternative assessments or during time provided before and after school or during lunch. In some cases, it may be necessary to allow the work to remain ungraded and to average the student’s grades based on work submitted. In cases of intentional absences (e.g. skipping of class or entire school days) students shall not be permitted to make up work for credit and shall receive a zero for any graded work assigned on that day.

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Tardies

Students who arrive late because of late buses are to be excused and are not considered tardy. All other students who come to school late (after 7:50 am) must have a note from the office before admittance to class. 

Excused tardies shall be the following:

1. Severe weather conditions
2. Illness
3. Doctor or dentist appointments
4. Late bus

 

Breakfast & Lunch Program
Students will be able to eat breakfast in our cafeteria starting at 7:35 and ending at 7:55. A student's full price will be $1.00.  Students may purchase lunch for $1.80.  Lunch may be pre-paid- an amount for a snack account should be noted on the check if all of the money should not be placed in the lunch account. 

It is always wonderful to see a great number of parents who take time away from busy schedules to have lunch with their children. We do, however, discourage you from bringing in a McDonald's or other fast-food lunch. Please join your child for lunch whenever possible, and support Grassfield Elementary School in promoting a nutritious school lunch program.

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Class Parties

There are only two class parties: Winter and the End-of-the-Year. Room mothers will contact parents (if needed) for help with the parties. Treats are permissible on very special occasions like Halloween, Thanksgiving, and individual student’s birthdays. Treats are to be given only in the cafeteria at lunchtime. Treats must be store-bought and should be a small treat.

Visitors

All visitors to the school (with the exception of parents picking up children) are required to go to the office upon entering the building and pick up a visitor's badge. The visitor will wear this badge while in the school or on the grounds, and will return the badge to the office immediately prior to leaving the grounds.

All school employees will be instructed to direct any visitors not wearing a visitor's badge to the office. If the visitor does not comply, the staff member will notify the office personnel immediately.

Visitors should not visit classes or seek to interview teachers or pupils during school hours without permission from the principal. Visits arranged in advance are desirable.

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Dress Code

Students are expected to dress appropriately. Shorts less than finger length, shirts that are above the waist, and flip flops are examples of clothing not permitted.

Minute of Silence

Chesapeake Public School students will observe "one minute of silence" during morning devotions/announcements as per Senate Bill 209, which was signed into law (22.1-203) by the Governor. The Minute of Silence can be used for silent prayer, meditation, or other silent activity.  

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Large School Envelopes

Large School Envelopes will be sent home each Thursday with your child's work and any school notices. Please review the contents thoroughly each week and sign the envelope in the space provided. Parent Bulletins will be sent one time a month in these envelopes along with lunch menus, PTA notices, and other important information. Interim reports and report cards will also be sent at the appropriate times.

Parent Volunteers

Parent Volunteers are a valued asset to our instructional and overall school program. We strongly encourage you to find opportunities to participate in your child's educational experiences. Simply make your teacher and other resource or support staff aware of your availability and they will gladly schedule times for you to be involved in classroom and extracurricular activities. Again, we appreciate and value your support.  

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Classroom Observations

Parents who wish to visit and/or observe classroom instruction must pre-arrange visits with your child's teacher and/or principals. This procedure will help to minimize distractions and/or disruptions to our daily instructional program. On any given day, we would not want to have more than one parent observation visit. Therefore, unannounced as well as lengthy (all day) visits are not permissible unless approved by the administration.

School Calendar

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