Information

School Hours

* The tardy bell rings at 8:00 AM

* The school office will be open from 7:45 AM - 3:30 PM daily

* Adult supervision will be provided between the hours of 7:30 AM - 3:00 PM daily

* If your child wants to eat breakfast at school, he/she must arrive prior to 8:00 AM

* Car riders and bus riders will be dismissed at 2:45 PM

* Walkers, and bike riders may arrive between 7:45 and 8:00 AM. They will be dismissed at 3:00 PM

Visitor Regulations

All parents/visitors must use the main entrance, park in a regular parking space, and enter the front of the school through the main door. Please do not park on the curb.

Visitors, regardless of time of day, will need to stop by the front office for a visitor's pass to ensure the safety of children as well as others. Staff members have been instructed to approach any adult not wearing a visitor's pass and ask them to report to the office. This will enable staff to know that the visitor is a part of the school family.

In the event that a parent is inside the building when school is dismissed and would like to take their child home with them, there are some specific guidelines to ensure that the proper person is taking the child from our campus. Please leave your child in the classroom and walk to the front office. At the front office, a staff member will use the intercom to notify the teacher to release the child to the office. We have a large number of students who have non-traditional families and students who have restrictions on who can pick them up from school. By following these procedures, you are helping us to ensure the safety of all students.

Attendance

Any student arriving to the classroom after 8:00 AM will be tardy. Leaving school prior to 2:45 PM will be considered an early dismissal. A child will be considered absent if he/she arrives after or leaves prior to 11:30 AM. A written note must be received no later than 3 days after the child has been tardy, checked out early, or absent. Spoken conversation must be accompanied by a written note. Be sure to read the system attendance policy on pages 22-24 of the Lowndes County Schools Student Parent Handbook.

Transportation

Car Riders

Procedure: Car rider procedures will remain the same as last year. Cars for morning drop-off and afternoon pick-up will use the secondary entrance to access the loading/unloading zone behind the school.

Morning: From 7:30 until 8:00 AM, use the second driveway for unloading. Students cannot exit the vehicle until the car is at the unloading zone and an adult is present on duty. Please have your child open their own door and exit the car. We are encouraging students who walk or ride in a car to arrive by 7:45 AM so they can begin morning work and complete computer activities. Pre-K and kindergarten students will be escorted by school personnel from car line to their classrooms and/or breakfast.

Older students will be supervised by staff members as they make their way to the lunchroom or classroom. Students eating breakfast must arrive before 8:00 AM. The gate to the unloading zone is closed by a police officer at 8:15. Students must be in their classroom when the tardy bell rings at 8:00 AM. We will issue your child a tardy slip from the back circular drive from 8:00-8:15 AM. Parents cannot park or leave their car unattended at any time. All visitors must report to the office (main driveway) for a visitor's badge before entering the school building.

Afternoon: Starting at 2:30 PM, you may begin to arrive at the second driveway entrance. We continue to require all parents to remain in their cars at all times to make the afternoon pick-up process faster. For safety reasons, the car pick-up line cannot begin to form prior to 2:30 PM. If you pick up your child in a car on a daily basis, you will be provided a school-issued sign with the name of your child(ren) for your car window. You must have the school-issued sign (not a home-made one) placed on your windshield during pick-up. Again, car riders will be dismissed beginning at 2:45 PM at the car rider location on the back of the campus. All students must be off campus by 3:00 PM. At no time can a car be parked or left unattended on the back campus. All visitors must report to the office for a visitor's badge before entering the school building.

Changes in Transportation: We regret that we cannot accept changes in a child's transportation over the telephone. Due to the enormous volume of calls we receive daily, and concern for the safety of our students, any changes in transportation will have to be submitted in writing to your child's teacher to authorize us to send your child home a different way than he/she travels daily. Changes cannot be made via e-mail because the teacher might not check e-mail and in case of subs, they would not receive the message.

Traffic Patterns: Please note that the Hahira Police Department has established traffic patterns that prohibit certain turns during posted times of the day. This is done to protect walking students. Parents leaving the car line are prohibited from turning right between the hours of 7:30 until 8:15 AM and 2:45 until 3:15 PM. Parents leaving the main entrance are prohibited from turning left during that same time. Also, during these hours, through traffic is one-way heading north except for buses. We regret any inconvenience, but this is done to protect the safety of our walking students.

Field Trips

Due to system budget restrictions, the number of field trips are limited. Trips within our community and to nearby points of interest are scheduled by classroom teachers during the school year and are a very important part of your child's education. HES has specific guidelines in place to ensure every child gets the most from these unique experiences.

Guidelines:

1. Parents will receive a notice of field trips in advance of the scheduled trip date.

2. A donation may be requested to help defray transportation or facility costs, but board policy states that no student will be denied the privilege of field trips due to lack of funds.

3. If a child is cited for severe behavior infractions that might endanger him/her or others, he/she will be subject to denial of field trip privileges.

4. Occasionally, due to pupil/teachers ratio, parents may be needed to serve as chaperones. When this situation occurs, the teacher will contact the parents that are needed. Parents should not just 'show up' so they can be with their child. Field trips are educational experiences and not family outings. Parents that would like to be considered as a chaperone should indicate this on the volunteer sheet at the beginning of the school year or write a note to the teacher. Note- New state guidelines taking effect in January, 2013 require that all chaperones meet certain guidelines including a background check. For a complete explanation of the Lowndes County policy regarding these guidelines, see the complete policy under useful links.

5. Chaperones will be expected to observe the following guidelines:

  • Chaperones are expected to ride the bus with the children.
  • No siblings are allowed.
  • Chaperones are prohibited from smoking on field trips.
  • Unless otherwise informed, chaperones are expected to take care of their own admission fees.
  • Chaperones are expected to be active participants (they are not on a family outing with their own child, but are responsible for a group of children.)
  • The teacher will choose his/her own chaperones and may choose to consider parents that volunteer frequently, assist with special events, and know the students already.
  • All chaperones must be certified and obtain background checks through LCS. Additional guidelines for obtaining this (at no expense) can be found under useful links.

Miscellaneous Details

  • Lunchroom: Food from restaurants and carbonated drinks are prohibited in the cafeteria during the lunch period.
  • Emergency Information: Parents and/or legal guardians are required to give complete emergency information to the school office. The office must be notified immediately in writing when changes in the information occur.
  • Medication: No medication should be sent to school by a child, but should be brought by a parent. To contact Mrs. Carter, school nurse, call the main office.
  • Valentines cards and Party invitations: If you wish to distribute cards/invitations at school, you must send one for every child in the class. This policy helps to reduce hurt feelings between the children. If you do not have one for each child in the classroom, do not send them to school for distribution.
  • Valentines Day: Lowndes County Schools policy prohibits the delivery of flowers/balloons in the schools on Valentines Day. Children are not allowed to carry balloons or flowers on a LCS bus at any time.