Norcross Elementary School

 

The designated school hours for Norcross Elementary School are 8:50 AM to 3:20 PM.  Students may come as early as 8:20 AM, and will be admitted to the building at that time.  For safety concerns, parents need to abide by these hours. There is NO supervision of students provided before 8:20 AM. Please do not drop your child off before 8:20 AM.

 

Students must be finished with breakfast, walk to their classroom, have their book bag unpacked, and be ready to begin working at 8:50 AM; therefore, all students must arrive by 8:45 AM to avoid being tardy to class.  Those eating breakfast need to arrive no later than 8:30 AM.  If your child will not be eating breakfast at school, he/she must arrive at the Hunt Street entrance no later than 8:45 AM in order to be considered on time.  Students arriving after the 8:45 AM bell will be marked tardy.  You must come into the school and sign your child in if there is no adult to greet your child on the sidewalk in front of the main entrance. The best suggestion to avoid tardiness or the lack of supervision is to allow students to ride the school bus.

 

 

Please refer to the Gwinnett County Public Schools Student/Parent Handbook for complete information about attendance laws and policies for Gwinnett County Public School students.

 

Vacations and trips are unexcused absences.  Students who are away from school for ten consecutive days (unexcused) will be withdrawn from school.  Upon return, parents can re-enroll students, but placement in the previous classroom cannot be guaranteed.

 

Please remember that you must send a note to the teacher stating the reason for your child’s absence. Important – Student attendance is one factor that determines whether Norcross Elementary makes its Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) under the No Child Left Behind legislation.  Gwinnett County School System has a strict attendance protocol which will be followed in situations in which students have high absentee rates.

 

Students who have doctor/dental appointments or emergencies that necessitate their absence for a portion of the school day must attend school for at least half of the day (3 hours and 15 minutes) in order to be marked present for the day.

 

 

The following guidelines have been established to provide the highest level of safety for our students:

 

Please be aware that cars without numbers will be asked to leave the car rider line, park, and go to the receptionist to check out the student.

 

If a note has been written to request that a student be a car rider and no tag number is on the vehicle picking up the student, the driver will need to park, come inside, and show picture identification to match the name on the note.

 

 

In order to keep our records current, please notify the office immediately of a change in any of the following:

 

It is very confusing for students as well as teachers to alternate between day care, parent pick-up and buses.  Additionally, accepting changes by telephone does not allow us to provide maximum safety measures for our students.  Therefore, should there be a need to change transportation, a written note (with a date and signature) should be sent to the teacher from the child’s parent or guardian (with a phone number) indicating the change in his/her transportation home is required on the morning of the change.  This note must be given to the teacher upon arrival in class.  The teacher will send the student and the note to the front office to be copied, and a bus pass will be issued if needed. Bus drivers will not transport students who do not have a bus pass signed by a school representative.  In the absence of a note from the parent, the child will be placed on his/her usual mode of transportation.

 

Please note:  Make sure your child knows the change in plans.  Changes in transportation, of any kind, will NOT be accepted via email or phone. In an extreme emergency, after talking with a member of the office staff or an administrator, a parent or guardian can FAX a note (770-417-2492) along with a copy of his/her photo identification to the office prior to 2:30 PM.

 

 

The school day ends at 3:20 PM.  Parents must indicate their child’s usual way of going home (bus, car, daycare van, or Boys and Girls Club) on the student transportation card.  Car riders are dismissed from their classroom at 3:17 PM to come to the front of the school for pick up promptly at 3:20 PM.  Van riders and Boys and Girls Club bus riders are picked up from the Born Street bus ramp.  Students who are regular bus riders will be called to the bus ramp when their bus arrives.  Bus numbers will be called over the intercom as well posted and viewed on television.  It is the student’s responsibility to listen and watch for his/her bus and to leave the classroom as soon as the bus number is called/viewed in order to not miss the bus.  Students missing their bus will call his/her parent, and need to be picked up immediately.

 

 

Early check-outs interrupt instruction for the entire class.  Please minimize these occasions, and allow your child to take full advantage of the 6 ½ hour school day.  There is no parking permitted in front of the school; please use an available parking space in the lot.  If you must check your child out early, the parent must plan to do so by 2:30 PM.  This is necessary in order to provide a safe and timely dismissal for all students.  After 2:30 our students are involved in CQI (Continuous Quality Improvement) where students change classes.  The location for CQI changes for our students from week to week, and we cannot interrupt instruction by calling different classrooms.  Please do not ask for exceptions to the deadline of 2:30 PM check-out.  For the safety of all children, any person checking out a student must present picture identification, and his/her name must appear on the student check-out card or the note that has been sent to school that day.  Please be advised that due to the size of our campus, it does take a minimum of 5-10 minutes for students to arrive in the front office. Check-outs occurring during lunchtime, recess, or specials will take longer.  Please remember that check-out cannot occur from the classroom, and parents are not permitted on the bus ramp.  On early release days in November and February (for parent conferences), early check-out or contacting the school with a change of transportation must be done by 12:30 PM.