Arrival
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.
Attendance
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withdrawn from school.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.
Car Riders
The following guidelines have been
established to provide the highest level of safety
for our students:
Morning Procedures
- Students may enter the building each
morning, beginning at 8:20 AM. Car riders
needing to eat breakfast must arrive by 8:30 AM.
- Remember – “Good Day Norcross” goes on the
air at 8:45 AM.
- Staff members will be present to assist
students by opening car doors and monitoring
students as they enter the school building each
morning.
- Car drivers should stay in a single line,
and remain with their vehicle.
- Please have your child ready to exit the car
on the passenger side, or you will need to park
in a designated space and walk your child to the
sidewalk.
Afternoon Procedures
- Cars need a Norcross Elementary car rider
tag number to pick up a student in the
afternoon. If you know your child will be
a car rider for various after school activities
during the school year, please request a car
rider tag at registration. The first set
of car tags is free. Replacement tags cost
$2 and can be purchased from the front office.
- Once you enter the driveway, please hang
your car rider number from the rear view mirror
where it is easily visible.
- Advance forward slowly as you approach the
pick-up area.
- Please be considerate of our neighbors by
not blocking oncoming traffic or residential
driveways on Hunt Street.
- Do not attempt to pass other cars; please
wait your turn.
- For safety reasons, children must load from
the sidewalk to the passenger side of the
vehicle only.
- No child standing in the car rider lane will
be released to anyone who walks up to the line
and asks for his/her child(ren).
- If a parent is late picking up their child,
the child will be taken to the front office, and
the parent will need to come inside, show proper
check-out identification, and then pick up their
child. Please be considerate of our
teachers and pick up your child(ren) on time
since teacher work hours end shortly after
school dismissal. Make sure you have a
personal back-up plan for emergencies, or have
your child ride the bus.
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.
Changes in School
Records
In order to keep our records current, please
notify the office immediately of a change in any
of the following:
- Address (You must provide a lease or
mortgage statement and one utility bill)
- Telephone numbers (home, work, and cell)
- Person to call in case of emergency or when
the parent cannot be reached
- Medical Information
- Change of guardianship
Changes in Student
Transportation
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.
Dismissal
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-Out of
Students
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.
