Bell Schedule

8:00 am— First Bell Rings; Admittance to Building - Classroom or Cafeteria for breakfast
8:30 am—Tardy Bell Rings; Start of Instructional Day
Any student who enters the building after the tardy bell requires a parent sign-in and tardy slip prior to admittance to class.
3:00 pm—End of Instructional Day; Students are dismissed

Attendance

The staff and administration believe there is a high correlation between attendance and achievement; therefore, regular attendance is crucial to student success. We ask parents to respect the instructional day and schedule doctor appointments outside of the instructional day, whenever possible. Parents are requested to have children at school by 8:15 am in order for them to be prepared for instruction to begin at 8:30 am. We want our students present everyday, all day. Below are some specifics in terms of what is expected from students and parents in regards to attendance.

Absence Notes: Upon return from an absence, students are required to bring a note (or email) from a parent or doctor to your child's teacher. Notes must be brought to your child’s teacher within two school days of returning from the absence. Absences not documented within two days will be classified as unexcused, as mandated by WCPSS Board Policy 4400 Absence notes should include the following:
• Student’s name (first and last)
• Date of Absence
• Reason for absence
• Parent signature
• Home or work phone number of parent

An automated phone call from Sycamore Creek will call parents at the conclusion of the school day to inform the parent of unexcused absences.

As of 5/24/2021, we are still operating under the health and safety guidelines for illness. This means if a student does not attend school or goes home with any symptom if illness, the child cannot return to school without a doctor’s note of an alternative diagnosis or a negative PCR COVID test.

Checking In After 8:30 am: Parents need to sign students in the front office when arriving on campus.

Checking Out: Parents can check out a student up until 2:30pm. No check outs will be permitted after 2:30pm. According to WCPSS policy 4400, students need to be in school for at least half of the school day in order to be counted as present. Therefore , the half day for Sycamore Creek Elementary is 11:45am.

Educational Leave: Parents can fill out an educational leave form to request absences be excused for educational reasons. The intent of the experience should be educational and comparable to which the student would experience in school. Family trips and vacations are not designed, initially, to be educational and will not be excused. This form will require a Principal signature and therefore should be submitted to the front office.

Excused vs. Unexcused Absences: Per WCPSS School Board Policy 4400, excused absences are those that result from:
• Personal illness or injury that makes the student physically unable to attend school
• Isolation ordered by the State Board of Health
• Death in the immediate family (including but not limited to parents, siblings, grandparents)
• Medical or Dental appointment of the student
• Participation as a party or under subpoena as a witness in a court proceeding
• Observance of an event required or suggested by the religion of the student or the student’s parent(s); minimum of two days each academic school year
• Participation in a valid educational opportunity, such as travel or service as a legislative or Governor’s page, with prior approval from the principal
• Visitation with the student’s parent or legal guardian, at the discretion of the superintendent or designee, if the parent or legal guardian (a) is an active duty member of the uniformed services as defined by policy 4050, Children of Military Families, and (b) has been called to duty for, is on leave from, or has immediately returned from deployment to a combat zone or combat support posting.

Other absences, such as oversleeping, missing the bus, traffic, car trouble are considered unexcused.

Return to School Guidelines: Students must remain home if they are sick. Someone experiencing any symptom of illness not related to an already documented medical condition must be sent home, even if they don’t have a COVID-19 diagnosis. For more information about when it is OK to return to school visit wcpss.net/whentoreturn or call the school for guidance.

Student Locator Card: Parents are asked to complete a Student Locator Card at the beginning of the year in the event your child becomes ill and parent contact must be made. It is very important we have more than one telephone number on file, in case of an emergency. If information on this card changes during the year, it is important you notify the school office to make the necessary changes. Only persons designated on the locator card will be allowed to pick up your child/children from school.

A new locator card must be filled out every year!