ATTENDANCE POLICIES & HELPFUL INFORMATION

Emergency Data:  The school must have current home and cell phone numbers, along with addresses and email addresses, in case of accident or illness.  In addition, emergency contacts and their telephone numbers should be provided in the event you are unreachable.  Please confirm your demographic and emergency contact information through the PowerSchool Parent Portal located on our district website www.opschools.org and remember to update that information anytime it changes.

Attendance Policy:  Successful completion of classes requires regular attendance and participation.  It is the parent/guardian’s responsibility to see that regular attendance is maintained.  We strongly encourage you to schedule family vacations around the days school is not in session.

Parents/Guardians must call the Attendance Line at 209-6101 every day that your child is absent or will be late to school.  If you know your child will be out for multiple days you can relay that in your call.  If the Health Office is not contacted before 9:20 a.m., and your student is marked absent during homeroom attendance, you will receive an automated phone call notifying you of this absence.  You will be asked to call the Health Office to confirm that your child is safe.  The automated call will go directly to the phone numbers designated in the Parent Portal.  Please verify the accuracy of the contact numbers listed in the Parent Portal.  

Upon return to school, the student must bring a note signed by parent/guardian.  The note should state the child’s full name, teacher, date of absence and reason for absence.  A written detailed note for all student absences is required even if you have called the attendance line.  These excuses are kept on file as required by New York State Law.  If a note is not received, the absence will be marked “illegal” in accordance with New York State Law.

An absence is “excused” for four reasons: illness or medical appointment, death in the family, appearance in court, religious observance.  Vacation / trips during scheduled school days are considered “unexcused absences”.

Make Up Work for Absences: For all legal absences, teachers will give students a reasonable amount of time to complete missed assignments.  Parents can contact teachers via email to request makeup work.  Any work that is gathered by the teacher can be picked up from the Front Security Desk between the hours of 3:30 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.  For the purpose of vacation or travel, students can complete any missed assignments upon their return to school.

Tardiness: Students should be in class by 9:00 a.m.  If arrival is after 9:10 a.m., the student is considered tardy.  (For the 2021-2022 school year, students will be marked Tardy if arrival is after 9:20 a.m.).  Parents must escort tardy students into the building so they may be signed in with our Front Desk Security.  A note with the reason for the tardiness should be sent with the student.  Students will then proceed to the Main Office before going to their classrooms.  

Excessive absenteeism or tardiness will result in action from the school.  This could include conferences, formal letters to the parents, as well as increased intervention from Eggert Elementary.

School Entrance:  When there is a need to come to Eggert during school hours please enter through the front foyer.  Our Front Desk Security Monitor will verify your entrance and ask for government-issued photo identification.  If you need to drop off a lunch, book, or any other item they will then notify the appropriate school personnel of items left for pick up by that student.

School Breakfast:  Breakfast for 2021/2022 School Year - The USDA has Extended Free Breakfast for ALL Students through the 2021-2022 School Year.  A continental breakfast is offered to all students in our school if needed.  Free and reduced plans apply for those who qualify and the application can be found on our district web-site.

School Lunch:   Lunch for 2021/2022 School Year - The USDA has Extended Free Lunch for ALL Students through the 2021-2022 School Year.  This change will allow all students in the Orchard Park Central School District to receive breakfast and lunch, regardless of family income, through the 2021-2022 school year.  A parent/guardian will only need to add funds to their child’s MySchoolBucks account if they want their child to purchase a second meal or a la carte items.  The District is encouraging a cashless meal purchase for a la carte items or if your child wishes to purchase a second meal which are not included in the Free Breakfast and Lunch for ALL Students program.  The cashless system will help to ensure social distancing when purchasing a meal.  Parents have the option of preloading money onto their child's MySchoolBucks account online.  Parents can preload the funds with a credit card or send a check in with their child.  Please make checks payable to the Orchard Park Central School District.

We participate in the National School Lunch Program.  Children may purchase a lunch which includes milk or they may bring a bagged lunch and purchase milk.  If a student forgets his/her lunch or money for lunch, they may charge their lunch that day.  It is expected that the charge will be paid on the next school day.  Personal checks for lunch accounts should be made payable to the Orchard Park Central School District.  You may access MySchoolBucks.com as an option for prepaying for your student lunches online.  Free and reduced plans apply for those who qualify and the application can be found on our district web-site.  Please label all money that you send in for your student to be sure it gets proper credit.

School Books:  Students have the privilege of using all classroom textbooks and of signing out library books.  All classroom textbooks should have book covers placed on them.  It is expected that students will take responsibility for returning the books in good reusable condition.  Lost or damaged books are expected to be paid for by the student.

Personal Possessions:  Please label in ink all children’s possessions with their full name.  This is the only way we can help identify lost items.  Sweaters, coats, caps, hats, book bags, lunch boxes, etc.  should be marked with the child’s full name.  A lost and found table is located in the Small Cafeteria and you are encouraged to remind your student to check there for lost articles.

Extra Curricular Activities:  Students in Grades 4 and 5 are permitted to participate in various before and after school activities (i.e. intramurals, chorus, and band/orchestra/jazz band).  Teachers who are in charge of these activities will send home information and any necessary permission sheets when the activities are scheduled.

Party Invitation Reminder:  Please be reminded that neither our school office nor classroom teachers can give out addresses of students and their families for any reason, such as the purpose of sending out birthday invitations.  Refrain from sending party invitations to school unless the entire class is invited.  It can be very difficult for children who are not invited to deal with this during the school day.  Your understanding of the reasons why this needs to be adhered to is appreciated in advance.

ARRIVAL & DISMISSAL PROCEDURES

School Hours: 9:00 a.m. to 3:15 p.m.  Safety and supervision concerns for children in school make it impossible for students to arrive at school prior to 9:00 a.m. to accommodate parental work schedules, appointments, etc.  Please do not drop your students off and leave them unattended.  School hours for scheduled half days are 9:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.

Early Dismissal Requests: Students leaving school early, before 3:15 p.m., for various appointments should have written notes from their parent/guardian submitted to their classroom teacher that morning.  Please be aware that if your child does not have a note for an early dismissal the teacher won’t be able to properly have them ready in a timely fashion and there may be extra time needed to get them ready to leave.  Early dismissals are detailed on their school attendance record.  We encourage all students to attend for the full school day so they don’t miss out on important instructional time with their classroom teachers.  No child may leave the building without being accompanied by a parent/guardian.  The parent/guardian should enter through the front doors of Eggert, report to the Front Security Desk Monitor and be prepared to show a government-issued photo identification.  

Afternoon Dismissal Procedures for 2020/2021 School Year
Students being picked up at dismissal should provide a note from home to their teacher for each day pickup is requested.  The note should clearly state the student(s) being picked up, the date of pickup request, and the authorized individual’s full legal name who will arrive for the student.  For students who have a consistent pickup schedule: yearly notes, monthly notes or weekly notes will be accepted and tracked by the Main Office.  Due to high volume of calls during dismissal, the office cannot accept any pickup requests after 2:30 p.m.  Please refrain from last minute calls to the main office during this busy time of day.

For the 2021-2022 school year, there will be no student pickups from inside Eggert Elementary.  Parents must enter the front driveway loop and remain in their vehicles.  The pickup ID tag number assigned to each student must be hung from the rearview mirror or prominently displayed on the front dashboard.  When you arrive in the loop, a member of the Eggert dismissal team will enter your pickup number into our system.  Be prepared to show proper government-issued photo identification to the Dismissal team members as needed.  Children will wait in their classrooms until they are notified that their pickup number has been entered by our dismissal team.  We appreciate your patience this year with this dismissal process.

Afternoon Dismissal Procedures for Student Pickup: Student dismissal for pickups will begin at 3:10 p.m. each afternoon.  Students being picked up at dismissal should provide a note from home to their teacher for each day pickup is requested.  The note should clearly state the student(s) being picked up, the date of pickup request, and the authorized individual’s full legal name who will arrive for the student.  For students who have a consistent pickup schedule: yearly notes, monthly notes or weekly notes will be accepted and tracked by the Main Office.  Any student who is scheduled to be picked up by a parent/guardian at dismissal time will report to the Large Cafeteria at dismissal to wait.  Due to high volume of calls during dismissal, the office cannot accept any pickup requests after 2:30 p.m.  Please refrain from last minute calls to the main office during this busy time of day.

Upon arrival to Eggert, be prepared to show proper government-issued photo identification to the Dismissal team members at dismissal time.  Parents will enter the Small Cafeteria door, on the south side of the building.  The entrance is clearly marked “EGGERT PICKUP EXIT ONLY”.  The Dismissal team will be ready to accept parents/guardians for student pickup starting at 3:05 p.m. each day.  Once a parent arrives and has their ID checked by the Dismissal team, the student will be released from the Large Cafeteria to leave with the authorized adult in the Small Cafeteria through the same doors in which you entered.  To expedite this procedure, it is imperative that a note is sent in for the student and proper identification is ready for checking.

Student Bus Transportation for the 2021/2022 School Year: Due to social distancing protocols, only students with assigned bus seats may ride the school bus this year.  Surveys were sent out to families over the summer to indicate whether transportation was requested for the academic year.  If you opted-out of busing for your child(ren), a formal request must be made to Transportation before busing can begin.  Approval of that request is at the discretion of the Transportation Dept and the protocols they have in place this school year.  Due to the assigned seating, students may not ride home to another student’s house.  Students who attend the Boys & Girls Club program or the Orchard Park Recreation After School Program will receive busing directly to those programs.  Additionally, students in those programs who have a change in their attendance on a particular day can only switch to a pickup at dismissal.

Student Bus Transportation: All students are assigned a bus stop for the academic year based on their place of residence.  Children are only allowed to get off the bus at their regular stop.  Being discharged at a location other than their regular bus stop (ie. a friend’s house) requires a written request, in advance, from the parent/guardian.  Eggert will authorize a bus pass for the student based on that request.  Notes should be sent in to the student’s teacher for each day a bus pass is requested.  Bus passes can only be to residences.  Eggert cannot authorize a bus pass to a place of business.

Alternate Site Requests: Any student requiring a long term drop off at a location that is not their regular bus stop (ie. babysitter who resides within Eggert attendance boundaries), an Alternate Site Form must be completed in the Parent Portal (Alt Bus Site) and processed by the Transportation department.  Submissions received will be reviewed by Transportation within 3 business days.  Once Transportation approves this request, that student may begin to bus to that alternate stop.  In order for busing of your student to continue without interruption, your online submission must be received by the Transportation Department as soon as possible.  Any questions can be directed to their office at 209-6237.

Parents should send a note in to the student’s teacher until the request is approved and busing is assigned in the Parent Portal.  Additionally, for rotating schedules that do not follow a consistent schedule (ie: Tuesdays one week, then Fridays another week), a weekly or monthly note to the student’s teacher is requested.  The Main Office will track all rotating schedules for students' dismissal needs.

Busing to After School Programs / Boys & Girls Club / EduKids Daycare Program: These after school programs are offered “off-site”.  Information and pricing regarding these programs can be obtained by calling: Boys & Girls Club: 662-1941, Orchard Park Town Recreation 662-6450, and EduKids Daycare 662-5982.  Due to alternate busing, the Alternate Bus Site form (described above) must be completed and approved for transportation to these programs.

Parents should send a note in to the student’s teacher until the request is approved and busing is assigned in the Parent Portal.  Additionally, for rotating schedules that do not follow a consistent schedule (ie: Tuesdays one week, then Fridays another week), a weekly or monthly note to the student’s teacher is requested.  The Main Office will track all rotating schedules for students' dismissal needs.  Please keep your classroom teacher updated on your student’s attendance in this program to ensure proper day’s attendance.

“On Site” Before/After School Programs:  Eggert participates in a “before school”, as well as “after school” program conducted by the Southtowns Y.M.C.A. on-site at Eggert Elementary.  Information and pricing regarding this program can be obtained by calling the Southtowns Y.M.C.A. at 674-9622.  If your student will be attending the program, a note should be sent in to your child’s teacher indicating the start date and the designated days each week of attendance.  Additionally, for rotating schedules that do not follow a consistent schedule (ie: Tuesdays one week, then Fridays another week), a weekly or monthly calendar to the student’s teacher is requested.  The Main Office will track all rotating schedules for students' dismissal needs.  Please keep your classroom teacher updated on your student’s attendance in this program to ensure proper day’s attendance.