• Arrival and Dismissal Procedures

     

    Arrival Procedures

    Our first bell rings at 8:45 AM, when students may report to their classrooms.  Students may not be dropped off at school before 8:45 AM unless they are enrolled in the YMCA Early Arrival Program.  Students who are not enrolled in the YMCA Early Arrival program should remain in their cars with their parents until the 8:45 AM bell.  Students who walk or ride bicycles to school should not arrive before 8:45 AM.         

    Breakfast begins at 8:45 AM. Students should be in their classrooms by 9:15 AM.  Students who arrive after 9:15 AM are tardy. After 9:15 AM parents should bring their child to the front doors, scan the QR Code posted on the door, and fill out the online form in order to check in tardy.  It is best for students to arrive at school before 9:10 AM so that they can be seated before the bell rings.  Late arrival to the classroom, after the tardy bell, puts children at a disadvantage because they miss classroom instruction.  Teachers lose time from scheduled learning activities when they must stop to repeat instructions for children who are late.  We appreciate your efforts in ensuring that your child arrives at school on time.

    There are three arrival procedures at Olive Chapel; bus, carpool, and walkers (those walking from their neighborhoods to the school).  We ask that parents do NOT park in the gravel parking lot and “walk” their children to school.  Please use one of these three methods to help with our safety procedures.  Thank you.

    Buses will arrive at the bus loop in front of the main building and enter by the front doors. Buses will unload no earlier than 8:45 am and staff members will direct students to the building.  Students in grades K-3 will enter the building at the left front entrance doors. Parents of students with special needs may also drop their children off in the bus loop.  Students in grades 4th and 5th will depart the bus and enter through the gates towards the cottages. 

    Carpoolers and Daycare van riders may be dropped off only in the carpool lanes (in front of the gym) between 8:45 and 9:15 a.m. where they will be directed into the building.  Students in grades K-1 will enter the building through the cafeteria doors.  Students in grades 2-3 will enter the building through the gymnasium doors.  Staff will be present at all entrances to help direct students into the building.

    • K - 1st Grade: Cafeteria
    • 2nd - 3rd Grade: Gym
    • 4th  - 5th Grade: Front Entrance (right side doorway)

    Carpool Reminders:

    • Please follow the designated traffic flow.
    • Pull all the way forward before allowing students to exit vehicles.
    • Do not exit your vehicle in the carpool lane, pull to the left and exit in that lane.
    • Please have your child exit from the passenger side.
    • STUDENTS MAY NOT BE DROPPED OFF PRIOR TO THE 8:45 BELL.

    Be courteous to pedestrians.  If pedestrians are waiting to cross the carpool lane, please stop.  For the safety of our students, please do not use cell phones in the carpool lane.

    Walkers with their parents/caretakers are to gather at the front of the building near the map around the map.  Once the bell rings, students can enter the building using the front doors.  Once students enter the building, there will be OCE staff members throughout to help direct students to their classrooms.

    Dismissal Procedures

     

    We will dismiss at 3:45 PM every day!

    Unless we receive written instructions from you to the contrary, we will always send a child home his/her usual way. Any transportation changes must be requested in writing by a parent or legal guardian.  Please send these notes in with your child in the morning. If you have an emergency transportation change that you can’t request in writing, please call the school office prior to 2:30 PM.  Please phone the school office only in case of an emergency. We’ll notify your child’s teacher.  Please don’t send an e-mail to the teacher during the school day to request a transportation change… he or she is busy teaching and might not read your e-mail until after dismissal.

    If you find it necessary to check your child out of school early, please do so before 3:20 PM. Because of the large number of students we have preparing for dismissal each day we are unable to accommodate requests for early check-out after 3:20 PM. Individuals noted on the child’s locator card can only check out children. Please bring a photo ID with you when you arrive to check your child out of school.  For the safety of all our students, our office staff will ask to see an ID before releasing a child to anyone.

    Bus riders: If a student rides the bus, they will dismiss from their classrooms once their bus # has arrived on campus.  At 3:40, students riding the busses that have arrived will line up in the hallway. There will be teachers and safety patrol members in the hall lining up the called buses that have arrived. These teachers and safety patrol members will start escorting the students to the bus loop at 3:45.  Once the first set of bus riders are on the bus and secure, we will continue this process for the next set of busses.

    Picking up in the carpool lane:  Starting at 3:40 student carpool numbers are called in the order they arrive in the carpool lane.  Students are then sent to the cafeteria, where the adult on duty will line them up.  Students will start being released to their assigned cone color starting at 3:45 PM.  Please have your carpool number on display in your car.  Please help your child to memorize his carpool number, as it will help with the flow of carpool.  If you are late to carpool, after 4:05 PM, you will need to come to the front office to pick up your child. 

    Walkers:  We will ask parents/caretakers to gather at the front of the building near the map.   The parent/guardian or an approved adult listed on the child's emergency card are allowed to pick up the child.  They must have the following: 

    • The corresponding walker tag number with the child’s walker tag number.
    • Secondly, their name appears on the list of emergency contacts on the student’s locator sheet/emergency card.

    If the person responsible for pickup does not have the required walker tag, they will be directed to the front office for our checkout procedure (showing driver’s license/proper identification associated with our locator cards).  We ask that parents not park in the gravel parking lot or Publix and “walk” their children to school; rather, utilize our carpool for dismissal to ensure the safety of our students.

    • Pick up by older siblings:  In order for an older sibling to pick a child up from school, he or she must be older than 14, the corresponding walker tag, and must be listed on your child’s locator card as having permission to pick up your child.

    • Children who walk or ride bicycles without adult supervision (grades 4 and 5 only):   If your child is a responsible 4th or 5th grader and will walk or ride a bicycle to or from school without adult supervision, please complete and return the “Walker Agreement” to school.  The section with your signatures will be laminated for attachment to your child’s bookbag.  Students without this signature card will not be permitted to travel to or from school without an adult.