Regular attendance is an important part of the educational experience. The school hours are 7:30am – 6:00pm. During school drop-off and pick-up hours, parents are encouraged to exchange only brief greetings with the teaching staff. Please honor that the teachers have the responsibility of supervising our students at all time and that conversations with teachers need to remain minimal.
It is requested that parents make attendance a priority for their child. Students are expected to be in attendance daily and are excused only for illness and absences required by personal situations and previously reported to the office. Parents are responsible for notifying the office two (2) days in advance of known absentees and by 10:00 A.M., in the event of an illness. If the child’s absence is caused by illness, we ask that you follow the procedures outlined in our Wellness Policy.
Tardiness should also be minimized as it disrupts the learning experience of every child. Students are expected to be in place by 8:45 A.M. or by the beginning of Circle Time. Scheduled appointments resulting in late arrivals must be reported to the office by the close of the previous day.
Arrival
Our daily hours, excluding holidays, are 7:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Parents must sign in their child immediately upon arrival. We ask that you sign in your student (noting the time also) via the Sign In/Out Sheets located on the school’s front counter and in the infants’ classroom. This helps maintain consistency throughout the school day, and provides a quick reference of children to be accounted for, in the case of an emergency. Any unusual markings, behavior, or health conditions should also be reported to the office staff and the child’s teacher at that time.
During drop-off, we encourage parents, arriving prior to 8:45, to walk their children into the building and to the cafeteria or the respective class. After 8:45 your child will be delivered by TCS staff unobtrusively to their class. Children arriving after the breakfast hour (7:45-8:15) who need breakfast may be accompanied to breakfast by the parent. All breakfast must be concluded and children taken to class before 8:45 A.M.
Departure
Children may be picked up anytime during the day by an authorized person (as designated on the enrollment form under “Emergency Contact/Pick-Up” section). Parents anticipating a shortened day or early pick-up should notify the office of the shortened day, at the time of arrival to school. It is requested that the same procedure be followed when a student will be leaving the school facility temporarily and returning during the same school day. If a child will need to leave The Cathedral School earlier than normal, the change in pick-up time should be communicated to the office and teacher so the child can be made ready for pick-up at the appropriate time. In order to reduce disruption to your student’s day, if at all possible, we ask that early pick-ups be either before or after their scheduled nap times.
All parents are required to come into the school to sign out their child before any student may be released. A parent may call the school as they near the facility so the child can be ready for pick-up when the parent arrives. As a courtesy only, the school staff will make every effort to ready the child for the parent’s arrival. We also encourage the parents to come in and observe their child before departing.
Intermittently, a parent may need to remain briefly inside the facility. If there is a particular issue (e.g., medicine to be taken home, accident/incident report to be signed, financial statement presented, or personal letter, etc.) that needs to be addressed with you the parent at the time of drop-off or pick-up, your child’s name will be highlighted.
If someone other than individuals originally identified as authorized for pick-up will be picking up your child, written notification must be provided to the school prior to the change in procedure. No requests can be accepted over the phone. School staff also reserves the right to request a photo identification of the person picking up the student to maintain in the student’s file for future reference.
Conferences
School initiated parent/teacher conferences may be scheduled periodically and at any time throughout the year. Twice a year (fall and spring), each child will be evaluated by their teacher and specific short-term goals will be established. The school will notify you of the completion of these assessments. Parents may, at that time, schedule a conference with their child’s teacher and/or the Headmistress. These meetings will provide important information regarding your child’s overall experience and development at school and can also be used to discuss any concerns or questions regarding your child. Copies of all goals and reports will be contained in the child’s individual school record.
Parents may also initiate a conference with the Head of School or classroom teacher(s) at any time.