A Marion Cross School Day

Schedule

7:45 AM                 Before School supervision of playground
8:05 AM                 Students enter school and go to classrooms
8:10 AM                 School day begins
3:10 PM/2:10PM   Dismissal (M, Tu, Th, F) / (W)

All doors of the school are locked.  If your child(ren) arrives at school after 8:10, they are tardy and must report to the main office before going to class.​

Attendance

Students are expected to be in their homerooms by 8:10 when attendance is taken. Failure to appear by 8:10 means that a parent or guardian must check the student  in at the office before the student goes to their classroom.

If your child is absent from school, or you know they will be tardy, please call the MCS attendance line at 802-649-1703 and leave a message. Unless a definite length of absence has been determined by a physician and has been communicated to our Main Office, families are expected to call the office every morning during the course of their child’s illness.  If no call is received, and the student has not arrived at school, the receptionist or the school nurse will call or email the parent or guardian at home or work. In accordance with Norwich Policy JH, an absence is only considered excusable when it is the result of:

• Personal illness;
• Recovery from an accident;
• Required court attendance;
• Appointments with health professionals that cannot be made outside of the regular school day;
• Observances of recognized religious holiday;
• Emergency family situations such as a death in the family;
• Absences due to suspension or expulsion;
• Such other good causes may be acceptable to the principal or permitted by law.

Parents are asked to try to schedule doctor, dentist, orthodontist, and other appointments at times outside of school hours.  When circumstances require absence from school for these appointments, parents must contact the office.

If families wish for their child to be absent for a reason not listed above, the parent or guardian must write an explanation including how long the student will be absent to the school principal who will determine if the absence is excusable.  

Any absence that has not been excused will be considered an unexcused absence.  Per school board policy, ten half-days of unexcused absences over the course of a school year constitutes habitual truancy.

Family trips and vacations

The School publishes a calendar for the year well in advance that can be found on our website. Families are asked to consult this calendar before scheduling family trips and vacations. If a student misses classes when school is in session for family trips and vacations, they are expected to make up any work that they have missed.  Unfortunately, teachers will not be able to prepare packets or work for the missed days.  At the elementary level, so much of what is taught requires students to be present.  Absences for travel and family events are considered unexcused absences.

Morning Arrival

Outside supervision begins at 7:45 AM.  Please do not drop your child off at school before that time, as there is no supervision available.  Also, please be sure your child is dressed appropriately, especially in cold weather.  In rainy, snowy, or extremely cold weather, morning recess will take place in the gymnasium and Library.

If you plan to park and enter the school building, please park on the Church Street side of the school in the visitor parking. If these spaces are taken, please park at the town hall or in the Main Street parking spaces. Please do not park in any of the spaces designated as accessible parking unless you have this designation on your car. It is very stressful for those who depend upon these spaces when they arrive at school to find their assigned spaces occupied. 

When arriving at school in the morning, please drop students off on the Church Street side of the building.  Please pull up as far as possible.  Please do not enter the school driveway, Girard Way, on the Episcopal Church side of the school during bus drop-off and pick-up time.

Once children are dropped off at school in the morning, they may not leave school grounds to go to Dan and Whit’s, a friend’s house, or any other off-grounds location.

If your child will be absent or will be arriving late, please call the school office before 8:10 AM. The school number is 649-1703. If you know the night before that your child will be absent, you may leave a message on the school answering machine after hours. Please state the reason for your child’s absence.  Please do not send your child to school until they have been symptom free for 24 hours.

School Cancellation or Emergency Closing

If weather conditions are unusually severe, buses will not run and school will be closed.  When school is delayed or canceled, you will receive an alert.  The District operates an automatic call, SMS, and email system (Bright Arrow) that will notify parents on days when there are school cancellations and/or delays. This automatic call/email will normally be initiated by 6:00 a.m., or shortly thereafter. If you are not receiving these communications , or if you would like to receive them at a different phone number (email address), or you would like NOT to receive those communications , please contact Jessica Liddy.

You may also check the WMUR or WCAX website or local radio stations for cancellations.

Once the school day has begun, school will remain open all day, even if a storm intensifies. There are no early dismissals.

Delayed Opening

The Superintendent of Schools may decide whether or not to open school after 8:15 AM. The time scheduled for delayed openings will be 10:00 AM. Bus routes will run 2 hours later than their normal times. The same before-school care will be available at 9:30 AM. Please do not drop your child off at school prior to 9:30 AM.

A delay may turn into a cancellation.  Please check before sending children to school.

Lunch and Snack

Marion Cross participates in the National School Lunch (NSLP) program and thus the students have access to breakfast and/or lunch (following NSLP guidelines) at no cost.  Students may order meals or bring them. Students may also  bring a snack to school each day.  Please do not send any candy or soda to school.  . Milk is available for purchase. Some teachers have chosen to have a refrigerator or microwave in their classroom, but this is not guaranteed by the school.  Since you cannot assume that these will be available to your child, you will need to plan your child’s lunch and snack accordingly.

Recess

Recess is a very important part of the daily program at Marion Cross School.  Because it provides children with the opportunity for socialization, fresh air, and exercise, all children are required to take part. Children who are not well enough to partake must have a doctor’s note exempting them from recess activity. 

Early Sign-out

The Marion Cross School Day ends at 3:10 on all days except Wednesday, when it ends at 2:10.  We ask that students remain in school for the full day unless it is absolutely necessary for them to depart early. If you must, please park in the visitor parking on the Church Street side of the school.  When entering the building, please go directly to the front office. Do not go to your child’s classroom. The school receptionist will call your child’s teacher to have your child sent to the office to meet you. You must then sign your child out so we have a record of the fact that they left school early.   Please avoid coming during the last half hour of the school day to take your child early.  This is a very busy time of the school day.  Students who need to pack up and leave at this time of the day cause a much larger disruption.

After-School Dismissal

The safety of our students at dismissal time is of great concern to the faculty in light of the congestion created by buses, carpools, and Norwich traffic. When driving, we ask that you use the Church Street side of the school.  To avoid congestion, each student who is picked up in the afternoon will be assigned a post surrounding the town green.  We ask that families wait at dismissal time to meet their child(ren) at the assigned post.  Children in Pre-k need to be picked up at the preschool playground.  Children in grades K-2 will be walked to their designated meeting space at dismissal time.  If you plan to get out of your car in order to meet your child on the playground, we ask that you follow the parking guidelines outlined on pages 11 and 12. Students who are not picked up at 3:10 are the responsibility of their parents.

Students taking the bus will be supervised by a staff member until the bus arrives.  Typically buses do not leave Marion Cross until 3:30.

After-school opportunities

The school day ends promptly at 3:10, except on Wednesdays when it ends at 2:10. If students do not ride the bus, parents are required to pick them up or make arrangements for other transportation home. During non­-school hours, use of the playground is permitted but no school supervision is onsite.  We do ask that families avoid using the playground directly after school dismisses.  This allows school staff to monitor bus riders and ensure they get on the correct buses.  Please follow the rules of the playground and play at your own risk.

There is also an extended-day program that is run by the Norwich Child Care Center (802-649-1403) and the Norwich Recreation Department (802 649-3040).

There is an after school program run by the Immersion Montessori School.  This program is 5 days a week and runs on all school days.  For more information contact (603) 322-3556.