Arrival & Departure Procedures
MORNING ARRIVAL
Parents who drive students to school are asked to drop their children off at the designated area only. All students are to be dropped off under the 5th grade over-hang. Any student attending an early morning rehearsal or tutoring session should be dropped off by the music room. Please do not drop students off at the front door using the handicap or visitor parking spots. No student should arrive earlier than 8:35 a.m. unless they have early rehearsal or tutoring, as supervision begins at that time. Upon entering the school,fourth grade students are to report to the new gymnasium and fifth grade students should report to the old gymnasium.
AFTERNOON DISMISSAL
All bus students report to the new gym or all purpose room and are dismissed when their buses arrive. In the afternoon, parents and guardians should park on the front playground and wait in their cars for students to be dismissed. If your child needs to be dismissed as a car pick-up and he/she doesn't know it, you must notify the office no later than 2:30 p.m. The office will then give your child the message. Staff on duty during dismissal will not be able to contact the main office to request your child come out to the pick-up area. You will then have to come into the main offie to sign out your child. Only when walkers have left the building and are in their appropriate cars, will parents and guardians be allowed to leave the playground area. Please do not park in the fire zone, handicap, visitor spots, teachers’ parking lot, or Center for Food Action parking lot. In addition, according to New Jersey state law, idling is not allowed for longer than three minutes.
LIBRARY WALKERS
If you would like your child to walk to the library everyday, please go into your parent portal to change your dismissal preference. In the portal, select Parent Questions and go to the question regarding dismissal and change your answer to library pickup.
If you are requesting your child to walk to the library the day of, you must send an email to jkattendance@mahwah.k12.nj.us no later than 2:30 p.m. or send a note with your child to school. They must drop it off in the main office in the morning.
EARLY DISMISSAL / LATE DROP OFF PROCEDURES
If you take your child out early morning for an appointment and plan to bring them back; you must return your child by 1:00 p.m. in order for them to still be marked full day present. Anytime after 1:00 is considered a half day.
If your child comes in late, after 11:00 a.m., they will also be considered present 1/2 day.
In the event that you need to pick up your child before the end of the school day, you must sign them out at the front door no later than 3:00 p.m.
In order to maintain a safe environment at dismissal for our students and to ensure a safe and smooth operation, it is Imperative that the following procedures are followed:
- Drive slowly when entering the front playground area.
- Leave a space between each car.
- Fill each row -- going from LEFT to RIGHT in the order you enter.
- Turn off your car engine.
- Do not move your car until all students have cleared the lanes and the teacher on duty gives the ok.
- Please do not exit through the entrance route!
- Parking perpendicular to the cars is a safety hazard for the children exiting the building. Please wait outside the lot until there is a space available for you to enter onto a line.
- Do not park in any numbered spot in the BOE or Food Action Center parking lot.
Thank you for your cooperation in keeping our children safe!
A note from a parent or guardian must be submitted to the homeroom teacher if a child is either walking to their destination or going home with another child/parent.
EMERGENCY CONTIGENCY PLAN
Please take time to develop a contingency plan with your child in case no one happens to be home when he or she arrives home after school.