September 18, 2023
Research is clear that showing up for school has a huge impact on a student’s academic and social success, starting from pre-kindergarten and continuing through high school.
Missing 10% (or about 18 days of a school year or 2 a month) can drastically affect a student’s academic success at each grade level.
By the 6th grade, absenteeism is one of three signs that can indicate if a student is at risk for dropping out of high school.
In the 9th grade, regular and high attendance is a better predictor of graduation rates than 8th grade test scores.
Please help us support a culture of showing up to school every day!
Please review Policy 9010: https://policy.hcpss.org/9000/9010/
If your student is absent or will be absent, please contact us at the following email address to explain the reason: pmsabsence@hcpss.org. In the email please Include the following information:
Student First and Last Name
Grade
Reason for absence (e.g., illness, bereavement, observance of a religious holiday, lack of transportation)
Discretionary Days
HCPSS students are granted 3 days a year to use at their discretion for scheduled interviews with prospective employers, visits to post-secondary institutions, family trips, civic engagement, and other special events.
Such absences may not occur during exam or state-mandated testing periods unless authorized by the principal/designee.
A written request for such absences to be lawful/excused should be submitted at least one week in advance to the principal/designee. Please download the PDF fillable Discretionary Absence Form and email it to pmsabsence@hcpss.org. The form is also available in Chinese, Korean, and Spanish
Students will report to the front office to sign in and receive a pass when arriving late to school.
Parents may send students in with a note. Students who arrive late due to lawful reasons (i.e. doctor’s appointment, etc.) will be considered Tardy Excused.
Parents/ Guardians will sign students out from the front office for early dismissals.
Parents/Guardians are to show their photo ID upon arrival to confirm their eligibility to pick up the student in the family file.
If you know that your student will have an early dismissal ahead of time, you may send in a note with your child or call the front office to let them know when you will be picking them up and who will be picking them up.
We are asking that parents pick up students for early dismissal before 2:55PM, so as to not interfere with our dismissal procedures.
Students who are car riders will be dismissed at 3:15. We are asking that parents pick up students in the car loop, paying close attention to staff providing directions. Please have your student enter and exit your car safely and quickly to allow for other cars and our buses to enter and exit our traffic loops. Please stay to the right on the road entering our school, leaving room to the left to allow buses to pass. Finally, we do not permit students to walk up the driveway to meet parents prior to the car loop. This creates a safety issue and will delay the process.
Also, students who are assigned to a bus are not permitted to walk home. We do not have ample sidewalks or crosswalks to accommodate students who are typically on bus routes. Please remind your student to board their assigned bus each day.
In order to ensure the safety of all students and staff, all visitors must press the buzzer located on either set of main doors to gain entry to our building. When we greet you, please provide us with your name and the reason for your visit. We will buzz you in and direct you to report to the main office.
Please remember to bring in a valid form of identification (e.g. Drivers License) if you are picking up one of our students. It's also a good idea to double check your Emergency Procedure information to ensure the list of individuals authorized to pick up your student during the school day is up to date.