• Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays: 8:40 AM - 2:50 PM

• Regular Wednesdays: 8:40 AM - 1:40 PM

• Early Release Wednesdays: 8:40 AM - 11:40 AM

(Please note that K begins dismissal a few minutes earlier in order to minimize our youngest students feeling overwhelmed by the crowds.)

ARRIVAL

Before-school supervision on the playground begins at 8:25 AM. In the interest of your child’s safety students should not arrive before this time if family members cannot supervise them. Students enter the building at 8:35 AM and school begins promptly at 8:40 AM. Parents/Guardians must come to the main office and sign-in students who arrive late to school (after 8:40 AM), rather than dropping them off out front and letting them enter alone. Please note that children begin their instruction at 8:40 AM every morning, which means that if they are entering school at 8:40 AM they are missing instruction.

DISMISSAL

Full day kindergarten students and all students in grades one through four are dismissed at 1:40/2:50 PM. Parents wishing to have their child dismissed from school early must send a written request to the child’s classroom teacher. To minimize classroom interruption, they must report to the school office to pick up their child. Parents should sign the Dismissal Log in the school office, indicating the time they picked up their child. For the safety of our students, no child will be released from school early unless these procedures are followed.

DROP-OFF AND PICK-UP PROCEDURES

When picking up or dropping off students by car, parents should use Sycamore Street only. Please note that the White Street entrance is for buses only and parking lot is for staff use only. It should not be used to pick up or drop off students, as it creates unsafe conditions for students entering or exiting the school yard.

ATTENDANCE LINE

If your child will not be attending school due to illness of other reason, please call the attendance line at (617) 993-5552 by 8:30 AM

EARLY RELEASE AND CURRICULUM DAYS

Each year, an annual calendar is adopted by the School Committee and distributed to parents in September. The annual calendar includes early release days and curriculum days for staff development and parent conferences. On early release days, students are dismissed at 11:40 AM. There is After-Care, but no lunches are provided. Therefore, children in After-Care must bring a bag lunch with them to school on early release days.

ABSENCES

Any morning their child will be absent, parents/guardians should call the Butler attendance line at (617) 993-5552 by 8:30 AM. Please call the attendance line by 8:30 AM regardless of the reason for the absence – illness or any other reason. If it is an illness, kindly briefly describe the symptoms so that the school nurse can monitor for any patterns illness.

Once attendance is taken in each individual classroom class reports are sent to the main office by 9:15 AM and entered into our school database. We are required to submit all attendance information to the database by 9:30 AM, so your help in reporting absences early or getting your child to class on time is essential in this process.

At 9:30 AM “robocalls” will begin to households of students who were reported as absent by the teacher but not by a parent/guardian. Any discrepancies regarding absences should be discussed with the Butler School main office by calling (617) 993-5550.

Each school has a health clinic operated by a registered nurse whose time may be shared with other schools for emergencies should the need arise.

When students visit the clinic, calls home are made at the discretion of the nurse; there is no  “standard” nursing response.  If the nurse has any concerns about a child a call will be made home to the parent/guardian.

For the most up-to-date information on the Belmont Public School’s Health and Nursing Services, please go to: Health Department website

In order to prevent the spread of illness, as well as cause undue stress on children, we require that any child who has had a fever, vomiting, or diarrhea  only come to school when they have been symptom free for 24 hours.

Complete information with regard to required immunizations and physical examinations, medication administration during the school day, and when a child should be kept home due to illness, etc. can be found in the Belmont Public Schools Health and Nursing Department website.