The school day begins with a morning bell at 8:15 am
Parents who wish to bring their children to school are welcome to do so. Staff will greet children arriving by private vehicle at 8:10 A.M. Students should not be dropped off earlier than 8:10A.M. Pre-school students will be greeted by staff and will be accompanied to classroom. Parents/guardians of pre-school students may pull up to the school sidewalk for drop off after busses have departed.
The lane in front of the school is for bus pick up and drop off only. This bus lane is considered a fire lane and therefore must remain free of vehicles and is unavailable for parking beyond drop off.
Busses usually drop off students in the bus lane between 8:10 - 8:15 AM and pick up students at 2:55 PM
Children are dismissed beginning at 2:55 PM on Mon., Tues., Thurs., Fri.
Every Wednesday, students are dismissed at 12:55 PM. in order to provide staff with opportunities for professional development training and collaborative planning time.
Because of safety, students being picked up by a parent/guardian or designee will be waiting in the vestibule until after the school buses leave the driveway (around 3:00 PM). A staff person on duty there will dismiss children to the parent or designated person. Adults must be sure to sign children out in the dismissal log.
Children are expected to walk on the sidewalks at the school and cross at designated crossings.
Children may ride bicycles to school with parental approval. There is a bicycle rack at school where bikes can be locked. It is important that students obey the standard rules of bicycle safety in commuting to and from school. Immediately upon arriving at the school, bicycles are to be parked for the day, and not to be ridden around the parking lots. Following the close of school, bicycle riders are dismissed at the main office as soon as the last bus has left school grounds.
Students must wear helmets when riding their bicycles to or from school.
Please be mindful of our guidelines for traffic flow and parking at Shutesbury Elementary School. Upon entering the driveway, DRIVE SLOWLY and please stay to the right of the island in order to ensure student safety and to relieve traffic congestion.
Parking at the school is limited. You may park in any open parking spot or the designated visitor parking space when you need to enter the building. Please respect the laws regarding handicapped parking even when other spaces are full.
Please note that state law forbids cars to idle while parked in front of schools. Please respect this law as it is both environmentally and student friendly. (School Committee Policy: EEB)
Shutesbury Elementary School follows the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education attendance guidelines. This includes identifying studnets as chronically absent when having 18 or more absences in a 180 day school year ( 10%). Please see more information regarding MA DESE Attendance guidelines HERE.
Day to Day Attendance
Children are considered tardy after 8:15AM. The student will not be considered tardy if the bus is late in arriving to school. All late arriving students are required to check in at the main office before heading to class. In cases of frequent tardiness, the Principal is obligated to contact the family about the situation.
We ask caregivers to please call us by 8:30AM to report a child’s absence from school.If we have no information about a child’s attendance, the school nurse will call the home in an attempt to contact caregivers of all children who are absent.
You may leave a message with regard to an absent student on voicemail at 259-1212 x100.
Caregivers of students with many absences will be contacted by the principal or a designee to have an attendance meeting.