School begins at 8:55 AM! Students are allowed to go to their lockers and classrooms at 8:40 AM to organize their belongings, eat breakfast, and begin preparing for the school day. Please see the CALENDARS & SCHEDULES page for additional information related to late starts due to weather/significant events.

Staff supervision begins at 7:50 AM. Students are to remain outside until 8:40 AM except under the following circumstances: inclement weather, attending a supervised activity, obtaining a pass to the library (a limited number of passes are available), and/or eating breakfast. Breakfast service begins at 8:15 AM.

Legal guardians are the only people that are able to notify PHMS for attendance issues. Emergency contacts are NOT able to notify PHMS regarding attendance issues. Legal guardians should request full-day absences using Infinite Campus through the Absence Request Processor. Partial-day absences (in late, leave early, leave for appointment) should be made directly to the front office by calling (605)367-7639 or emailing Tami.Clark@k12.sd.us. It is okay to notify the child's teachers of the absence, but do not forget to also notify the front office! Remember to bring in, email, or fax provider notes from appointments and sick days! See the ATTENDANCE page for additional information.

The purpose of Patrick Henry Middle School’s dress code is:

1. To ensure the safety, health, and well-being of all students and staff.

2. To further the school’s mission by providing a positive learning environment.

3. To ensure that clothing and personal appearance do not distract others from the pursuit of their academic goals.

4. To discourage the endorsement of alcohol, tobacco, drugs, and disruptive behaviors. 

In order to promote a positive and safe learning environment, all students need to follow these guidelines:

• Students are expected to wear shirts that have fabric in the front, back, sides, and under the arms which do not inappropriately expose undergarments or the body. (Examples of unacceptable items include: spaghetti strap tops, tube tops, halter tops, midriff tops, backless tops, muscle t-shirts, etc.)

• Students are expected to wear pants, dresses, skirts, shorts, sweatpants, or leggings that do not inappropriately expose undergarments or the body.

• Students may not wear clothing with writing, slogans, pictures, or symbols that depict alcohol, tobacco, or drugs (or their manufacturers), obscenities, vulgarity, racism, sex, sexual innuendo, violence, or gang affiliation.

• Students may not wear slippers. Shoes shall be worn at all times. 

• Students may NOT wear, carry, hang, or display hats, caps, beanies, stocking caps, and bandanas during the school day. Students wearing clothing with hoods must also have the hood down during the school day. Students may wear headbands, headwraps, bonnets, durags, skull caps, or scarves for the purposes of covering their hair. Principal approved exceptions can apply.

• Students may not wear or carry blankets.

• Students may not wear chains or use them as belts.

• Students may not wear clothing or accessories with spikes.

• Students may not wear sunglasses during the school day.

Violations of the dress code shall be handled in accordance with the District’s Progressive Discipline Plan:

a) Students must put away or remove the offending item. It may be necessary to call a parent/guardian to provide alternate clothing items.

b) Students may be given an alternate item of clothing to wear for the day.

c) Multiple violations shall be handled as insubordination. 

Exceptions to this dress code may be made by principals or their designees to address a specific student’s medical, religious, or other similar needs. 

It is a Sioux Falls School District policy that all students are expected to keep their cell phones in their lockers during the school day, including during lunchtime. This policy promotes the best learning environment for all students. If you need to get a message to your child, please call the front office at (605)367-7639. The front office staff will relay the message to your child as soon as possible. You are also welcome to come to the front office should you need to visit with your child in person.

You may monitor your child's assignments, including daily work, projects, and assessments using Canvas, which is the teacher's curriculum. Canvas allows you to see whether your child has turned in an assignment, however, it is not indicative of whether your child actually completed the assignment. You may monitor your child's grades using Infinite Campus, which is the teacher's electronic gradebook. Infinite Campus is the platform that allows you to see whether the assignment was actually completed and the grade that was received. Teachers will enter notes in Infinite Campus regarding missing assignments, late assignments, and redo options (if available). Infinite Campus also has other features that can help you monitor your child's success at PHMS such as links to all of your child's teacher emails as well as the contact information we have on file for you through which you will receive information from the school/district (phone number(s), emails, addresses, etc.).

The video below provides a step-by-step guide to Infinite Campus and Canvas for SFSD, including how to set up your account and navigate the platforms: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fLIBnUtzWMk 

Lunch is 30 minutes. Grade levels eat together and seating is arranged by team teachers using student input. You also have more food options in middle school, including multiple entree choices, fruit selections, and a la carte options. Please see the Meal Viewer site for the daily menu.

Tardiness is defined as a student’s initial appearance to an assigned area at any time after the designated starting time. Teachers will emphasize the importance of being on time and explain the classroom rules and procedures for tardiness. Consequences will include, but are not limited to: warning, parent contact, assigned detention, a student contract, and potentially administrative referral. 

At any point in the school day, a Sweep of the hallways may be done to promote timeliness to class. During a Sweep period, students found outside of class when the bell rings may be given a Sweep referral and be issued a consequence.