Arrival and Dismissal Procedures

Please review the arrival and dismissal procedures below for both our Elementary School (ES) and Middle School (MS) campuses. Following these steps helps us keep drop-off and pick-up safe, orderly, and on time for every student.

Elementary School Campus (ES) Arrival and Dismissal Procedures

Elementary School Arrival: K–5th Grades

Arrival window: 7:45–8:05 AM

Students must remain in their vehicles until 7:45 AM. Staff will not be available to check students into the buildings before that time. Parents must sign in at the main office if their student arrives after 8:05 AM.

Morning drop-off takes place in the school playground parking lot. Drive onto the lot from the Wright Street entrance off Hickory Avenue. Cars may only turn right onto Wright Street — this is a posted regulation, and violators may be ticketed by the Bel Air Town Police.

Following a horseshoe pattern, enter the lot and pull up until near the exit. Students exit through the right car door only and walk directly to their homerooms from their vehicles.

No parents should drop off students in the church lot — that area is reserved for the Early Childhood Center.

• Grades K–2 will enter the white building doors closest to the playground.
• Grades 3–5 will enter the brick building through the gym door, with the exception of 4M in the portable.
• 4M students will go directly to the portable.

PreK-4 Early Childhood Center Arrival

Arrival window: 8:05–8:15 AM — Instruction begins at 8:15 AM.

PreK-4 parents will enter the church lot from Hickory Avenue and drive up to the Early Childhood Center entrance. You will be greeted by the classroom teacher, who will prompt you through the arrival procedure. Once completed, the student will be escorted into the building, and you may then proceed to exit the lot.

Parents must sign in at the main office if their student arrives after 8:15 AM.

PreK-4 Mrs. Swenson's Class Arrival

Arrival window: 8:05–8:15 AM

PreK-4 parents for Mrs. Swenson's class will drive onto the lot from the Wright Street entrance off Hickory Avenue. Cars may only turn right onto Wright Street — this is a posted regulation, and violators may be ticketed by the Bel Air Town Police.

Following a straight line, cars will park along the yellow line, stopping closest to the white building. Students and parents are to remain in their cars. The teacher and/or aide will assist students out of the car from the right car door only, so please have students unbuckled once parked.

Students will enter the building with a teacher at the starred entrance. Once a student is inside the building, parents are to continue driving to exit, following the green pattern.

PreK-3 Arrival

Arrival window: 8:05–8:20 AM

PreK-3 parents will pull into the playground parking lot by making a right from Hickory Avenue onto Wright Street. No left turns are allowed from Hickory Avenue. Turn into the parking lot and park along the blue arrow lines.

Once the PreK-4 students (yellow arrow line) have entered, staff will direct you to pull around to the side of the white building near the nurse door entrance. This is where Mrs. Hirsch will come out to individually get students from each vehicle at 8:20 AM. Please remain in your vehicle and have your child unbuckled once you pull up near the nurse entrance.

Elementary School Dismissal: K–5th Grades

Parents are permitted to park in the parking lot (see diagram) or on other streets and walk up to the school. The parking lot will open at 2:15 PM, when a staff member will open the lot. Cars must pull forward to create multiple parking lines. Parents are to hold up a sign with the family last name and supervise their children following dismissal. Students are not permitted to remain on campus to play unsupervised.

Kindergarten dismisses at 2:50 PM. Grades 1–5 dismiss at 2:55 PM.

Students will remain in the building with their teacher at the location listed below. Any student not picked up by 3:05 PM will go to the main office to call their parents and will remain there until dismissed. Charges will apply for late pickup.

Dismissal locations by grade level:

• Kindergarten — 2:50 PM, white building doors to parking lot
• Grade 1 — white building doors to parking lot
• Grade 2 — white building nurse door exit
• Grade 3 — brick building main office doors
• Grade 4 — brick building main office doors (4M from the portable to the parking lot)
• Grade 5 — brick building gym door leading to parking lot

PreK-4 Early Childhood Center Dismissal

Dismissal: 2:20 PM

PreK-4 parents will drive into the church lot, and when you arrive at the entrance to the Early Childhood Center, your child will be escorted to you by the classroom teacher and/or aide — the same procedure as arrival.

PreK-4 Mrs. Swenson Dismissal

Dismissal: 2:20 PM, from the nurse door (white building)

PreK-4 parents for Mrs. Swenson's classroom have the option to park in the parking lot with grades K–5 dismissal or on other streets and walk up to the school. The parking lot will open at 2:15 PM (staff will open the lot), and cars must remain parked until all K–5 classrooms have been dismissed. Cars must pull forward to create multiple parking lines.

PreK-3 Dismissal

Dismissal: 11:20 AM

At this time of day, the elementary students are still in session, so no cars are permitted in the parking lot or near the white building. Please park on Hickory Avenue and walk to the entrance between the white building and the rectory/priest garages. Your child will be dismissed one by one — please do not congregate at the doors.

For the sake of the other students in our building, we ask that parents do not arrive until as close to 11:20 AM as possible.

Middle School Campus (MS) Arrival and Dismissal Procedures

Middle School Arrival

Parents arriving prior to 7:20 AM should park in the designated lanes. Students must remain in their vehicles until a staff member indicates it is time to exit and proceed to the school building.

Beginning at 7:20 AM, cars are to proceed slowly down the driveway, past the parking lot, to the semi-circle. Students should exit vehicles curbside at either the main office doors or the doors near the mission, depending on their door assignment, and proceed directly to their classrooms.

Cars should not pull around stopped cars to exit the lot — please allow all cars in front of you to pull off before proceeding, and follow the designated exit pattern through the parking lot.

Middle School Dismissal

Dismissal: 2:30 PM

Cars are to proceed slowly down the driveway, past the parking lot, and turn left along the straight curb of the semi-circle. The semi-circle is closed to all traffic at pick-up time. Proceed straight and park in the assigned lane for your grade level within the parking lot.

• Lane 1 (closest to the mission) — 8th grade
• Lane 2 — 7th grade
• Lane 3 — 6th grade
• Lane 4 — overflow parking

Once students are dismissed and walking to cars, all lanes are closed while students find their vehicles. There should be at least three rows of cars in each lane. Please follow the directions of the faculty in the parking lot.

Carpools/Siblings

If your middle school carpool includes students in multiple middle school grades, please park in the 7th grade lane only. Students are not permitted to congregate in the parking lot.

When exiting the lot at dismissal, cars should only make a right-hand turn onto Route 22. Left-hand turns block the vision of right-turning drivers and are risky at any time onto Route 22 — please be patient, as cars need to be careful exiting.

If a student is participating in a scheduled, supervised activity before or after school, specific arrangements must be made for drop-off and/or pick-up at the designated times. Students are only to be released to custodial parents or those adults listed on emergency contact forms. Students should never be allowed to leave school in an Uber, Lyft, or any private transportation service.

Middle School at ES Campus Days

When middle school students are at the elementary school campus, they should arrive at their usual time and enter through the main office door. Dismissal will also take place at the usual time, with homeroom teachers escorting students from the gym door to the parking lot. Students will follow their teacher's directions to find their parents.

Middle school students who are picking up a sibling will wait in the gym until kindergarten dismissal begins.