Arrival and Dismissal Procedures

ARRIVAL AND DISMISSAL (reprinted from the Family Handbook)
The carline system provides safe access for student arrival and dismissal. It is important that procedures, traffic flow patterns and reduced speeds on campus be followed. Directions and requests from staff members or parent volunteers on duty should be followed in a calm and courteous manner. Students enrolled in Beyond the Bell should refer to the Beyond the Bell section for procedures. It is important that traffic ENTER and EXIT from designated drives. Vehicles must remain in single file. Vehicles should be placed in “park” while unloading or loading students. Students should remain in vehicles until the vehicle comes to a complete stop. At no time should students, their body parts or belongings be protruding outside vehicle windows or sunroofs. Be alert for walkers, bike riders and other pedestrian traffic on campus. Dogs or other animals should remain in vehicles. Per state law, please refrain from cell phone use on campus and adhere to regulations for use of seatbelts and car seats.

A.M. Arrival Policies

• The first bell rings and the school doors open at 7:40 AM.
• In the interest of safety, please DO NOT drop off students or allow them to exit your vehicle before 7:40 AM.  Our Beyond the Bell program opens at 6:30 AM for families who need before school care.  Please call the school office at 281-296-0300 for Beyond the Bell registration information.  In the interest of safety, students dropped off before 7:40 AM will be registered for the Beyond the Bell program.  Consequent charges will be billed through FACTS©.
• Students arriving after 8:00 AM will check in at the front desk and be signed in tardy.
• There are 3 options for arrival:  Carline Drop-Off, Park & Walk and Walkers/Bikers.

Morning Carline Drop-Off (Pre-K3-8th Grade)

• Carline begins at 7:40 AM. 
• All carline vehicles enter through the main entrance on Bay Branch and circle around to the front of the school.  Cars will also be staged in the back parking lot to alleviate traffic congestion.
• Please be sure your child is unbuckled and ready to exit the vehicle when you reach the unloading zone.
• Carline volunteers will be stationed along the unloading zone sidewalk in front of the school.
• After dropping off your child, remain in single file and exit campus via Bay Branch or Kuykendahl.

Morning Park & Walk

• Parents who wish to walk students into the building in the morning park in the lot behind the school between the playground and athletic fields and walk students up to the back school doors.
• Park & Walk vehicles enter campus via Bay Branch by the St. Teresa Center and drive to the parking lot behind the school.
• Vehicles will exit campus via the staff parking lot to Bay Branch.

Walkers/Bike Riders (4th - 8th Grade)

• Students may walk or bike to school with a permission form signed by a parent.  Those students will enter through the school main entrance.

P.M. Dismissal Policies

• ALL students (Pre-K3-8th) will dismiss at 3:30 PM
• The first space(s) in carline and personal pickup were purchased at Auction Gala 2021.
• There are 3 options for afternoon dismissal: Carline Pick Up, Personal Pick Up, or Walker/Biker.
• Please choose one dismissal option that will serve as the “default” option for your family.

• Any changes from the default dismissal option should be communicated to the classroom teacher and to attendance@ap.school by noon of that day.  This allows teachers time to check email and direct your student to the correct dismissal line.  Please try to keep dismissal changes to a minimum.
• Whether you pick up your child(ren) through Carline or Personal Pick-Up, please have the current year carline sign or key fob.  If you do not have the current year’s tag or do not have a tag at all, staff will direct you to the front office for id verification.
• Students are not allowed to leave with anyone other than their assigned Carpool/Personal Pickup without parent/guardian permission. If a change is needed, send a note to your child’s teacher. Due to the size of the student body, phone calls to the office for changes should be of an emergency nature and not regular routine. Any changes should be communicated to the classroom teacher and to attendance@ap.school as early in the school day as possible.

• Students will only be released to designees with a current year’s carline sign or designated as an Emergency Contact in FACTS©. Additional carline signs can be purchased through the front office for $2.
• Students will not be released to a parent, guardian, or parent designee if school personnel believe the person to be impaired (such as inebriated) and, therefore, unable to care for the child. Another person from the student’s emergency contact list will be called.
• Early Release from school should not be scheduled after 2:50, unless there is an emergency. We ask that you keep this in mind when planning after school schedules. Our goal is to have students on their way as soon as possible.
• A late charge of $10 plus $1 per minute may be billed to parents when students are not picked up on time. In general, one warning is given before charges begin.

Afternoon Carline Pick-Up

• Carline begins at 3:30 PM. Please do not line up prior to 3:00 PM to keep our fire lanes clear.
• All carline vehicles enter campus through the main entrance on Bay Branch and snake around to the front of the school.
• Volunteers will be present to assist with staging vehicles in the parking lot to feed into the line inf front of school
• Your carline sign should remain displayed until your child is loaded into your vehicle.
• School staff will be stationed along the loading zone sidewalk from the front of the school entrance to the piazza.
• All carline riders will be dismissed through the school front entrance
• Remain in vehicles as students are assisted into vehicles. Students in elementary and middle school load into vehicles without assistance.
• After carline pick-up, vehicles will remain in single file and exit either via the main entrance to Bay Branch or via Kuykendahl.
• Vehicles can pull into the Parish Life Building parking lot to buckle in their children.

Personal Pick-Up

• Students who will be picked up through Personal Pick-Up will wait in the Gym.
• Parents who use Personal Pick-Up will park in the lot behind the school between the playground and athletic fields and proceed up the sidewalk to the Personal Pick-Up line under the covered walkway.
• The gate will open no earlier than 3:15 to allow vehicles to park in the back parking lot.
• Parents will provide their carline number before entering the building via the doors by the gym.  They will file through the gym to pick up their students and exit back through the same doors.
• Please refrain from conferencing with teachers and staff during this time. Once students are picked up through Personal Pickup they need to be directly supervised by a parent or adult.   

Walkers/Bike Riders (4th - 8th Grade)

• Students may walk or bike home with a permission form signed by a parent.  Those students will dismiss through the front office.  They must show their walker/biker tag at the front desk to be released.