Attendance Protocol
Absences:
Family vacations should be planned with the school calendar in mind to prevent children from missing classroom instructional time. When a student is absent, he/she must reply to the CTLS notification, provide a written excuse and/or a doctor’s note within 3 days upon returning to school. Please include the following information:
- Child’s name
- Teacher’s name
- Date(s) of absence
- Reason for absence
- Parent’s signature
State law governs excused absences. If a child needs to be out for an extended period of time, please notify the teacher and the school registrar. Please make every effort to schedule medical and dental appointments after school hours to avoid interruption of the instructional program. A CTLS notification will be sent to you each day your child is absent.
If a child comes to school after 11:05 am or leaves before 11:05 am, he/she will be counted absent. A child must be here for a minimum of half the school day to be considered present.
Attendance Referral Process:
- Three (3) unexcused absences: Teachers will communicate with parents regarding student attendance via e-mail, phone or parent conference.
- Five (5) unexcused absences: A school generated letter will be sent to the parents.
- Seven (7) unexcused absences: A school social work referral will be generated by principal or principal designee listing specific school-based interventions (phone calls, letters, conferences, etc.) that have occurred prior to making the referral.
After School Program (ASP)
- Register for A.S.P. online at Eleyo at https://cobbk12.ce.eleyo.com/. The fee is $10.00 per day with a yearly registration fee of $20.00.
- A new registration packet must be completed each school year, even if a student attended ASP the previous year.
- The hours are 2:20 pm – 6:00 pm Monday-Friday on the days that school is in session.
- During early release days, ASP will be open from school dismissal at 12:20 thru 6:00 pm.
- Photo ID is required for student pick up by approved adults on the registration form.
- Late fees accrue at the rate of $1 per minute beginning at 6:00 pm.
- A nutritious snack is provided daily and is included in the fee.
For additional information about the ASP program, please visit the ASP page on our school website.
Birthday Celebrations
Please visit the Cafeteria Celebration Form for ordering information. The Cafe will identify students with allergies or special dietary needs. Balloons and fast food are not permitted in the cafeteria.
Car Pool Procedures
Whenever possible, please allow your child to ride the bus to school. This helps with traffic congestion around the school in the mornings and afternoons. If you must bring your children to school, please follow our carpool procedures by pulling up to the drop off zone in front of the building where your child may exit safely. There will be staff available to assist your child in exiting the car if necessary. In order to ensure the safety of all students and to assist with traffic flow, we ask that students be dropped off ONLY at the front of the school and not at any other entrance. The side parking lot is reserved for staff and school bus loading and unloading.
Dismissal begins at 2:10 on regular school days and 12:30 on early release days. If you are picking your child up through car pool, you must have a Sope Creek carpool tag displayed in the passenger side front window. If you need a carpool tag, please park and come inside with your identification to receive a number. Carpool ends at 2:45. Students not picked up by then will be checked into ASP where you will be required to pay the daily fee plus registration if not previously registered.
Changes in Transportation
A request for your child to go home a different way other than normal must be submitted in writing. Phone calls, emails or fax requests are not acceptable since verifying the identity of the caller is difficult. If a change to ASP is needed during the day, please call the front office. ASP is a secure checkout and therefore ID will be checked before releasing a student. At this time, we do not accept guest bus riders. Children who ride buses are to ride only the bus to which they have been assigned.
Communication
Our front office staff is here to assist you in any way we can. We post a lot of school information on our website (https://web.cobbk12.org/sopecreek) and CTLS Parent. We encourage you to sign up on CTLS to receive texts and emails pertaining to time sensitive information. On the website, you will also be able to access emails as well as information about PTA, the Sope Creek Foundation and after school activities. Please refer to the calendar on the website for important dates and scheduled events.
If you would like to get in touch with your child’s teacher, the best way is to send an email. Phone calls will be directed to voicemail in an effort to protect instructional time in the classroom.
The district website, www.cobbk12.org, is a great resource for general information about Cobb county schools.
FAST
The Sope Creek Foundation offers after-school enrichment programs known as FAST programs. Detailed registration information is sent home through your child’s backpack. Please refer all questions regarding these programs to: sopecreekfast@gmail.com
Inclement Weather
In the beginning of each school year, parents are asked to complete an inclement weather form. This form identifies how your child will be dismissed in the case of early school closure due to severe weather. It is recommended that you keep a copy of this form on hand to refer to when necessary. Please make sure you sign up with CTLS Parent texts and emails to receive important updates related to inclement weather and other school activities.
Note: When school closes early due to inclement weather, the after school program will close early as well.
Lunch
Student breakfast - $1.75
Student lunch - $3.25
Guest lunch - $4.25
Class lunch times and table numbers are posted outside the cafeteria. Links to menus and nutritional information can be found at https://www.cobbk12.org/foodservices. Also, visit www.mypaymentsplus.com for information on making online payments. A student ID number is required for online payments.
PTA
Membership in Sope Creek’s PTA is strongly encouraged. An online student directory is made available to PTA members. Please visit PTA link on the Sope Creek website for more information.
School Assignments/Homework
You are welcome to drop off school related items to your child before the bell rings at 7:50 am. After that, no late assignments or personal items will be accepted except the following: glasses, coats and medicine. This policy allows us to protect classroom instruction time and limit unnecessary interruptions. Special circumstances do arise and the front office will use appropriate discretion at that time.
Students will not be allowed back into the school following dismissal for forgotten items, such as homework, backpacks, etc. This is in an effort to protect teachers’ planning time.
School Hours
Sope Creek Elementary school hours are 7:50 am to 2:20 pm. Students may enter the building starting at 7:15.
Student Checkouts
Student checkouts must be completed by 1:45 p.m. on regular school days and 11:45 a.m. on early release days. It is important that the 1:45 deadline is enforced as the front office staff begins dismissal procedures at 1:45 p.m. Various reports are run which need to be distributed before 2:00 p.m. Identification will be checked for all student dismissals. Students will be released only to those authorized, unless the school has been notified otherwise in writing.
Tardiness
Students who arrive to class after 7:50 am are considered tardy. Students must be present, in their classrooms when the bell rings at 7:50. Students who arrive to school after 7:50 am must be signed in by an adult.
It is very important for student(s) to arrive to school on time. The classroom teacher begins daily instruction at 7:50 am. When a child enters the class late, it is highly disruptive to his/her educational program and a distraction to the other students. Tardiness should be an unusual circumstance. A habitual pattern of tardiness is a serious problem requiring the attention of the school administration and the school social worker.
Visitors
All visitors, including parents and volunteers, are required to show identification and must check in with the front office. All visitors must wear a visitor or volunteer badge while in the building. If you are in the building without a badge, please do not be offended if a member of the staff asks you for your identity and purpose in the building. This is to protect our children from unauthorized visitors.
