Parents

School Schedule Summary
The normal school day schedule is as follows: 

Early Dismissal Days (Professional)
On some days, students will be dismissed early for faculty professional development.  On those days, After School Care will begin at dismissal time and After School Care children should bring lunch. No hot lunch will be served on half days.  The early dismissal schedule is as follows:

Delayed Opening / School Closing
At times it may be necessary to cancel school, open late, or dismiss early due to inclement weather or other emergency situations. Under emergency weather conditions, we comply with the BALTIMORE COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS (not Hereford Zone). Please DO NOT call the school or rectory to inquire about school closings, since we also receive notice through the radio announcement.  If another situation specific to St. Mary’s (e.g. boiler or electrical problem) necessitates a closing, late opening, or early dismissal, these announcements will be made on WBAL 1090 (AM) RADIO. (Listen to individual school announcements that follow the public systems’ announcements.) Students will not be admitted to school prior to the announced change of opening.  Parents should contact Huber Memorial After School Care for specific policies relating to After School Care in inclement weather. If school closes early, students must be picked up at the announced dismissal time.

Communication
Communication between home and school is essential to student success.  The communication process is facilitated in the following ways:

Calendar for School Year (download PDF)
A school calendar for the school year will be issued to each family in the First Day Folder.  Parents are urged to keep the calendar in a readily accessible place and to consult it often in order to stay current with activities and deadlines. If special circumstances require a calendar change, parents will be notified in a timely fashion in the Parent Newsletter. Please note: When we dismiss at noon, we have complied with the state requirement of 4 instructional hrs. to count as a full day of school.  (These 4 hour days are followed by faculty staff development activities.)

Parent Newsletter
The Parent / Guardian Newsletter is a biweekly publication to keep parents informed about school, classroom, and Home & School activities.  It is our primary means to communicate general information; therefore, parents are encouraged to read it carefully.  Appropriate submissions are welcome; due dates for each issue are marked on the calendar. 

Classroom Policies
At Back-to-School Night, teachers will share curriculum and classroom policies, procedures, and expectations with parents.

Notes / Phone Calls / Email
Notes and phone calls between home and school can assist in the monitoring of student progress.  Faculty/staff school email addresses will be provided to facilitate communication as well.  Please see the faculty page

Progress Reports, Interims, & Parent Access
Progress Reports and Interims provide scheduled feedback on student progress.  Distribution dates can be found on the Parent Calendar.  Parents in grades 3-8 are strongly encouraged to take advantage of Parent Access, on-line access to student grades.  Training for use is provided at the October Home and School Meeting.  Please see the calendar.

Home And School Association
HSA Introduction
The St. Mary of the Assumption School Home and School Association is comprised of all parents, faculty, and staff.  There is an annual membership fee of $5.00 / year per family.  General meetings are usually scheduled on the second Tuesday of the month.  The Association strives to support the vision and objectives of the school; facilitate communication between parents, faculty, and administration; as well as contribute to the financial support of the school.  Dates for Home and School fundraisers and activities are published on the school calendar.
 
25 / $200 Fundraising Goal
The Home and School Association provides a significant contribution to the operating budget of the school in an effort to keep tuition as low as possible.  Therefore, it is essential that all families support its activities.  Toward that end, over the course of the school year parents are expected to provide 25 volunteer hours of service in any of the designated Home & School fundraising activities, as well as generate $200 in fundraising income. 

Fund Raisers & Activities
Fundraisers throughout the year may include such events/activities as:

• Giftwrap 
• Race for Education
• Cake Sale
• Breakfast with Santa
• Christmas Bazaar
• Candy Sale
• Pizza Kits
• May Fair
• Annual Lottery
• Book Fair

Homeroom Parents
The Home and School Association organizes homeroom parents for each class.   A request for volunteers is sent home at the beginning of the school year and parents are encouraged to become involved in their child(ren)’s classroom.

Parent Volunteers
Parent volunteers assist teachers during school hours or work at home. Through the Home & School parent volunteers help with various school fund-raising activities and special programs. All parent volunteers and lunch monitors are required to sign in at the school office and pick up a Volunteer badge before they assume their duties.  Parent Volunteer Guidelines and Lunch Parent Volunteer Guidelines are sent home at the beginning of the year and available in the office.  Please note:  Archdiocesan guidelines require that certain policies be followed regarding the screening of volunteers who may have unsupervised contact with students.  This includes STAND video training, application, references, and background checks.  St. Mary of the Assumption School complies with the policies as required.  This is for the protection of the students.  

Parents are welcome and encouraged to come to the school as aides, lunch monitors, chaperones, etc., to share the educational programs of their children. Your presence demonstrates to your child the value you place on his/her education.  It is vital to our program and represents a vibrant, living service.  Your enthusiasm creates an excellent means of reinforcing the values of Christian education in the community.  Pre-kindergarten and Kindergarten parents are strongly urged to sign up as aides on a regular basis.  All volunteers must follow the visitor sign-in procedure in the office.  Volunteers must comply with Archdiocesan regulations and STAND training as required. Because of the inherent distraction to students, the volunteer parent, and the teacher, we ask that you make child care provisions for babies, pre-school-age children and other siblings, since they should not be brought to school when you volunteer. We ask your understanding in this matter. 

STAND Policy
St. Mary of the Assumption School adheres to the Archdiocesan policy known as “STAND” regarding the screening and training of volunteers and employees who work with children.

Guidelines For Parents
To facilitate the cooperation needed between the home and school, the following guidelines may be helpful:

• Check out all rumors by calling the school office directly, rather than contacting other parents.
• The school is interested in hearing your opinions, suggestions, and constructive criticism.
• If your child comes home upset about a school situation, we ask you to listen openly to the child. We would caution you not to offer an opinion until you have contacted the teacher involved in the situation.
• If you disagree with the teacher’s action, please express your disagreement and concern to the teacher.  Your cooperation and support are necessary for an effective program. It is very possible that a misguided statement can undermine our program, but more importantly, it places the child in opposition to the teacher and may result in defiance and disrespect.
• Your interest in your child reinforces his or her interest in school. If you feel your child is not working to capacity, contact the teacher in order to arrive at a mutually agreed upon program. The most effective means of assisting your child's scholastic growth can be checking homework, reviewing for tests, inquiring about projects, test results, school activities, etc.
• If we, as adults, show support of school policies and procedures, students will be inclined to do the same. We send a definite message by the directives we, as adults, choose to support or disregard.