School Hours
BELL SCHEDULE
7:20 a.m.—Start Time for Teachers
7:30 a.m.—Start Time for Pupils
2:09 p.m.—Dismissal
Arrival Times & Procedures – Students are not to arrive before 7:15 a.m. Students may not enter the building before 7:15 am, except during inclement weather. During inclement weather, all students should enter through the auditorium door. School begins promptly at 7:30 a.m. Any student arriving after 7:30 a.m., should enter through the front doors of the school and report to the late desk. In order to ensure the safety of all students and respect our instructional environment, parents may not to walk children to class.
Dismissal Times & Procedures – Dismissal is at 2:09 p.m. Students must be picked up by 2:15 p.m. There is no supervision in the schoolyard after 2:15. Students may not return to the building once they have been dismissed. All students who do not ride a school bus will dismiss into the schoolyard through designated doors.
State law requires school attendance for everyone under the age of 17. If absent from school, the student must bring a note from the parent or guardian to the homeroom or advisory teacher on the day that he/she returns. The note must include name and telephone number, the dates and reasons for the absence, and parent/guardian signature. Students who fail to bring in such notes will be coded with unexcused absences/parental neglect.
All schoolwork missed by student must be made up as soon as possible after returning to school. Excessive absence without makeup of work may result in lowered academic achievement. Regular attendance is a requirement at Jenks. A parent/guardian may be contacted, if there is a problem with your child’s attendance record. Parent Link is a central calling system in place that calls the home each day in the event of a child’s absence.
Regular attendance insures the continuity of the educational program essential for growth. Students are expected to arrive to school on time at 7:30 AM. If your child is absent or sent to school late, it is the responsibility of the parent to notify the teacher in writing of the reason. It is also the responsibility of the child to make up any missed work during the absence. Attendance will be carefully monitored and legal action will be taken in cases of repeated unexcused absences.
Regular attendance insures the continuity of the educational program essential for growth. Students are expected to arrive to school on time at 7:30 AM. If your child is absent or sent to school late, it is the responsibility of the parent to notify the teacher in writing of the reason. It is also the responsibility of the child to make up any missed work during the absence. Attendance will be carefully monitored and legal action will be taken in cases of repeated unexcused absences.
Chronic Absence is defined as 8 or more missed days of school. The School District of Philadelphia will refer students who have missed 8 or more days to Truancy Court. For our students to achieve to the best of their ability and develop to their full potential, they must be present and active in school.
Absences of more than three days require a doctor’s note be submitted to the classroom teacher. If this trend continues, a parent or guardian will be officially notified of constant absences. At this time a meeting may be scheduled with school personnel to discuss the child’s attendance. If absences do not cease, the attendance officer will submit student and parent/guardian names to Truancy Court. The parent/guardian and student will then be called into court and consequences will be imposed. Removing a child from school to babysit a younger sibling, go shopping, or take care of family business is an unexcused absence and will be coded as such.
Lateness
Students are expected to arrive promptly each morning and must be in the classroom line in the yard to begin the day by 7:30 am. Students arriving late should report to the late desk outside of the main office. A note from home should explain the reason for the lateness. Adults may not take late arrivals to class. Learning is in progress and interruptions must be kept to a minimum. Cooperation with this policy is needed in order to allow the educational program to proceed without the interruption of students arriving late. Five latenesses will result in loss of privileges such as participation in class field trips, class or school events, and assemblies. Excessive lateness will result in a conference and administrative intervention when necessary. The School District of Philadelphia will refer students who have been late 8 or more times whether excused or unexcused to Truancy Court.
Parent Visitation
Parents are encouraged to visit Jenks. However, please follow these guidelines before visiting:
Send a note to your child’s teacher requesting an appointment.
Report directly to the school office to receive a visitor’s pass. Please do not go directly to your child’s classroom. Come to the office for permission to go anywhere in the building. This is a safety issue.
Appointments with the Principal must be scheduled after 2:30 PM as it is necessary for the administrative team to focus on instruction and the day-to-day operation of the building. Emergency appointments will be made accordingly.
Lunch / Breakfast Programs
The School District of Philadelphia serves breakfast and lunch FREE of charge. Parents do not have to complete an application.
Lunchroom Procedures
The cleanliness and neatness of the lunchroom are the responsibility of each class, as well as each individual student. No items containing glass (soda and juice bottles, etc.) should be a part of a student’s lunch. All food and beverages should be packaged in plastic or paper. In addition students will follow these procedures:
Students must sit in their assigned areas immediately upon entering the lunchroom. Students will be called by lunchroom assistants to purchase lunch.
Lunch lines must be orderly.
Students will stay seated during lunch except while engaging in approved activities.
All food will be consumed in the lunchroom. Food should NOT be eaten in the yard unless there is a special occasion. Talking is to be done in conversational tones.
Each student is responsible for putting his/her trash in the receptacles provided.
Students will not be allowed to leave the lunchroom until their assigned areas are clean. Students must have an appropriate pass to leave the lunchroom.
If a packed lunch is forgotten at home, please do not bring it to school. This interrupts the learning day. Your child will be served a school lunch.
Lunchroom and School Yard Procedures
Inclement Weather
On rainy days or very cold days, parents are advised not to send their children to school until a few minutes before the start time of 7:30 AM. Parents are asked to make sure that children are dressed appropriately for the weather. Unless it is raining or extremely cold (below 32˚), children will have outdoor recess.
In case of more severe weather conditions that may necessitate the closing of schools, please listen to KYW-1060 AM or TV alerts concerning, “All Philadelphia Public Schools.” In the event of early closing of schools, we must know where your child can go if you are not home. A form will be sent home early in the school year. Any child who does not return this form will be sent directly home during an emergency dismissal.
Early Dismissals
Scheduled: Refer to the School District Calendar, included in this publication. The calendar is also distributed to students in the beginning of school year and posted on our website.
Unscheduled: During times of inclement weather, the School District of Philadelphia will announce early dismissals on the district website: http://www.phila.k12.pa.us/. Students will be dismissed according to information provided by the parent on the emergency forms.
Unscheduled by parent request: No child will be given an early dismissal from school unless a parent comestoschooltoescortthechildfromthebuilding. Students will not be dismissed early from school after 1:30 pm. Parents are asked not to schedule doctor and dental appointments during school hours, whenever possible. All early dismissals will be recorded in the district’s Attendance Monitoring System. Habitual early dismissals adversely affect student learning and may affect student grades. Additionally, five latenesses/early dismissals/late pick-ups will result in loss of privileges such as field trips or special events.
Emergencies will be referred to the principal. In case of emergency, the principal may release the child to the person listed as an emergency contact on the Parent Location form. Please do not ask for exceptions to this policy. In the event a child is seriously injured or ill and a parent cannot come to the building, the school will call 911 to take the child to a nearby hospital for medical care.
Any child who leaves school prior to 10:00 am will be charged with an entire day of absence. There will be no early dismissals prior to 10:00 am or after 1:30 pm. Notes will be required for doctor’s visits. These may be brought to the school the next day. On scheduled early dismissal days there will be no early dismissal given, except for emergencies.
Parents requesting early dismissals will be asked to provide photo ID, state the relationship to the student, give reason for dismissal, and give their signature. Children will be dismissed to a parent or guardian only. When confirming identification, all adults who are picking up students must remove their headwear, including but not limited to burqa, chadar, boshiya, niquab, or hats.
As per policy dictated by Dr. Hite in 2013, students will only be granted an early dismissal under the following circumstances:
1. Medical or dental emergency
2. Illness or injury
3. Suspension
4. Hearing
Parents may not enter the schoolyard during lunch recess without approval from the principal. Visitation by parents/guardians that do not have an educational purpose will not be permitted.
Emergency Contact Information
Each year the school distributes a three-part parent location card which requests information where parents can be located in the event of an emergency. It is very important that these forms be completed legibly and correctly. All three forms are to be completed exactly alike. If there is a change in address, phone number, emergency contact or any other information you think the school should know about, please notify either your child’s teacher or the school office immediately.
Fire Drills
Fire drills are held in preparation for an emergency. Fire drill directions are posted in all rooms. Students must walk quickly and quietly as directed by their teachers. Everyone must leave the building for fire drills.
Policy Change: Special Release procedures for School District of Philadelphia Students:
The School District of Philadelphia is committed to making student safety an integral part of each school’s mission, school safety plans, policies, procedures and protocols.
It is crucial that all staff is made aware of the policies, as well as their role in implementing them, so that all students are provided a safe learning environment.
To that end, the District has revised its Special Release Procedures, requiring photo identification checks (preferably government-issued ID) with every special release. All schools will be expected to implement this protocol as established.Click here for details.
Busing is not provided for any kindergarten student. Busing is provided under certain conditions and approved EH-36 forms through the Office of Student Placement.
School Trip Permission Form – all students going on school trips will receive from their teacher a new school district permission form to go on the trip. This form must be completely filled in, signed by a parent or guardian and returned to the teacher before a student can go on any school trip.
Permission Form for Use of Student Image on the School District of Philadelphia Website – This form is a request for permission to use the image and/or voice of your child on the official School District of Philadelphia World Wide Web page on the Internet.