Bell Schedule, Arrival & Dismissal Safety
Attendance Policy
Regular school attendance is the most important factor in student success. Students are expected to be at school on time every day. Our classrooms open at 8:05 AM to provide a soft start for our students. This dedicated time helps them transition into school and prepare for learning. We encourage you to bring your student to school at 8:05 AM each morning. Instruction begins at 8:15 AM, and students not in the classroom at this time are considered tardy.
Students may be excused from school for the following reasons:
- Illness
- Doctor or dentist appointment
- Court appearance
- Funerals
Other absences will be considered unexcused. Frequent absences may result in a meeting with the principal and counselor and/or a referral to the School Attendance Review Board (SARB) process.
All absences MUST be reported to the Cox Office by one of the following methods:
- Calling 714-378-4243
- Emailing [email protected]
- Coming to the office in person
- Sending a note
Doctor or dentist notes are encouraged.
*Please avoid dropping off students before 7:45am. Students need to be in the classroom lines by the 8:15 AM bell.
Reminder: Cox is a closed campus. Parents are asked to start at the front office and avoid walking across campus. Bring your driver’s license and sign in at the front office.
Arrival Procedures
Parents/Guardians
- Parents/Guardians must stay at the gates at arrival, and may not enter campus. This is for safety reasons.
- Parents/Guardians may opt to use our valet line in the main parking lot. If you are using that service, please adhere to the valet line rules that are outlined below.
- Parents/Guardians who walk students across the grass to the back of campus will be directed to walk along the fenceline by the P building to the front of campus.
Students
- Students may enter campus as early as 7:45 am, but must go through single-point entry at the front office gate to enter.
- Students will be supervised from 7:45 am-8:05 am in the Nest or the Kindergarten yard.
- At the 8:05 am bell, students will be released to line up at classroom doors.
- There is no playground play in the mornings.
- Students whose parents/guardians want to wait with them until the 8:05 am bell must wait at the front of school outside fencing or on grass by B building.
- Students at 8:05 am may enter as follows:
- Transitional Kindergarten and Kindergarten at front gate in parking lot by yellow pylons
- 4th/5th at gate along fenceline outside of kinder playground
- 1st/2nd/3rd through front gates
About Being Late (Tardy)
Students must be at the door lined up or in the classroom by the 8:15 am bell. Tardy students must report to the front office for a tardy slip.
Valet Service
All arrival traffic through the main parking lot will be handled through a Valet Service. Parents/Guardians who prefer to park and walk students to the front of school should coordinate parking on the street or in the alternative lot and walk students to campus. Please be courteous of our neighbors. It is recommended that all kindergarteners and any students who are not yet able to exit a vehicle on their own be walked up to the front of school by their Parents/Guardians.
We hope that the VALET LINE will continue to promote a more relaxed, controlled, and safe traffic flow pattern in the front of school. We encourage all Parents/Guardians to participate. It is important that everyone work together to make the process as smooth as possible.
To ensure student safety, please read and follow the rules listed below:
- Have student backpacks on the student’s lap or immediately next to them along with their lunch. Students must be READY TO EXIT the car before entering the VALET LINE.
- Once in the parking lot, carefully pull your car close to the curb.
- A staff member will indicate at which point you should stop. Please pull all the way up to the top of the line before exiting.
- Come to a complete stop in front of the adult staff member so that students may exit the vehicle.
- Parents/Guardians must stay behind the wheel and may not exit the car to assist.
- Your student should be able to open the passenger-side door (curbside), exit, and close the door safely on their own in order to be in the VALET LINE.
- Be sure to check to see if your student has completely exited the car and stepped away from the car before moving on.
Departure Procedures
Teachers
- Teachers in grades TK-2 will walk students out to the front of the school upon dismissal and await confirmation that a parent/guardian is there to hand them off.
- Teachers will walk all students without parents/guardians to the office by 10 minutes after dismissal for the office to call home and notify parents/guardians that their student must be picked up.
- Teachers in grades 3-5 can determine whether or not students need to be walked out to the front at dismissal for the first few weeks of school.
Students
- Students in grades 3-5 may walk to the front of school or meet their families for pickup along the back of the greenbelt as arranged by individual families.
- Students in grades TK-2 must have an adult present at the front of the school for the handoff at dismissal
Parents/Guardians
- The main parking lot is closed to car traffic upon dismissal to accommodate buses and foot traffic. Parents/Guardians need to park and walk in (TK-2) or arrange a pickup location along Los Jardines East or adjacent streets.
- All city traffic codes will be enforced by FVPD. Please do not park in red zones, in front of driveways, or in between crosswalks, as these are laws that are enforceable and are designed to keep our kids safe when leaving school.