Arrival and Dismissal Procedures

Parking

There are two parking lots at TNS, one in the front and one on the side of the building. The side lot is typically full of staff parking but may be used by parents during events or activities. There are a few reserved spaces that need to be left available for specific staff. There are also Disabled Parking Spaces near the front entrance and by the library. Cars may not be parked here at any time unless they have a disabled parking placard visible or a disabled parking license plate.

Morning Drop-Off (Car Riders)

We will begin the car rider arrival at 7:45 am. All students are expected to be in the building by 8:15 am. Parents may park and walk their children into school and/or visit the office. Please follow the directions at the crosswalk to only cross when cars are completely stopped. 

If parents would like to drive their children to school, they should use the line that starts in the Brentsville District High School parking lot. It winds around the lot and then comes down towards TNS. It then winds through our lot and back in front of the school. This long line through the parking lot is needed, otherwise, we would stop traffic on the main roads.   

Arrival time is from 7:45 – 8:15 am. The car line will be split into two lanes as it gets in front of the school. Once both lanes are full, students will be let out of the cars to come into school. Once all cars have let out their kids, then we will dismiss one lane at a time to go back up towards BDHS to leave. Please follow the directions of the staff out in the car line. Please do not talk on your cell phone while driving in the car line. Please have your child ready to go once you pull up in front of the school.  

 

 

Car Rider Dismissal

The Car Rider Program is designed to let parents come through the front lot and pick up their child without having to get out of their cars. The car rider line for dismissal will be very similar to the line for arrival. Parents will begin the line in the BDHS parking lot and follow the road and line through the TNS parking lot. Cars will be directed by staff to continue the line in front of the school.  

 The car rider line will be very similar for arrival and dismissal. Students will be dismissed from class at 2:55 pm to the main gym. They will be organized by grade level and supervised by staff. Parents/Guardians will need to register for the car rider program to receive a car rider tag for their vehicle. The numbers on the tags are how students are called from the gym to their car for dismissal. These car tags should be placed on the windshield when they pull into the loop. Teachers will use a 2-way radio to communicate with each other. Once students are called up by number, they will be walked by staff to the cars in the car line in the front of the school.

Kindergarten and young students will be walked directly to cars to ensure they have help getting into the car. Once parents/guardians have their child(ren) in their car, they should take down the car tag to show staff that they are ready to leave. 

At Open House, we will have a table ready for Car Rider Program Registration if you need to register. You may also register at any time if you come into the main office. Secretaries will be out front in the morning to help register if you haven’t done that already. You can also stop in the office during the day for this.  

 

 

  
Bus Rider Arrival

Bus riders are let out of their buses from the bus loop and enter school through door 20. All students will be supervised by staff and enter through the same door. Once they enter school, they walk to their classrooms and/or walk to the cafeteria to purchase breakfast.  

 

Bus Rider Dismissal

Bus riders are dismissed after the car riders are dismissed at the end of the school day. They will be supervised walking all the way to the school buses. Kindergarten students especially will be fully supervised and walked all the way onto their bus and double-checked to make sure they are on the right bus. Parents, please remember that kindergarten students will not be allowed to be dropped off at home except to be given to a person that is on that child’s emergency card and can show this from their ID. Make sure to bring ID to the bus every day because you never know if there could be a substitute bus driver.  

 
 

Special Education Transportation

Buses – Students that ride a bus based on special education needs will be dropped off in front of the school in the car rider line. For dismissal, students will be walked to the buses at the corner in the front of the bus loop. Students will be fully supported and supervised during these transitions and will not be allowed to just be dropped off on their own. Parents, please remember that students will not be dropped off at home unless there is someone on the emergency card there to give them to. 

Car Riders – Parents of students with disabilities will have special permission to park and pick up their child during the front dismissal process for students in special education programs, similar to last year. 

 

Kindergarten Arrival and Dismissal

Arrival  - Kindergarten students will arrive via the car rider line or buses. Students in both areas will be fully supervised the entire way to class. Kindergartners will walk straight down the main hallway, past the cafeteria, and then take a right into the kindergarten hallway. Students coming from the bus loop will enter in school via door 20, turn on the first right, walk past the library, and then left into the kindergarten hallway. There will be staff supervision in both hallways during the entire arrival time period.  

Dismissal - Kindergarten students will be dismissed from their classrooms with support from kindergarten teachers, teacher assistants, and 5th grade and middle school safety patrols.  Kindergarten car rider students will be escorted to the gymnasium for the car rider program.  Kindergarten bus rider students will be escorted to the bus loop and all the way to their bus. Kindergarten students will be seated at the front of the school bus. It is essential that anyone picking up a kindergarten student from the bus is on the emergency contact list and provides photo identification to the bus driver.  As we occasionally have substitute bus drivers, it is important that whoever is picking up kindergarten students have their identification readily available on a daily basis. Students without an authorized pickup contact will be returned to school.   

 

Bus Drop-Off

Students riding the bus will pick up the bus at their designated stops. The lists of bus stops are posted on the PWCS webpage (https://www.pwcs.edu/). When they get to school, the students will be dismissed off the bus and into school supervised by teachers. All students will enter through door 20 and supervised from door 20 to their classrooms and/or when getting breakfast.  

 

Early Dismissal

Instruction continues until students are dismissed at 2:55 pm (11:35 am on half days). Early dismissal is disruptive to teacher, other students, and the staff who are preparing for a quick and safe dismissal.  If you need to pick your child up early because of an appointment, please send a note with the student to the teacher and plan on arriving 15 minutes earlier than you need to leave. Please park and report to the office. Please do not leave your car unattended in the pickup line. Once we begin bus dismissal, cars will not be permitted to leave until all students have been dismissed. Anyone picking up a student from the office must show a photo id and be listed on the student’s emergency card. 

We greatly encourage parents to NOT ask for pick-up of students between 2:30 and 2:55 pm. There are many important end-of-the-day wrap-up activities in the classroom and in the office every day. We typically will not dismiss students after 2:30 pm from their classes until dismissal time due to the safety of all students in the classroom during the end of the school day. Except for emergencies, if you ask for dismissal at the end of the day, the student will be dismissed at 2:55 pm.  

TNS Attendance and Dismissal Form Link  

 

Dismissal Order

Dismissal will begin at 2:55 pm. At 2:55 pm, quick announcements will be made and the students will be dismissed in the following order:  

1. Car Riders 

2. SACC (School Age Child Care) & other after-school activities (sports, clubs) 

3. Buses (by grade level and by bus using the intercom system and a live bus map) 

 

Other Dismissal Notes

Early Pick-Up – If you need to pick up your child early for an appointment, please do so before 2:15 pm. Once we get closer to school dismissing, it can be very confusing for staff when there are last-minute changes to the dismissal of students.  

Dismissal Tag - All elementary-age students will have a tag placed on their backpacks on the first day of school. This tag will identify how the student gets home at dismissal: car rider, bus rider, or SACC. The bus number or car rider number for that student will also be written on the tag. In some cases, students may have 2 back to back tags in one holder.  Please leave the tag on the backpack for the entire school year. 

Bus Passes - Whenever it is necessary for a student to ride a bus other than the one he/she is normally assigned or to ride the same bus, but get off at another stop, parents should use the TNS Attendance and Dismissal Form Link must send a note to school.   

Middle School Sports and Clubs – Middle school sports and clubs will be dismissed to a specific location meeting their coach or club sponsor after school at the end of the day.  

High School Sports – We have some 8th graders that “play up” on the BDHS teams. They will be dismissed to the gym and then out the side doors to walk up to BDHS. We have a list of these students to check off from BDHS.  

BDHS Staff Parents – For those families that have parents that work at BDHS, and you would like your child to walk up to BDHS after school, we have a permission form from the office to fill out so we have your permission to do so. These students will be dismissed to the gym and then out the side door to walk up to BDHS using a check-off list. Kindergarten students will still need to be picked up by an adult and will not be allowed to walk up, even with siblings.  

Walkers – Since we don’t have sidewalks and a crossing guard in our nearby neighborhoods, we do not have a walker program and are not allowed to let kids walk home without parents present due to safety reasons.