Dismissal

Early Dismissal:

For the safety of our children, all visitors must sign in at the office and obtain a badge before going to the classroom. If you are coming to pick up your child, you must show ID and sign him or her out in the office first. Students will not be dismissed to anyone other than their parents or those persons listed on the emergency cards unless we have received a note from the parent. We cannot honor phone calls. If your child should not ride the bus in the afternoon, he/she must bring a note to school.

Car Riders: 
The main school driveway is closed to all traffic except buses between 8:05 a.m. and 8:50 a.m. and between 3:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. For the safety of the children, please adhere to this rule. If you are picking your child up after school please enter at the second driveway to the right of the building (near the primary playground) and use the Pick-Up and Drop-Off Zone. School personnel will supervise the area during arrival and dismissal. As traffic must move quickly in this drop-off location, you may not leave your car. Please note that you are required to make a right turn as you exit the parking lot and have a carpool tag. If you do not wish to participate in car pool, please follow the procedure for walkers below.

Walkers: 
Walkers leave the school building from their outside classroom door. Parents and older siblings are asked to wait at the outside door for students or to select a meeting place somewhere outside the building. If you have multiple students attending Wellwood, please tell your older Wellwood sibling to pick up younger students at their classroom door. Parents will need to write a note to the homeroom teacher indicating that this will happen. Only Wellwood students will be allowed to pick up siblings inside the building. All other family members are to go to the outside classroom door.

Bus Riders: 
Bus riders will wait in the classroom until their buses are called. Please note: if an emergency arises and you do not want your child to ride the bus, we ask that you contact the school before 2:30pm. Once dismissal begins it is extremely difficult to relay messages and take students off the bus.

Inclement Weather

We ask that you listen to media sources for information during emergencies. During even small events like snow, callers often jam the school lines seeking information that is readily available on the radio and television. If our phones are clogged with calls, we cannot leave lines open for emergency calls in or out of the building. In addition, a deluge of calls takes staff members away from other critical tasks. Please remember that the school system’s website (www.bcps.org) is an excellent source of information about school closings and unusual events.

Questions frequently asked about weather related school closings and delays:

I heard on the radio or TV that schools are two hours late. Is that true?
Yes. If you are not sure if what you heard is correct, and you want to check the BCPS website. Do not call Wellwood.

What time will school start?
Simply add the number of hours to the official start of school which is 8:25. If we are two hours late, school will begin at 10:25 and if we are one hour late school will begin at 9:25.

Will the bus still come?
Yes, the county still has to provide transportation for delayed school days and early closings.

What time will the bus come?
Simply add the number of hours we are late to the time the bus normally comes. If we are two hours late and your child’s bus comes at 7:50 then the bus will come at approximately 9:50.

Will lunch still be served?
Yes, every effort will be made to serve lunch anytime students are in school.
Will breakfast still be served?
No, breakfast will not be served if school opens late.

I see the weather is getting bad outside. Are schools going to close?
We do not make that decision here at the school, that is done by the Board of Education. An early closing decision has to be made before 10:00 a.m. Why? There are several factors involved. Transportation has to be arranged and every effort has to be made to serve lunch. This information is communicated via local radio and television stations if a decision to close has been made.

The announcement said that "the Hereford zone only" is closed or delayed. Does that mean Wellwood is closed or delayed?
No. Wellwood is not in the Hereford zone. If only the Hereford zone is delayed or closed, Wellwood will open on a normal schedule.

Once again please check the following sources for weather related closings and delays:

• BCPS website: (www.bcps.org)
• All local radio and television stations